Hi Steve,
I'm the guy who put this system together and coded the software to make G13 what it is today.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
Feedback point: As much as the "1-2-3-4" step box works well maybe there should be an extra step or 2, one of those being "Remember to check the cloud/weather page before taking control / committing to a target".
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Great idea. I will do that for sure.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
Feedback point: This did raise another query I had at this point - there's 3 big visible circles that you can click on to "Release Observatory", "Abort Script" and "Control Observatory", however as I found out along the way for this kind of image selection it wasn't necessary to do "Control.." to take a pic, and in fact having done so I was using up my (free  ) points while I waited for the target list to update, and then read and select a target. A paying user may find that irritating, and while again admitting I didn't read the Wiki or any other "instructions" in preparation for this I felt that perhaps there could have been clearer indication that target selection ONLY was required.
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Another good idea, I will remove those buttons expect for the abort button. The system when in use locks observatory at auto-releases it when you have finished. These buttons a really used for our other systems sometimes subscribers find it of benefit to lock the observatory which stops other people hi-jacking your session before you have a chance to fire off your request.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
Putting that aside, the system really was very easy to use, and it really is a tribute to those who have designed and set it up. I have been to astro gatherings and seen imagers have enormous problems simply setting up their polar alignment and then sometimes having problems with making every single bit of hardware interface correctly along the way. This set up is SO SIMPLE and SO EASY to produce an image in under 15 minutes from go to "Whoa, it's in my inbox" it's amazing.
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The Whoa factor is what I was aiming for.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
I found it interesting to watch the script process running each and every time, seeing the various steps taken which to be honest I would never have guessed that some of those steps existed ("flushing auto-guider" for instance).
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Yes lots of things happen in order to keep the system on track. While many manufacturers of CCD camera say the flush the camera before exposure many do not, which leads to all sorts of problems. I do this to ensure the CCD is clean, specially when trying to autoguide on dim stars.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
My first image was of IC4721, chosen I must admit because the thumbnail guide image in the selection list looked intriguing.
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If you look at my post to Fahim it explains why. However I will most like remove these types of targets from the menu selection.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
Nope ..... I couldn't find a way to change the exposure time beforehand, and once you pick the target and press "submit" that seems to be that, it's all underway. The result here was somewhat overexposed and drained of colour.
Was there a way I could have changed this, or was it all totally "pre-programmed"?
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It is pre-programmed and will stay this way as things go froward I will tweak the exposure time on each of the targets. Some of these targets to image correctly need two sets of exposures with overlay the two in photoshop which is beyond the capability of this service. One to capture the background detail and the other to capture the main target without burning it out.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
4th image - Omega Centauri is another of my favourites, so when scanning down the "common name" column of the target list when I saw it I clicked on submit straight away. If you look at the image result there is no sign of Omega Centauri there at all ... reason being that the actual "Designation" column lists NGC 5193 whereas Omega Cent is actually NGC 5139 ... so what I have instead if an image of a tiny 13th mag galaxy (a binary galaxy apparently) as seen here, and yes you can see the 2 of them if you look really closely).
So this one was down to a bad typo on the target list, I fully suspect it was always supposed to be OmegaCent and the NGC number was the mistake.
This wasn't the only mistake on the list, the Carina Nebula and listed NGC number didn't correspond either. |
Ahh great! We don't call it a beta for nothing! LOL
I will fix this up today.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
and I can only wonder at the engineering precision that permits such tracking.
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It's called a Paramount ME made by Software Bisque landed in Australia they are worth around $14,500 AUD, the hardware for the G13 setup costs over $35,000+ AUD to setup and configure correctly. Other system on our network exceed $80k+ mark.
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Originally Posted by Gargoyle_Steve
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I will close that account down after you get Omega Cent.
Consider it a extra bonus for hard work.
I'm glad you enjoyed the service thank you for your constructive feedback it was most helpful.
Best Regards,
Brad Moore