Plate solve 2 not working for DSLR images

[james_screech]

I have Plate solve 2 (2.28 & 2.29) working for CCD images without a problem, however last night I tried for the first time with a DSLR (500D) with a 135mm lens and it could not find a solution. It finds the stars OK (over 400). I've tried again using the saved images but cannot get it working either from APT or standalone, the field of view and camera type are correctly set, all sky plate solve works fine on the same images. Any suggestions would be welcome.

James

[Yoddha]

Hi James,

Try to lower the stars on the image. PS2 is built for narrow FOV. As I know PS3 can handle wider FOV, but at this stage it is not allowed to be integrated in third-party applications like APT

[james_screech]

I've tried changing the histogram so that PS2 only finds 41 stars (I've also tried some intermediate values as well) but it still cannot solve the image.

James

[Yoddha]

Maybe for such wide fields we will have to use the Blind solving...

[gparker]

Hi James,

In the past there have been problems with wide field images and unticking the 'Highest Accuracy Plate Solution' parameter has helped. Have you tried that?
If you would like to share the problem image I'd be happy to see if I can get a solution.

Regards
Guy

[james_screech]

Hi James,

In the past there have been problems with wide field images and unticking the 'Highest Accuracy Plate Solution' parameter has helped. Have you tried that?
If you would like to share the problem image I'd be happy to see if I can get a solution.

Regards
Guy

Yes I've tried that, attached is one of the images.

James

[gparker]

Hi James,

I got a solution with your image using standalone PS2 and PS2 with APT.
The settings I used were my usual settings apart from:
Highest Accuracy Plate Solution - Unticked

The solution I got was:
RA 2:51:32
Dec 69:31:42
It solved after searching 1 region.

The settings I used were as follows:

PS2 Parameters:
Max Star Size 12
Min Star Size 3 (default)
Max Stars 55
Detection Threshold 8
Max Stretch 0.025 (default)
Max Skew 0.025 (default)
Edge Exclusion 0.2 (default)
Max Error 2 (default)
Default Aspect Ratio 1 (default)
Default Catalog Epoch 2011 (default)
Catalog UCAC3
Enable Third Order Distortion - Ticked (default)
Highest Accuracy Plate Solution - Unticked

Standalone PS2 Settings:
RA 2:51
Dec 69:30
FoV 9.5 x 6.4 degrees

APT Settings:
RA 2:51
Dec 69:30
Focal Length 135mm
Camera 500D

Let me know if these work for you.

Regards
Guy

[james_screech]

Hi Guy,

Your settings work for me as well for both my DSLR setup and CCD camera. So I'll use them in the future.

Thank you
James

[gparker]

Hi James,

Glad it worked for you.

Just in case anyone else has similar problems - the key changes from the default PS2 Parameters to get it solving were:
- Max Star Size 10 or greater (I use 12 as a default) - ensures the bright stars are not excluded for being too big
- Highest Accuracy Plate Solution - Unticked - for wide angle images only - this stops PS2 crashing
The other parameters I have found generally useful are:
- Detection Threshold 8 - reduces false star detections
- Max Stars 55 - can help in some cases and seems to be OK as a default

Regards,
Guy

[dhellis59]

Hi OP, Guy, and All,

I have recently developed a similar problem and tried Guy's fix. It worked in the standalone app, but when I attempted to use it in thee APT UI, it would not allow me to change the parameters. Once it failed it gave me a Runtime Error 6 Overflow error and shut down. I even ticked the keep the PS2 open button, but it would shut down anyway.

I am using APT 3.0 and PS2 1.4.8 version. I was able to use PS2 consistently my last imaging session a month ago, but this month, not.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Darryl

[gparker]

Hi Darryl,

I'm not sure if I've understood you correctly. Are you trying to set the PS2 parameters while running PS2 within APT?
If you've set the parameters in PlateSolve2 stand-alone, those are the parameters that will be used by PS2 within APT. There is no need to also set them while running in APT.

If, after changing the settings, you are still having a problem with solving within APT then if you upload a problem image I will see if I can get it to work here.

Regards,
Guy

[dhellis59]

Hi Guy,

Thanks for replying so quick. For some reason when I made your recommended changes in standalone PS2 the other day it did not save. When I attempted to load it through APT, the parameters were all zeroed out or blank. Perhaps it failed because it tried to solve the image using the zeroed out parameters.

I just reloaded your recommended parameters and closed and reopened PS2, and your parameters we still set.

I cannot check the UI yet because I am not hooked up to my mount/camera currently (at work), but will try my next imaging session this weekend... Unless there is a way to load a previous image to APT without being hooked up??? I tried but can't figure it out.

I don't understand how the parameters changed from my last session though because it was working fine and I didn't change anything in the interim from what I can tell.

Thanks,

Darryl

[gparker]

Hi Darryl,

You can test it by loading an old image from the Img tab and then solve it as normal using PointCraft.
You dont need to connect the mount or camera.
You need to set the focal length and Camera used and manually enter the approximate RA and Dec of the image.

Regards,
Guy

[dhellis59]

Okay, Guy. I figured out how to reload an old image and attempt to solve it. This time it ended with Run-time 11 Error. Division by 0. Then it closed PS2 before I could check the parameters even though I checked the keep open box. Status failed.

Any idea what is going on?

Thanks,

Darryll

[Yoddha]

Darryl, do you use Windows XP? Sometimes PS2 gives such error when big file is used...

[gparker]

Hi Darryl,

Does the same image solve OK with standalone PS2?
I have XP so I can check it if that would help.

Guy

[dhellis59]

Hi Ivo/Guy,

I use Windows 8.

Success!! I deleted my copy of PS2 and reloaded it. After resetting all the parameters and settings, and it worked! Solved the image in 3 seconds.

I figured I needed to reload the program by looking up the Runtime Error 11. It basically suggested I delete and reload the program because the error is a result of the settings having become realigned.

Thanks Guy/Ivo.

Darryl

[dhellis59]

Guy/Ivo/OP,

Just wanted to add that I am currently imaging M81/M82 after having solved a 30 second and 60 second image in 12 seconds flat repeatedly thanks to Guy's settings and Ivo's program.

Thanks Gentlemen!

Darryl

[dhellis59]

Okay, may have spoke too soon. Now it is timing out after 180 seconds. Funny thing is the PS2 says plate match found, but APT keeps counting down the seconds until it times out.

What should I do?

Thanks

Darryl

[Yoddha]

Hi Darryl,

So you start solving, PS2 finds solution, close, but APT doesn't get the results? Try to reboot the machine.