Quote Originally Posted by Bob Denny View Post
Hi all --

William thank you for helping. Christian I moved this to the FocusMax section on the Comm Center here. PinPoint is not involved in selecting the filter. FocusMax 4 (the older version you're using) does not appear to be able to set the filter used for AcquireStar (I just looked at the manual).

Here is a link to our FITS Image drop https://www.dropbox.com/request/zgQBoSgqH84WNNO6BSuN Use this to upload a few images and I'll look to see why they don't solve. Let me know what catalogs were in use when they failed to solve. I have your Field of View info from the logs you posted at the beginning of this thread (that shows you using A2.0 which I recommended against). You did say you're using GSC. If that's what was used for your uploads, that that's fine for your nearly half degree FOV.
Hi Bob, Christian....

I dug out an old Windows laptop and installed FocusMax v4 together with my ACP config files.

Bob, Did you notice these lines in Christian's ACP log:

00:57:36 === Starting filter group 1 of 4 ===00:57:36 Selecting Luminance filter (0) for imaging
00:57:36 Do requested auto-focus...
00:57:38 [flip check: Tn=300s HAc=-10887s GW=F HAz=-10587s DWz=F WF=no]
00:57:40 Switching from Red to Blue filter for auto-focus
00:57:40 Focus change of -26 steps required
00:57:47 (AF will use 16 bit readout mode)
00:57:47 Starting FocusMax AcquireStar autofocus...
00:57:47 21:57:47
00:57:47 21:57:47 ** Beginning AcquireStar Sequence **
00:57:48 21:57:47 Running under automation: True
00:57:48 21:57:48 FocusMax Version: 4.1.0.102
00:57:48 21:57:48 Date: 02/03/2025 21:57:48
00:57:48 21:57:48 System: RC360_Moravian
00:57:49 21:57:49 Telescope RA: 09:59:55.6 Dec: -29:35:59.9
00:57:49 21:57:49 Camera: ASCOM
00:57:49 21:57:49 Focuser: ASCOM Focuser Driver for Astrosib_Focuser.
00:57:49 21:57:49 Filter: Blue (slot 4)
00:57:49 21:57:49 ...Plate solve method: PinPoint
00:57:49 21:57:49 ...Catalog: USNO-A2.0

When FocusMax AcquireStar began the autofocus run the Blue filter was selected despite that Christian's ACP configuration called for filter 0 (Luminance) to be the autofocus filter:



Chris_ACP_MaxIm_Filter.jpg



Christian...

I don't have access to a Moravian camera and there's only so much I can look at here but can you confirm that the filter settings in the Moravian Camera Filter Wheel ASCOM configuration are the same as you have populated in MaxIm's FilterWheel configuration, I believe that the Moravian Filter Wheel ASCOM driver setup takes precedence over whatever you enter in the MaxIm config:

I can't show a screen shot of the Moravian Filter Wheel because I don't have one to connect to but this screen shot shows where you should be checking if you have a Moravian camera and wheel to verify that the Moravian filter configuration is the same as you have configured in MaxIm:


Chris_Moravian_Setup_Filters.jpg


If you make any changes to the FilterWheel configuration in the Moravian ASCOM driver and/or MaxIm setup then after connecting to the Camera and FilterWheel in FocusMax press the "Reset filter info" button in FocusMax setup tab to reload the updated filter sequence configuration into FocusMax:


Chris_Reset_FM_FW.jpg


The plate-solving catalogue that is used by FocusMax v4/v5 during a FocusMax AcquireStar autofocus routine is not the same one that is used by ACP for pointing and plate-solving, you can configure separate catalogues to use with ACP and with FocusMax.

For FocusMax plate solving during an AcquireStar autofocus run select the GSC catalogue, not USNO-A2:


Chris_FMv4_Pinpoint_Catalogue.jpg


I can't think of much else that might be useful here, you could look at the FocusMax v4 .ini file in Notepad when FocusMax is closed, there is an entry for Autofocus filter but I don't know if this is telling you which filter will be used for focusing during a FocusMax autofocus run or if this was the last filter used during an autofocus run, a question for Steve Brady I think...


Chris_FMv4_Ini.jpg


William.