HF2 - #alwayssolve

[Jim McMillan]

Hi Bob,

Not a major issue but...

Now that one can no longer edit a constant in AcquireImages.js to always do a final plate-solve, can you add a checkbox in ACP Planner for this? Otherwise, one will need to always edit a Plan to manually add #alwayssolve.

The reason it is important to always plate-solve is for the case where one sits on one target for a number of hours (astroimaging). If there is a passing cloud that causes one (or perhaps more) images to be unsolvable, once the clouds clear, ACP won't try to plate-solve while still on that target. The likelihood is that by this time it will no longer be centered, so all subsequent images of that target are probably unusable.

The previous process only required manually editing AcquireImages.js once - when a new version came out. Now, it requires manually adding an entry into every plan. A checkbox in ACP Planner would fix this.

FWIW.

Jim

[Bob Denny]

OK. Think about whether this should be a checkbox, a checkbox and a preference to default the checkbox on or off, or just a preference checkbox that would either include or not include the directive in all plans (like the autofocus prefs). I favor the latter.

http://gemini.dc3.com:8472/Gemini/De...spx?p=21&i=711

[Jim McMillan]

Thanks, Bob. Like you, I prefer the latter (in prefs) since I always want final plate-solving enabled.

Jim

[Dick Berg]

I'm with Jim on this. I always plate solve.

[Dick Berg]

Just an added note,

Last night I used HF2 without a hitch, except I forgot about #alwayssolve and the fact that the CONSTANT is gone in AcquireImages.js. So at image 130 out of 220, there was one of those unexplainable failures of a plate solve. See attached .png of log file right at the point of failure, and the two images ...129 and ...130. These images solve fine in MaxIm. Stars on 130 are slightly more elongated compared with 129.

Trouble for me is that because I rely on plate solves to keep recentering the image when it goes past my centering threshold, the target on the rest of the 90 images gradually moved half-way toward the edge of the FOV, pushing some of the comparison stars over the edge. (They were plenty mad about that, too! )

In the meantime before a fix is implemented and released, which will do the trick, will this mod permanently keep plate solves going? This is at line 1730 in AcquireImages:

    var prevSolveFails = SUP.SolveFails;      // Remember solve-fails
    lastFWHM = 0;                  // Assume we won't get a FWHM
    if(!Prefs.DisableFinalSolve)
        {
// [RAB mod]    a mod to force always solving plates
    //    if(!finalImgSolveFail)      // Unless we already failed a final image solve
           if(!false)      // Solve anyway
// [RAB mod end] 
              {
                  Console.PrintLine("  Plate-solve final image");

[Bob Denny]

Yes, that will work!