Jerry Stern

I do not know why but FL=430 will not work for plate solving. 560 works and that is not in your instructions.

Han, In v3.0.6 I had no problems plate solving with ASTAP in NINA. When this version is installed, the camera simulator Focal Length defaults to 560mm. I uninstalled v3.0.6 and the old .cfg file, and then installed v3.0.7. Plate solving consistently failed. However, I am now getting very familiar with the set up process and I noticed that v3.0.7 installs a default FL of 430mm for the Alpaca camera. As soon I changed this to 560 in Sky Sim Camera tab and in NINA and PHD2, I was able to plate solve...

Here is the log snapshot.

Well, I may have been too optimistic. In NINA, selected an object in Sky Atlas , imaged and plate solved OK. Started PHD2 guiding and I thought everything was working I went to lunch. I came back and realized the mount didnt seem to have moved and when I checked the Sky Sim log, it shows that SkySim was giving NINA/PHD2 the exact same image for almost 90 minutes. NINA said tracking was on the whole time. How does SkySim find out how the mount moved during tracking? How can I determine whether the...

I havejust started using SkySim with NINA and PHD2 guiding and my real Wave 150i mount. Since most of the guiding errors are due to the characertistics of the mount, is guiding with Sky Sim and my mount accurate to let me make mount adjustments in PHD2 that would translate to improved guiding when I use the mount under real imaging conditions?

OK, makes sense. NINA or PHD2 'thinks' the FL for Guide is 120mm so that must be the issue since the main Sky SIm camera FL=430mm.

I have been successful with the latest version of Sky Sim with NINA and my Wave 150i mount. Being able to learn and test indoors during a terrible Winter is fantastic. With Sky Sim's artificial star library, and Sky Sim Alpaca camera, plate solving with ASTAP in NINA works very good and I was able to determine meridian limits at some extreme positions. Now I am moving on to PHD2 guiding with Sky Sim's Guide Camera Alpaca. PHD2 is so far having some struggle though with guiding using the Sky Sim artifical...

I have been successful with the latest version of Sky Sim with NINA and my Wave 150i mount. Being able to learn and test indoors during a terrible Winter is fantastic. With Sky Sim's artificial star library, and Sky Sim Alpaca camera, plate solving with ASTAP in NINA works very good and I was able to determine meridian limits at some extreme positions. Now I am moving on to PHD2 guiding with Sky Sim's Guide Camera Alpaca. PHD2 is so far having some struggle though with guiding using the Sky Sim artifical...