I’m using an OSC camera, but I still use different filters depending on the target. For some I use no filter, for some an IDAS V4, and for others an IDAS NBZ dual band filter.
I don’t have a filter wheel, but use a filter drawer instead. A given filter is in place for the full imaging sessions so I don’t really need to use a wheel. Plus, I have 3 imaging scopes on my rig and don’t want to spend the money on 3 sets of filters and 3 filter wheels.
My question is - is there a way to tell Voyager which filter I’m using? It seems like the filter choice can have various effects in the software, such as determining the exposure length for autofocus or plate solving. But I can’t find a way to set my filter choice unless I’m using a filter wheel.
The only way I see to tell Voyager which filter to use is through a EFW, as you came to realize too. For example, under settings, you have the possibility to edit your filters names, position of your filters in the EFW, etc. but as long as you have one configured under your profile…
And yes, depending on the filter type (broadband, narrowband), Voyager applies different approaches like adapting the exposure length while performing an autofocus or plate solving.
I understand that you do not want to get (E)FW, but that would most probably be the “easiest” - and probably the only solution - if you want to instruct Voyager about filters to be used.
Create one profile with camera and no FW and ineriths for your different filters (you will have one profile for filter). Adjust the plate solving settings and focus settings for the filter you are using.
FW is not needed at all in Voyager, so you can avoid to configure if this is strictly necessary.
Voyager is an automation software for unattended imaging so ,all are manual are not a good idea.
If you use the same filter all night you could go in to the sequence and add the filter name in the suffix box, changing the suffix night by night so the file name will include the filter used. It won’t make any difference to Voyagers operation but will make it easier to keep track of your files.
