I use Voyager to run automated monitoring of M dwarfs using low resolution spectroscopy looking for flares. I can take up to 2,000 images a night of the same star! There things that would make my life simpler are:
Customisable file names.
Ability to connect/disconnect individual items e.g telescope, Camera+filter wheel etc.
This is because I don’t focus during the run so as not to miss a flare and my temperature controlled focuser needs manual resetting if the filter wheel is disconnected.(I have asked SB to change this in TSX.)
PA setting need a side of pier reference. If I set PA = 20 and the mount flips initially I get 20 and then 200 when filliped back. However, if the weather prevents starting so the is no initial flip I get 20 on the side I got 200 before. This gives a different field of view as the spectroscope offsets the image slightly and makes comparing data across night more difficult.
this is not possible at all, Voyager is an automation suite and usually is running unattended so must control all or cannot work. Disconnect and reconnect is really fast. you cannot disconnect or reconnect anything when something is running
In the FIT headers already now there is the PA if you have a rotator and the pier side. This also on the name.
Thanks for reply LO, I realise 2 is unusual it is not about doing a connect disconnect while running but doing a selective disconnect when not running. It is not a major issue.
On 3 the PA it is not about knowing what it is it is but about setting it unambiguously.
My mount is parked Pier East. If I set PA = 20 and then if in a sequence initially it slew the mount to Pier West to start imaging I get PA = 20 and on the meridian flip back to Pier East (with the rotate 180 on flip set) I get PA=200 and the images are correctly related. However, if it is cloudy at the start of the session and so no initial flip is done i.e. imaging starts Pier East I get PA = 20 which is 180 rotated with respect to the Pier East images in the first example where the imaging starts Pier West.
The issue is related to the PA being set outside the sequence as you don’t directly control the flips and can’t know for sure which side of the pier the imaging will start.
Hello Andrew, like i said data of pa and pier side are readed directly from setup like are. If you think there is a bug please send an email to support with evidence and log and better explanation of all.
There is an ambiguity in what PA you get depending on if the mount flips or does not flip at the start of imaging by factor of 180 deg. I can not explain it more clearly than in my posts above . Voyager always records the actual values.
It will not impact most images so I withdraw my request.
Regards Andrew
Just to close this out I have run numerous simulations and Voyager does exactly what you would expect.
There is an inherent issue with setting PA. If you set the PA and the mount is already on the correct side of the meridian and run a sequence to image it, it will just slew to it and the PA will not change as expected. If however the mount is not on the correct side then a meridian flip takes place during the slew and if set to do so Voyager rotates the PA by 180. In general you can’t tell where the mount is in relation to the target.
I have a work round where I do a goto the target so I know where the mount is in relation to the target. Then set the PA based on its Hour Angle.
Voyager not manage rotator in Sequence, just flip in case of meridian.
If you want to be sure where is the rotator you must use dragscript and use block dedicated to Rotator.
That’s what I do now. However as I explained it is not simple. Just setting via the rotator block before a sequence does not guarantee the result if the sequence does or does not initiate an initial flip.
I don’t think you understand the point I am making but that does not matter as I have a solution.
Regards Andrew