My Focuser

My focuser ascom
Problem is I believe SGP is sending a signal to my focuser to auto focus every frame.
I have control panel set to focus on start and on filter change.
However the focuser focus every frame.
Any body else have this problem?
Any Help would be welcome.

Dana

Out of curiosity, do you have the sequence set to “Rotate through events”? If so, since you have the option enabled to autofocus on filter change then it will run autofocus with every event (assuming it’s a filter change between events).

Joel
I have the SGP set finish each event then go to the next event. So I have event 1 240 sec, 5 repeats Lum, then event 2 240 sec, 5 repeats Red etc.
Dana

OK, so that’s not the problem. What focuser are you using? We’re probably going to need to see a log when this behavior occurs.

Joel,

DIY My focuser pro. The next clear night I will send a log

Dana

Things you can check in the mean time :

In Control Panel -> Focus Tab -> “Set” button next to “Use Auto Focus”

  • Auto Focus Every N Frames : Is this enabled and set to 1?
  • Auto Focus Every N degree change : Is this enabled and set to a low value? If enabled, is the focuser correctly reporting temps?
  • Auto Focus every N minutes : Is this enabled and set to a value < your exposure length?

These are “obvious” things, but I frequently find when SGP does something unexpected, it’s because I overlooked some setting where I told it to behave that way. :slight_smile:

In control panel
I have set to focus on start of routine enable, and focus on filter change enable, all the other setting are disable.

Thank you
Dana

There was a thread back in January about problems with the interactions between the myFocuserPro ASCOM driver and SGP.

Not sure if this was ever resolved but it may be relevant.

Regards, Hugh

Yes, that issue was resolved by caching MaxSteps.

Thanks,
Jared

Joel,

I try to get everything to work last night, plate solve failed, focuser didn,t try to focus because I disable all setting in control panel. I used Backyard EOS with Astrototila before trying SGP
with great success. I can’t get this to work so I am going try different software.

Regards
Dana

You may try another DIY Arduino based focuser which works flawlessly with SGP, the name is Ardufocus.

I was able to plate solve last full moon and wind blowing 15 to 20 miles.How ever I am using a DIY focuser
My Focuser Pro, still wants to focus every frame up loading log from last night.
Danasg_logfile_20181023204555.txt (334.3 KB)

If you can attach your sequence I can take a look.

Thanks,
Jared

Jared

Attached is sequence you asked for.

Dana

In a message dated 10/24/2018 9:45:47 PM Eastern Standard Time, forums@mainsequencesoftware.com writes:

Dana,

I have just recently used mYFocuserPro2 to dip my toes into auto focusing, and my experience has been very positive under SGP. I had my SGP set to autofocus every 3 frames and that is exactly what it did.

I don’t have access to the log files posted, but as encouragement my setup has worked flawlessly after setting the auto focus step size and number of data points for my motor / focuser combo (FeatherTouch focuser with MicroTouch stepper motor and USB control box) so this is certainly a setup issue. It works and I love it. BEST consistent focus numbers during the night I have ever had. Do not give up! It will transform your imaging…

Bobcat

Bobcat,

I am using MYfocuserPro it wants to focus every frame any idea how fix this problem?

Dana

Hi Dana,

I re-read the above posts, and I think most of what I could suggest has already been covered (gboulton post…), but I did look at the myFocuserPro2 app, ascom driver and ardujino firmware.

The only time myFocuserPro2 moves the motor on it’s own is Temperature compensation and backlash compensation. The rest of the time it just waits to take orders from SGP.

My suggestion at this point is to turn OFF temp compensation any where you see it (both focuser driver and SGP) until you know you everything else is working.

You might also try using simulators for everything to play with setup on rainy days/nights. You get a flat focus “V” with the simulator, but it will still obey sequence settings so you can practice.

Bobcat

JBrazio,

I just soldered one up last week, and it is driving my FeatherTouch / MicroTouch combo nicely on the bench. I am still fiddling with speed settings as I cannot determine the motor type (Starizona scrubbed off the p.n.) I had already cut the motor traces to allow bipolar operation, so I am using the A4988 driver.

SGP connects without fail and is driving the unit as expected. All I need is a clear night to see what my focus curves will look like. Living in Portland, Oregon, USA it may be awhile…

Bobcat

New question,is it possible to get initial focus position with Bahtinov Mask for each filter on my filter wheel?
I can get the lum filter to set.How ever I can not get the R,G,B filter to set, so I can us Bahtinov mask to focus. Any help would be welcome.

Hi @bobcat hope you get a lot of fun with your new focuser !