Running autoguider before target starts

I suppose, under .429, .430, that if we WANT to run the autoguider prior to target start we now have to do so manually?

Will it be forced to stop when the sequence (vs. target) is started?

A few reasons I can think of for wanting it to run prior to target start:

  1. Focus Lock. Focus Lock depends on the PHD2 actually guiding to get star profiles captures and keep your rig in focus as the temperature changes. Yes that will happen once the Autoguider starts up, but it might take some time to achieve focus and thus your first sub(s) might have a soft focus (depending on the exposure time).

  2. AutoPec recording in EQMOD. You might take advantage of the time before your target starts to do a PEC recording, with guiding on, in EQMOD or other mount driver.

  3. You might be using (and I do, based on a recommendation from the PHD2 authors after looking at my guide logs) PHD2’s PredictivePec (PPEC) guide algorithm. i.e.:

The algorithm analyzes the tracking performance of the mount in real-time and once that analysis is complete, it will compute guiding corrections even before a repetitive error is actually seen. Issuing proactive guiding corrections reduces the time delay inherent in traditional guiding and can significantly improve performance. With the other algorithms, which are completely reactive, guide corrections are issued only after the error has been seen on the camera sensor.
Once guiding has begun, the algorithm analyzes the performance of the mount and looks for tracking errors that are repetitive and thus, predictable. The algorithm employs a sophisticated Gaussian process model developed by a research team at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. The mathematical details can be found in a paper referenced here:
Gaussian Process-Based Predictive Control for Periodic Error Correction | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore

so would want the guider to be running to build up a model, prior to target start.

So perhaps this new AutoGuider behavior should be an option, vs. hardcoded?

Yes, I think it’s reasonable to add an option to the auto guider tab to stop the guider during wait (btw, to answer your question, the guider is currently stopped BEFORE SGPro starts its wait for target start time.)

Released in 3.1.0.431