BYEOS and Astro Tortilla

[seajay0_0]

I have installed BYEOS on a new Win10 laptop, which seems to work OK, but when I try to use Astro Tortilla plate solving application it won't interface with my EOS camera. It works OK on my previous Win 7 laptop. It also works OK when interfacing my EOS 750D camera with APT on the new machine!? All my other astro apps work fine as before.

Is this a Win 10 issue. Has anyone else had the same problem?

Regards

Christopher Jenkins

Ewelme (Uk) Observatory.

[admin]

Change the port assignment in BYE and AT as well. 

 

Restart BYE and accept ALL Windows Firewall warnings, otherwise it will not work.

 

Keep us posted,

[astroman133]

Not a Windows 10 issue, but may be related to the configuration of the new laptop.

 

I assume that you are using BYE 3.1.6 since this is a new computer. When describing a problem you should always specify which version of the software you are using! This keeps folks from trying to recreate your issue only to discover that you are using an old version of the software.

 

Does BYE connect with the camera and operate it correctly without AstroTortilla in the picture?

 

AstroTortilla does not interface with your EOS camera.  It interfaces with BYE which must already be connected with your camera!

 

Have you enabled 3rd party integration in the BYE settings? When changing this setting you must close and restart BYE.

 

Are BYE and AT configured to use the same TCP port?

 

Is your PC firewall software configured to allow AT to access the TCP port that BYE is listening on?

[seajay0_0]

To Rick: The answer to all of your questions is YES, EXCEPT Integration with 3rd party NOT enabled. :-) Now working again. Thanks.

 

To Guylain: Thanks, nothing else necessary.

P.S. I wrote a query a while ago, regarding the fact that live display in Frame and Focus locks after about 15 minutes requiring reselecting Frame and Focus to get it back. This doesn't happen in ATP. Your reply last time was that this situation was not recognised, and I have just had to accept this as a problem with my set up. In reinstalling in a new computer, the same situation exists where the shutter just closes when I would prefer that it stays open until I start imaging procedures.

Thanks for all your help.

Christopher Jenkins

Ewelme Observatory (UK)

[astroman133]

Chris,

 

Extended, long duration LiveView sessions cause the camera to heat up.  If it causes overtemperature condition, the camera may terminate LiveView to prevent damage to the sensor.  In addition, I believe that LiveView sessions are terminated by the camera after 30 minutes.  There is nothing that BYE can do, in either case to eliminate this.

 

I'm just curious, but why do you want these long LiveView sessions? Drift Alignment?

[seajay0_0]

Hello Rick,

Yes that was the answer I got last time I queried this.

I control my observatory remotely from a warm room some 40 meters away. I use live view within Frame and Focus to monitor, track and sync planetary objects and stars with planetarium software, and will take images including deep sky in the normal way.

The fact that every so often the shutter closes is annoying for a number of reasons. The first is that if I leave the room and return, the last image before shutter close is still displayed. The only way I can find out if the shutter is still open is to click the Frame/Focus button again. If I hear the shutter on the first press it means the shutter was open, if I hear nothing it means it had already auto shut. (I am wired for sound so can hear everything in the observatory).

The problem is that in using APT, I get no such shutter closure, even after some hours! The only other difference with APT is that it shows a constant measure of frames/sec, and by seeing this change every second I can tell the shutter is still open.

I have to comment that I don't believe this is a temperature problem. I have been monitoring the Sun all day and the camera has been in bright sunlight with no shutdown when using APT. Switching over to BYE presents the same periodic shutdown problem. However, if I hear the shutter close and immediately start live view again in BYE, it will carry on again for a period. If there is a built it EOS timer that closes the shutter after a period, why does this not occur with APT?

I should say here that I prefer using BYE, but when tracking and testing PHD, I sometimes have to use APT specifically for this purpose.

The only other thing I can think of is that monitoring the frame rate in APT it can vary between 0 to 15 fps. I just wonder if BYE monitors the connection, and if frames are 'lost', perhaps because of the transmission length, that the shutter can be made to close.

There is obviously something different between the two applications to explain this. I do hope there is a logical explanation for this just awaiting to be found?

Thanks for listening.

Christopher Jenkins

Ewelme Observatory (UK)

[admin]

I do not know what APT is doing... but I can tell you that this is a safety feature you want, period.  You can damage your camera otherwise.

[seajay0_0]

Hello Guylian

I do hope I have not caused any offence in trying to find an answer to this conundrum, especially if you are not familiar with my second choice application of APT. All I can comment is that if Canon's  built in  over temperature safety feature closes the shutter, then other external applications would also not be able to override this either, if indeed they would really want to. The fact remains that it seems quite normal to be able to utilise live view for hours at a time using APT without any damage having been caused to my camera. No worries though if this is also a mystery to you too.

Kind regards

Christopher Jenkins

Ewelme Observatory

[astroman133]

Chris,

 

It is easy enough to test what is going on...Enable LiveView with the camera unconnected to the PC.  How long does LiveView stay on?

 

This is from a tutorial on the Canon web site:

 

Auto Power Off

This is available the camera’s Set-up Menu #1. It

automatically turns off Live View after the camera has

been inactive for a pre-set period of time. Time options

are 1 min., 2 min., 4 min., 8 min., 15 min, 30 min,

and Off. You can instantly turn the camera on again

by pressing the shutter button or any other control

button. Even if you set the timer to Off, the LCD will

automatically shut off after 30 minutes to conserve

power; however, the camera itself will stay on.

 

On my T5i, LiveView does turn off after 30 minutes of continuous activity. Of course, that is how my camera is designed by Canon to operate. Other models may be designed differently.

 

I am not sure what APT is doing to extend the 30 minute limit.  It may be that APT does not use the Canon SDK, as BYE does.

 

I am also not sure how you are using LiveView to "track and sync planetary objects and stars with planetarium software" or why this is a continuous effort.

It seems like that is what autoguiding is for, that is keeping objects stationary in the field of view, to correct for slight polar misalignment, periodic error and other tracking issues.

I would also think that syncing a planetarium program with the mount would be a function of the planetarium software, not the mount, and in any case would not need a camera.

[admin]

Hello Guylian

I do hope I have not caused any offence in trying to find an answer to this conundrum, especially if you are not familiar with my second choice application of APT. All I can comment is that if Canon's  built in  over temperature safety feature closes the shutter, then other external applications would also not be able to override this either, if indeed they would really want to. The fact remains that it seems quite normal to be able to utilise live view for hours at a time using APT without any damage having been caused to my camera. No worries though if this is also a mystery to you too.

Kind regards

Christopher Jenkins

Ewelme Observatory

 

Absolutely no offense taken... I do not mind at all when people mention APT or any other products here as long as it is good spirit of providing help to you or anyone else reading this post in the future.  If it is astronomy related it is fair game

 

That Canon built-in feature is there for a reason; to prevent eventual damage to your camera.

 

Regards,

[seajay0_0]

Hello again Rick

I will try what you suggest when I go into the observatory tomorrow. My camera is an EOS 650D which is also a T4i. I'm pretty sure that LiveView timer will be set to off. Also the camera is powered with a mains adaptor, which is recognised by BYE and APT. Maybe power conservation is ignored in this case?

It may sound odd, but I don't have to do much hands on activity in the observatory as I've designed everything to be operated remotely.

The output of the camera on a large TV screen/s is the only means by which I can remotely observe objects of interest, which in the case of Sun,,Moon,,planets and stars can be seen directly in real time as if looking through an eyepiece. Unlike DSOs, where I would use plate solving to centre objects for imaging, I make small remote adjustments to the mount before using guiding, where the output of the guide camera is also available on another screen without timeout. When necessary I sync the telescope position to the object shown in the planetarium software. This builds an alignment map within ASCOM EQMOD for future object slews.

Unlike the original problem you kindly helped me with, it seems likely that shutter closure in BYE for whatever reason is just a characteristic that I need to accept.

Thanks for your interest and help.

Christopher Jenkins

Ewelme Observatory

[astroman133]

Chris,

 

No problem.  One workaround would be loop taking short snap exposures on Frame & Focus. They don't have to be saved and would reveal more stars than LiveView. You could also adjust the exposure to optimize the detall seen for planetary targets. Even a couple of seconds would reveal more details for dimmer stars than LiveView.

[seajay0_0]

That suggestion is really useful Rick. I never thought of using that as a method for assessing DSO initial alignment. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the tutorials studied some while ago! :-)

Thanks again for  your help.

Christopher Jenkins

Ewelme Observatory. (google it perhaps?)