Wow, another clear night! This is 3 in three weeks; we are blessed with a clear spring.

So, after playing around, I have a couple of questions for you more experienced users:

1) When doing the plate solves between CCDSoft and theSky6, can I configure things so a dark frame is not used? This takes awhile, especially if it keeps bumping the exposure times. Most of the time a 15 second exposure works, but sometimes it bumps up to 60 seconds before it gets a plate solve.

2) Can I set up so that each set of lights uses a particular reduction set? For example, I would like to take all the dark, bias, and flat frames ahead of time. Then, each filter exposure would use a corresponding Dark/Bias/Flat setup. I think I can set up ONE reduction specification in CCDSoft, then all the exposures would use that one. However, I may have different exposure times (needing different darks) and different flats per filter...

3) Can I set up a specific directory to receive all the images and the logs? It is awkward when Autopilot switches to a new directory at midnight, and I would like to put the logs in the same directory.

Thanks,
robert brewington

Hi Robert,

Re your questions:

1. For best results, a dark subtract is recommended. As per the discussions in the Bisque forum a sub-framed and highly binned plate solve exposure will reduce your exposure time and dark subtract time, while giving you sufficient plate solving accuracy at your image scale. Try optimizing your plate settings a bit more.

2. CCDAP is not configured to do on-the-fly processing so the answer here is no. Besides, for accurate data, you still need flats and they can change from night to night due to a number of causes.

3. You can turn off autogenerate sub-folders and all data will go into the directory you specify.