w0mbat Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Hi, Please make allowance that I am completely new to astrophotography and I am on a very steep learning curve. I now think I have all my hardware operating properly and I am at the stage of wanting to make a large all sky pointing model. From reading this forum I understand that the fast and easy way to do this is using Sequence and Pinpoint. This is where it gets confusing for me. There seem to be so many overlapping capabilities in software packages. So far I have been using and learning Autoslew. I think I have a reasonable understanding of that. For planetarium software I have so far been using C2A which seems to work well with Autoslew. As I am currently using a Canon 60Da I have been using Backyard EOS for camera control. This also works well and is very intuitive. So to move on from here I believe that I will need to buy Maxim DL and the full version of Pinpoint and install and learn Sequence. Is this correct? Are there alternatives? Can I just buy Pinpoint and use it with Sequence without Maxim DL? I would like some advice before I buy this expensive software. Thank you, Regards Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeCarey Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Maxim is the software that will tell the mount to move around the sky. Pinpoint will plate solve each image but cannot tell the mount to move to the next location. So, sadly, you will have to get copies of each one if you want to use Sequence. A large pointing model is very tedious to make without Maxim and Pinpoint, but it is possible. When I started I used a DSLR and manually slewed to each star. I considered a 20 star model to be big. The problem was that it took so long to do that it was easy to make a mistake. Eventually I got Pinpoint and a 50 star model runs through in a fraction of the time. If you get the trial version of Pinpoint I think you get 30 days free use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorbertG Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Ian, as George pointed out, you need both. But there is one good thing: you don´t need to learn them if you don´t want. Just make sure the camera is set up correctly in Maxim, and Sequence will control everything. You don´t see PinPoint even running, it just has to be there. After the pointing model or MLPT is done, you might continue as before. Nevertheless, once you have Maxim you might consider to use it for the whole acquisition Task, but this requires some learning. Both programs arer available as 30 days Trial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w0mbat Posted June 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Thanks George and Norbert. I expected the answers I got but just wanted to be sure. Looking at the Maxim DL website it implies that Pinpoint LE comes with Maxim DL Ver 6. However I believe that the full version of Pinpoint is necessary. Can you confirm this for me please? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorbertG Posted June 19, 2014 Report Share Posted June 19, 2014 Ian, at least for the current version you need the Full PinPoint version. The included LE Version is not scriptable. But I must admit I don´t know how the next Sequence version will look like, maybe someone from ASA or the beta testers can comment on this topic. I also heard rumours that it is necessary to use MaximDL 6 ? Best regards Norbert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukepower Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 Hi Norbert, maybe I can help: The current beta version of Sequence needs MaximDL (I have 5.2something installed) and Pinpoint... No idea if that will change or not... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorbertG Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 Good to know. Hope the new version will be released soon... Thanks, Lukas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w0mbat Posted June 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies. I have purchased Maxim DL Pro V6 and the full version of Pinpoint. Now for some more fun with learning software! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldemar Posted June 21, 2014 Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 Hi Ian, The UCAC4 catalogue will probably be the best one to use. In any case it is the latest. It is available for free at the US Naval Observatory site. Downloading will take for ever, sending will take about 6-8 weeks also. I have a spare original copy of it. If you want I can send it to you, will be a lot faster than from USNO PM me your address if you want it. Waldemar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w0mbat Posted June 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 Hi Waldemar, Thank you very much for your very kind offer which I would like to accept. I was just about to post again asking which catalogue was recommended by forum members as I found the advice on the Pinpoint website a little confusing. I was also dreading downloading it as I live in an area of Australia where only satellite internet is available and while it is reasonably fast for downloading, this download would use nearly half my monthly allowance. So your post and offer have helped me in several ways! I will PM you my address. Regards Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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