This topic is intended to convey the principles behind automatic camera rotation.


Camera rotation can occur either automatically with a mechanical rotator or manually using the "Manual Rotator".  You can learn more about connecting and using rotators here.


If you so desire, you can have Sequence Generator Pro automatically move the camera to any particular angle prior to starting data acquisition on a target.  To do this, open that target settings dialog.


Note: You must have a plate solver available in order to use automatic camera rotation.


In this dialog, on the left side near the bottom, you will see a check box labeled "On target start, rotate to":



If you check this box, the sequence will now require a rotator to be connected in order to run properly.  When the sequence switches to this target, it will automatically invoke the rotator and move the camera to 15 degrees (Note that degrees in SGPro are standardized on east of north / counter-clockwise of north.  Because angle can be given from any relative orientation in other apps, we recommend that you use angles only from plate solves conducted in SGPro).  


Important note:  The rotation value entered here is a target value.  The actual value that is defined to be acceptable is defined by the angle defined above plus or minus some tolerance.  The tolerance is user defined in the plate solve settings dialog.


If you are familiar with the Auto Centering routine, Auto Rotating uses the same dialog to monitor status:



If you do not own a mechanical rotator, but you are interested in using Sequence Generator Pro to ensure that you camera is at the proper angle, you can still use the Manual Rotator.  When this rotator is connected, you still use the same exact process (as defined above), but instead of a rotator responding automatically yo move the camera, you will be prompted with a series of dialogs that will help you find the correct positional angle manually.  When the rotator attempts to move, you should see a dialog similar to this:



Follow these instructions and the camera rotation process will take care of the rest.