Events are the heart of Sequence Generator Pro.  They define what type of frames you are after and many other attributes to fit your needs (explained below). 


Common Event Attributes



  • Run:  If this box is checked, the sequencer will run the event, otherwise it will be ignored (the sequence will be considered complete without running it)
  • Type:  The event type (described below).  All event types that are saved to disk will add the event type as a header.  See this section for more details.
  • Filter:  The filter used in the event.  (Note:  If the filter list says only "None", it means that your filter list for this sequence has not been defined.  Please see this page for help with that).
  • Suffix:  If defined as part of the file naming pattern, this value will be added to the file's name when it is saved to disc.  It is automatically populated when a filter is selected, but can be manually overridden.
  • Exposure:  The length, in seconds, of the exposure.  Acceptable input is either a number like 600 (which will be interpreted as 600 seconds) or 10m which will be interpreted as the same.
  • Binning:  The binning level for the event (usually 1x1 through 4x4).  It is possible that you can select a unsupported binning level when the camera is not connected and when the camera connects it will automatically select (and notify) that the closest available binning value has been selected.
  • ISO:  The ISO level for the image (For Canon camera only)
  • Repeat:  The number of time the event should be repeated (frames).


Adding a New Event



  • To add a new event, navigate to the bottom left corner of the sequencer and click "Add New Event"
  • Optionally, you can click the small arrow on the right and add a new event that is a copy of another existing event



Event Icons and Actions



  • Delete Event ("X" Icon): Clicking this button will permanently delete the event.  You cannot delete an event that belongs to a target that is currently running.
  • Reorder Event (Arrow Icons):  Use these arrows to reorder events in a target (affects execution order).  You cannot reorder an event that belongs to a target that is currently running.
  • Pause Indicator (Pause Icon):  This indicator will be "lit" if the event contains a pre or post pause instruction (see Event Setting below).  The dots above the icon are representative of pre and post.  If this icon is lit along with the left dot, it indicates a pre-event pause.
  • Park Indicator (Telescope Icon):  This indicator will be "lit" if the event contains a pre or post park instruction (see Event Setting below).  The dots above the icon are representative of pre and post.  If this icon is lit along with the left dot, it indicates a pre-event park.
  • Script indicator (Script Icons):  This indicator will be "lit" if the event contains a pre or post script instruction (see Event Setting below).  The dots above the icon are representative of pre and post.  If this icon is lit along with the left dot, it indicates a pre-event script.
  • Event Notifications (Speec Bubble Icon):  If the event contains any notifications, this icon will be "lit".  These notifications normally contain some type of information indicative of an event error.  See the section below labeled "Event Notifications" for more information.
  • Event Options (Gear Icon):  Clicking this button will show the event context menu (see section below for details).

       



Tip: Double-clicking an event header will copy the value of event 1 into all of the other events.


Copying Event Data


Using the context menu above, you can perform a variety of event copy operations:


  • Copy from:  Copy event settings from another event
  • Copy to:  Copy event settings from this event to one or more other events (place a check next to each target event and then select fields you want to omit from the copy operation):


  • Reset Progress:  This action will reset the progress of this event to zero.
  • Edit Progress: Custom edit the number of frames captured (progress)
  • Set As Current Event:  This action will set the selected event as the current event.  This means that when you start or resume a sequence, you are forcing it to start on this event.  After start, the sequence will continue to select work normally.  Setting of the current event can only be performed when a sequence is not running.


Event Settings


image


Every event has a set of associated options that can modify sequence behavior both before and after the event is started or completed.


Park Telescope:  If this option is checked, the telescope will be parked when the event starts (pre) or ends (post).

Pause Sequence:  If this option is checked, the sequence will be paused when the event starts (pre) or ends (post).  When paused, a dialog containing the "Message" text will be displayed.

    • Run Auto Focus on resume:  If this option is checked, the sequence will force auto run when the user resumes.
    • Manual Focus Reminder on Resume:  If this option is checked, the sequence will force a manual focus reminder dialog when the user resumes.

Run Script: This will allow you to run a user created VBS or EXE script when the event starts (pre) or ends (post).  Keep in mind that the sequence will not continue until the script complete.  SGPro uses the Windows "cscript" VB engine.  This means that you cannot use wscript interface elements (i.e. windows and dialogs).  Everything in your script must be designed to run on the command line.  Please see Windows cscript documentation here. If your script hangs or never completes (closes), the sequence will hang with it...

Event Gain:  If your camera supports gain, you may set "per event" gain here.  If this is not set (and your camera supports gain), SGPro will use the "per binning" gain defined in the control panel.

Event Offset:  If your camera supports offset, you may set "per event" offset here.  If this is not set (and your camera supports offset), SGPro will use the "per binning" offset defined in the control panel.

Reset Progress:  This will reset the progress of the event (not its options or settings)


Event Notifications


This section is used to convey critical information about the capture of frames in this sequence.  If the event shows a "lit" speech bubble icon, there are notifications for that event.  Clicking the icon open the notification pane and auto filter notifications only for that event. display window.  


Adjusting Capture History


It's unavoidable that you will capture some bad frames from time to time.  In these cases, you may wish that the captured fraction no longer reflect the bad capture.  This will help you to understand how much "good" data you have captured.  To do this manually, simply double click the "fraction" or "progress bar" for the event you wish to alter:



From here, you can alter the number of frames you have actually captured for this event.


There are currently four different event types you can use in sequences.  Each is described in detail below.  


Light Events



Light events are used to capture normal data representing your actual target.



Dark Events



Dark events are used to capture dark calibration frames.  They don't require use of a filter, but need to be taken in an environment that does not allow light to hit the CCD (if you have light leaks, you can use foil to wrap around the nose).  Furthermore, most dark frames are taken at the same exposure length and temperature as the corresponding light frames (some image processing applications can scale darks to any exposure length).  It is acceptable to take these frames and build a library (such that you don't need to take them every imaging session.



Bias Events



Bias events are used to capture bias calibration frames.  They don't require use of a filter, but need to be taken in an environment that does not allow light to hit the CCD (if you have light leaks, you can use foil to wrap around the nose).  Furthermore, most bias frames are taken with the minimum allowable exposure time (set exposure time at 0).  Some cameras (like the QHY8L) will require longer bias frame times.  It is acceptable to take these frames and build a library (such that you don't need to take them every imaging session.



Flat Events



Flat events are used to capture flat calibration frames.  These frames should be taken during every imaging session because they depend on the alignment of the entire imaging train.  Flat frames normally target a mean ADU of 22,000 to 25,000, but this will depend on camera and user preference.  If your flats data is defined (per filter), selecting a flats event will automatically populate the saved exposure time (for the selected binning).