NINA Profiles .. help please

[+Derbyshire Dave]

I wonder whether anyone can help me to understand NINA profiles. I’m migrating from Sequence Generator Pro (SGP), and I’m struggling to understand profiles.

 

In SGP you can set up various equipment profiles, including all your equipment. You can set up two slightly different profiles if, for example, everything is the same but you’ve included a barlow or reducer. You obviously name the profiles appropriately.

Having created the equipment profile you can then create a sequence with a target, and apply your different equipment profiles to it, which automatically gives you potentially different framing.

 

IMPORTANTLY, this works with equipment connected or not.

 

……………

OK, so expected to be able to do the same sort of thing with NINA. I realise that my expectations might not be correct.

 

A big difference seems to be that there is a difference whether you are connected or not. But I still would have thought that I should be able to set up my cameras pixels details, a focal length and whether or not I have a focuser attached in different profiles.

 

So I expect to be able to set up “C8-Reducer Profile”, say I have no focuser, and a focal length of 1260mm. And a second profile “GT81 Reducer-Focuser” say I have a focuser, and a focal length of 382mm.

Can I do it? No.

 

Let’s create two even simpler profiles. “Long Scope” and “Short Scope”. The only parameter I am expecting to change is the focal length.

 

 

 

Having loaded the Long scope light background, I go into the framing tab. My camera dimensions are correct. Focal length says “Nan” (Not a Number). I enter 1260.

 

There is not a SAVE button. I have the impression that a value is saved when you move to the next field?

 

Quit Nina. Open Nina. Default to the correct profile as it opens, or use the profile chooser on startup. In both cases, the focal length s given as NaN.

 

Curiously on my imaging (rather than desktop) rig. It always remembers 382. But I can't set different focal lengths for different profiles.

 

Can anyone explain how I should use this please?

[Clive]

Oh the joys of astro software! I feel your pain but unfortunately I can't help and try to avoid most of it like the plague 😕

[Bob Dobber]

I would need to connect to my astro acquisition PC to see what you mean on my own instance of NINA but I can assure you that I've got two profiles on my NINA install for my two scopes. I can't really remember but it could be that the focal length is calculated once it's plate solved something with the camera in question? Like I say though, can't recall. Persevere with NINA though, it's honestly great. There's an active NINA Discord if you were that way inclined and a Facebook user group... Not sure when I will get a chance to connect up the imaging PC I'm afraid, raining!

 

PS - and yes, there are some things that I would be tearing what little of my hair is left out trying to change settings only to realise you can't change them when connected.

Edited September 17, 2023 by Bob Dobber

[Bob Dobber]

I take it you've checked places like...

 

https://nighttime-imaging.eu/docs/master/site/tabs/options/equipment/

 

and

 

https://nighttime-imaging.eu/docs/master/site/tabs/framing/

 

?

[+Derbyshire Dave]

49 minutes ago, Bob Dobber said:

I would need to connect to my astro acquisition PC to see what you mean on my own instance of NINA but I can assure you that I've got two profiles on my NINA install for my two scopes. I can't really remember but it could be that the focal length is calculated once it's plate solved something with the camera in question? Like I say though, can't recall. Persevere with NINA though, it's honestly great. There's an active NINA Discord if you were that way inclined and a Facebook user group... Not sure when I will get a chance to connect up the imaging PC I'm afraid, raining!

 

PS - and yes, there are some things that I would be tearing what little of my hair is left out trying to change settings only to realise you can't change them when connected.

Thanks Rob. I will be sticking with it, it does look very good. Just been playing with the advance sequencer, which is fab.

[Bob Dobber]

8 minutes ago, Derbyshire Dave said:

Thanks Rob. I will be sticking with it, it does look very good. Just been playing with the advance sequencer, which is fab.

 

Yeah I took the jump into the advanced sequencer over the summer when I needed it to switch onto a target at a specific time rather than having to guess through number of subs. It's very flexible. I do still worry I've forgotten a step and it'll come crashing down but so far so good!!

[+Derbyshire Dave]

1 hour ago, Bob Dobber said:

I take it you've checked places like...

 

https://nighttime-imaging.eu/docs/master/site/tabs/options/equipment/

 

 

Rob,

 Thanks so much. That was it! I was setting up the focal length is the framing wizard, not in the options/equipment. I now two retrievable two setups with different focal lengths. Perfect for quick framing, even offline.

 

THANKS..

[Bob Dobber]

56 minutes ago, Derbyshire Dave said:

Rob,

 Thanks so much. That was it! I was setting up the focal length is the framing wizard, not in the options/equipment. I now two retrievable two setups with different focal lengths. Perfect for quick framing, even offline.

 

THANKS..

 

Ah great stuff. I put off moving from APT to NINA for a long time because I knew it would be painful initially, but I definitely wouldn't go back now I'm there. Glad it got sorted.