Contents - Index

Notifications







Email Settings (Professional Feature Only)

Email notification is possible of significant events during the course of a session.  In concert with the Control File and the Notify settings, you can receive an email notification of a number of events.  Enter an email address to which you want the notifications sent.  TIP: If you enter the email address for your cell phone's SMS text message, you can receive a text message.  You can enter more than one email address as long as they are separated by a comma ',' but no spaces or any other punctuation.  You can test these settings using the Send Test Email button.

In order to receive these notification, you must have a valid email account established on the observatory's computer and CCDAutoPilot must be properly configured.  As a minimum, you will have to enter the SMTP server, which is the same that is entered in your email client's account setup.  If you need to enter a port other than the default standard which is port 25, enter the smtp server name followed by a colon ':', followed by the port name.  For example: smtp.mail.net for a standard port and smtp.mail.net:505 for a non-standard port 505. If your server requires you to use SSL or TLS, check the SSL/TLS box. TLS usually requires port 587. You should check authenticate and enter the user name and password required by the SMTP server.  Enter the UserName as your full email address, including the domain. E.g., "anyone@gmail.com" instead of "anyone".Be sure to test your settings by using the Send Test Email button. Some servers, notably gmail and icloud, require special password treatment. Consult their documentation as needed.



Notify


With the Email Settings properly configured and tested, you can receive notification for any of the events shown in the Notify box.  Of particular use for remote observatories is At End of Session with Log.  It is very gratifying to receive the log of a successfully completed session when you awake!
  • At Start of Session: Sends an email when the session starts.  This is useful when using a programmed session start.
  • At Start of Session with Session Review: Sends an email when the session starts and includes an attachment that represents the Session Review that appears on the Run page.
  • At Start of Light Frames Phase: Sends an email when the light frame data acquisition begins.
  • At Emd of Light Frames Phase: Sends an email when the light frame data acquisition ends.
  • At End of Session: Sends an email when the session completes.
  • At End of Session with Log: Sends an email when the session completes and attaches the log for the session.
  • Upon Weather Events: Sends an email if any of the weather abort limits set in the Weather Sensor box are hit.
  • Upon Guide Error: Sends an email if the guider fails to start for any reason.
  • Upon Plate Solve?Rotator Error: Sends an email if plate solving fails or there is a large, uncorrected rotator offset.  Plat solve error may be an indication of clouds. Rotator error may be an indication of rotator or camera mounting slippage. 
  • Upon Slew Error: Sends an email if the mount fails to successfully make a Precision Slew.
  • Upon Focus Error: Sends an email if focusing fails.
  • Upon Camera Error: Sends an email if the camera server is unable to take or save an image.
  • On Shutter Error: Sends an email if the shutter doesn't complete its operation, either opening or closing, in the specified timeout.
  • Good Night System: When checked, notifications of activity and issues will be sent to your smartphone if you have Good Night System installed on your observatory PC. All of the above notifications will be sent to GNS, whether checked or not. You can reserve checking the above items for those that you want sent via email or SMS text.