CCDAutoPilot is packed with advanced features to make image acquisition as seamless as possible.

Application Independence >>>

CCDAutoPilot works with any combination of popular camera and telescope control software. In addition, if you are using FocusMax, a camera rotator, and/or a dome, CCDAP2 will control those as well.

Fully Automated Meridian Flip >>>

Once a target has crossed the meridian, CCDAutoPilot can initiate a meridian flip by slewing to the target on the other side of the meridian with a few arc-second accuracy and continue imaging without operator intervention. The RCOS Precision Instrument Rotator and the Optec Pyxis rotator are supported but not required. When equipped with either of these instruments, the rotator will rotate 180° during the meridian flip and reacquire the original guide star and continue guiding. Alternatively you can select a mode whereby the series pauses for the user to locate a suitable guide star.


Automated Flat Frame Acquisition >>>

Taking flat frames just got a whole lot easier thanks to CCDAutoPilot. No more fumbling at the keyboard trying to get all your flats in a small period of time. No longer do you need to wake up at 5:30 am to get the perfect dawn flats. Whether you are taking automated dawn or dusk flats, or firing off flats with your light box, CCDAP2 fully automates the acquisition of flat-frames.

Multi-Night Target Imaging >>>

At your chosen start time, CCDAP2 will un-park your telescope and slew to your chosen target. CCDAP2 then will perform a plate solve to assure that you are pointed directly at your target within a few arc-seconds. If you are using an instrument rotator, CCDAP2 will automatically move to needed rotation angle.

Advanced Auto-Focusing Routines >>>

From simple focusing in your FOV to slewing to a nearby star, CCDAutoPilot gives you all the flexibility you need to keep you system in perfect focus providing the highest resolution possible from your imaging system.

Automatic Guide Star Recovery

Through Automatic Guide Star Recovery™, CCDAutoPilot will do everything possible to get your guiding back and on target without intervention. If passing clouds, mount pointing errors, mis-polar alignment interrupt guiding, attempts will be made to restart guiding as soon as conditions allow. If all attempts fail, guiding will be disabled and an audible alarm will sound.

Dome Support

Continuing our commitment to application independence, CCDAutoPilot adds support for dome control via both Software Bisque's AutomaDome, Technical Innovations Digital Dome Works and ASCOM. By integrating dome operations with the capabilities of CCDAutoPilot, you can be assured the dome slit will properly track the telescope, even through a meridian flip. At the end of a run or when the telescope parks at the user's choice, the dome will be commanded to home and the shutter to close.

Dithering

CCDAutoPilot incorporates a high-efficiency dithering algorithm to complete eliminate hot and cold pixels, pattern noise, cosmic ray hits and other CCD artifacts. Dithering can also be used while acquiring flat frames. 

Intelligent Exposure Start

Automatically determines the delay time to settles your guide star before starting exposures regardless of guider min/max move and aggressiveness settings.

Programmable Auto Guide Exposures

Autoguider exposure durations can be programmed by filter to accommodate for colored or narrowband filters. In addition, filter offsets can be used for non-parafocal filter systems.

Advanced Light Frame Sequences

During the light series and with appropriate additional hardware and software, change the focus point depending on which of up to 10 filter is used (filter offsets), automatically refocus at the start of each series and refocus at a user defined interval.

Advanced Dark Frame Sequences

Obtain up to 8 independently programmable dark or bias series. This series can optionally be interrupted at civil twilight. In addition, an opaque filter can be specified for shutter-less cameras.

Telescope Tracking and Parking Control

The telescope can optionally be parked at the end of the light series through either TheSky v5 or TheSky6 or an ASCOM-controlled telescope. The mount can be unparked to go to an optimal sky location for sky flats and then park again when complete.

Pause and Resume Sequences

A running sequence can be paused under user control and resumed from where it left off when desired.

CCD Cooler Control

CCDAutoPilot will turn off your cameras cooler at the end of light, dark, bias and flat frame acquisition.

External Application Control

You can optionally run an application at the end of the sequence. This can include executable and scripts allowing for features such as closing a dome or starting the coffee machine.

Reusable Profiles

This powerful option allows you to save virtually all settings to a file that can later be recalled. This allows you to maintain profiles for specific imaging scenarios so that the settings don’t have to be manually re-entered each time.