Why I chose Astro Photography Tool over Sequence Generator Pro

The time has finally come for not only controlling my camera but also my mount.
This is by no means a complete review or tutorial.  It is a limited review of things I discovered during while installing and using both Astro Photography Tool and Sequence Generator Pro after a short period.  There much more in depth reviews and tutorials on the web.  At the bottom of the page I listed what I thought were the most helpful links to me to getting started with these programs.

Why Switch From Backyard EOS for camera control?
I absolutely love Backyard EOS (BYEOS) for its power and simplicity, however, I am planning on getting a dedicated astrophotography camera and will need to use a new camera control program as BYEOS works only for specific DSLRs.  I decided on Astrophotography Tool (APT) since it was given high praise, inexpensive ($20), and very similar to BYEOS.  To start, I used APT on a basic level (controlling a camera) only for couple of months.  The other big thing that these programs do on an internal level is Plate-Solving.  Plate-solving is a method that detects the stars from an image you take and then tries to identify them using catalogs of know stars. If successful it is possible to calculate exactly where the telescope is pointing, image orientation, resolution and etc.

Stellarium
I switched gears a bit and I started using Stellarium to control my mount (see Controlling an Equatorial Mount with Stellarium). To do this I had to download the ASCOM driver for my mount.  In my case I have an Orion Sirius EQ-G (HEQ5) so I needed the ASCOM Skywatcher SynScan Mount Controller driver. I also needed the cords to connect the Skyview Hand Controller to the computer.

Sequence Generator Pro (SGP)
Before going directly into into APT I wanted to look into the popular SGP software especially since they give a 45-day free trial. I learned a lot in the first week of getting used to this program and downloading supplemental software as well as upgrading firmware.

The first major hurdle was getting rid of ST-4 telephone wire connection for the autoguider, with SGP and APT you can connect PHD2 using the ASCOM mount driver.  Naturally this did not work with my four-year old Sirius Mount with the Version-3 SynScan Hand Controller.  After more research (another frustrating night) I realized I had to update the V3 - SynScan Hand Controller firmware - that was fun especially because it looked like it did not work.  It was only after I turned the mount off and on did know the new version did install.  When I started PHD2, the Skywatcher slew controller popped on my computer screen.  This was a euphoric moment me!

Next was the plate solving software.  It seems SGP and APT overlap with plate solving software packages in particular PlateSolve2 by PlaneWave Instruments.  In the case of SGP you install it from the SGP button and download the catalogs.  This worked really well and after setting the telescope parameters, you can preview and frame the area you eventually want the telescope to point to.

I did manage to set up a quick sequence between the clouds and take an image of Arcturus, however, I tried to use the Frame and Focus and my computer locked for some reason.  It did this more than once so I decided to go back to APT.

Astro Photography Tool
I had already been using APT on a basic level but I have not used anything else until now.  It was pretty easy connecting everything now since I already connected everything when using SGP.  APT uses the module PointCraft to control PlateSolve2 (PS2) and All Sky Plate Solver (ASPS) for plate solving. The difference is ASPS allows you to do a blind solving, i.e. just take a picture wherever you telescope is pointing and it will solve it whereas PS2 you be in the close by the object you want to solve for.  So far I have only used PS2.

To date I have used PlateSolve2 but had to adjust some of the settings such as Max Star Size (6 to 9) and Detection Threshold (6 to 8).

Upon readjusting the settings, I ran the PlateSolve2 by pressing the solve function and within 20 seconds my image was solved, I synced it to my mount and that was it.  I then bounced around to other objects to see how this worked.  I can tell you it was incredible, I have never been so accurate before and I consider this a crowning achievement.  The next night provided the perfect evening to yield complete control of my camera and mount over to APT and I chose M101 as my test subject.  Needless to say everything worked perfectly, I was zeroed in and framed on the object quicker than I have ever been before.  The whole thing took less the a minute and I just starred at the screen for minute because I could not believe how easy it was.  I'll post the results when processing is complete.

Final Thoughts
SGP has a lot of features that I really liked such as the ability to set up and save equipment profiles as well as the ability to bring up an image from the plate solver atlas and play with framing prior to zeroing in on it for real.  In the end, however, I chose APT mainly because it is a bit simpler to use if you have to make a lot of last minute decisions like I do.

• If you are using BYEOS/Nikon and have no plans to use an astrophotography camera, then by all means stick with it, no need to switch.

• If you are using SGP, by all means stick with it, no need to switch.

• If you are using APT, by all means stick with it.  However, if you have an observatory and/or want to have more computer control over your system, you might consider switching as SGP.

Also, Trevor Jones from AstroBackard gives a more in-depth review of these programs. 

Links I found most helpful for SGP

The First Week with Sequence Generator Pro - Alex's Astro
Sequence Generator Pro Setup - Chuck's Astrophotography 

SGP Manual

Links I found most helpful for APT

Plate Solving with APT - Astropetros.eu

APT Forum - PlateSolve2 settings

APT User's Guide