When plate solving this command is sent from zwoair_imager to astrometry:
solve-field --timestamp --use-sextractor --overwrite --no-plots --no-verify --no-remove-lines --uniformize 0 --corr none --match none --new-fits none --rdls none --solved none --index-xyls none -H 0.21 -L 0.17 -3 96.405 -4 -52.712 -5 180 --fits-image /tmp/zwo/solvetmp.fit > /tmp/zwo/solve_output 2>&1:
solve-field parameter -3 and -4 are the RA, DEC of where ASIAIR pro thinks the mount is pointing. However, parameter -5 is hard wired in the code to 180. Parameter -5 is the SEARCH RADIUS, so setting it to 180 says to astrometry to search the whole sky.
This will not reduce the number of indexes searched, so providing -3 and -4 (RA, DEC) values is pointless and does not reduce search time or the indexes used.
To reduce the search time for plate solving, decrease parameter -5 to 20-40 degrees. This will allow the mount to be out of polar align considerably and still provide a solution but with much reduced search complexity and time, especially if you are down around the minimum FOV for the indexes provided.
It would be nice if the user could select the search radius, maybe with a "fast, medium, slow" setting.
