Newforestgimp

Hi all,

is it normal to have 1/2 moon shaped stars when using OAG with a large dia RC ?

getting focus is busting my balls.

Last night with a short window I thought I’d finally get the big rig focussed.

everything was left connected as before, the only change was to put a high quality cable (Lindy USB 3 hopefully @David_taurus83 will approve 😜 it was bloody expensive ! ) between laptop and hub, same usb socket used on laptop. Didn’t connect !!!

tried the ascom diagnostics, didn’t seem to do anything?

reinstall commander, connected.

The fix works, but I think it just needs a way of resetting everything as if commander is being used for the first time ?

finally I have focus on the big rig !!! Just need to dial in the OAG (loose use of the word just) 😂

4 minutes ago, bruno said:

I find that  i connect the cables the go into the ascom diagnostics program as it has to see the mount you might find that you have to redo it everytime  you run  your mount it doesn't seem to save it's just remembering to do it.

  

I will definitely give this a try before the uninstall/resinstall merry go round, thanks.

19 minutes ago, bruno said:

I used to have a similar problem, it was the Ascom  diagnostic tool that should be on your desktop, have a look at that, look under tools and select telescope chooser using.net , you will find it is set on simulator use the drop down and change to Ioptron  Cem 60/40 GEM45  no need to click on properties as it is run by Ioptron commander which will then connect.

Interesting, do I do this with mount connected and powered on or just set it now and it will remain for next time I connect to mount ?

I cant 100% say what the issue was/is only that in desperation I unloaded commander, reloaded commander and with everything connected as it was it worked ???? I sat staring at it for a few minutes dumbstruck, I felt brave so i pulled the USB out and connected via a USB Hub and it connected again. But then I got way too adventurous and i connected the cameras and focuser to the USB Hub only to find the connection to the mount had dropped 😞.

So I then shut everything down re-cabled the power cables for the cameras/focuser into a deep sky dad power hub thus avoiding any USB or DC connection to the GEM45 other than the USB into the RA axis, connected all data cables via the USB Hub as before, unloaded and reloaded commander and it connected again,.

The other thing I noticed on these successful connections it didn't give any option to select how I wanted to connect or by which port it just went straight to the next screen where you have comms stats, firmware version & where you can select if you want to use mount controls etc.

Regard to cables its the only different colour i have from black and its nice and short, not sure what a high quality USB should look like, it came from Kenable. The others used are the ZWO Flat ones which seem a bit flimsy to me.

Regard to labelling ports are we talking physical labelling like stickers or tagging ports in device manager or something ?

Update 3:

Cheered by my success at Update 2 i decided to plugin the cameras and focuser, connection dropped and couldnt reconnect.
so this time I switched everything off, connected all the devices to the hub, uninstalled Commander 7 AGAIN, Re-installed it AGAIN, switched everything on, fired up commander Et Voila ! mount connected, and all other connections made successfully in NINA.

So it looks like any kind of connection/cabling change whatsoever requires an uninstall and re-install of Commander, totally absurd and no idea why that didnt work when i first tried but maybe i changed a cable at same time ? who knows, i didnt think i was taking part in the krypton factor (for those of a certain age)

Update 2:

So out of boredom a few minutes ago I uninstall and re-install iOptron Commander 7 for a second time.

IT WORKED AND IM CONNECTED VIA COMMANDER 7 !!!!

Now I'm so surprised that it did work in a fit of peak I even powered off mount connected mount to USB Hub and tried again, and it connected again !!! new record for me, but now I'm scared lol, I need to understand what I need to do now to make sure it works again tomorrow and the next day, and the next day etc !!

1 minute ago, powerlord said:

you don't on 'real' computers. sorry cheap jibe - but on linux (pi, asiair, etc) or on macos they don't have the issues that windows has had since the beginning of USB 23 years ago and still have today.. installing drivers again every time you change ports, NEEDING to install drivers and reboots, com ports changing all the time, etc etc.

I'm gonna get reamed for saying this, but your happiness is being affected by the hell that is windows imho. 

However I suppose if you are wed to NINA and APT your stuck with it.

You seem to have all ZWO stuff though - so my advice for what it's worth, is get an asiair. even a second hand original one. I bet you'll come away wondering why you didn't do it ages ago.

stu

Oh I hear you trust me, it was a sad day when my many many years old Mackbook went OOS.

34 minutes ago, Tomatobro said:

Some drivers grab an available comms port while others are fixed to a comm port number so I have to start my system up in a set way otherwise I get the "not connected" message. If you had it all working once then just repeat the software start up sequence ( I say " just" but its remembering what worked before! )

Well precisely, because it was the first time i simply do not remember, but i have cleared everything i can from the laptop and restarted mount and laptop several times. In any case you shouldn't have to remember which cable goes where TBH it sucks.

UpDate:

Cleared all unused USB devices from device manager.
Connected Jackery 12v supply to GEM45 and nothing else
Direct USB connection to laptop via quality USB cable

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k28htc68k0fa7no/Screenshot 2021-11-09 10.26.50.png?dl=0

No iOptron Devices Available !!!!! 😞

Andy

4 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

Sounds like your GEM45 does so the Serial to USB method may be obsolete.

at this moment ill use & try anything to just get it working reliably.

11 minutes ago, Viktiste said:

Grey usb icons are equipment that has been connected, but are not connected now. You can delete these (RHClick - delete). This forces windows to forget that device has ever been connected and will force a reinstall of it the next time it is connected.

Ive uninstalled all the greyed USB Devices and will check tomorrow if that clears things up, there were a LOT of devices !

5 minutes ago, Viktiste said:

Windows 10? If so you can try this (with the mount usb cable disconnected):

Go into Device Manager (search for it on the start menu). In device manager select view - show hidden devices. Then expand the 'Universal Serial Bus controllers'. Grey usb icons are equipment that has been connected, but are not connected now. You can delete these (RHClick - delete). This forces windows to forget that device has ever been connected and will force a reinstall of it the next time it is connected.

See if that helps.

ooh now that could be something, i did notice on commander it was offering COM5 in addition to the auto detect option, didnt work but it offered it 😉

8 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

I've just read your first post again. Try just connecting the mount to your PC first. If successful, make a note of the COM port. Then add the other devices individually. Not sure about the EAF but my autofocuser (DeepSkyDad) uses a COM port as does the mount. I fired up my kit a few nights ago but forgot to turn the mount on. It caused a bit of an issue with the COM ports and wouldn't connect the DSD until I done a restart. I also wouldn't trust 100% the on board USB hub. Might work now and again, might give you headaches just as much.

I think i will try this tomorrow, and go back to a quality hub. Do you think i should connect the mount via a separate USB cable to the laptop, and the other bits via the hub ?

Also just looking at the serial cable option from USB to RS232 to connect via the handset, will have a chat to FLO about that tomorrow. Thanks

4 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

Do you not connect through the handset on the iOptrons? On my CEM25 (now sold) I had to use a serial to USB through the handset. And to be honest, I found Commander much more stable and less buggy than EQMod. 

Well i dont know, but there was no handset in sight last night when it worked just fine. Ive written to FLO for help as i purchased from them, maybe they will suggest the correct method.

My love hate relationship with my new GEM45 mount is tipping toward a hate hate one !

Now the mount wont connect to anything !!!! APT, NINA, CdC, Stellarium, i simply cannot get past the iOptron Commander app, it just says no ioptron devices available! ummm think youll find there is, right there !

i have the mount directly connected via a USB cable to the laptop via the USB port on the RA base, i have connected the guide camera and focuser to the rear of an ASI071MC (new as of yesterday) and the ASI071MC is then USB cabled to the onboard ioptron 'USB through port' on the DEC saddle.  and it all connected ok last night and i was able to use everything fine, couldnt focus but not because of computer issues, everything worked fine.

FFWD to this afternoon i wanted to test out some focusing routines (i thought focusing was my only issue) and i cannot get the mount to connect at all, yet the ASI071MC, ASI120MM & ZWO EAF all get detected and connect to APT & NINA fine.

Ive uninstalled and reinstalled the ASCOM, Commander, FTDI app/drivers, no joy. I cant update mount firmware as i dont have the cable, another frustration.

Surely the connection of a mount should be THE most reliable and simple step, it certainly was on my old skywatcher mount, it just WORKED. Think ive spent more time just trying to get things working than i have actually imaging.

Any Ideas ?

Andy H

Really struggling to focus RC8 with EAF, what’s the simplest way to get rough focus with RC8 asi071mc so that the EAF can then take over and fine tune ?

I can’t seem to get APT with asi071mc to display any kind of live image I can work with to focus manually or using EAF. This is the first time using dedicated Astro camera so the settings are bit of a mystery particularly for focusing.

I always think it’s working but the EAF seems to start the focus routine when there is just the bloated image of the optical tube and mirror, so I’m close , really close, but without a realiable live view from the asi071mc I seem to be suffering from premature focusing 😂

Settings for ASI071MC ?

Focus settings in APT ?

Approach ?

I don’t even want to think about OAG focus until I can nail the main camera.

regards

Andy

On 23/10/2021 at 20:35, Chris said:

They have just upgraded from their two security lights to 3 security lights. I thought it was the Full Moon glaring through the curtains!

That looks worthy of a council complaint tbh, totally unnecessary to have lights mounted so high up on a house, and besides nobody wants to look at that hideous conservatory, I bet that’s comfortable in summertime 😂 

On 23/10/2021 at 20:35, Chris said:

They have just upgraded from their two security lights to 3 security lights. I thought it was the Full Moon glaring through the curtains!

That looks worthy of a council complaint tbh, totally unnecessary to have lights mounted so high up on a house, and besides nobody wants to look at that hideous conservatory, I bet that’s comfortable in summertime 😂 

I’m having a bit of trouble focusing my new rig, RC8 with DSLR & OAG using a ZWO EAF & ASIAIRPRO. I can achieve focus so I know the spacing is correct, the issue is with the EAF, it seems to really struggle with the RC8 & DSLR combination, I achieve rough focus by eye, which I don’t trust as my eyesight is shocking at reading distance, I then switch to autofocus and all manner of things happen with the v-curve looking like a a hill rather than a valley, sometimes the EAF winding the focuser all the way in at random, or because I don’t like the EAF result I set it running again and it then finds a totally different position that it claims to be in focus ? I know the collimation is slightly out but not enough to cause total EAF meltdown surely ? I had the option set to re-focus after every hour and it must have thrown a wobbly and wound in totally losing focus again.

wondering if there are any tips or tricks ? This is my first time using the RC8 stepping up from a wide field refractor, I expected a learning curve but had expected the setup to be reasonably straightforward.

On a different topic can I use the OAG guide scope (ASI120MM) to perform POLAR alignment since it’s sharing the main optical tube and it’s live view capabilities are far better than the DSLR ?

many thanks

Andy

Not to complicate things further but I do not use memory stick during capture sessions. I store on the DSLR and AAP, then use either camera memory card or stick to transfer images to laptop, of course this approach will have to change if/when I switch to dedicated Astro camera.

1 hour ago, Ouroboros said:

Well, I have tried a number of things this afternoon.  Make of them what you will. 

With the AAP USB 2.0 socket connected directly to the mount’s USB 2.0 socket:  

Did not work. 

With the AAP’s USB3.0 socket connected directly to the mount’s USB2.0 socket: 

This worked for the following features tested:

Slewing the mount manually in the AAP app. 

Slewing to a specified target. 

Sending the mount to the home position. Weight down, telescope pointing at Polaris. 

Slewing again after sending to home position. 

Slewing  the scope to target, closing app, disconnecting from AAP hotspot, then reconnecting and restarting app. All working OK after reconnecting. 

Using an additional USB3.0 hub between the AAP and the mount:

This worked in all the tests above regardless of whether the USB2.0 or USB3.0 outputs of the AAP were used and whether or not the USB hub was powered or not. 

What I have not been able to test is any cameras (because they’re elsewhere) or polar alignment, guiding etc. 

I’m going to have to try again now using the USB 3 port on AAP, 😂 I probably did test it but no harm in trying again.

I assume you connected to the usb on the RA and not one on the saddle ?

18 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

I suppose I  confused  home position with the park position - in my case weights down, scope pointing at the pole. I regularly send my AZ-AQ6 there from my ASIair plus in order to start polar alignment or prior to ending a session. This seems to be what iOptron call the zero position. 

Anyway, I now think the mount/ASI combo not working after sending the mount home was coincidental.  Control of the mount is erratic or unresponsive to commands irrespective of what I tell the ASI to do. 

I wonder if your issue is actually the same as reported by myself and others, you’ve just had an added confusion that AAP does connect initially but that connection isn’t sufficient to maintain reliable control. Try a hub and see if that cures the random mount behaviour 😉

2 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

I did try sending the mount back to the home position but it started going off in a direction I wasn't expecting. I couldn't see how to stop it without powering off the mount. After that, it all seemed to be unresponsive. The solution which worked was to power off both the AAP and the mount, and start afresh. I do not see a need to send the mount to home anyway, so shalln't do that again. I'm not even sure I know where 'home' is!

Ian

I might well be wrong but I seem to remember using the hand controller and usb dongle on first set up & manually placing the mount in the standard north facing, counter weights down position and setting that as home position via the handset. Since that point I’ve not connected a handset and whenever I ‘Park’ the scope it returns to that std position no problem. Might be worth a try.