PHD image errors - One of THOSE nights...

[david_taurus83]

I've done a fresh install of everything on a new W10 laptop. Got everything working initially, APT plate solving, mount connections, PHD etc. No drop outs on the ASI1600 which have been a regular occurrence on the old laptop. So I calibrate PHD on the meridian, slew to target, plate solve and sync into position. 2 minutes in and PHD starts playing silly buggers. Now it done this 6 months ago but on the old laptop. The preview in PHD moves for some reason and loses the star. 6 months ago I never got any images of this and I posted a thread with the symptoms but hit a dead end. The cure them was to dial any backlash out of the mount and update PHD to a developer release. Well tonight the problem has returned with a vengeance. And its definitely not the mount at fault. I captured a video to show what I mean. The mount is just tracking by itself and APT is capturing 30s images on M81 area. I have set PHD to just loop exposures but not guide. You can see how much the FOV shifts in PHD but you'll notice the main image in APT stays nice and still between images. So the mount isn't making erratic movements. Any ideas? The real kick in the teeth came when I realised I captured over an hour of blue when in fact I should have been on GREEN! I need 2 hours to finish this project but a night wasted. I tried to steal a march on the moon but it's up now so packing up!

 

[david_taurus83]

Sorry folks, I've had a sleep and calmed down. I've edited the title to better reflect the issue I was having. I've looked at the images again and realised that the FOV isn't moving at all. The image is being split and displayed incorrectly. Take the first image for example. This is the correct FOV. Now on the second image, the left hand side of the correct FOV has been 'cut and pasted' onto the right hand side of that image! See below, you can see the line where the error is and the stars circled match the correct image. The same is true of the third image. In the correct FOV the top right side has 3 stars forming an obtuse triangle. In the third image that side of the FOV has shifted from the right hand side to the left. At one point I even seen it shift the top half to the bottom and vice versa. This issue goes way beyond my rationale. Is this a software issue or a hardware issue? If it hadn't happened 6 months ago I'd think there is a compatibility issue with the new laptop. I'm sure someone else mentioned this issue on the forum. Was it you @Anthonyexmouth

[Anthonyexmouth]

Probably, I've had lost star issues for over a year, I put it down to user error and the steep learning curve. Wasn't until I started paying close attention to my setup when I made my pier that I noticed the image flip/corruption issue. Only noticed it in phd2 because that's all I really used it with, sharp cap was never on long enough to show the problem. At first I thought it was the camera breaking down, maybe it is. No issues at all with the asi290mc I'm using in its place. These old usb2 cameras might just be zwo poor/cheap/first attempt cameras . Their progress has been rapid and very good, this just might be early mistakes that are showing up now. 

[Anthonyexmouth]

My issue was mostly L shaped star trails, I'm guessing where phd2 lost the star and then had to hunt for it when it lost it and then again when the image corrected

[david_taurus83]

Was it the ASI120 2.0?

[Anthonyexmouth]

Yeah. Old red mono usb2 one. 

[david_taurus83]

Digging a bit deeper on the web and it seems this 'split screen' effect is a known issue with this 'old' ASI120MM. I only bought it last year! If it didnt happen 6 months ago on my old Acer laptop with Windows 7 and USB2.0 ports, I'd be adamant that it was a compatibility issue with my new USB3.0 laptop and Windows 10. Looks like its going back under 2 year warranty. Wonder what can be done as they are discontinued?

 

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/325861-teetering/?do=findComment&comment=3548614

[Anthonyexmouth]

If it's a compatibility issue then it's hard to argue a warranty issue. Mine came second hand with my ed80 and guide scope. Luckily I had a 290 that I bought for planetary imaging with my little mak 90 that sees very little use. I'm thinking of chucking mine on abs and shelling out for a new usb3 version. 

I don't have any old device's with usb2 ports to test this theory. 

It might be ideal for someone running a pi device (astroberrry/stellarmate). 

 

[david_taurus83]

8 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

If it's a compatibility issue then it's hard to argue a warranty issue. Mine came second hand with my ed80 and guide scope. Luckily I had a 290 that I bought for planetary imaging with my little mak 90 that sees very little use. I'm thinking of chucking mine on abs and shelling out for a new usb3 version. 

I don't have any old device's with usb2 ports to test this theory. 

It might be ideal for someone running a pi device (astroberrry/stellarmate). 

 

I think you misunderstand, it could be seen as a compatibility issue with USB3 but the problem first arose in November last year on my Windows 7 USB 2.0 laptop. So it's not exclusive to USB 3.0. This new laptop has both 2.0 and 3.0 ports and both the same. Looking around the web and there are various reports of issues with this camera and ZWO are aware. They made available a firmware "compatibility" upgrade for use with USB 3 but at the same time don't recommended it as the installed firmware is more stable!!

[Anthonyexmouth]

Sorry, thought you said it worked with your old laptop. 

I just got fed up trying to get it working. Clear nights are to rare to waste. Be interesting to see how you get on with the warranty. Who did you buy it from? Maybe they should issue a recall and replace with usb3 version or give a discount. Wishful thinking.