EQMOD - new strange behaviour with AZ-EQ6 Pro

[dk101]

I am experiencing some new and strange behaviour with EQMOD on my AZEQ6.

I have an AZ-EQ6 Pro connected to a little NUC (DroiX PROTEUS 10 i5) running EQMOD 200w and it has been performing happyily for a while. Mount has a separate Nevada PSW-30 power supply and NUC is connected it using direct USB cable (since the mount is one of the ones with the USB port). Everything has been working well so far and I have had no problems running things from NINA/CdC.

Two nights ago, after NINA did its thing and parked the scope, things went a bit funny. I cannot get the mount to slew or park.  When i use the NEWS buttons on EQMOD UI then the mount moves but if i click on the PARK button nothing happens - the mount does not move. When a slew command is sent (from eg CdC or NINA) the numbers on the EQMOD UI change, as if it was slewing, but it is not. If i connect ASCOM Device Manager, NEWS buttons there there do not slew the scope and PARK button also doesn't work. but Interestingly if i execute goto from it, it will pretend that it is slewing and then at the very end the motors on the mount would sound like the do when it corrects at the end of the slew. ASCOM diagnostics all come back fine. I tried different USB ports on the NUC with the same results.

If i connect a different PC to the mount, running the same versions of all the software with exactly the same (copied) ini files (from %appdata%/eqmod) it happyily slews from NINA and all other tools. This suggests to me that it is not the cable or the power supply. I tried connecting other devices to the USB ports on the NUC that doesn't work and all USB ports worked fine so it is probably not that. So, to me, it would appear as if something is not right with EQMOD and how it interprets slew/park. I checked all of the settings on the EQMOD UI visually and i diffed all EQMOD setup files in %appdata%/eqmod between the machine that works and one that doesn't and there were no differences. I tried reinstalling too but that didn't help - it still doesn't slew/park.

So, in summary:

Following a NINA park,
     EQMOD won't slew or park unless i use NEWS buttons on the EQMOD UI.
     When it is sent a slew command from other apps, the number on the EQMOD UI change as if it was slewing but there is no movement. Sometimes after the slew-that-doesn't-slew finishes, the mount motors sound as if they are compensating for backlash.
     Mount works fine on another pc with the same cable, the same power supply, the same software versions and even the same EQMOD ini files.

I am puzzled and would really appreciate some help here.

thank you!

dan

[malc-c]

Dan, welcome to the forum.

Normally the first response would be a power issue, but given the power unit used I don't think that is the cause of the slews failing.

I can't agree with your conclusion that the issue is EQMOD.  You've stated that using a different PC, but using the same USB cable and same versions of software with copied INI files it all works fine, but when using the NUC it starts misbehaving.  This to me would suggest that the issue is with the NUC as this is the odd one out.  That's not to say a physical issue, it could be an admin rights or something else with the software or how it was installed. However there have been similar posts on the EQMOD user group with communication issues between NINA and EQMOD (or the ASCOM platform), but I can't recall if or how the issue was recovered.

You mention CdC - what happens if you launch CdC on the NUC, connect the the scope via the Telscope > Connect Telescope menu option (having first set CdC's telscope settings to ASCOM) and then from the parked position right click a star and select slew to target (making sure the target is going to be in apart of the sky that is currently visible at the moment).  If the mount slews correctly to multiple targets and then reparks when you select the option in EQMOD to park then the problem could be with NINA or NINA's handling of the connected devices on the ASCOM platform. 

[dk101]

Thanks Malcom!

when this first happened i first suspected power then a dodgy mount PCB (since they are dodgy i hear) which is why i tried it with another pc using the same cables, power supply etc. I also tried a differnt power supply and a different USB cable just for the good measure.

I agree that i have not eliminated NUC completly but i am not sure how/what to test to eliminate _it_ . I am not sure that it is at fault  as i can slew manually by clicking on EQMOD N/E/W/S buttons so the communication appears to be working. I suspect EQMOD as it is less likely that all other programs suddenly got broken (NINA, PHD2, CdC) than that EQMOD stpped interpreting slew goto commands (i am guessing that PARK is just a goto). One possibility I considered was that something went wrong in ASCOM (since that is the other single point all others use to talk to EQMOD) but diagnostics say all is well and since park on EQMOD itself doesn't work i suspect it is more EQMOD than something else. Of course, i could be wrong since i don't know how ASCOM or EQMOD work under the hood.

Starting EQMOD from CdC as you described sadly didn't work. I also tried starting EQMOD from NINA, PHD2 and SharpCap and then using CdC and slewing and that did not work. Starting EQMOD first before anything else is the same. EQMOD by itself also doesn't park, like i mentioned, if i use NEWS buttons to get it away from PARK position.

It is really puzzling me, esp since it moves nicely with N/E/W/S buttons.
 

dan

[scotty38]

Can you try reinstalling EQASCOM?

[dk101]

Just tried. When uninstalling EQASCOM it tells me that some files will have to be removed by hand so i am guessing it is not a clear uninstall. I let the uninstall run, rebooted the machine, reinstalled 200w, rebooted again and it is still doing the same thing. Works from cardinal point buttons not it doesn't park or goto.

 

[dk101]

Here is a thought.

Since i can slew using buttons, but only when i up the Dec/RA rate above 200, is there some way to see what speed it is using when doing a goto? perhaps it is sending pulses afterall, just at some super slow speed.  Are the any logs one can look at?

Yes. the other computer has the same settings (that is can see) but still, it may be worth checking. Perhaps there is some registry setting etc which scales the slew rate and perhaps that somehow got messed up?
 

[dk101]

So... even though the Goto Rate Limit was showing "No Limit", when i moved it to far right the mount started slewing (albeit slower than before). Then i moved it back to "No Limit" (far left) and it is now working properly! 🥳

I think this is a bug in EQMOD. The limit was somehow set to something very low (1?) while the UI was showing that it was not limited. Why was this not visible in the ini files i do not know. Very curious.

Anyhow, if anyone has the same problem, the solution is:
 

• Even if the Goto Rate Limit tells you that it is "No Limit", move the slider to far right and then back to far left and confirm that the numbers change all the way up to 400 and back down to No Limits.

This is a lot easier and cheaper then getting a new mount PCB or a new NUC...

Thanks Malcolm, thanks scotty38, for your help!

 

[malc-c]

Very strange.  Glad to hear you have resolved the issue.  I'm going to post a message on the EQMOD user group siting this thread as I know Chris Shillito still frequents this forum and might be able to shed so light on what the cause may be - could be a bug that they are not aware of...