ZWO Seestar 50

[StevieDvd]

1 hour ago, LDW1 said:

I didn't read all of this ......, I have seen most of this before.  So are you saying this is official from ZWO  ie  that they intend to go EQ  or just more heresay on CN, this site and the FB sites, many on there are good for this kind of .....p.  I and I am sure many others are interested in the official statis not more idle talk / rumors, lol !

It is sort of unofficially accepted by ZWO, they won't warrantee against user breakage in setting up in EQ mode but have loosened the firmware restrictions that prevented it from being done.  It's not a rumour as there are many actually imaging in EQ mode, including myself. 

ZWO are keen to see what the end users are doing as it gives them a guide to features they include in the next generation of scopes & software. The same is true of the Dwarf, their next model 'Dwarf 3'  is advertised to include 'EQ functionality'.  

By users pushing the envelope it makes manufactures improve the product, progress that would probably not take place or come so early if users did not think outside of the box. A good example of this is those who wanted to post process their captures outside of the S50, resulted in a change to firmware  V1.8.0 by ZWO to save each frame.

Of course you are quite welcome to keep to the original design if that makes you happy, but insulting those of us who expand our boundaries is somewhat insulting and ignorant.

[Mr Spock]

I've just hidden some comments. Please be be polite and respectful to each other.

[Neil H]

22 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

https://www.365astronomy.com/365astrobits-precision-tripod-level-adjuster-(metal-leveling-base)-for-seestar?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsPCyBhD4ARIsAPaaRf2WzW4BXHc1p_QV5MUdfZlCasXp03jgexKrKiIYeEVnKjZTa_4T2ekaAkAlEALw_wcB

Would it be worth buying one of these. 

Got one Paul I knew I would need it 

[LDW1]

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

I've just hidden some comments. Please be be polite and respectful to each other.

I didn't know we were in kindergarten so feel free to kick me off this site if you want to !  But lets not have guys speaking on behalf of ZWO on subjects that don't apply to them directly ie EQ mounting or Mosaics even if they would be nice to have.  Talk about being nice and polite to beginers, lol !  I won't even use the word deceiving or .. S because I'm not like that !

[Elp]

I didnt see the response, but isn't this the whole point (or definition) of a forum, to discuss ideas and stuff? If one is happy to use an item as intended that's fine, if people want to talk about further potential that's also fine, also note progress is not made by standing still. Dwarf have made many improvements to their product due to user feedback and wishlists and are on iteration 3 of their smart scope, ZWO (or any other company) also do similar, it's how you improve a product.

Using the Seestar as intended as likely the majority of users do is perfectly fine, I don't think anyone has anything against such a usage scenario, this thread is considerably large too proving how popular the product is.

[M40]

My thoughts on the EQ discussion. I applaud people for thinking outside of the box, I make an attempt at it, but I also try to keep within the manufacturers parameters particularly when it involves gearing etc. That's why dont think it's a good move to stick the seestar on a wedge. I am pretty sure that the early seestars will be over-engineered, the later ones? who knows. I would also be very wary of buying a used seestar just for that reason and wonder how any warrenty would stack up.

[LaurenceT]

28 minutes ago, M40 said:

My thoughts on the EQ discussion. I applaud people for thinking outside of the box, I make an attempt at it, but I also try to keep within the manufacturers parameters particularly when it involves gearing etc. That's why dont think it's a good move to stick the seestar on a wedge. I am pretty sure that the early seestars will be over-engineered, the later ones? who knows. I would also be very wary of buying a used seestar just for that reason and wonder how any warrenty would stack up.

I can remember when I was an early adopter of using the Az GTi in EQ mode people were losing their minds about it all over the internet, now it's the norm. I'm perfectly happy to continue using my Seestar in it's original configuration but I'm not bothered by people using it just as they wish.

[M40]

3 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

I can remember when I was an early adopter of using the Az GTi in EQ mode people were losing their minds about it all over the internet, now it's the norm. I'm perfectly happy to continue using my Seestar in it's original configuration but I'm not bothered by people using it just as they wish.

👍 I think when zwo release a wedge for the seestar as skywatcher did for the az-gti, that will be the day when I stick it on a wedge and start yet another learning curve 🤣

[Toaster05]

Just a heads up as a friend is currently affected by it but the latest firmware that was pushed to the device has rendered it useless in all modes other than scenery. Friend got a new Seestar and can't complete a calibration at all! Seems to be affecting other users too on both iOS and Android.

 

I'm not going to upgrade until they patch it again. Not that it makes any real difference as I've had it a month and the clouds haven't sodded off for more than a few hours in all that time.

[paulastro]

17 hours ago, Toaster05 said:

Just a heads up as a friend is currently affected by it but the latest firmware that was pushed to the device has rendered it useless in all modes other than scenery. Friend got a new Seestar and can't complete a calibration at all! Seems to be affecting other users too on both iOS and Android.

 

I'm not going to upgrade until they patch it again. Not that it makes any real difference as I've had it a month and the clouds haven't sodded off for more than a few hours in all that time.

Can you tell me when this firmware update was?  Mine has all the updates as far as I'm aware ( not used the Lunar mode for a while so can't be certain about that one) and they are all working perfectly.  At least they were three days ago - June 5th.

PS  I use Android.

Edited June 9 by paulastro
PS

[LaurenceT]

My Seestar began to act strangely yesterday, it was the first time I'd used it since the update. I wanted to look at the sunspot activity.

Initially it demanded that I enter some position coordinates which is the first time it's done that. I resolved that by turning off location in the iPad settings.

Then it began to make awful grinding noises and didn't move in either axis so I turned it off and then on again and that stopped the noises. I must admit my heart sank when I heard them.

I was hoping to do some imaging last night as it was very clear but we're in our motorhome on a farm near Hadrian's Wall and at 11pm it was still light with hardly a star to be seen 😀.

 

[Neil H]

Mine has latest update used it last 2 nights it seem to work ok , the only strange thing was I had problems with focus but it worked perfectly last night 

Edited June 10 by Neil H
Typo

[Toaster05]

On 09/06/2024 at 10:06, paulastro said:

Can you tell me when this firmware update was?  Mine has all the updates as far as I'm aware ( not used the Lunar mode for a while so can't be certain about that one) and they are all working perfectly.  At least they were three days ago - June 5th.

PS  I use Android.

I believe it was v2.70 but they quickly updated to v2.71 (I think!) and the issue was resolved. I'm on a Discord server for Seestar owners and everyone who was having issues have reported that normal service has resumed so you should be safe to update now.

[paulastro]

3 hours ago, Toaster05 said:

I believe it was v2.70 but they quickly updated to v2.71 (I think!) and the issue was resolved. I'm on a Discord server for Seestar owners and everyone who was having issues have reported that normal service has resumed so you should be safe to update now.

Many thanks, much appreciated.

[Appiantiqua]

Out last night...
Warned of certain bugs with the latest version of the firmware, I tried to modify the application manager to avoid the update but there is apparently no possibility of this on Samsung Galaxy Tab A (Android 11).
When launching I get the message "Update Firmware now" and without having any other choice than to accept the application crashes and I return to the home screen of my tablet.
I turned everything off, uninstalled then reinstalled the app... no better.
Test with my wife's tablet (same model)...no better.
Our phones are not very efficient Alcatels and we have not managed to resolve the problem.
I saw on the web that some people had the same problem and I sent a message to ZWO... automatic response for now.
I do not know what to do ; Our Android 11 tablets are not antiques, however!

I have a link to a very short video posted yesterday by an Asian user which illustrates exactly the situation (his description on the Seestar user forum confirms this): link to forum ---> http://bbs.zwoastro.com/d/18472-update-failure‌ link to the video ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3b0gYC3Sbs&ab_channel=KODA

 

Edited June 12 by Appiantiqua
more infos

[M40]

Well I just bit the bullet and gave it ago and installed the latest firmware when the message came up. Installed to seestar firmware 2.71 and app version 1.20.0 with no challenges. Have a look @Appiantiqua and see what app version and seestar versions you are on and get back to us as it would be good to get this sorted. 

 

 

 

Edited June 12 by M40

[StevieDvd]

I thought the latest version of the app was 1.20.1 released 3 days ago as a fix to the 1.20.0 issues.

FYI

You can see the app details by tapping the 'me' icon at the bottom right of the app, then the settings (cog) at the top right of the screen and choosing the 'About' option on the next screen.  The 'What's Fresh' option shows the changes made in the updates. 

[M40]

You are undoubtedly right but the app version on my phone is 1.20.0. I leave the apps on my phone to update automatically and just checked,1.20.0 is the latest on play store......at the moment 😁

[StevieDvd]

Yes I just updated my Android to check, I get 1.20.0 direct from ZWO as a download and he same from PlayStore.  My IOS is 1.20.1 

All a bit moot what with the weather at present and me be 'under the weather'  would not be in a position to do much anyway.

 

[DaveL59]

My droid shows it's got 1.19.0 installed even tho I do let updates happen automatically, tho I've not powered up the S50 in a while now, maybe I should and see what happens. I do find that I have to reset the S50 each time in order for it to take the firmware update, annoying but meh! Maybe down to running it in station mode not that it matters as I just reset the network side and carry on.

[Geoff Lister]

My Android 13 tablet had auto-updated to V1.20.0, so I turned on my S50 and ran the app. The app gave me the non-optional firmware update message, so I updated. All went well and on completion the details showed V2.71. As it was daytime, but cloudy, I tried a solar alignment, and the mount slewed to where the sun was, behind clouds.

There were clear skies last night, but no full darkness. The 3-position calibration failed with Arcturus as the target (too close to the Moon), but was OK with Vega.

Geoff

UPDATE after looking at files saved on tablet:-

I had imaged comet C/2023 A3... , T CrB, and asteroid (2) Pallas.

I had a look at the area of my tablet's image (DCIM) storage. With previous editions of the Seestar app, the image files were automatically stored in the "com.zwo.seestar" folder, in the title form "1717110337960.jpg" and size between 1300KB and 1800KB. When I checked this morning, I had 5 files in the title form ".pending-1718838995-1718234195936..jpg" each of size 0KB, so recorded in the directory, but empty.

I re-powered my S50, restarted the app, and re-connected. The expected files from last night's imaging were there in the album, in the expected image format, and including the "mark" graphics. I seemed to have to go through many steps before I could convince myself that these image files had been transfered to my Android tablet. By the time I had finished, I found that, again I had 5 files:- "Stacked_12_PGC 1776246_10.0s_IRCUT_20240612-224320.jpg" size 1697KB with last night's date stamp (T CrB), "Stacked_138_PGC 36206_10.0s_IRCUT_20240612-234045.jpg" size 1128KB again with last nights date stamp (C/2023 A3), "Stacked_127_Pallas_10.0s_IRCUT_20240613-001306.jpg" size 1666KB again with last nights date stamp (Pallas); and, with the current (11am) date stamp, 2 files of size 1205KB, (Pallas), but with titles "1718273178639.jpg" the 'old' style format, and "1229487a-772d-4d6c-bce9-90b94077f2d4.jpg" another style of title format. The files are there, but I seem to have to work harder to store them on my tablet.

Geoff

Edited June 13 by Geoff Lister
UPDATE after looking for saved files

[Appiantiqua]

Thank you very much for these quick responses! I just solved the problem thanks to a neighbor and friend who has an Apple tablet. The update has therefore passed this time: there are still doubts about the latest version - some mention problems with deep sky tracking, etc... to check It is still worrying to note that Android 11 poses a problem.

[M40]

Glad it's sorted, as you say, seestar doesn't like android 11 then. All the best 

[paulastro]

28 minutes ago, M40 said:

Glad it's sorted, as you say, seestar doesn't like android 11 then. All the best 

Is this everyone's  experience?  If it is I would have expected far more comment on it on all forums/media.  I've not seen anything on utube - has anyone else?

I've checked my phone and mine has Android version 14.  Presumably if people are using version 11, they must have an old phone or choosing not to update?

Excuse my ignorance - I'm not exactly a tech wizard 😅.

[Geoff Lister]

The user manual on the ZWO web site is still the October 2023 edition, and I could not find a mention of the minimum IOS or Android versions required for the app, either in the manual or in the ZWO publicity material. My old Samsung Android tablet, running V7, would find the app in the Google Play store, but refused to download it. I have just checked the FLO advert and it mentions Android V8 and IOS V12 as a minimum.

The equivalent Dwarf 2 app only requires V5, but it will be interesting to see if the extra bells and whistles promised for Dwarf 3 will require a newer version.

Geoff