w7ay ,
Thank you so much Chen,
before changing the setting (which worked very well up to two months ago) I wait for the release of the official version.
Clear skies,
George

    8 days later

    w7ay Hey Chen, thank you for the replies in this thread - very helpful! You mention a beta version of ASIAir. Where can these beta version be downloaded and how can they be installed?

    Thanks!

    • w7ay replied to this.

        reglogge Where can these beta version be downloaded and how can they be installed?

        For Android, I have no idea. For iOS, check out this Apple web page:

        https://testflight.apple.com/join/yAuk7e7Z

        When you are done reading the instructions, click on that red ASIAIR logo at the top of the web page.

        Be sure to back up your old firmware. You will need it if you want to revert back to the released version of ASIAIR.

        Chen

            w7ay Thank you Chen! I have followed your instructions and am now all set up to test the beta - if an when the skies clear :-/

            • w7ay replied to this.

                reglogge

                Very good.

                If you want to stop running the TestFlight betas, just download the released app from the Apple App Store.

                If the App Store version is older than the TestFlight version, you will need to start with the older firmware. If the App Store version is at least as new (for example, when ZWO finally releases the Beta as the released firmware), just let the new released app update the firmware from the TestFlight version.

                Notice that while Apple only allows you to download the latest version of the app in App Store, Apple Testflight allows you to select and download older Beta versions in Testflight in the TestFlight app's "Previous Builds" menu (up to 90 days from when the version is released).

                If you are going back to a previous beta firmware, you will also need start with a copy of that saved microSD card. I think it is because each version of the ASIAIR app only contains the incremental changes of the firmware.

                Good luck.

                Chen

                  Adding to this, you can back up your Mac mobile device using iMazing (which unfortunately isn't free and please note that I in no way am affiliated with the product). That will keep older versions of the app available for you so you can restore the older version in case you're not happy with the new version. This will make the older versions available from the moment that you start using the iMazing app and if an AAP version is not in backup, you cannot use it.

                  4 months later

                  Hello Everyone, Meridian Flip always fails to recenter and continue tracking, using a Celestron CGX mount.

                  Asia Air Plus (last update firmware)

                  any idea?

                  @esteban pacheco#56685 Meridian Flip always fails to recenter

                  Have you turned on the "GoTo Auto-Center" switch in the Mount Settings window? With a Celestron mount on ASIAIR, it could be other problems, but at least check the auto-center settings too.

                  Chen

                    w7ay , thansk for your answer, im going to check the setting when im home. im using a Luminance filter.

                    btw, ive noticed smth weird in the LOG:

                    2022/06/30 01:08:50 Exposure 150.0s image 51#
                    2022/06/30 01:11:21 Stop Tracking
                    2022/06/30 01:11:21 [Meridian Flip|Begin] Wait 35min52s to Meridian Flip
                    2022/06/30 01:47:13 Meridian Flip 1# Start
                    2022/06/30 01:47:13 [AutoCenter|Begin] Auto-Center 1#
                    2022/06/30 01:47:13 Mount slews to target position: RA:18h22m4s DEC:-16°9'45"
                    2022/06/30 01:48:43 Exposure 5.0s
                    2022/06/30 01:48:49 Plate Solve
                    2022/06/30 01:50:25 [AutoCenter|End] Plate Solve failed, Star number = 91
                    2022/06/30 01:50:26 [AutoCenter|Begin] Auto-Center 2#
                    2022/06/30 01:50:26 Mount slews to target position: RA:18h22m4s DEC:-16°9'45"
                    2022/06/30 01:51:56 Exposure 5.0s
                    2022/06/30 01:52:02 Plate Solve
                    2022/06/30 01:53:38 [AutoCenter|End] Plate Solve failed, Star number = 89
                    2022/06/30 01:53:39 [AutoCenter|Begin] Auto-Center 3#

                    why asiair stop tracking and wait 35 minutes to do the flip? thats weird...

                    Esteban

                      @esteban pacheco#56690 why asiair stop tracking and wait 35 minutes to do the flip? thats weird...

                      No, not weird. You can ask it to do that.

                      Check the two parameters in Meridian Flip Settings in the Mount Setting window.

                      ASIAIR will strop tracking N minutes before what it thinks is the time the star crosses the Meridain (both Prime Meridian and the other Meridian for circumpolar stars). If it does not stop at the rght time, then Time and Longitude info is wrong.

                      Then it waits until M minutes until the star has passed the meridian. At that point, it issues a GOTO comand to the mount, and the mount will issue a meridian flip to the other side of the pier (if the mount is so equipped).

                      Check N and M. You may have them set about 35 minutes apart.

                      Chen

                        w7ay

                        hello Chen! yes I have the GotoAutocenter option turned ON on the Asiair. Center EXP time is set to 5 s

                        and about the 35 minutes, its happened that somehow the setting "Do AMF x. min after Meridian" was set to 30 minutes ( I don't know why, I never changed that on porpuse), so I brought the value back to 5 minutes. and the "stop Tracking x min before Meridian" is set to 5 minutes. are those values ok?

                        best.

                          @esteban pacheco#56696 I brought the value back to 5 minutes. and the "stop Tracking x min before Meridian" is set to 5 minutes. are those values ok?

                          You want the first number to be a little longer (at least, not shorter) that when the time the mount itself stops tracking.

                          Most mounts have some Meridian treatment and has a parameter when the mount turns tracking off itself to keep instrumentation from hitting the pier. Sometimes they are express in angles (like 1 degree before Meridian, etc), and you need to convert that to time, because that is what ASIAIR uses. 1 hour corresponds to 15 degrees.

                          You want ASIAIR to stop tracking before the mount stops tracking, because that is when ASIAIR will take one final plate to solve for the positioning and camera angle before it stops tracking. If the mount stops tracking before this plate, the plate will have star trails and thus not solvable.

                          The second parameter ("after Meridian") depends on how accurate your UTC time is, how accurate your longitude is, and how accurate your east-west leveling is. If all those are precise, you can make that second parameter zero, even. However, for example, if your east-west level is off by even just 1 degree, the transit time of the object will be off by 1/15 of an hour or 4 minutes.

                          If it is off by 4 minutes, the mount will not perform a meridian flip for 4 minutes from he time ASIAIR starts sending GOTO. The ASIAIR does not Meridian flip -- the mount is the one doing the Meridian flip. The ASIAIR simply sends the GOTO a that time, and if the mount thinks the target has transited, it will then do a Meridian flip.

                          If you don't think you can east-west level to 1 degree error, you need to give the second parameter at least 4 minutes. Otherwise ASIAIR will keep trying, and the mount will keep saying it is on the correct side of the pier and do nothing. And I think ASIAIR gives up trying eventually.

                          So, if you want to reduce the wait time, make sure the mount is completely level.

                          That's it. Very straghtforward.

                          Chen

                          In Celestron HC there is a setting to do about meridian flip
                          there are parameters about the behaviour: do nothing (default), current, east, west
                          and the tracking limits to check

                          hello everyone! the meridian flip is now working perfectly! I changed the parameter to stop tracking 4 minutes before meridian. it does the flip and do the plate solve and continues making pictures. the problem I have now is the guiding, all images before meridian were ok, after the meridian is just lines. (guiding Gone)

                          2 months later

                          Hi, I've been troubleshooting a similar problem for the last couple of nights. And I have some weird things going on that might compound the problem.
                          I'm using an HEQ5 connected through Synscan (EQMOD cable arriving today, but its rainy)

                          This is the log from last night:
                          2022/09/06 03:27:45 Stop Tracking
                          2022/09/06 03:27:45 [Guide] Stop Tracking failed
                          2022/09/06 03:27:45 Stop Tracking
                          2022/09/06 03:27:45 [Guide] Stop Tracking failed
                          2022/09/06 03:27:45 [Meridian Flip|Begin] Wait 20min8s to Meridian Flip
                          2022/09/06 03:47:53 Meridian Flip 1# Start
                          2022/09/06 03:47:53 [AutoCenter|Begin] Auto-Center 1#
                          2022/09/06 03:47:53 Mount slews to target position: RA:0h56m56s DEC:-72°42'51"
                          2022/09/06 03:48:52 Exposure 5.0s
                          2022/09/06 03:48:58 Plate Solve
                          2022/09/06 03:49:00 Solve succeeded: RA:2h8m22s DEC:-72°17'1" Angle = -90.7695, Star number = 379
                          2022/09/06 03:49:01 [AutoCenter|End] Too far from center, distance = 206%(5.36683°)
                          2022/09/06 03:49:02 [AutoCenter|Begin] Auto-Center 2#
                          2022/09/06 03:49:02 Mount slews to target position: RA:0h56m56s DEC:-72°42'51"
                          2022/09/06 03:49:09 Exposure 5.0s
                          2022/09/06 03:49:15 Plate Solve
                          2022/09/06 03:49:17 Solve succeeded: RA:2h8m20s DEC:-72°17'2" Angle = -90.7546, Star number = 376
                          2022/09/06 03:49:17 [AutoCenter|End] Too far from center, distance = 206%(5.3643°)
                          2022/09/06 03:49:18 [AutoCenter|Begin] Auto-Center 3#
                          2022/09/06 03:49:18 Mount slews to target position: RA:0h56m56s DEC:-72°42'51"

                          I've set the tracking to stop 10 minutes before AMF, and to wait another 10 minutes.
                          These are my observations:
                          (1) I've noticed that I cannot stop tracking, is there some setting I need to change?
                          (2) Mount slews on time (confirmed, 3 nights in a row waking up at 3.40am to check)
                          (3) Plate solves fine, with plenty stars
                          (4) I'm under the impression that Autocenter doesn't really try to slew. The encoders whirr for a second or two and then it just assumes the job is done. Checks again, but it's just as bad as before.
                          (5) rinse and repeat ad nauseam, until I give up

                          2022/09/06 03:53:15 [AutoCenter|End] Too far from center, distance = 206%(5.36674°)
                          2022/09/06 03:53:16 [AutoCenter|Begin] Auto-Center 18#
                          2022/09/06 03:53:16 Mount slews to target position: RA:0h56m56s DEC:-72°42'51"
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 Stop Autorun Manually
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 [AutoCenter|End] Cancel
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 Meridian Flip 1# failed
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 [Meridian Flip|End] Cancel, Meridian Flip failed
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 Start Tracking
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 [Guide] Start Tracking failed
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 Start Tracking
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 [Guide] Start Tracking failed
                          2022/09/06 03:53:19 [Autorun|End] Pause Autorun
                          Log disabled at 2022/09/06 03:53:19
                          Log enabled at 2022/09/06 04:01:39
                          2022/09/06 04:01:39 [Autorun|Begin] FOV Cross Start

                          Could this have anything to do with DST?

                          Any help would be greatly appreciated.

                          5 months later

                          HI
                          I've got serious issue with ASIAIR during Meridian Flip . Before the APP update with new version (January2023) everything went ok!
                          Now doesn't complete the meridian flip with my Celestron AVX Mount. The mount overturn my tube (SW200/1000) by 180°, in the opposite side of sky and then try to redo focus.
                          I never modified meridian flip on my AVX beacuse AVX is in a slave mode for ASIAIR and is impossible modifie something.
                          Would you help me please? TKS.

                          w7ay HI
                          I've got serious issue with ASIAIR during Meridian Flip . Before the APP update with new version (January2023) everything went ok!
                          Now doesn't complete the meridian flip with my Celestron AVX Mount. The mount overturn my tube (SW200/1000) by 180°, in the opposite side of sky and then try to redo focus.
                          I never modified meridian flip on my AVX beacuse AVX is in a slave mode for ASIAIR and is impossible modifie something.
                          Would you help me please? TKS.

                          • w7ay replied to this.

                              giubisc Now doesn't complete the meridian flip with my Celestron AVX Mount.

                              There is a release note for the v2.1 ASIAIR Beta that mentions fixing a bug regarding the AVX after a meridian flip. You can check the notes in the Apple TestFlight notes to see if they sound like the problem that you have. If so, you might want to try the Beta (but be sure that you know how revert to old firmware before running the Beta, which also updates the firmware).

                              Chen