220mm and the skyx

karenwhittingham

I don't seem to be able to connect the brand new 220 guider to the skyx - it's just not picking it up
its working fine in ASI studio?

any ideas?
thanks
Karen

w7ay

karenwhittingham brand new 220 guider to the skyx

Check with Software Bisque if TheSkyX currently supports the ASI220. You can also check if they have a new download after ZWO announced the ASI220.

I did not see any ZWO SDK support for ASI220 until late Novermber last year -- any TheSkyX build before that may not be able to find your camera.

Chen

Tech@ZWO

karenwhittingham Updated the plugin to try.
This is the download link: https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/software-drivers

mrpugh55

I have reported this issue to you before. I have now downloaded the updated native drivers and the updated ASCOM drivers.

Using the native driver, TSX cannot connect to it.
Using the ASCOM driver, the camera works until you take a subframe and then revert to full frame where the initial problem remains i.e the camera hangs.

In Maxim DL, which does not support native ZWO drivers ,only ASCOM, it connects but throws an error when trying to take an exposure.

This is A VERY POOR SHOW

Tech@ZWO

mrpugh55 Did you test the camera with different cables in ASIStudio to rule ou the problem with the camera？

Using the native driver, TSX cannot connect to it.

Please ensure install the latest version SKYX plugin, here is the download link: https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/software-drivers

Using the ASCOM driver, the camera works until you take a subframe and then revert to full frame where the initial problem remains i.e the camera hangs.

We reproduced the problem in MDL, and our engineers looking into this problem, thanks for your feedback.

In Maxim DL, which does not support native ZWO drivers, only ASCOM, it connects but throws an error when trying to take an exposure.

What is the error message? can you take a picture and send to us? BTW, what is the version of your ASCOM platform, ASCOM driver and MDL?

mrpugh55

I have looked at the DLL files installed under the Program Files (x86)/Common Files/ASCOM/ZWO and all of those drivers are dated 4 Jan 23. So what is the current version date?

w7ay

Tech@ZWO Did you test the camera with different cables in ASIStudio to rule ou the problem with the camera？

Why do you keep asking customers to try matching different cables to your cameras? If a cable works with other devices, it should also work with your cameras.

The fact that a particular cable does not work with a particular camera can simply be caused by the camera's USB hardware/firmware or the ASIAIR USB hardware/firmware are not designed with proper engineering margins.

You need to have a known set of test cables with different lengths and test a camera during QA with a number of ASIAIR (which also has less engineering margin than a well designed computer USB interface -- that is why some cameras will connect to a computer, but not to an ASIAIR). If any combination of ASIAIR/cable does not work, do not ship the camera to a customer to make it become their problem.

You need to also do this when QA'ing an ASIAIR before shipping the ASIAIR. Test the ASIAIR against a range of cables and cameras.

When a device is returned because it has problems, you can then check it against the known process. The key to good engineering is a set of good process to follow, and tune the QA process to improve the quality of the shipped product.

There are two ways to ensure that the customer does not end up with a defective unit -- one is to make sure the product is designed with sufficient margins in the first place. The second is to perform QA to weed out the units that don't meet the proper margins, so they don't get shipped. 4 ASIAIR and 4 different cables will take 16 tests to pass QA for a camera, for example, and likewise, 4 cameras and 4 cables will take 16 tests to QA an ASIAIR. And if there is still more than 0.01% failure rate, increase the number of tests.

This way, your paying customers do not end up being a replacement for your QA department, and having to perform the tests themselves.

Chen

Tech@ZWO

w7ay Why do you keep asking customers to try matching different cables to your cameras? If a cable works with other devices, it should also work with your cameras.

Yes, you are correct. mrpugh55 said that the camera works fine via ASCOM, i shouldn't ask him to do this test. I will reply more carefully and accurately in the future.
Thank you for pointing that out.