AM5 latest firmware v1.2.3 beta and ASCOM v6.5.15 beta is released for test!: Page 4

AM5 latest firmware v1.2.3 beta and ASCOM v6.5.15 beta is released for test!

w7ay

broscheanu After slewing to several targets, tracking stopped.

Did you happen to slew across the Meridian Limit? If so, I would not be surprised if ZWO had stopped tracking when some limit is encountered, and "forgot" to document it in the manual.

Remember that if it is circumpolar target, there are two different Meridians, and thus two different Meridian limits.

Traditionally, a mount autonomously starts tracking right after a GOTO command. Once it is stopped, tracking won't start again until the mount is explicitly asked to, or another GOTO is sent to the mount.

Chen

broscheanu

w7ay
I did not slew past the meridian line. And BTW my meridian limit is set to +15 degrees, thanks to the new firmware. My target wasn't circumpolar either, as my view of the celestial pole is blocked. I may have issued a park command from ASCOM server, which sends the scope to 270 degrees. Perhaps my issue is related to park, as it's a new feature.
In the end issued a GOTO command, the scope slew to the target, but it was stopped, not tracking. None of the software options to enable sidereal tracking worked, so I had to toggle the power switch.

broscheanu

w7ay
On a second thought... I must have crossed the meridian when I issued the Park command. I was imaging in the east, say 120 degrees azimuth. I issued the Park command, the scope went to 270 degrees west, doing a meridian crossing through the north. Then I issued another GoTo command, back to the east. The scope slewed, but never started tracking until I toggled the power switch. Maybe this gives you more information...

w7ay

broscheanu Perhaps my issue is related to park, as it's a new feature.

Could be; tracking would certainly stop after a park, and a slew command from there would not start tracking again by itself.

In the end issued a GOTO command, the scope slew to the target, but it was stopped, not tracking.

This is probably a bug. Tracking should start immediately after a successful GOTO. Is there something in the manual that mentions the state of tracking for different conditions?

Chen

Software@ZWO

broscheanu

1) When I click Park on the Ascom server, the scope goes to azimuth 270 deg, which is the current expected behavior. When I press Park in NINA, the scope goes to HOME. I'm not sure why the behavior in NINA is different, since it connects to the mount through ASCOM. Please give us the ability to specify the park coordinates.

We have fixed this problem. We will release a new version soon.

2) I experienced a random failure to track. After slewing to several targets, tracking stopped. The mount was responsive to new slew (GoTo) commands, but once it settled it wouldn't start tracking the new target. I could not turn on tracking from ASCOM Server, NINA or the hand controller. I had to power off the mount to reset it, then back to normal. This happened once over 4 consecutive days of use. The green light in ASCOM Server may be on, but still not tracking, as stars have streaks and ASTAP platesolve fails.
3) If I change the guiding rate in advanced tab, from 0.5 sidereal to anything else, PHD2 guiding sets the calibration step to a huge value of 10000ms, the star is lost, and PHD2 is just looping. I've tried 0.7x, 0.8x,0.9x guide rates and the same behavior was observed. PHD2 notices when you change the guide rate, and wants you to perform a calibration. Even if I manually put 350ms guiding pulse, which is the expected value for 0.5x sidereal, as soon as I click Shift+Guide to perform calibration, the guiding pulse is reset to a huge number that pushes the star so far that it ends up lost. The workaround is to go back to 0.5x guiding rate and then everything works as expected.

We are studying the second and third questions. When there is progress, we will reply here

Best Regards

zhangjw_ZWO

broscheanu
The first problem is fixed . Did you got a log for issue two. For issue three , alt-azm mode is not support change guiding rate, only gem mode support this feature. If you still have problem with the version, contant our tech support for a remote check.

broscheanu

zhangjw_ZWO
Thanks for fixing the 1st issue.

I don't know if I have a log. Where should I look?

I am not using alt-az mode. I'm in equatorial mode, and guiding with PHD2, which doesn't work in alt-az.
Please change the guide rate in ASCOM server, then go to PHD2 and do a calibration. You will notice the step size increases to an unrealistically high number, and the process can't complete.

w7ay

broscheanu I must have crossed the meridian when I issued the Park command.

Yep, you may have hit the meridian limit, and perhaps the mount stops tracking once it has touched the limit.

In general, best to avoid slews anywhere near the zero hour angle of the mount. It can really confuse the pier side of the mount if the mounts do not properly take case of it.

Chen

zhangjw_ZWO

broscheanu
Log file will be locate at Document/ASCOM. About the PHD2 with guiding rate change issue , we'll try to find out why.

zhangjw_ZWO

broscheanu
We've tested the different guide rate with PHD2, the Calibration steps of 0.1x guide rate is Slightly greater than 0.5x and 0.9x ([0.1x, 20 ] , [0.5x, 12], [0.9x,13] direction: west) ([0.1x, 28 ] , [0.5x, 14], [0.9x, 9] direction: east) and the calibration completed. Did the PHD2 lost star during calibration or something cover up your telescope.

broscheanu

zhangjw_ZWO
Thanks for investigating my issue, and sorry for the late reply.
In your description, what is the second number in brackets for example [0.9x,13]? Does that mean it took 13 steps to complete calibration? I think this number of steps depends on the guiding pulse in milliseconds. If I remember correctly PHD2 tries to move 25um in 12 steps, and adjusts the guiding pulse based on sidereal guide rate and optics/camera pixel size.

I usually perform calibration at DEC=0 near South, as that's the highest altitude and the least atmosphere to go through. The scope was not covered, and no building/tree was in the way. The issue was every time I changed the guide rate in ASCOM server, PHD2 detected the change and requested I perform a new calibration. When I started the calibration PHD2 set the guiding pulse too large, so that when it began to push the star, it moved so far that it got lost. I was not able to perform calibration with the 3 guiding rates of 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9x sidereal. When I set the guiding rate back to 0.5x sidereal in ASCOM server, I could calibrate, and I could correctly calculate the correct guiding pulse based on my optics/camera.

Clearly you were able to complete calibration with guiding rates other than 0.5x sidereal, so that is good. I will try this again next time I setup the scope. The 10 day forecast shows continuous rain and clouds, so it will be a while until I can do more tests.

Did you reset the mount, or close and restart ASCOM server or PHD2 between guide rate changes?

zhangjw_ZWO

broscheanu

For example like this ([0.1x, 20 ] , [0.5x, 12], [0.9x,13] direction: west) , it means when set guiding rate to 0.9x , the
Calibration to west takes 13 steps;
No need to reset mount or ASCOM , PHD2, the guiding rate only work during guiding.
Try select a star at the middle of your view, the max guiding rate (0.9x to west max speed is (1 + 0.9) * 15.0 arc-sec per second) is not a fast speed, it should not cause star move out of your view.

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