ASIAIR v2.1.2 Public Beta Released！: Page 5

ASIAIR v2.1.2 Public Beta Released！

Obs30

Anyway… I do not want to discuss how ZWO is using or abusing licenses and files from GitHub. I am no expert. I am 100% sure, thousands of programmers are „re-using“ code from GitHub and other open-source libraries without proper referencing. Any other viewpoint is pretty naïve.

When you put things out there, it will be used one way or another … ChatGPT is the best example.

Anyway, I bought this mount over two years ago with the promise, it can be used with the ASIAIR… this is finally coming true, once this driver will - hopefully - be available on the ASIAIR.

franco

On Android when entering any numeric value the stock keypad pops up obscuring the ASI custom numeric keypad.

Reddevil

Kevin_A

I'm also in the boat of my guiding being worse with the new firmware. I recently replaced my guide camera as my ASI178MM developed some weird smearing contamination under the lens inside the camera (and on the sensor) however it could get down to 0.3-.4 total error with the old firmware in good seeing even with smudgy, distorted stars.

This new firmware the 178MM error doubled, with the replacement 715MC (hence why I had to install the beta) can't seem to reliably do any better than 0.6-0.8 due to the RA error being twice as bad an moving all over the place anywhere from 1+ to 0.4 before moving around again over the space of a few minutes, running PHD2 on a laptop connected to exactly the same setup can run consistently at 0.2-0.3 total error over 10+ minutes and both axis are consistently sitting at 0.15-0.3 without the weird movement in RA. Both RA and Dec errors are twice as bad as PHD2 directly when I match the ASIair guide settings to match the PHD2 guide assistant values as much as the Air's UI allows - without being able to adjust the minimo's I can't make it exactly match PHD2 performance (PHD recommending minmo closer to 0.6 for my setup).

The only way I can tame the ASIAIRs jiggling around in the RA is to change the mount tracking rate to 0.9x which seems to correct the issue faster but it's still happening. No amount of tweaking the aggressiveness seems to completely fix it. PHD2 guides quite happily and stable at 0.5x with the 0.3 total error.

It's been a mission to try to fine tune the guiding performance with the 715MC and the ASIAIR with he new firmware, lots of trial and error to get it to the point it's at now but it's still not performing as well as it can in PHD2. The old firmware felt like it worked better.

Kevin_A

Reddevil the only thing I do not rely on is Phd2 suggesting Minmo as it does not adjust its settings for strain wave mounts. I read over a few manufacturers documentations regarding Minmo and they state you need to reduce phd2 Minmo by one half of phd2 recommendations.
I hear you on it running better on phd2 vs Asiair! As far as guide rate… a higher rate with smaller durations works but also a lower guide rate with slightly higher durations at a faster 0.5 exposure smooths out sawtooth patterned guiding. I just want Minmo adjustability as it is really the last thing needed in a simple 1, 2, 3 ecosystem. They can keep it simple but Minmo needs flexibility.

Prismokay

Reddevil
The boat is more like a yacht at this point.

Simply put, like you said, the entire system needs to have an "Advanced Guiding Settings" page added that allows you to tune the MinMo, backlash compensation, etc, etc like PHD2 has. That's the one thing I miss about PHD2 moving over to the Air. (I don't miss focusing manually with an SCT Focus Motor 🤢 )

My guiding was consistently .1-.3" before this firmware version, and now it sits around .6-.9, which OAG'ing at 2032mm and .576"/PX is unacceptable- especially considering how consistently good my seeing is in my location (I've had multiple nights in the last week with 8 minute star FWHM under 1"- laser sharp). Keep in mind I'm also using an EQ6R.

Nothing has changed in my imaging train when I moved to that new version, but as you said, it likes to jiggle around in RA now, instead of correcting properly despite the reduction in guide rate from .9 to .75, it overcompensates on RA even with heavily reduced AGR and undercompensates on DEC with 100% AGR. It's rather annoying.

Last night infact, despite having good seeing and a near-perfect full mount balance & calibration, I had issues with guiding to the extent where I had to drop 5 (8 minute) frames from a dataset because of egg-shaped or shimmied stars!

I've never dropped frames before!

I want to like the (honestly pretty good) additions (Thank the Gods in Red for the LDN catalogue and the Sony dot fix!) from 2.1.2. but I really can't because of all the bugs surrounding guiding.

In other words: Advanced Guiding Settings page please and thank you.

Reddevil

Kevin_A In my case I just have a belt driven EQ6-R so possibly not as sensitive to PHD2's minmo calculation as your mount but the downside is less accurate tracking and more backlash than a strain wave which can't be tuned out in the ASIAIR... one trade off for another as always with this game!

Optional settings in an Advanced tab on the ASIAIR for minmo and mount backlash adjustments would be perfect. (keep it simple for most but give power users a little more flexibility)

gammerpc

Nice to see the LDN catalog added!

Kevin_A

Reddevil i understand fully. Based on my calculations for my scopes the ideal MinMo setting is 0.2, but that is only ideal for my worm gear mounts. Using a SWG mount it increases my RMS numbers by 50% on average due to the faster but smaller guide responses needed. ZWO just does not want their ecosystem to become another PHD2. I understand that, but Minmo is probably one of the top 3 settings mounts need adjustability with.

Obs30

Having issues on macOS, MacBookPro M1Pro. ASIAIR GUI has lots of issues that it did not use to have. Zooming in or out with the trackpad does not work anymore. Input into text and number fields with the hardware keyboard does not work anymore, either,

SFj9LuNr

How do I down grade from 2.1.2 10.94 to 2.1.1 10.74. I've reset the firmware but it keeps installing 2.1.2 10.94

Thanks

SFj9LuNr

Just got Test Flight notification of 2.1.2 (40). I’ll give it a go.

BrineyEye

I just got the beta with TestFlight, so we'll see how it goes. Tonight is supposed to be pretty good.

I'm a bit concerned about my AM5 mount after something I saw happen last night. I have occasionally seen large jumps in the tracking over the last year, but last night it started jumping back and forth on every frame. The first time I lost the frame because RA jumped and doubled the stars, then it went into a two-hour oscillation, but the frames were still usable. When I Blink the frames it really looks like it got its bell rung, with an initial large excursion followed by a ring-down over two hours, then it was stable (just regular dithers) the rest of the night.

SFj9LuNr

I reset my firmware last night. The app shows 2.1.2 10.94. When I download Beta (40) just now and run it I get a splash screen that says App version is out of date, Current 10.94. If I press Go to Update it takes me to IOS App store to download 2.1.1 10.74. Not now takes me to the initial screen showing equipment, focal length etc. If I download from Test Flight 2.1.2 (38) then the app and firmware are matched. What am I missing? I'm on iPad
Thanks

Holmbo

SFj9LuNr I have the same problem on my Ipad. I have reported the problem.

Obs30

SFj9LuNr Same issue here on the iPad with the lates iPad OS 17.2.

jsg

Kevin_A

Hi Kevin,

How do you test this when seeing conditions are always changing by the minute? I took out my new AM5 to a dark sky site last week and got decent guiding averaging around .4-.6 arcs seconds of error, and that was in fairly poor sky conditions with low transparency and mediocre seeing. I use an ASI220mm mini guide camera with a 240mm focal length guide scope, The asi220mm has a 4 micron pixel size compared to the ASI173, which I used to use which had a 5.86 pixel size.

But in the year I've been doing astrophotography I have never seen guide numbers stay exactly the same throughout the night.

Jerry

Kevin_A

jsg it is hard to test anything this time of year. I have really stable skies most years exept this one due to fires. The information regarding Minmo is from various SWG manufacturers documentation regarding guiding preferences with their own equipment. Rainbow, Pegasis etc. Worm gear mounts have bigger but slower PE and you use longer guide exposures to cancel out sporadic seeing issues. Multistar help too by using many centroids. SWGears have less PE but very rapid so you have to work around that with other parameters you have at your disposal. Some manufacturers give guidance… but not ZWO.

SFj9LuNr

Build (41) came out but it didn’t update firmware. The App still shows 2.1.2 10.94
What does this build fix. How about some release notes.?

Holmbo

SFj9LuNr I guess the build (40) fix some Vixen (Vixin?) App only bug. And the build (41) fix the FW check bug in build (40). :-)

Shartok

Can someone tell me if the "normal" Canon EOS M50 will also work with the new release?
When the M50ii will work, I hope so will the M50.

Need to know before ordering an ASIAIR device.

Thanks

SFEeSRLp

Shartok nope! I try it and it doesn’t work!

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