ASIAir Buggy w/ LX200 Classic

Solarity

I have only been able to find one other person who is using a LX200 Classic w/ an ASIAir directly connected to their LX200 Classic mount. They are also having the same issue as me. Whenever the LX200 Classic Mount driver is used/selected, the GoTo slews to the position, though the ASIAir disconnects the mount. However when I try the ASIAir using the LX200 Basic driver, I am able to use GoTo w/o any crashes, though using the Basic driver means I am really just using it for visual as many of the other features are disabled, i.e. polar alignment & tracking. Looking on forums, FB groups, and reddit, I can confirm two people had it working in 2022 and one of those had the same firmware version as me (3.34L). The person who has the same FW as me, also quit using his LX200 in 2022 and after repeated attempts to contact him, I got no response. The other person who had it working posted in this forum and in Spanish on May 2023 that after he upgraded to version 2.1, he was getting crashing issues, when he used GoTo. So it looks like ZWO introduced a regression bug to their ASIAir that might have come in version 2.1. I have tested my mount via the Indi LX200 Classic driver on my AstroBerry and I can use GoTo w/o any issue. Note, there are a few people who use a Windows PC directly connected to the ASIAir and using the ASCOM driver, though I think this defeats the purpose of the ASIAir.

On the Cloudy Night's forum I have been trying to see if I can resolve this issue with using a FTDI board, Arduino, and a Max232 chip. Note, not to add confusion, though in this post we are also trying to add the functionality of guiding w/o having to switch to the OnCam ST-4, which was done by Jetty in 2022 using similar hardware and an optocoupler that sends pulses to the CCD port. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/921037-asiair-lx200-classic-asiadpater-open-source-project/?p=13438192

Using a logic analyzer, in between the LX200 and the ASIAir, we are able to see that the LX200 Classic driver differs in it's implementation of GoTo by sending the "😃#" command, which is a work around in Indi to get if the telescope is still slewing or not. Something type of error condition on the ASIAir side appears to making the ASIAir panic and disconnect the mount. I have opened a ticket BT20240506897672A.

I have an AM5 that I use for my refractor and I was planning on getting a 2nd ASIAir, so I don't have to keep swapping things around, I will buy a 2nd one, once this bug has been resolved. It is amazing how this is stupid easy compared to the Astroberry, so I would love to have it working on my LX200 as well.

Obs30

Which version of INDI is Astroberry using? Do you have the same issues with KStars/EKOS (3.6.x or 3.7.0)? Or did you even try StellarMate (v1.8.2)?

Would be good to know, which version of the LX200 drivers the ASIAIR is using.

SkySafari 7 has also a built-in INDI Server now. That might be interesting to double check.

You can always check the communication in the debugging logs via iINDI (iOS based). It logs the communication between the ASIAIR and your mounts. EKOS does it, too. iINDI might be easier to use ;-). You can set the level of verbosity in the log settings.

Solarity

Obs30

I don't have a StellarMate, only the Astroberry system I built out a couple months ago.

According to KStars, I am running version 3.6 Stable.

I also have SkySafari and a Bluetooth Dongle that plugs into the RS232 port of my LX200. I used the "Other Connection" connection type in SkySafari and was able to GoTo where ever I wanted multiple times in a row. I also tried the Indi Driver using the ASIAir and ODDLY enough I was able to use GoTo w/o incident. Though the positioning of it seemed off.

How do I access these debugging logs? I looked in the shares of the ASIAir and didn't see anything. I saw some reference to logs in the bug report, though I wasn't able to access them. All I found in the shares was some normal work flow, there were no errors regarding the issues I was facing. Also I am accessing my ASIAir via Android devices (Tablet and Samsung S24 Ultra).

I really don't think this is an Indi thing at all or my scope.

Obs30

Solarity

In iINDI you can set in the INDI settings the level of verbosity. I think you can do the same in EKOS.

You basically define in EKOS the IP address of the ASIAIR as a remote INDI server. Every time the ASIAIR communicates with your mount it is shown in the output/log section/window at the bottom.

Tracerocks

I need this fixed as well. I’m using an Lx200 classic unguided in Alt-Az. Lx200 basic is only mode that works on Asiair.

I am adding a wedge and will need tracking , guiding and PA.

I sure hope Zwo will get on this and fix this bug. Apparently Lx200 classic mount selection was working about a year and a half ago.

Solarity

Other user having issues w/ the ASIAir on this forum:
Otr - https://bbs.zwoastro.com/d/15898-asiair-v21-has-been-released/137 (He downgraded to Version 2.0 to resolve his issue).

I am not sure it is even possible for me to down grade my ASIAir Plus to that version.

Tracerocks

I’d revert to 2.0 in order to get my system running.

ZWO, please advise.

Obs30

I am not at the telescope today, so screenshots have to wait until later this week.

This is only for logging the communication, not for controlling the mount. The ASIAIR needs to be connected to the mount.