Asiair Plus and app: GoTo problem

mjm.vanderburgt@gmai

Hello,

I often have a problem with the GoTo in my set-up. Sometimes when I start a session the GoTo sends the scope to impossible directions (to the horizon or lower even). I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

My setup is as follows:
1) Asiair Plus
2) ZWO 2600MC Pro camera
3) a 400 mm Askar refractor scope
4) a ZWO Mini guide camera and guide scope
5) a Sky Watcher EQM 35 Pro mount (EQMOD cable for connection to Asiair Plus).
6) Asiair app on iPad (updated to the latest version 2.2 yesterday Nov 28 2024)

A new session means:
1) moving my set-up from inside the house to the garden (I am living in the Northern Hemisphere and the location is correct in the app's mount tab).
2) orienting my scope North and connecting everything
3) a mechanical polar alignment with the polar scope of the mount
4) focussing the camera and checking plate solving in the App
5) polar alignment with the Asiar and app

These 5 steps usually all go well. But after 5), when I want to point the scope to a target in the sky with the app's GoTo, it often goes completely in the wrong direction. Pointing it to some place in the sky, taking an image and then doing a plate solve and subsequent 'Sync to Mount' does sometime solve this, but not always.
Usually I get the set-up to work one way or the other by redoing the polar alignment or starting from scratch and rebooting everything. But up to now (I have the Aisiar Plus since two years now) I have not found a consistent start-up, alignment, goto and image capturing flow which takes me a predictable and reasonable time to get started.
Maybe I am doing something wrong. The manual of the Asiair Plus has only a very small section on the app and is not very clear on the different steps one should systematically do to get imaging starting.

Did/does anyone have the same problem?
Has somebody a clear flow which always works, or a link where I can find this?
Any help is welcome. Thanks in advance.

Maarten

PMTeam@ZWO

Hello. Have you checked the time and location settings in ASIAIR? Are they correct?

mjm.vanderburgt@gmai

Hello PMTeam,

Thanks for your reply. Yes the location is correct (see screenshot). However the time I seen in the screenshot seems to be the time the Asiair is switched on. Is that correct?
While imaging the time I see on screen and in the saved files is the correct time from the iPad.
Any further suggestions are still appreciated. Could is be related to performing 'Sync to Mount' after plate solving?
It is e.g. not clear to me when to use this feature and when not.

Best regards,
Maarten

PMTeam@ZWO

mjm.vanderburgt@gmai Yes, we recommend you perform 'Sync to Mount' after plate solve.

mjm.vanderburgt@gmai

PS: My ID seems to be chosen not very intelligent. Is it possible to change this? I do not see that option in my Profile.

mjm.vanderburgt@gmai

Thanks, for your reply.
Would the following then be the right order of actions?

set up scope point and mechanical polar alignment (= home position)
switch on Asiair and app
move scope away from Polaris, grab image, plate solve and sync-to-mount
move back to home position
perform polar align
Goto object
start image capture

Thanks for your feedback,
Maarten

Corsair

mjm.vanderburgt@gmai

An important note here - whenever you move the mount manually - do so using the mount controls on screen (in Preview Mode) in the ASIAIR App itself. Otherwise the ASIAIR loses the Home position (which is set when the ASIAIR is turned on - which is why you need to have your setup in the correct physical Home position before turning on the ASIAIR).

And remember - when setting up pointing North - you want True North (not magnetic North).

Also, when returning to the home position, do so by going to Mount Settings > Go Home. This allows you to check that the ASIAIR still has the Home position correct.

I would add to your steps, after performing polar alignment, go to Mount Settings > Go Home, then Sync Mount.

You should then Go To a bright star to refine focus with a bahtinov mask.

Once you've refined focus - go to Mount Settings > Go Home.

If all is well, now you can Go To your target.

mjm.vanderburgt@gmai

Hello Corsair,

Thanks for your feedback. Below again the sequence of actions, with your additions included.
But, there are a few things I do not understand yet.

in step 7., the 'Sync to Mount' syncs your location to the mount again. The Asiair already does that at start up. Why would one need to do that again?
step 9., why is this needed, or is this again a check as in step 6.?

kind regards, Maarten

Set up the telescope and point it to the true North and perform a mechanical polar alignment (= this is the home position).
Switch on the Asiair and Asiair app.
In Preview Mode, using the mount controls, move the telescope away from Polaris (5 degrees at least), grab an image, plate solve and press sync-to-mount
Move back to home position, via the Go Home command in the mount tab
Perform the polar alignment
Move back to home position, again via the Go Home command in the mount tab
Still in the mount tab, Sync to Mount
GoTo a bright start to refine focus (with Bahtinov mask)
back to mount setting and Go Home
Go To the target for imaging