CAA Feedback - needs urgent software adjustments.

moritz.schoneshofer

Dear ZWO,

I just spent my first clear night with the new CAA and I feel the urgent need to give you immediate feedback. The CAA works great, but the software needs some very quick adjustmends. Otherwise the CAA is not giving more comfort, but more work.

Please give us more control over it in the Software! I noticed that the CAA is being rotated 180° after meridian flip. Simply: Why? It is not neccessary. 0°=180° // 90° = 270° etc. in post processing. Due to the CAA rotating 180° after the flip I am now forced to take double flat for one object AND I have no way in Pixinsight to assign a specific set of flats to a specific set of lights in one session. Give us the choice if we want the CAA to be rotated after flip.

Also give us the choice if we want the Rotation to happen when using the skyatlas to goto to an object or not. Sometimes I just want the scope to be poining to a specific region in the sky, but not swap cam angle just yet. As of now I need to closely watch AsiAir and abort the process.

Please incorporate rotation in the file name!! This is so important!

Lastly: Please give us the choice to limit rotation or define equivivalents like 0°=180° // 90° = 270°.
A 90° turn left and right is enough to cover all possible object framings.

I wish I could bring the CAA manually into a specific position and then define that as "home" or 0. From that defined home position I want it to rotate either 90° left or 90° right. Otherwise I will possibly snatch my cables, hit other equipment and so on.

I feel like I need these features to really make use of the CAA. Otherwise I might uninstall it from my optical train and just go back to regular manual rotation.

Thanks!

johnrsims43

moritz.schoneshofer
I’ve lost two hours of imaging (All images taken prior to flip) due to the 180 degree rotate after meridian flip. As you suggested, ZWO should either deactivate it or allow user to turn “On/Off”. I will still use it to achieve my preferred framing, and then turn it off in the ASIAIR (Hope that works).
Also agree with your other recommendations.
John

TommyVaz

I do agree on all the proposals! UP!

Sonixx

These are must haves!

Tech@ZWO

Noted, thank you for your suggestions.

WillemW

The original post is from one month ago. Can ZWO give an update about this topic. Working with the CAA when rotating 180 degrees after a meridian flip is asking for problems. Hopefully, ZWO realizes the importance of a quick solution. Now, I switch it off during a meridian flip. Not workable.
Thanks, Willem

johnrsims43

Hi WillemW,
Not sure what you mean. After turning off/disconnecting the CAA will the autorun continue, but not do the 180 rotation? Or does the ASIAir not finish the autorun?
Thanks,
John

RTWaldo

ZWO have any feedback on the request?

igblaar

Hi everyone,

I fully agree with the observations made in this thread regarding the behavior of the CAA after a meridian flip. The automatic 180° rotation is often unnecessary and, in many cases, actually doubles the workload, since we’re forced to capture flats for both orientations. This also complicates the calibration and processing workflow in tools like PixInsight.

The current “180° only” option is not sufficient. In practice, we still see rotations greater than 270°, which can be dangerous for cabling and the optical train. The CAA logic must be improved to always choose the shortest path and avoid excessive movement.

It's also crucial that the CAA does not rotate within the same session unless the user explicitly requests it. This is key to maintaining consistent framing and avoiding unnecessary interruptions.

Some additional improvements that I consider essential:

Allow users to enable or disable automatic rotation after meridian flip.

Let us define a manual reference position ("home" or 0°) and set limits for movement, for example ±90°, to prevent cable snags or potential collisions.

Give the option to disable rotation when slewing to a target using SkyAtlas, as sometimes we only want to point without altering the camera angle.

Include the rotation angle in the filename or FITS header, which is extremely helpful when stacking images from different sessions or nights.

Thanks to the ZWO team for listening to the community. I hope these enhancements can be implemented soon so we can fully enjoy the CAA’s potential without sacrificing reliability or workflow efficiency.

Clear skies!