ZWO CAA - To the ZWO Team. Astro friends – please read and confirm or disagree…

BrineyEye

Had mine out for the first time last night. Nearly twisted itself in knots. Some of my problems are probably operator error, but it's turned off until ZWO updates the app to do the things iterated above. It's not even a beta at this point.

BrineyEye

Oh, and I had my first-ever full crash of ASIair last night. Like I said, the CAA is turned off until the next release.

Sonixx

ZWO is awfully silent on the CAA Software development. I wonder if anybody is working on the software implementation.

igblaar

I'd also like to add my full support to the previous comments regarding the urgent need for a configurable mechanical Zero or "Home" position. Being able to define a neutral reference position—independent from sky coordinates—is essential for safe and repeatable operation, especially in setups where cable management is critical and the filter wheel needs to stay upright.

In my view, the lack of a user-defined "Home" and the inability to restrict rotation range around that reference point makes the current CAA behavior too risky in unattended imaging sessions.

In addition, I would strongly encourage the ZWO team to:

Log the CAA rotation angle in the session log for every frame captured.

Allow the rotation angle to be included in the filename (e.g., _rotXXX) just like with filter or gain tags.

Ensure the FITS header contains the actual mechanical rotation value—not just a derived sky angle.

These are not "nice to have" features—they are mandatory for reproducible data and safe operation, particularly when planning to shoot flats later or aligning panel rotations in mosaics.

This is a great piece of hardware, but it needs urgent attention on the software and user experience side to become truly usable in real-world scenarios.

Clear skies,
Ignacio

Tech@ZWO

Thank you for your support and feedback.

1 About the zero position, there is a mechanical Zero position inside the CAA, and it can not cross this position during rotation. so there is no way to set the rotation direction.

2 The mechanical angle is different from plate solve angle. the angle shows in the ASIAIR is plate solve angle.

3 For the meridian flip problem, we add a feature named 'rotation range' to solve this, if the users choose 360 degrees, which means the CAA will rotate within 360 degrees, in this case, it will rotate 180 degrees after meridian to make sure the image have the same angle as the image before meridian.
If the users choose 180 degrees, which means the CAA will rotate from machanical ZERO position to mechanical 180 degrees position, or rotate from mechanical 180 degrees to mechanical 360 degrees. the range depends on the current mechanical position. in this case, it won't rotate 180 degrees after meridian, because it will think that consider 10 degrees and 190 degrees to be the same.

For these two suggestions, i forwarded to our team.

1) Add into the FITS header the CAA rotation angle
2) Add the CAA rotation angle into the filename options (custom)

Also, we noted all feedback you post, we really appreciate that and will try our best to optimize as soon as possible. If there is any suggestions please do not hesitate to tell me.

Thanks a lot.

maheitk

Tech@ZWO So, if there's a mechanical limit making zero positioning impossible, ZWO should consider redesign the software in total. Why didn't you learn from all the other manufacturers for rotators?
In addition, the angle given in ASIair is different from angles given in other software using CAA. Why is that? Again a limit?
Please make sure CAA is working as any other rotator. It's a nice piece of equipment but mostly unpredictable, not only for other software but even for ZWO software.

igblaar

Hi everyone,

I’d like to join the discussion and fully support the points raised by @benek23, @SSonixx and others. I believe the hardware has great potential, but the current software limitations are a real bottleneck.

Let me add a few practical suggestions based on recent experiences:

Allow the user to park the CAA at the mechanical zero (or in a poind defined by de user) at the end of a session or plan. This is essential for setups where the filter wheel protrudes below the OTA and is at risk of collision during storage or daytime rest positions.

The 180° limit option is not reliable at the moment. Depending on the current mechanical position, it can result in unexpected and large movements. A clear definition of the "zero" and a more intelligent path selection algorithm would avoid full 360° rotations just to reach a nearby angle.

It would be incredibly helpful to have a checkbox in the driver settings (perhaps under “advanced options”) to enable/disable automatic rotation during key operations:
– GoTo
– Meridian flip
– Plan/Autorun start
This would help avoid unwanted angle changes after taking flats, which is currently very frustrating.

And yes, logging and saving the mechanical angle (in FITS headers and filenames) is mandatory for reproducible calibration and mosaic work.

Thank you to the ZWO team for listening and for forwarding these issues. We’re all hoping to see these improvements implemented soon!

Clear skies,

Tech@ZWO

Thank you very much for your feedback, i conveyed to our team.

viperduude

I too support all the comments given so far. The unpredictability of how CAA will rotate is a huge headache and guarantee for cable snags. Also, CAA angle and framing angle being different is another huge headache when trying to incorporate camera angles into plans and in the production of calibration frames. Please make them the same. I've taken CAA out of my image train until these issues are solved.

Tech@ZWO

We are so sorry for that, and we are working no this, will optimize this as soon as possible.

DvsZIO2F

maheitk
I haven't found any mechanical stop, according to what ZWO claim. My CAAs (two of them) will each rotate 360 degrees and then keep on going. One night I had a cumulated 900 degrees of rotation (two and a half full turns) across several targets resulting in a complete lock-up with the cables. Maybe ZWO means the mechanical stop is provided by the users cables?? :o((
Right now, both my CAA units are utterly useless. This has been a reported issue with ZWO for MONTHS, yet their customers are still waiting. I'll never buy a new release of anything from ZWO after this experience.

Kevin_A

ZWO should even add a manual rotate mode only button, so the user can simply rotate the CAA either direction of a set position. Very simple 1,2,3 operation mode.
There is nothing more frustrating not being able rotate one way by a hand controller and having to rotate it 350 degrees just to go 10 degrees the way it wont allow it to rotate. I just want to rotate it like I would a mechanical rotator.

Until ZWO introduces a fix or refines the Asiair function and features I have removed my CAA and will temporarily shelve it. It just is not worth possibly destroying my camera ports from over-rotation.

Johnico

Kevin_A
Hey Kevin ... Just picked up a used CAA. Hit me up on FB, I think I also should wait to install ?

benek

DvsZIO2F :
WHAT ???? 900 degrees ? ;(

I came back to the topic after 2.5 months. I restarted my CAA and I see absolutely nothing has improved. ZWO, you don’t care at all about the community that uses your products, the CAA software is dangerous and may cause users to incur costs. PROBLEMS THAT ARE REPORTED SHOULD BE FIXED WITHIN 2 WEEKS MAX!

You have failed once again!!!

Tech@ZWO
"Our technical team will help troubleshoot the issue. It would be great if you could include some videos as well. Thank you!"

FOR GOD'S SAKE, don’t you have your own testing team? Don’t you know how your hardware works? You have no clue and no contact with the actual issues – SHOCKING, it all looks like 10 guys building this gear in a shed, no testing, no trials, no goal to make good equipment – it’s all about units sold, the numbers...

Remember my friends – in my opinion the hardware is not entirely safe and does not guarantee what is described by the manufacturer, which means (at least in the EU) the product is not compliant with the description, and therefore – according to consumer protection law – you have 24 months warranty to return the item as non-compliant and get 100% of your money back!

Sonixx

We are now waiting for months to have the software of the CAA to be fixed. I wonder if ZWO obsoleted the product already. It absolutely has an extremely low priority on the to fix list. Despite having the potential for catastrophic failure.
The option to set a manual Zero position at any given position and then limit the Rotator to +-90 degrees should be easy enough to implement. Unless something is fundamentally wrong with the hardware or firmware.

@Tech@ZWO
I observed another issue when using the rotator with Nina. After booting up and connecting the CAA does NOT react to movement commands for 10+ times. More precisely the software thinks it moved but mechanically it did not. But once, alter several attemps, it finally physically moved it will move every time. This does not happen with Asiair.
Anybody else experience this?

Regards,

Stephan

Tech@ZWO

Sonixx What software are you using to control the device? The log would be helpful for our analysis.
Also, could you please submit a ticket [https://support.zwoastro.com/]?
Our technical team will help troubleshoot the issue. It would be great if you could include some videos as well. Thank you!

Sonixx

Thank you for coming back to my issue.
This happens with Ascom via NINA. Have not observed it with ASIAIR yet. But in another thread another user has this issue with ASIAIR.

Don‘t have any logs yet, not sure where they are in Nina, currently we have white nights here so no Photography.

But the issue is the the rotator does not physically move, but apparently the Ascom driver reports to Nina it is moving. Thus it hangs a long time in the initial slew center and rotate loop.

I have used different USB cables and USB ports. It did not change the outcome.

Haggy38

Its May 29th and I don't see any update in the CAA request, to be safe and usable in our setups, please be clear when its going to be a firmware update for this? Thanks.

igblaar

Hi all,
I’d like to return to this thread with a quick update and a couple of suggestions following the release of ASIAIR v2.4 beta.
First of all — thanks to the ZWO team for finally addressing some key issues in this update. The ability to define a rotation range and improvements in coordinate handling are definitely steps in the right direction.
Now, to make the CAA truly practical for real-world use, I’d like to re-emphasize two critical improvements that are still missing:

Allow users to define a manual "home" or "park" position (ideally the mechanical zero or any user-defined angle) to be used at the end of a session or plan.

This feature would make a huge difference for those of us who need to:

Safely store the OTA after imaging, especially in tight enclosures or when the filter wheel extends downward.
Avoid collisions with dovetails or storage cases during automated shutdown.
Ensure predictable behavior when reinitializing the system after power cycles.

Suggested implementation:
Add a simple angle input box in the CAA settings menu to define the desired “home” or “park” angle (e.g. 0°, 90°, etc.), and a checkbox such as:
“Park CAA to defined angle after plan/preview/live mode ends”.

Add an option to disable automatic rotation after a GoTo.

Currently, ASIAIR automatically adjusts the rotation after every GoTo, even by a few degrees. This becomes extremely frustrating after taking flats — the tiny angle changes force you to retake all flats again, just because the CAA decided to apply a micro-adjustment.

To fix this, I propose:

Adding a setting in the CAA menu:
“Apply automatic rotation after GoTo” → [Enabled/Disabled]

Or, even better, prompt the user after each GoTo:
“Object located. Apply rotation to match framing?” → [Yes/No]

This gives control back to the user and avoids unnecessary image misalignment or flat frame repetition.

Once again, thank you for the continued improvements — the CAA hardware has real potential, and with a few more software updates, it could become a reliable part of the imaging train.

Clear skies,

igblaar