ASIMount Firmware v1.8.8 is available now.Please update ASCOM Drivers to v6.5.35

ASIMount-ZWO

ASIMount Firmware v1.8.8 is available now.Please update ASCOM Drivers to v6.5.35
We formally announce the release of AM Firmware V1.8.8.
Optimization:

Support custom park position.
Fix some minor bugs.

Note：
1）To ensure the safety of the equipment, after the equatorial mount firmware is upgraded to version 1.8.8, the system will set the position where declination(DEC) is rotated 90° from the home position (i.e., the telescope is placed horizontally) as the default parking position for "Park Mount" .
2）Please upgrade your ASCOM drivers to V6.5.35. You can obtain the latest driver from our official website https://www.zwoastro.com/software/
We hope to provide you with a better user experience
ASI Mount Team

x9oh7760

ASIMount-ZWO Did you realise that the rotation to due West (horizontally) as described above then freezes the mount for the hand controller. I switched on and off several times but there was no response with any movement on the mount to the hand controller. In the end I had to connect via SkyAtlas and once connected via Wifi, I could park the mount in the NCP location and all appears working well with full hand controller operation, that I use much of the time as a visual observer.

KaufmannRoger

After updating to Firmware v1.8.8 how does one customize the park position to reset from the default park noted above? I use my AM5N with an ASIAir Plus 256GB and am running ASIAIR Firmware v2.5 on iPad IOS. The reference to the ASCOM 6.5.35 update suggests this feature my only be available for MS Windows users.

ASIMount-ZWO

KaufmannRoger
Have you successfully set up the park position function on ASIAIR APP?

jtadmin

Hi ZWO team,

I am validating an AM5N on firmware 1.8.8 and seeing that PulseGuide appears nonfunctional via the documented serial protocol. I would like confirmation on intended behavior and any missing prerequisites.

Environment

Mount: AM5N
Firmware:1.8.8
Driver: Shows 6.5.24.0 even though I downloaded the v6.5.35
Connection: direct serial over USB (device tty.usbmodem1234561)
Protocol docs referenced: ZWO AM mount serial protocol (v2.1/final)
Conformance tool: ASCOM ConformU 4.2.1 (Windows)

Observed behavior

:Mgdnnnn# returns 1 (OK) but no RA/Dec movement is observed.
:GU# never reports T/t guiding flags during :Mgd.
Manual move commands do move the mount (e.g., :RC# then :Me#/:Mw#/:Mn#/:Ms#).
Guide rate commands :Rg0.nn# and :Ggr# respond, but do not change :Mgd effectiveness.

Questions

Is :Mgdnnnn# supported on AM5N firmware 1.8.8? If not, what firmware version added support?

Are there prerequisites for :Mgd to work (tracking on, unparked, specific mode, “guide mode”, or alignment state)?

What is the expected behavior of :GU# during pulse guiding? Should it show T/t? Is there a different status command?

What is the exact expected unit for :Rg0.nn# and :Ggr# on AM5N? (Docs show 0.10–0.90, older docs mention multiplying by 15.)

Does AM5N require an alternate command for pulse guide (non-:Mgd), or a different command set for LX200 compatibility?

Can you provide a minimal command sequence for a successful RA/Dec pulse guide on AM5N?

References
Protocol docs I am using (from Indigo/ZWO):
https://github.com/indigo-astronomy/indigo/tree/master/indigo_drivers/mount_asi/docs

ConformU:
https://github.com/ASCOMInitiative/ConformU/releases/tag/v4.2.1

I have attached the ConformU report which has 52 Issues and 27 timing problems.

ascomconformu0804596260.txt

61kB

jtadmin

@ASIMount-ZWO

I completed the ASCOM Alpaca Driver but it's not 100% due to the pulse guide here is the PR (https://github.com/open-astro/AlpacaBridge/pull/26) I released which also has the the ConformU report working almost 100% only has pulse guide issues.

https://github.com/open-astro/AlpacaBridge/blob/main/AlpacaCore/conformu/ZWO/AM5N/ascom.conformu.2212.317450.txt

Slew, sync, tracking, and guide rate commands all work via the same serial connection; only pulse guide is non‑functional. Also Is the firmware intentionally routing guiding only through ST4 on AM5N, with serial pulse guide disabled or not yet implemented?

Any information would be very much appreciated

ASIMount-ZWO

jtadmin I'm confirming with the R&D engineer. Please wait for a moment

ASIMount-ZWO

jtadmin
The :Mgdnnnn# guide command can only be set or executed when the mount is in tracking mode. Guide commands are ignored in any other state.
From the log, we can see that ASCOM first set Tracking to False, which means the mount was no longer in tracking mode:
08:05:03.235 Tracking Write OK False
08:07:45.169 PulseGuide -9.0 North ISSUE

Is :Mgdnnnn# supported on AM5N firmware 1.8.8? If not, what firmware version added support?
Yes, it is supported on AM5N firmware 1.8.8.
Are there prerequisites for :Mgd to work (tracking on, unparked, specific mode, “guide mode”, or alignment state)?
Yes, only in the tracking on state.
What is the expected behavior of :GU# during pulse guiding? Should it show T/t? Is there a different status command?
:GU# has no status for pulse guiding. T/t are for RA/DEC ST4 guiding. Right now no other status command show the pulse guiding.
What is the exact expected unit for :Rg0.nn# and :Ggr# on AM5N? (Docs show 0.10–0.90, older docs mention multiplying by 15.)
:Rg0.nn# accepts a value in the range 0.10–0.90.
This value represents a multiplier of the sidereal tracking speed (15.0 arcseconds per second).

In other words:
Guide Speed = Sidereal Tracking Speed (15.0″/s) × Custom Guide Rate (0.10–0.90)

:Ggr# simply returns the currently configured guide rate value (0.10–0.90) that was previously set using :Rg0.nn#.

Dudleydogg

Where is this firmware for the Mounts and what is the process to update please, Thanks

jtadmin

Dudleydogg Simply download from the ZWO site and launch the ASI Mount on your desktop and once you connect to the mount with USB there is a firmware update button in the app. As long as your connected to the internet it will download the update and install it.

Loden1111

Is it available for OSX?

ASIMount-ZWO

Loden1111

If you want to use the custom park position function, it is recommended to use the ASIAIR App for IOS.

jtadmin

ASIMount-ZWO Thank you I was able to resolve all issues with the ASCOM Alpaca driver and it showing 0 issues and 0 timing problems for both Wi-Fi and also USB using ConformU!

ascomconformu1407200830.txt

49kB

lqgiQNKd

My attempt to install v1.8.8 failed on my AM5. It is not letting me in through bluetooth but I could get in with WiFi and can connect to the mount using usb and my laptop. I can't use the update program as it will not let me update using the online feature. Where can I get the firmware update file to try and update it again. Or, are there other recovery files available? Thanks in advance

MrAstro

I upgraded my AM5 mount to v1.8.8 Successfully, but the DEC not rotated 90 deg. as note number 1 said..
Is that means an issue with the upgrade?

MrAstro

x9oh7760
happy that you could resolve your issue..
For me, I didn't touch or test the hand controller during or after the update..
Now you remind me to check.

661Xmjpz

Ever since updating to 1.8.8 and also AsiAir 2.5.1, the mount constantly keeps disconnecting. This happens atleast every 30 mins or so. Reduced a bit in the past 2 days, but still disconnects 2 to 3 times over a 3-4 hours session. This didn't happen before.

MrAstro

661Xmjpz
Never happened to me
Try to use software called "USBLogView", it reports every USB connect/disconnect.