ASIAIR v2.5.2 has been released!: Page 12

ASIAIR v2.5.2 has been released!

Moontanner

I pretty much did that as best I could before my first run. Nothing looked wildly out of whack, so I just went ahead and continued my plan in Ha to get some data while the moon was out.
I've had two really good nights without any hiccups and can say that the search function works a treat now. That's running on Android for the app.

Going through all the logs and the all sky cam footage, I've pinpointed the exact moment things went tits up. The LiFePo was supplying enough voltage to keep the ASIAIR thinking it was all good. Although the tracking stopped and that was it for that session. WARNING. WARNING. DANGER, Will Robinson!
For some reason the next night started out with the guide cam gain set to low. Unfortunately, I can't tell if I changed the settings while half asleep the previous morning. It could've easily been a feeble attempt to fix the trailing stars before I called it and switched off the ASIAIR. It was 4:32am after all.
(A reminder that I really want ZWO to implement individual guiding gain settings for each filter on the Duo cams)

The Matrix style logs that you get from holding the ASIAIR logo go nuts from there on out. I'll send them through to support to check but I'm pretty sure it was just the battery on it's last legs.
There's one line in there where it mentions my ASI178MC being the guide cam. That cam is on a separate ASIAIR acting as an all sky cam.

Moontanner

PSA for anyone rolling back to the current release on Android. The CAA settings get lost in the process. Everything else in my plan remained the same and worked just fine, aside from the above mentioned guider gain issues ( which was possibly user error).

Clear skies.

PMTeam@ZWO

Moontanner Hi Ross,

Thanks for your feedback. Sorry that we couldn’t reproduce this problem. We tested upgrading the app from v2.5.2 to v2.6 and then rolling back to v2.5.2, but none of the CAA configurations went missing. We also performed firmware upgrade and downgrade tests, and the CAA settings remained unchanged throughout the whole process.

Could you let me know if you modified the firmware version while upgrading or rolling back the app? If possible, please share your detailed operation steps, and we will follow your exact workflow to reproduce this issue.

ji-t02

Perhaps everyone can check out the upcoming SynLink from Sky-Watcher - it has a lot of interesting and useful features.
Android： https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.umainf.unigo.android
iOS：https://apps.apple.com/cn/app/synlink/id6739761466
It offers native support for both Windows and macOS, and works seamlessly with NINA.

Luxo

Screenshots of the UI of that show is quite rudimentary and very incomplete - they have a long way to go (several years imho) before it’s useful.

Building the hardware is the easy part. Software is something most drastically underestimate - they think it’s easy but it’s not.

Also note they almost certainly intend to lock it to Skywatcher and/or Celestron mounts courtesy of the RJ45 plug for connecting the mount - not usb.

ji-t02

Luxo It supports all mount types to connect via USB. The RJ 12 port is an optional way to connect without through the HC.

Gatsu87

PMTeam@ZWO That's a ticket opened a long time ago. Hello,
I would like to report a problem that I am experiencing, and that many other users who use cameras equipped with the ASI220MM Mini guide camera are experiencing as well.
I use two different imaging setups from two different locations. One location has an SQM of 19.3, while the other has an SQM of 20.8. The issue concerns the guide camera display in ASIAIR. When changing the gain, the background on the guiding screen always remains almost the same. It is usually either completely gray or completely dark, regardless of the gain value used.
As a result, there is very little contrast between the stars and the background, making it difficult to properly evaluate the guide image. Changing gain, exposure time, binning, and other settings does not solve the problem.
This issue affects users of the ASI220MM Mini, ASI2600 Duo, and ASI2600MC Air. Many users have already opened support tickets regarding this problem.
As you can see from the attached screenshots, the issue is present across multiple ASIAIR versions released over a long period of time. The screenshots include different gain values and different software versions, yet the behavior remains the same.
This problem has been reported for more than a year. On several occasions, users have been told that it would be investigated or fixed in future updates, but the issue is still present today and no solution has been provided.
From what we can see, the guide screen appears to be applying some kind of automatic display stretch or normalization that keeps the background at nearly the same brightness level regardless of the gain setting. This makes it difficult to judge the real image quality and star visibility.
I have tested different gain values, exposure times, binning modes, different sky brightness conditions (SQM 19.3 and SQM 20.8), and different equipment configurations, but the behavior remains unchanged.

Could you please provide an update on the status of this bug and whether a fix is planned?

Thank you for your support.

Moontanner

Gatsu87
Are you finding the guiding isn't as good at all?
I've got a Duo cam that suffers from guide screen contrast issues compared to my older MC Pro and LOAG setup. Although, I don't get a noticeable difference in guiding performance between the two. It's really more of a pain when trying to optimise gain settings for different filters.

PMTeam@ZWO

Luxo Hi Luxo, Thanks a lot for your testing and feedback. Our QA engineers have looked into the issue you mentioned, but failed to reproduce it. It seems to be an occasional issue.
I’ve passed this on to the development team. They will monitor the issue closely. Thanks again.

Eric

Moontanner

For me I find that it simply does not select appropriate (or enough) guide stars, it'll always select really poor guide star options with either fully saturated cores or barely visible ones. And when I manually select stars it'll report peak values that are more appropriate (in the 150-225 range). So ZWO has got something really bad going on with the guide sensor/coding for the guiding with the Duo/Air cameras. I'm using a 2600mc Air and a 2600mm Air and it's the same for both, I don't remember having these issues prior to an update (maybe 2.5.0?).

Another really really annoying issue I'm having with my 2600mc Air, running a plan mode with multiple targets, I'll start the plan and it'll run until at some point it has an exposure failure. It'll end the "autorun" sequence according to the log in the Air file, then it'll resume the plan for the next Target and have no issue running the remaining sequence. This has happened multiple times now. It pauses the plan for a pre-determined amount of time, I'm assuming it's just multiplying the remaining exposure number by the time per exposure. By why on earth is it just ending the sequence for Target 1 and NOT just tossing the failed exposure and starting the next exposure? It obviously has no problem picking up the next Target trigger and starting again so it must be able to have some coding logic in place for this kind of thing. I simply don't understand why it would run like this.

Moontanner

PMTeam@ZWO

I tried rolling back the software only at first. It kept telling me to upgrade the software to match the installed firmware.
I ended up selecting the factory reset option in the app and went back to 9 something. Then it promptly upgraded the firmware to match the current app software version and the settings had changed.
It's no bother as it was all just testing with the moon ruining most of the images anyway. Thanks for letting me test things out.

I figured it could all just be something related to the low power situation the previous session. I know for a fact that I hadn't given the battery a full charge and the ASIAIR was losing it's mind trying to get the session back on track.
Something was definitely up with the ASIAIR after that. The guiding didn't want to work properly and that resolved itself after resetting things.
Could an extended low power situation corrupt the firmware on the ASIAIR by constantly glitching as the power requirements fluctuate? It wouldn't be the first time I've seen something electronic need a hard reset after a battery starts to fail very slowly. A bit like pulling the plug during a firmware update and bricking a device. Only more like a death by a thousand cuts.

If I get some time before work tomorrow I'll send through the logs and some screen shots/ vids for you to look through if you think it's worth investigating.

Clear skies.

Luxo

Moontanner
Moontanner, From experience I found the tiniest glitch in the power will cause ASIAir to drop its wifi or freeze. This is why it's best to do the following. I know some will claim these things aren't necessary (good luck to them) but I wasted a year with random glitches until I did all of the following.

(1) Use a battery that supplies comfortably more than 12V such as a deep-cycle LiFePo, not the old-school lead-acid type.. The LiFePo I use is from DryPower and its output starts at 14V and supplies about 13V for a very, very long time. 12V indicates it is flat.

(2) Power ASIAir directly from the battery, not via a mount nor via through-mount cables.

(3) Use power connectors that cannot wiggle or shake (I use RCA plugs), and where the 2.1mm plug connects to ASIAir, secure that cable firmly so there is no movement at the plug. Leaving that power cable to AA+ swinging in the breeze is a good way to cause glitches.

(4) Don't rely on ASIAir to supply 12V power to significant loads - especially cooled cameras, heater straps or the mount. On its own ASIAir draws a steady 0.3A. That way it isn't affected by glitches from other devices, and you dont have to worry about voltage drop on long cables.

Luxo

@"PMTeam@ZWO"

I hop you are aware the recent releases of ASIAir are not compatible with the beta of iOS27 which is expected to be released in September.

minimoto71

Luxo As a long Apple software tester, don't ever expect the first developer beta to be compatible with many apps. You should wait to the first public beta and the developer beta that comes with it to know if an app is really incompatible with the new releases or not. And even then, many apps end being compatible without major adjustments in later betas or even in the final release. First developer beta are always buggy.

PMTeam@ZWO

Luxo hi Luxo, Could you please clarify which incompatibility issues exist between the recent ASIAIR releases and the iOS 27 beta system? Recently, one user reported a bug where preview thumbnails fail to show up in ASIAIR’s image management section. The issue was fully fixed once they upgraded their device to the latest iOS 27 beta version.

Moontanner

Luxo
1,2,3. Done. 4, I've not found to be a problem. Cooling, or not.
Thankyou for your thoughtful advice. If I still had my place down south, I'd probably organise to loan you the mono camera to take that oversampling to the next level.
I really like your mount out of the current crop. Not to mention the scope (not that my local seeing would work with that one).

How would one make a simple power supply buffer that attaches to the scope? Something small that can be attached to the scope/AA+ and stay connected permanently?
Something simple that is easy to make off the shelf.

Moontanner

Luxo (1) Use a battery that supplies comfortably more than 12V such as a deep-cycle LiFePo, not the old-school lead-acid type.. The LiFePo I use is from DryPower and its output starts at 14V and supplies about 13V for a very, very long time. 12V indicates it is flat.

Yep. It's those lower 13V that don't seem to have enough current available during higher demand surges in power requirements. Then the AA+ shits the bed through no real fault of it's own, IMO.

Luxo

Difficult. Anything able to supply a few amps hours at 12V is a lot bigger than the AA+.
AA+ draws 0.3A on its own. You also have to protect the battery from being depleted so low it destroys the cells, so a simple diode is not enough, this requires electronics as well.

Moontanner

Luxo
Agreed. Thinking out loud again unfortunately.
It's not amp hours I want. Just a small buffer for when the socket contact inevitably shifts slightly. I feel like it only takes a split second to funk things up, but then adding any extra connections would make it worse.
If I look back at successful sessions, I'm surely up around 90% without any issues. Don't quote me on that though. There's been quite a few where a tiny drag on a cord drops the ball. The rest are normally traced to mechanical issues with the mount itself.
Better to focus my spare time on finishing the groundworks around my pier. The terrible weather for astronomy is at least softening up the ground I need to bore into.

Luxo

@"PMTeam@ZWO"

Could you please advise how many watts the anti-dew heater is supposed to produce in the ASI2600 series cameras (mine is the 2600MC DUO). Having disassembled mine to solve dew inside the cover glass I suspect it is 2-3W at most.

I would also suggest the design is poor - the desiccant tabs achieve nothing because your design wraps a black rubber around the sensor, sealing in the air between the sensor and the cover glass. I have cut slots in the shroud so the air over the sensor will reach the desiccant tabs.

PMTeam@ZWO

Luxo Heating strip power spec: Powered by 12V, draws 0.24A, rated power is 2.88W.

Luxo

That's a fundamental weakness with the choice of power connector by ZWO (RCA plugs are much better - they are not a sloppy fit).

One issue I'm aware of is that the ZWO socket is supposed to be for 2.1mm plugs but 2.5mm ones also fit but are a loose (sloppy) fit. Sometimes people make up DIY cables with the wrong one.

Buy a few different 2.1mm ones and you may find with that is a firm fit. Another way to deal with it is to ensure the cable is tied down firmly (I use velcro strips) to eliminate any sloppiness.

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