elpajare

By complete accident I figured out what the issue is...nothing to do with Wi-Fi range or connectivity. ASIAir would always lockup as soon as I stared Autorun sequence. Connection loss and difficulty reconnecting was also a symptom.

Maybe this can help someone else in the future. I was using and extremely large thumb drive (1T) which seemed to work fine for a month or so but something changed. I used a different thumb drive and all the problems disappeared instantly. I checked file system for the thumb drive and the drive that came with the ASIAir and my drive are the same so the only issue I could see was the size of the drive. If someone has some insight on the size or issue that would be great for others.

Good news my ASIAir Pro is now 100% functional!

Gregg

    I am having tremendous problems with the autorun function since I upgraded to 1.6.
    Basically, the AsiAir will not go through with the preprogrammed sequence but rather stop somewhere in the middle for totally unknown reasons.
    On two nights, I had programmed two groups but the AsiAir stopped after the first one and never started the second. Last night, I had one group with 30 shots. The AsiAir stopped after 15 shots and that was it.
    In all three cases, the box did not crash, it simply stopped shooting.
    That is very disappointing as I lost valuable clear sky time.
    Is there anyone else with this problem?

      Mdopp Yes! That happened to me a couple nights ago. I set up four sequences (L-R-G-B), started the Autorun, and went to bed after a couple subs were done. The next morning the telescope was at the home position and AAP turned off as expected, but when I opened my usb drive I found it had only taken 7 L subs and that was it, it didn’t even finish the L sequence.

      • w7ay replied to this.

          Walter, did you use the original USB stick that came with the ASI Air or a different and possibly larger one?
          I was using a 128 GB SanDisk USB/SSD-stick. Now I am thinking that this stick may have drawn too much power possibly resulting in unstable operation of the Raspberry Pi. On the next clear night, I will try the original stick and see if that helps.

          WalterT when I opened my usb drive I found it had only taken 7 L subs and that was it, it didn’t even finish the L sequence.

          Walter, if you have not erased any of the logs yet, you might be able to still see its image capture sequence. Tap on the "AutoRun log" in Storage Settings. Just for the heck of it, check both the Udisk and the sd card. The Autorun log might tell the story.

          Chen

              w7ay Chen, I think you found the culprit. Recently, after updating from v1.5 I'm not sure at which point, the ASIAIR developed this habit of disconnecting my camera. Reading the log from that night it seems that the camera was disconnected when my "L" sequence was done and then immediately reconnected but it didn't continue with the rest of the Autorun plan:

              Log enabled at 2021/06/17 01:45:36
              2021/06/17 01:45:36 [Autorun|Begin] C11 Start
              2021/06/17 01:45:36 Target RA:23h21m49s DEC:+61°19'54"
              2021/06/17 01:45:36 Shooting 5 light frames, exposure 300s Bin2
              2021/06/17 01:45:36 Exposure 300S image 1#
              2021/06/17 01:50:37 Exposure 300S image 2#
              2021/06/17 01:55:38 Exposure 300S image 3#
              2021/06/17 02:00:39 Exposure 300S image 4#
              2021/06/17 02:05:40 Exposure 300S image 5#
              2021/06/17 02:06:56 "ZWO ASI294MM Pro" is Disconnected
              2021/06/17 02:06:56 "ZWO ASI294MM Pro" is Connected
              2021/06/17 02:06:56 [Autorun|End] Pause Autorun
              2021/06/17 02:07:08 Mount GoTo Home POS
              2021/06/17 02:07:08 Shutdown ASIAIR
              Log disabled at 2021/06/17 02:07:08

              I am certain that I had the rest of the filter sequences enabled, because they are still checked as I left them that night. I have not added components or changed my configuration so the power requirements on the system are the same as they were before. I set the cooling to -10C and it typically achieves that with between 60-80% cooling power. So now I have another ASIAIR quirk to solve.

              • w7ay replied to this.

                  WalterT 2021/06/17 02:06:56 "ZWO ASI294MM Pro" is Disconnected

                  OK, it looks like the root cause may be a camera problem, and not an automation problem, Walter.

                  (Debugging is often a matter of finding what is not wrong -- binary chopping -- until you are left wth what is wrong. :-)

                  Downloading an image is pretty stressful on the power supply. Perhaps you can check to make sure the power supply to the ASIAIR is in good order (voltage does not sag when more current is drawn -- could just be I-R losses from a corroding connector pin).

                  And of course it could be corroding pins in the USB connectors too. Make sure you get USB cables with documented wire gauge. They often come with 24 AWG or 28 AWG wires. Find one that at least has 22 AWG for the power pair in the USB cable. Use as short a USB cable as you need. Don't use a 2 meter cable when all you need is 0.5 meter to reach the camera.

                  I assume that you also have power connected directly to the camera, right? I would highly recommend not using any one of the ASIAIR's DC output ports; I leave mine all alone, and distribute power using independent power hubs -- main distribution using PowerPole hubs and sub-distribution using a 5.5mm/2.1mm DC hub from deepskydad. I use ASIAIR hardware as minimally as possible, just for what it is primarily intended for.

                  If the problem only happens indoors, and outdoors during the night, it may be loose connectors from the different camera orientation. Strain relief your cables; since the connectors on ZWO cameras are really poor. I can post come images of how I strain relieved my camera connectors, if you are curious.

                  Chen

                      Hmmm, I just noticed there is a time gap of 76 seconds between the "300 second exposure" message and the Disconnect message. So it is not during downloading. I would check for loose connector and strain relief that I mention in my last message.

                      Another curious thing is that it reconnected immediately. So, it is a short glitch somewhere. And probably not an ASIAIR software glitch since the ASIAIR is doing pretty much nothing stressful while an exposure is taking place.

                      Chen

                        w7ay Thanks Chen, the power supply may be the weak link in the chain since. Although, this has only happened to me at home in my backyard, for which I just use an extension cord connected to a AC→12VDC5.0A→ASIAIR→Everything. I will use a second power converter dedicated only to the camera next time I take my unit out and see if that cures it. As for the USB cables, I have gone out of my way to order cables as close to the minimum length needed as possible but have no clue what gage wires are in them, I will have to see if the vendor provides any info on that.

                        ps. I would definitely like to see how to strain relieve your cables when you have a chance. Thanks for the tips.

                        ASIAIR is doing pretty much nothing stressful

                        Agreed, at that point it should have switched the filter and initiated the AF routine.

                        • w7ay replied to this.

                            Walter, here is how I strain relieved my main camera:

                            A small metal bracket (with some rebending) is glued to the USB3 Type B connector and it is screwed to a nylon standoff (black). The Nylon standoff is then tied to the body of the camera with a velcro strip -- I had orginally planned on gluing the standoff to the body of the camera, but so far, this has worked well enough.

                            Both USB and power cables are doubles back and held to the body of the camera with that same velcro strip.

                            My guide camera is strain relieved this way:

                            This time, two nylon standoffs are glued to the USB3 Type B connector (using Bondic UV curing glue). My original plan is to then attach a flat plate to the back of the camera and to the two stand offs. But so far, the two standoffs already provide good suppost to keep the USB connector from wiggling side by side, so I have not felt the need of the support plate yet.

                            You can start with just using Gaffer tape profusely to see if that helps; like what I did some time ago to trace my problem:

                            You can see how the cables are looped back and tied to the camera body. Never let a cable just hang by its connector.

                            Chen

                                w7ay Thanks Chen. I will definitely try to do something like this as my usb connectors are not as “snug” as they were when they were new and they definitely wiggle in their socket, specially on the ASIAIR end.

                                • w7ay replied to this.

                                    WalterT AC→12VDC5.0A→ASIAIR→Everything

                                    Oh yeah, that may be the problem.

                                    I use a PowerWerx 30A supply (25 amp continuous) from inside the house, using 12 AWG cable. And for critical things like my mount (which is happiest with between 15 and 16 volts), I add a buck/boost converter located at the base of my tri-pier.

                                    If you use a separate power supply just for the camera, make sure there is a short ground strap between your camera and the ASIAIR. This will prevent return (power) currents from passing through the USB cable. Otherwise, you may generate more problem than you are trying to solve.

                                    Chen

                                      WalterT wiggle in their socket, specially on the ASIAIR end

                                      I solved that by placing the ASIAIR in a waterproof box that is mounted to the base of my tri-pier. Nothing in the ASIAIR is allowed to move during the night.

                                      The ASIAIR is at the top left, with a heat sink cemented to it (and cable tied, just in case :-). The LAN port is connected to an eero 6 mesh router (that big white square). One USB 3 port of the ASIAIR is conencted to a powered USB3 hub (one of the few that will work with the Raspberry Pi) so that power is handled by the hub and not the ASIAIR. A Samsun T7 SSD is connected to the other USB 3 port of the ASIAIR.

                                      There is a small USB PD 9V power converter since the eero uses a USB Type C connector for power.

                                      On the right side of the ABS box, there is a PowerPole fused distribution box, and also a buck/boost 15V converter to supply my mount.

                                      This, my Mortar tri-pier and my RainbowAstro mount stayed outdoors (under dry bags) 24/7 for more than a year now. I don't even remember the last time I swapped the microSD card, I just update it from indoors when an update comes up. The ASIAIR is essentially directly connected to my home network, albeit through its own mesh router.

                                      Chen

                                          w7ay That is quite a nice setup Chen. I basically have the same setup as when I first started back when the only powered accessories I had were my mount and dew strap. Since then everything I've added I've been mounting to the scope, following conventional cable-management advice. But this has limited my options for cables and router and power supply as well as added unneeded weight. So I think it's time for me to move everything down to the tripod legs. I pretty much have all the materials you mentioned, minus the weather tight box and powered USB hub, which I can pickup at Home Depot from a sprinkler control box and Amazon respectively. One question about the mount, the iOptron tech specs on the website state that my mount requires 12v 5A, would you still recommend boosting it to 15-16v?

                                          • w7ay replied to this.

                                              WalterT powered USB hub, which I can pickup at Home Depot from a sprinkler control box and Amazon respectively. One question about the mount, the iOptron tech specs on the website state that my mount requires 12v 5A, would you still recommend boosting it to 15-16v?

                                              Be careful when you pick a powered USB hub. Raspberry Pi does not like to be back-powered. Some powered hub won't let ASIAIR boot, some others will let it boot but will exhibit random seemingly unexplained flakiness like device disconnecting, etc. See this article (albeit old, and most hubs mentioned there are no longer available):

                                              https://elinux.org/RPi_Powered_USB_Hubs

                                              I definitely won't supply something with 15V when it is spec'ed for 12V.

                                              They should not specify a single voltage, either. It should be a range. But some of these hobbyist companies are not engineering oriented (witness ZWO's fiasco with WiFI, for example). Write to iOptron and ask for the range of operating voltage to see if they know. In my case, RainbowAstro is a subsidiary of Rainbow Robotics (serious Korean robotics arm company that also has an office at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the mount is specified for 12V to 16V; their R&D manager had mentioned that 15V to 16V is optimal for their servo motor.

                                              Chen

                                                  Is there a method for switching between single star and multi star guiding under the latest version. I believe I updated to 1.7 before last night's session and I couldn't get multi star to activate on my device. I exhausted every menu associated with guiding and I dont see anything related. I was achieving rms < .6, now I'm back to double that number. Thank you. Asiair is an amazing product.

                                                    dsallette Is there a method for switching between single star and multi star guiding under the latest version. I believe I updated to 1.7 before last night's session and I couldn't get multi star to activate on my device. I exhausted every menu associated with guiding and I dont see anything related. I was achieving rms < .6, now I'm back to double that number. Thank you. Asiair is an amazing product.

                                                    Version 1.6.1 is the default multi star guide, and single star guide can be selected manually.

                                                      Mdopp I had the same problem on my last session...when I went to view the files from my 2nd and final target, there were way less files than I expected. For some reason, it stopped shooting for 1h 20m, and then started back up as the sun was rising, so I lost most of the usable time on my 2nd target. Tonight, I spent 2 hours trying to get it working, PA worked fine, autofocus worked fine, but then when I tried to start guiding, East/West went normal, and then when the AAP sent North guide pulses for calibration, it started moving in the East direction again. Everything was working fine until this last update. I'm am becoming very disappointed with the AAP. ZWO needs to give us a way to access older versions of the mobile app, so that when they break stuff with their updates, we have a way to roll back to a working version. The mini PC option is becoming more attractive every time I use the AAP these days. To ZWO: If you aren't going to give us a way to roll back the software, then you need to start doing a better job of testing the software before you roll out the app updates!