john32712

Hi Max, I am in Florida, give me a call tomorrow afternoon or later. My cell is 407-341-4490 John

Have you recently changed your setup? Any physical changes, different scopes, cameras, etc?

I was at AIC and did see the new mount. It appears the direction of DDM60 is focused on making it more user friendly in the field. The technology looked impressive, but for me (having a fixed mount in an observatory) this was not my focus. Good to know that ASA is still moving forward with the amateur end of the business. Egon was there as well as Dietmar... I grabbed the literature and Autoslew 2.0 was everywhere. I pressed for information about Autoslew and Sequence, but the response was fairly simple, " the new software is coming". I wanted to discuss the concerns we all have, documentation, communication, hard release dates, etc. But I was respectful of the venue, since ASA was there to sell mounts and promote business. Personally, I see two groups of people: New customers and existing clientele and I wish the information flow was much better. Lukepower was correct in his commentary above. The new mounts will have integrated computing. It appears that many of the mount manufacturers are heading in this direction. Finally, I sent my mount back to ASA for some repair and in the process had the absolute encoders installed. I should have the mount installed within a week, so I'll have more to report back. John

I guess it is safe to say you learn something new every day! Here is the way I was using MLPT: For my imaging session, if I was doing 15 min subs for 6 hours, the numbers I would use (input) were 24 and 360 + a few extra minutes as discussed earlier. I would mimic the total number of frames taken, which was 24 in this case. So based on the above discussion, I could take less. The question that comes to my mind is..to get a good MLPT run which will insure a good imaging session, how far can I reduce this number? Can I reduce it to 10? What's a good number? Thanks guys! John

Daniel, not wanting to be a pessimist here.... I would recommend against mounting multiple scopes. It becomes a balancing nightmare and with ASA mounts, good balance is extremely critical. Much more so than any other mount I have owned. You will create odd balance relationships, whereas you can achieve good balance in one position, but moving to another position will be horrific. I have literally spent days taping weights and shifting things around, because I wanted a couple of scopes and cameras on my DDM85 at the same time. I have finally made peace with the situation and use one scope and camera at a time. I am getting much better results and very happy. Simpler is better.... Maybe some of my colleague will provide a different perspective. Regards, John

BTW, I would have no problem paying for an optional upgraded software solution. Especially if the interface was unified, modernized, and cleaned up. Software development is extremely costly and just because a customer purchased a product 5 years ago, that doesn't insure he get's every future supporting product for free. Case in point, I love the "Sky X" software. Every time an update comes out, I have to pay for the update. I do it gladly, since programmers get paychecks too! That basically goes for Maxim DL and every other program I own. Why would ASA be any different?

Dietmar, Thank you for the response! I am sure you realize your commentary is much overdue as there is a very high level of frustration (has been for some time). Much of this frustration can easily be resolved, and that was the reason I started this post. Rather than complain and throw stones, what can we do collectively to fix these issues? As a former CEO, I realized that many times I was unaware of critical components that could have insured a higher success for my company (had I been aware)... I believe that should be the purpose of this forum. That is, making you aware of our issues, frustrations, product feedback, and humorous mistakes we make. I would certainly agree, many of the problems I have personally encountered are my own fault due to lack of understanding or trying to understand certain procedures. But what responsibility does ASA have in making my DDM85 experience a positive one? Silence is definitely not the solution since the outcome is never positive. It is totally unacceptable for months and years to go by without any communications, especially with the existence of this forum. One push of the button is all it takes! It has been noted multiple times, that calling to Austria does provide answers and solutions. Also, the ASA staff is courteous and helpful. However, with your global customers that does not always make the best sense, unless you have a major problem. Most of us would have no problem trying to resolve the minor issues (operator) on our own, but you must supply us with current and thorough documentation to accomplish this and this is a huge source of frustration. I do have some ideas I would like to share on this topic With full respect, I plan to submit a list of questions compiled from this user's group. I would request that the questions be posted and answered on this user's group by your staff. We will certainly understand if certain questions cannot be answered due to some company dynamics. If that is the case just state, "will follow up on this date ". Finally, I believe every user truly wants ASA to be the most successful (profitable) company in it's genre. No mount comes close to the technology you have created and all others are 20 years behind using belts and gears. I have always compare it to using a prop or jet plane! Please help in turning this around... Thank you!

Hi Max, I am trying to turn this around. I want to send a formalized list of questions to ASA. We all agree that issues exist, but we also feel the equipment is superb. Can you provide a constructive question regarding something you would like to get fixed?

Questions from John in Orlando Florida USA (ASA Forum name john32712): 1. I have now owned my ASA mount for three years, The supporting software (Autoslew & Sequence) is absolutely critical for it use. ASA has not been proactive with communication about its software, revision updates, and future advancement. Years have gone by without any company statements, forum communications, or indication of the future. There have been promises made, but none have been kept. This is very important and you surely understand that the lack of communication and updates is counter-productive to your company and the product which we purchased. Do you plan to change or improve on this? If so, please explain how and when? If you do, would you agree to provide at minimum, monthly statements on the "user's group", about progress (software and hardware) and direction at ASA? 2. The documentation, user's manual, and reference material is not acceptable and never has been. This was brought to ASA's attention and last year a commitment was made to improve upon it. That commitment was not kept! it is imperative, especially for newer users and for seasoned users as well. We need good reference material and excellent documentation. Of all astronomical mounts, the ASA line can be very technically challenging. We should have the best documentation of all commercially available mounts. Are you willing to improve upon this or is ASA as a company looking to pursue other directions? Questions From Bernard, Bordeaux France (ASA Forum Name RamaSpaceShip) 3. Since progress has been negligible, would ASA consider open sourcing their software and the documentation as an option to improve upon it? Who else? Come on guys.....

Hi George, Ok got it! We can certainly speculate, but I agree we don't want to cause any further damage... more than has already been caused. Again, do you have anything that you would like to contribute that you would be willing to put your name to?

Luke I understand your frustration! I promise I will stay on top of this until I get committed answers! John

Thank you Bernard for your support and question!!!!! Best, John

Hi George, Not sure what you are saying here? Looking to add on top of the questions which I have already provided. Do you have anything you would like to put into words that you could sign your name to? I would like to send this to the ASA management team and graciously request a response. I want some answers.... Thank you, John

Luke, can you phrase that as a question and would you be willing to put your name to it? If that is the case, just knowing that info makes me more aware and better able to make a future decision. I am looking for support... Thanks! John

Ok guys, let me try this and see how much support I can gather from my fellow DDM mount users. If I get no response back, I'll assume you are good with the way things are. However, if you are like me, I would like to respectfully and professionally challenge ASA to do a better job. I feel like they are hurting themselves globally and this can be fixed easily! Will you help me? OK here goes, I am putting a list of direct questions to be submitted to ASA with names attached to each question. Here are my questions, will you help me and provide your questions? Constructive criticism welcomed!!!! 1. I have now owned my ASA mount for three years, The software you provide to support it (Autoslew & Sequence) is absolutely critical for it use. ASA has not been proactive with communication about its software, revision updates, and future advancement. Years have gone by without any company statements or indication of the future. There have been promises, but none have been kept. This is very important and you surely understand that the lack of communication and updates is counter-productive to any company. Do you plan to change or improve on this? If so, please explain how and when? If you do, would you agree to provide at minimum, monthly statements on the "user's group", about progress (software and hardware) and direction at ASA? 2. The documentation, user's manual, and reference material is not acceptable. two years ago this was brought to your attention and last year a commitment was made. That commitment was not kept! it is imperative, especially for newer users and for seasoned users as well. We need good reference material and excellent documentation. Of all astronomical mounts, the ASA line can be very technically challenging. We should have the best documentation of all commercially available mounts. When the committed date for documentation was not met, why were not informed of a new date, or at least an explanation of what the hold-up was? Can the user's group help with this? Ok, guys, now is the time to speak .... Thank you, John

Hi Lukas, You are correct, this is a repeat performance of last years thread. But like your last comment indicates, I came pretty close to selling my DDM85XL and then I began getting some good results with the use of MLPT. I do believe this is a good mount and it would not take much to turn this all around. I know one guy in the States that was a strong supporter of the DDM mounts. He got pissed off at ASA and has sold it. His complaint? Lack of company support on it's products... I don't give up easily and I would love to help turn this around. It sounds like you have had enough? Best wishes, John

Bernard, Thank you for the response back! If you go back to my very first post on this thread, I don't believe my comments indicate throwing stones at anyone. My topic is "Future direction of this user's group". My point is/was, if every time I look at this site and the only topic which exists, is what awards and published pictures a certain person has achieved, this site then becomes useless to me and based on additional comments from others, for them too! There are hundreds of "personal" astrophotography sites which are phenomenal and provide some real motivation. Additionally, I do understand your point, of laying the blame where it belongs! Here's a great analogy. Have you ever seen the film "The Titanic"? There is a scene where the ship is sinking and three cello players keep playing while the ship is sinking. I'm not going to criticize the cello players, but I am not going to stick around and listen to music either... Get it? Going back to my original point, what should this site have as it's "Main" purpose? I understand there can be many other purposes too, but again if it is not helping "all" of us move forward, lets not all sit around and play the cello! Fix the leak or jump in the raft.... Here is my contribution to fixing the leak: I suggest we put together a list of poignant questions to ASA from anyone who would be willing to ask. We could request that this list be then be published on this site for all of us to see. I can provide my personal email and I have no problems doing the footwork. I am certain we can come up with some really good questions which need to be answered. Does this make sense? If not, I have about 25 pictures I could post to this site....lol

Really great commentary guys and some good points! We certainly have some obstacles to get through and it always helps when there is common ground. I think we are all in agreement, ASA needs to speak up and provide some statements regarding their products and future software development! If there were some strained inner company relationships and that was the reason for this poor communication and support, I would easily understand, since every company has its issues. I think it is the silence that concerns me the most. The site is our direct line to ASA and I never see any communications from them. To RamaSpaceShip, let me reword my prior statement for clarity's sake... If I knew from this point forward the only post's on this forum would be people posting pictures, I would most probably delete it. If I wanted to see that, I would go here http://www.deepskycolors.com/ or here http://www.glitteringlights.com/Images/Nebulae/ and here too http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/ . As I stated earlier, I would never discourage anyone from posting whatever, especially if the work was accomplished with ASA products. I think my frustration has come through with the lack of posts directly relating to improving the ASA products we own. I truly believe if posts were flying about documentation improvement, the future of Autoslew and Sequence, some how-to videos, etc., you would not have heard a peep out of me. In fact, I might post some pictures too. But when that is all you see, well, its discouraging and concerning at the same time. If you all remember, last year we were promised new documentation and then were told to get ready for a big Autoslew announcement (spring 2015). I certainly do not want to piss off the ASA guys, but gimme a break! Say something when you don't deliver.... If I told everyone I had re-written all the documentation, it was much more concise, and I was sending all of you a DVD copy next week. Then a year later no DVD, would you ever believe another word from me???

Mark & George, Thank you for the response and posting your point of view. The common thread between both of your postings is we have a great mount, the learning curve is very steep, there are many questions which still exist, and there is much more yet to learn. This forum should be a point of continuing education and development for ASA products and its users. Yes, I like to see my colleagues advancement and that may be in the form of a picture posting. But you have to admit, when things are not working the way they should or you are a newbie struggling, pictures do very little for you. If I am having great success, I can easily say, Mark and George take a peak at my personal webpage and tell me what you guys think! It's just a click away.... Again, not trying to discourage anyone from posting anything they want. Just not sure how having your pictures published in a magazine helps fellow ASA mount users? We really need ASA to have mutual dialogue with its owners/members. We are a very select and limited group and this "dead silence" from ASA is counter productive financially and otherwise. I am starting to wonder if the business is financially sound? It makes no sense whatsoever for a company to never discuss the future or talk about current areas of improvement. Finally, I want to know about problems and successes that Nat, George, Mark, the guy in Wolfhausen, etc. have had! I would like to see a collective of reference material that will let me know my mount is performing well. I do a lot of guessing and supposition with my mount. It now performs well, but can I learn to make it perform better? No one I know, owns this mount and I have beat my brains out getting through some issues. I bet if we could all spend a couple of days together and see how we have set our mounts up and the set of procedures we all do....we would learn so much!!! I am ranting, but I wish there was a way we could get ASA to do something about this situation.....

Well, I am glad that I am not the only one thinking this! This user's group could be so much better and we could be making some real progress collectively. I did not mean to insult anyone, but I just don't think this is the appropriate place for your personal photographs and accomplishments. If you eliminated the few posts regarding personal pictures the site would be dead. I just don't want that to happen. It's a big investment we have all made... Thanks guys for the commentary back!!!!

Gentlemen, Every so often I check this user's group to see if there are any new ASA product developments. We were promised an updated manual last year, a major software announcement last spring, and revolutionary news to come... Unfortunately none of these came to fruition. Even worse, no updates were provided or any further explanations. This user's group is the only line of communication we have ASA. Now I don't mind seeing other people's pictures, but in reality, I come to this web site to find out the latest on my ASA mount and software. I think its great if your pictures get published in a magazine, but shouldn't that type of info go on your personal webpage? The personal pictures you have created do very little for people trying to master an ASA mount and it's associated software. Now here is the stark reality, If I look at the most recent posts, they have nothing to do with learning more about ASA mounts and software. It really looks like personal pontification to me.... My intention is not to insult anyone, but I would like to read posts about problems you have had and what you did to resolve them. Maybe you wrote a more concise description on motor tuning that you would like to share. Or maybe you have had success at getting 30 minute subframes and how you got to this point and challenges you experienced. I still believe ASA products are the best, but I would really like to see us advancing the documentation, software, etc. Do you think I am way off here? You can commence hurling stones at me.

This is kind of humorous... No response to the big announcement? Must have not been an announcement at all?

Michael, For those of us who could not attend NEAF, can you share the announcement with us. Thank you, John Nemcik

Hi Nigel, I've wondered the same thing! A third park position would be a nice addition to the next version! John Nemcik

Thanks Bernard, I requested tech support a week ago, still no response.... John