Waldemar

On my ASUS i7 laptop, running W10. I updated the FTDI driver to the latest version 21216 after deleting the old 208 version... No problems whatsoever! Mac... yes, great machines, but no ASCOM... Running a VM windows on a mac seems a bit weird to me. My ASUS with i7, 16Gb RAM and SSD starts up within 10secs and runs great, I am pleased my old laptop gave up on me so I had to buy a new one and got the best I could affort. I know a laptop like that is a bit overkill, but I use it only for astro and got sick of W7 and 8 problems. Also changed all USB cables and my hub into USB3 cables and a 12V Transcend USB3 hub. I am VERY pleased with these changes!! Makes astro life a lot more pleasing I use 3 different MeanWell power supplies for different applications like: one for the mount only, one for the camera(s) only and another one for the other stuff like dewheaters and focusmotors. Everything is set to ± 12.8 Volts under load. No brown outs or powerdrops to the mount or camera when something else kicks in. I use shielded power cables to prevent any interference or induction. Like I said maybe it is all a bit overkill, but I like to be in a perfect position with my equipment. Too many frustrations crossed my path... enough! You all know that Murphy is the astronomers Patron... Waldemar

Same for me Nigel... maybe they don't want us to look them in the eyes Waldemar

staying independable is important, I would say...

That is quite a positive reaction! Maybe it would be nice to have a section with proven to work accessories, like hubs, cables , extenders a.s.o.? This kind of peripherals tend to give a lot of problems if not chosen the right ones. ASA mounts seem to be very particular about that. I wish I could attribute more, but you guys are more experienced then I am, obviously... Waldemar

Sequence has one as well...

Those manuals really need to be edited first... They are hard to read sometimes, especially when English is not your mother tongue like myself. Good English is a lot easier to understand then what is used in the manuals. Waldemar

If there is software for the game pad, you should install that as well. With the Logitech the left hand 4-way command stick does the slewing. The only thing you can change about that in AS is the direction it slews and the speed. With my Logitech, I have the use a speed button + the 4-way direction stick . I hoipe this helps... Waldemar

That is a great initiative, Max. It will certainly help a lot of us... Waldemar

I had the same kind of pierside problem with the old 5.1.6 version. I just set pierside to west, which apparantly means east to the mount and that solved the problem, but it is klind of weird, Must be a bug that is still not fixed, although not everybody seems to have that issue. Waldemar

I cannot get in there. It says: Forbidden You do not have permission to access the requested file on this server. ...

Since correction with guiding is always done after the programm detected a miss, there will always be a delay of at least a second before the correction is effective, because of making the image, downloadtime and applying the correction MLPT 'knows' exactly when a correction is needed, it will correct at the precise moment. and checks it's position 100x per sec so even with windgusts it is a lot preciser then guiding. Many say that working with encoders is the same as guiding, just done by the mount's software instead of by a dedicated guiding programm, but they never mention the time delay with 'normal' guiding... So I assume MLPT is superior to tracking, I never made a coparrison though... To get rid of atmospheric causes adaptive optics will be neccessary, I never used that, but it seems to work pretty good. Waldemar

Hi Mike, I bought the ASA GPS receiver 5 years ago and use it since then without any problems like time issues. The stick is on top of my mount in a little USB 3 hub (Transcent), which is connected to the internal ASA hub again. I never encountered any problem with it, so I thought those things just work constantly once switched on, but maybe I am wrong. Sometimes, I can see it looses a satalite connection, (i.e. it shows 6 sats instead of 7) which comes back on after a while, so to me it's just working all the time... Waldemar

Hi Luis, For the same reason and with the same result i use the Icron Ranger, Can extend up to 100 meters with a simple cat5 cable. I must admit hat was far more expensive, though... Thanks for the link. Waldematr

If you want to use GPS, you will have to obtain to ASA GPS stick. Best regards, Waldemar

Hi Dave, Connection errors may be caused by bad USB cables (most of them). USB 3 cables like these: http://www.delock.com/produkte/F_3_USB-3-0_82744/merkmale.html are far better, because they are capable of handling the higher USB 3 speed, hence better materials are used. Waldemar

Yes the difference with a HEQ5 is quite a leap... What cables do you have? There should be two power cables with it. I made new cables for it, because I did not like the original ones, so if you need help, just let me know. For USB: the new USB 3 cables with normal A connectors are of very good quality, better than the old USB 2 cables. Just so you know... USB is always tricky. I made a little power hub to attach to a dovetail with Velcro, or a rider clamp, That is very nice, because the power connector on the DEC axis provides you with two totally separated power options. In that way you can use three different power supplies: 1 for the main power for the mount and two for the 4 pole power option. In that way there will never be power issues like interferences or a brown out because of a power dip or a surge if some of your equipment decides to do something weird or when a heavy dew protector kicks in. Anyway, your are welcome if you need tips about that. Waldemar

Hi Dave, welcome to the club of ASA owners. This is a society of not so easily frustrated people with a lot of patience and perseverence , so fire away! Once you get through the initial mindboggling learning curve, you're in for a treat with this cool piece of equipment I assume you bought your mount secondhand? If so, is it the type with USB connections on the RA axis and a 7 and 4 pole connector? The 2012 type so to speak? Best regards, Waldemar

I have a RASA with f 2,2 so I know how critical focusing is, with those fast scopes...the lightcone is very steep, I use Starizona's MicroTouch system for it. That works pretty good. With the new software you can set it on 1 step per click. 300 steps on 1 turn of the fine focus knob of the FeatherTouch focusser. And even that is critical... But your Veloce has it's own focussing system I've seen. I found too that pointing models very much depend on the seeing conditions. Although where your scvope is situated it should be pretty good, I guess... You can remotely adjust the tip/tilt sytem of the mount?? I must say the tip/tilt system is not my favorite... I made an azimuthal adjustment plate for it. I know it does not make any real difference, but still... I understand that ASA kind of came back from it too, when looking at the Revolution. But when and if that will ever be taken into production??? But no doubt you will make great images with that scope! Waldemar

That is quite a nice scope... and deserves it's name with f3... Keep us updated Lukas. Waldemar

If your DDM60 is the type with 2 RS232 connectors, the USB-RS232 converter may be the cause. FTDI chipset converters are the ones with no problems on W10 or lower.

No hard feelings George... future will tell if it was a wise decission or not.

A little change in your set up may influence the resonance frequency and thus influence the tuning... Maybe you hit a critical point. The solution maybe to add some weight somewhere and rebalance? Waldemar

Hi Denis, I see in your picture, you have a 'rat-cage' on your pier. That kind of construction was the cause of unexpected vibrations in my mount... I solved it by filling the threads up with nuts and keeping the topplate as close to the pier as possible. Waldemar

I must say, I never had a bad experience with ASA... So I am absolutely not surprised about this, but it is very nice to hear. I never had a bad experience with my DDM60Pro either, besides a failing USB hub... I just needed them for an upgrade and parts. Especially Dietmar Weinzinger, who I dealt with a couple of times, is very service orientated and a great person to be in contact with. just my 2 €c, Waldemar

Ian, the link Christer sent you is a beta update. If you want to have acces to the newest beta software, you have to sign up for beta tester. That also gives you acces to the beta-tester part of the forum. Not a big deal, just some more information. Regards, Waldemar