robertp

Hi Dave, glad to hear that you managed to delete the huge log-file. I've just read through the sesto-senso documentation and did not find an option to control the amount of logging-data that is stored. I would suggest that you monitor the log-file size to get a feeling how much it grows during one night. If it grows very fast, then it might make sense to contact primaluce to see whether they have a recommendation to avoid the problem. You could also check whether you have turned logging on in the ascom chooser, I guess there is a checkbox where you can turn logging on or off for the ascom devices. Clear skies, Robert

Hi Dave, the huge file seems to be the log-file of your motor-focus, that connects to Sequence via Ascom. Have you tried to delete the file right after rebooting your computer before you start Sequence or any other astro-related programs? I would also suggest that you check the ascom driver to see whether you can define a different location for the log-file. Hope this helps, Robert

Hi Daniel, I can't comment on the Astrodon filters. I use Baader filters and I also experience differences: The RGB-filters are basically parfocal but about 0,04mm off compared to the L-filter. The narrowband filters are about 0,33mm off compared to the L-filter, as the narrowband filters are 2mm thick whereas the LRGB filters are 3mm thick. The differences that you measure are substantial if the filters are claimed to be parfocal as expecially the difference between L and the narrowband filters is way bigger than your critical focus zone. To compensate for that, I put the differences into MaximDL - not in sequence. You can use negative values (my narrowband filters need negative values whereas the RGB filters are positive). In Maxim, I had to enter the differences in steps, so I entered e.g. -330 for h-alpha instead of 0,330mm (I use a ASA N8 with the OK3Z focuser). After I measured the differnces and stored them in MaximDL, I verified the correctness by doing an autofocus with the L filter, then put a bahtinov-mask on the telescope and started bahtinov-grabber (a tool that gives you very precise information whether your focus is perfect) and then steped through all other filters to check, whether the focus compensation worked correct. Hope this helps, clear skies, Robert

Hi Bill, was it working before and suddenly stopped working? Did you change anything in your setup? Best regards, Robert

Hello Mark, thanks for your feedback, your experience seems to support my recent tests. I did another test 2 days ago with the scope on the east side and pointing to the south-east. With a well-balanced configuration I got the over-current-error after about 65 minutes. Then I slightly moved one of the counterweights (much less than in the first test) to make the setup slightly west-heavy. After more than 3 hours, the current was still under 3.5 amps. As I have a bended pier and do not have to do a meridian-flip, in many cases I might get away with setting the slight unbalance at the beginning of the session for the whole night. I will try your more sophisticated approach in trying to find the sweet spot but will probably still stick to performing relax slews in sequence (which won't work if I e.g. do sequences of planetary images or the sun). Best regards, Robert

Hi, last week, I did a random 500 star pointing file to try to redistribute the lubrication - but that did not show any positive effects with regards to the raising current resulting in a position error "crash" once 5amps were reached. I get those crashes in the RA-axis after about 30-50 min when the mount is tracking continously. Today I tried the following with interesting results: First, I put the counterweight bar in a horizontal position and carefully checked the balance of the RA axis. The balance graph in autoslew indicated around 1 amp when moving the scope in and against the RA direction. Then I let the mount track in that position. The current of the RA-axis raised from 1.4 amps at the beginning and after about 50 minutes the axis crashed after the current reached 5 amps. Then, I slewed back to the start position and moved the innermost weight on the counterweight bar about 4cm towards the mount introducing a noticeable inbalance. The scope was on the west side, so the setup was heavier on that side and as expected, the balance graph showed a big inbalance: about 0.6 amps in RA-direction and about 1.4 amps in the opposite direction. Then I let the mount track in that position. The current of the RA-axis was about 0.9 amp at the beginning and slowly increased over time, but never exceeded 3.2 amps within the next 5 hours! So it did not crash. I will try to do the test again within the next few days, but in case you experience those pointing error crashes, it might be a workaround to have the RA-axis a little heavier on the west side instead of trying to find the perfect balance. I have to check how little imbalance prevents the crashes from happening and whether it has a negative impact on tracking precision. Maybe you can try that also and report back your findings, best regards, Robert

Hi, I also experience the problem that after about 30 to 40 minutes, I get a position error due to the current reaching 5 amp. Using the "relax slew" option in Sequence is a feasible workaround for the moment but obviously does not cure the core of the problem. The idea to redistribute the lubrication by doing a pointing-file with hundreds of stars sounds interesting. I think I will give it a try tonight. Best regards, Robert

Hello Luc, thanks for your reply. After several approaches, it looks like I finally found a way to make it work again. Clear skies and stay healthy, Robert

Hi Luc, did you find a solution to the GPS-problem? I just switched from a laptop in my observatory to an intel nuc and now it does not recognize the GPS anymore. Best regards and stay healthy, Robert

Hello Sjoerd, Do you have access to a multimeter? The easiest way would be to connect both of your cables to the Mount and check each wire on the RA cable against the wires on the DEC cable using the ohm-meter to find out which wires are connected. Robert

Hello Sjoerd, I'm not sure whether I understand your problem correctly. To my understanding, you want to connect your Apogee via a network cable to your computer but instead of connecting it directly, you want to use the internal cabling of the mount. I did a similar thing (two usb-cables instead of your ethernet cable). I bought two 8-pin DIN plugs, then cut the cable (ethernet in your case) in the middle and soldered the DIN plugs to the open ends. That works great and you don't need any special cables, just two DIN plugs for about 6 € or $ a piece (be aware - there are two slightly different types of 8-pin DIN plugs). That's the type of plug that I use, basically identical to what ASA also uses: http://de.rs-online.com/web/p/din-steckverbinder/5336792/ Hope this helps, Robert

Hi Ralph, Have you tried to manually enter the encoder resolution into the appropriate ini file? Best regards, Robert

Hi, that's strange, I guess some of the Sequence settings have to be wrong. I use Sequence without a focuser all the time and it works great. Please check your settings in the "Settings" - "Current Location and Hardware" window and make sure that the checkbox "Focuser installed" is not checked. Also make sure that in "Settings" - "Autofocus" the option "Autofocus during Sequence" - "Never" is checked (though I doubt that that is relevant). If that does not help, please send me ini-file of your configuration and I can try to reproduce the problem. Best regards, Robert

Hi Josch, when I set up a new astro computer under win10, I also had some problems to get the sky 6 set up correctly. Here's what's working for me: In The Sky 6 in the telescope setup window I have chosen "Telescope API" in the drop down list. Under "settings" I have configured "POTH Hub". Clicking "Properties" brings up the POTH hub setup window. There clicking on "Choose Scope" brings up the ASCOM Telescope Chooser window, where I have chosen "Astrooptik Server Telescope". Hope this helps, Robert

Hello community, I'm back from AME and had quite a long and good conversation with Dietmar. First of all, he is very aware of the discussion in this forum and also of the current activities to create an adequate documentation as a community effort. I try to summerize our conversation as good as possible. Dietmar, if any of my statements is not correct or misleading, please feel free to correct them so that we have a valid description of the situation. Dietmar mentioned that the original intention of that forum to be a platform where ASA users help other ASA users and therefore is mainly a place for interaction amongst users is still valid. It seems to be unlikely due to capacity reasons that there will be a significant increase in active participation of ASA representatives in the forum. Dietmar also supports the idea of a community effort to generate a wiki based knowledge base. Even though Martin Pucher is working on updating some documentation (like the recently published beginners guides), it seems to be very unlikely that the effort to create a decent knowledge base would be redundant to what ASA is planning to do. Dietmar also mentioned that ASA would be willing to extend the existing forum with a wiki-based knowledge area if possible and cover the associated costs and as already mentioned he is planning to discuss that with ASAs administrator as soon as he's back from vacation the week after next week. Dietmar expressed that ASA has no intention to do any kind of censoring within the forum or in a future wiki and would support the idea of a dedicated group of editors that would maintain the content. Dietmar also mentioned, that he will discuss with the administrator and probably Philipp Keller how ASA can make sure that all informatin and documentation, that's available could be made accessible to the community. It looks like there is documentation available that was never officially published (like e.g. more detailed information about version changes from Philipp) and Dietmar sees no reason why that should not be made available. I proposed that all documentation could be shared with e.g. the wiki-administrators to let them check whether the content might be relevant for the community and either make it available for download or include the relevant aspects in the wiki. I had the impression, that for ASA it was difficult to understand why a group of active forum members that are using ASA equipment with success for years see a need for better documentation. I mentioned, that on the one hand side it would help seasoned users if they knew what changes are incorporated in new software releases and how to use them. But at least from my perspective, I find it very sad to read so many bad comments in other forums when it comes to the question whether it is a good idea to invest in ASA equipment or not. A decent, up-to-date documentation and a solid support base is a must-have today, especially when dealing with a rather sophisticated and complicated product like e.g. DDMs. I did not adress Nigels questions 5 and 6 actively, but Dietmar mentioned that he sees a strong commitment of the upper management to further support the amateur market beside the professional segment. He also mentioned, that the new, linux-based software platform is already in use in a professional project and seems to work fine there. However the user interface is command line driven and I had the impression, that there is no firm plan available yet how and when that could be made available with a decent user interface (either a windows-client or an smartphone app) to the amateur community. I hope that I covered the most relevant aspects of our discussion and would really love to see a joined effort of ASA and the community to adress the current unsatisfying situation. Best regards from Ulm, Germany, Robert

Hi, the german AME fair takes place tomorrow and I hope to be able to talk to the ASA guys. Besides asking for the permission to use ASA documentation in the wiki and trying to understand what their view of this groups great effort to create decent documentation is - is there anything specific you want me to adress? Best regards and lots of kudos to what has been already achieved in terms of wiki structure and content, Robert

Hi Mike, great that you have a working configuration right now. But it is strange that you need an additional piece of software to get it working. If that gets too cumbersome, maybe switching to a prooven logitech controller would be an option. Clear skies, Robert

Hi, on the 10th of September, there's the AME fair in southern Germany. ASA usually has a booth there so I can try to discuss with them whether they would have a problem with us using their documentation as a basis for a user-group-maintained wiki page. I like the idea and would be willing to contribute where possible. Best regards, Robert

Hi Mike, please try the following: In the joystick configuration window, there's the section in the upper right corner that says "Speed for full Joystick stroke". Set the parameter "No button" - "Move" to something like e.g. 100 and check whether the mount now moves when you use the 4-way-button. You can also watch the RA- and DEC-Coordinates in the main autoslew window. The default value of 2 is extremly slow, so you will hardly detect the mount moving (but you should see the RA or DEC-coordinates change). If that works, set the value back to 2 or maybe 5 and you will be able to do very slow, very precise moves by just using the 4-way-button. To move faster, you have to asign 2 buttons (I use the two buttons at the right front side of my logitech) to the functions "fast move" and "turbo move". When you now hold down one of those two buttons and move the 4-way-button, the mount slews with the fast or turbo speeds that you can define in the upper right section. If still nothing happens, try the following: Your controller has different 4-way-controls on the left side of the controller: There are the 4 arrow-shaped buttons at the upper left part and there is a joystick-like controller underneath and to the right. Check whether one of the two controls work. If none works, try pressing the mode button and see whether it works now. With my logitech controller, I always have to press the mode button once in order to make the joystick work. Hope this helps, Robert

Hi, I can't check it at my astro computer right now, so I have to rely on my not so reliable memory: I'm quite sure that in the time-settings (mount - time setting or similar) there's an option that says something like "synch on each slew". It's advisable to use a GPS and not fully rely on the PC clock as those clocks can deviate over time significantly. I once had severe problems with tracking and after several tests and discussions with Philip Keller, I realized that the internal clock of the laptop I used at that time lost more than 30 seconds within an hour. In autoslew, one can measure that deviation and correct for it, but I would really recommend to use a GPS instead. To my understanding, it does not matter whether you use the one from ASA or any other. Best regards, Robert

Hello George, I also feel deeply sorry for the result. Let's hope that the results will not be too devastating. All the best for your country's and europe's future. Best regards from Ulm, Germany, Robert

Hi Aaron, I guess that somehow even after the initial autofind the magnetic angle is not correct. Please make sure, that when you do the initial autofind, that the scope is balanced as good as possible in both axis. Wnen the autofind takes place, you get the window described at the bottom of page 9 in the manual (sorry, I couldn't find the english manual) http://www.astrosysteme.com/download/autoslew-beschreibung/?wpdmdl=3017 During the autofind, you will see these "bubbles" appear (the yellow lines). You should aim for two things: 1) The bubbles should be as symetrical as possible (meaning that the left half of the bubble should be very symetrical to the right half). If that's not the case, then you either have inbalance in your axis or you might try a different position of the counterweight and the telescope. I would start with e.g. the counterweigth pointing down and the telescope pointing towards the polar star. 2) At the end of the autofind a red line appears that to my understanding indicates the position of the magnetic angle that was measured. This red line should be very close to the maximum of the bubble. If that's not the case, then you might not have found the optimum magnetic angle which at least limits the perfomance of the mount or might lead to the unexpected behaviour you see. If you have problems to get a good shape of the "bubble" then you might want to increase the test current or decrease the step size. Only once you have a decent magnetic angle, you should be in the state to set a new homefind. With my mount, I had problems to get a good autofind result, therefore I measured the magnetic angle once and now use the procedure where you don't do an autofind when starting the mount but instead manually turn the axis during homefind. I never had a problem with sub-optimal magnetic angle since. Hope this helps, Best regards, Robert P.S.: I think you can't really mess something up doing some tests, but it might be a good idea to do a copy of all the ini-files so that you can easily switch back to the current parameters.

Hi Aaron, I also suspect that a wrong magnetic angle is the problem. I experienced a similar behaviour (a very sudden slew with a speed way faster than the maximum slewing speed) when the magnetic angle was off. Besides using the licence-code to set the magnetic angle, there's still the option to determine it from scratch. Best regards and I hope you resolve that issue soon, Robert

Hello John, here's how I check my PA from time to time: * start Autoslew and Sequence * within Sequence, go to the "Autopoint" Screen and click "AutoGrid" * in the upper right area of the screen underneath "standard Grids" select either "3 Star Polar East Side" or "3 Star Polar West Side", depending on whether you want to do the check east or west of the meridian. * click "Load" and you should now see the three positions that have the same declination * click on "start" to start generating the pointing file with the three positions * Solve the pointing file and make sure that all three positions are solved successfully * go to Autoslew and load the autopointing file you just generated * Calculate the pointing file by selecting the option that says something like "polar alignment only same declination" or something similar (I have no access to my system at the moment, so that's from my not so reliable memory) Now you can see the calculated PA deviation and you can do a polar adjust. Hope this is clear enough, if not, let me know and I will describe it in more detail. Best regards, Robert

Hi Daniel, I would recommend to check your polar alignment using Sequence and the predefined standard grids "3 star polar east" or "3 star polar west". I do not have a massive pier like you but the ground in my garden settles/moves significantly over time. When I recently did a new polar alignment after about 6 months of not checking it, PA was off by more than 14 arcminutes. Checking PA only takes about 10 minutes and then you should have a good idea whether your pier really moves or something else is going on. Best regards and clear skies, Robert