photon

Hi Wojtek, The Model Builder Plugin automatically saves a .pox files in Sequence/PointingPics after a successful run. There is also a notification in NINA which will appear after the last position has been solved. The .grd Files are just for Grids (Positions). They also can be imported/exported but are not used for calculating the model. You can also check the NINA log file if something went wrong. I made a new model yesterday and it should look like this:

Hi Erik and others, thank you, I am happy that the workaround works for you! I rarely visit this forum. If anybody needs support please use the GitHub Issue feature. https://github.com/photon1503/ASCOMProxyHub/issues Otherwise I encourage everybody to insist ASA to provide an updated driver for us "legacy" users. Gerald

Servus Michi, when does this error occur? We are not able to set tracking rates using Autoslew, also not with the Proxy ASCOM thing. The only possiblilty is to enable/disable tracking and to use different slew rates, which is needed for the 3-point polar alignment plugin. I also migrated to NINA 3 Beta but don't have this issue. You can also reach me directly to further clarify this issue, you can find my e-mail at http://skyimages.at/about/ Gerald

Hi Michi, as AnakChan already mentioned you need both the ASCOM "Proxy" Driver and the NINA Plugin to use NINA without the need to use Sequenz/MaximDL. I am a little bit biased here, but for me this is working great. Regarding automation software, I was using ACP DC3 since 10+ years and have tried SGP, Voyager, CCD Autopilot and NINA. I migrated from ACP to NINA last year and am quite happy. My only concern are unsafe conditions when I'm at bed but this can be solved using the Powerups Plugins. To be honest, nothing comes close to automation compared to ACP but I have the feeling this software is stuck in development since many years. At NINA, the developers are doing something new every day (you can join their Discord Server too) and it's open source, so you could even do your own things here. Gerald

Hi Chris, your backfocus with ~65.5mm seems to be right, see attached file (page 1) for some examples. You might need to increase the calculated backfocus by 1/3 of your filter thickness. -- Gerald newCorr_2Zoll_Reducer.pdf

Hi Thomas, you are welcome 🙂 MLTP will not be possible since as you say the calculation is done within Sequence. But try to do a big model (100+ points) and be surprised. I can do 30min sub exposures without MLTP and get pinpoint stars. -- Gerald

Joha, which versions of ASCOM, NINA and ASCOMProxyHub are you using? With latest ASCOM 6.6SP2, NINA 2.3HF2 and https://github.com/photon1503/ASCOMProxyHub/releases/download/1.0.0.3/ProxyHub.Setup.1.0.0.3-direct.exe I cannot reproduce the issue.

Hi Robert, you are welcome 🙂 In the meantime the plugin is in the official repository - so you can install it directly from NINA Gerald

If anybody is interested, there is a new N.I.N.A plugin for building the pointing model. Please find more information and the download at https://github.com/photon1503/NINA.Photon.Plugin.ASA -- Gerald

It will work from AutoSlew to NINA. But if you want to sync the other way - from NINA to AutoSlew - the new location will not be persistent in AutoSlew unfortunately.

Hi, yes I'll keep UTCDate calcluation in the driver in order to pass the conformance test. Basicall it doesn't matter at which level the UTCdate is being calculcated. And for TrackingRate you need the driver anyway. Regarding syncing the location - this doesn't also work for me. Did this work with direct connection to AutoSlew?

FYI, the connection issues in NINA nightly build #63 has now gone. So for most users this should be fine. But for 3PPA, we still cannot switch tracking on/off due to missing implementations in the ASA ASCOM driver. Only when using the ASCOM Proxy we have control over this feature.

In the meantime Stefan from NINA also built some workarounds in the nightly build. Maybe this also helps us to directly connect now without having the "Proxy" in between.

Great to hear that it works for you 😀 @AnakChan You can also find the result of my Conformance tests here: https://github.com/photon1503/ASCOMProxyHub/tree/main/Conform Let me know if you find some issues. I'm not using PulseGuide so can't test this one.

No, there is no new driver from ASA for us. Instead I wrote an ASCOM telescope driver with connects to the existing AutoSlew ASCOM driver as "man in the middle" translator. This driver adds some missing features from the original driver. I was able to connect to NINA without issues and to do an automatic 3 point polar alignment :-) It's not yet super polished, but works for me. If anybody is interested please visit https://github.com/photon1503/ASCOMProxyHub and also open discussions and issues directly on GitHub. -- Gerald

Hi, I checked the code a little bit from NINA and raised a ticket https://bitbucket.org/Isbeorn/nina/issues/1260/asa-ddm-ascom-issues Check the issue above to see more details. -- Gerald

Just noticed that user @AnakChan opened the same topic a month ago. To be honest and very disappointed, I expect nothing from ASA.

Hi everyone! After owning an ASA DDM60Pro mount for many years, I find myself wondering whether we can anticipate any software updates, particularly for AutoSlew and Sequence. It has been nearly four years since the last update to both programs, and I am concerned that we may soon be left with an unusable and unsellable "brick." Software development in the industry is advancing rapidly, and we are already encountering issues with NINA and the current ASCOM driver. At the very least, it would be greatly appreciated if ASA, even if they have chosen not to update their software for current customers, would consider releasing the software to the public rather than leaving us without any support. Best regards, Gerald

@bernard I checked with an oscilloscope but got only a flat line at approx. the input voltage. If it was PWM, wouldn't we need at least 3 pins? @MikePaling The DDM60Pro has a "Fan" labelled port on the RA axis. You can connect any 12V DC fan (i.e computer fan) to the outermost pins and control it directly from Autoslew. I use it for telescope cooldown and connected a DIY mirror fan. Gerald

Mark, I can't detect any voltage change if I change the slider in Autoslew. Anyway, thank you for the response! Gerald

Dear community, I noticed that the telescope fan connected to the DDM 60 Pro is running on full speed, no matter where the slider stays in Autoslew software. The DC fan is connected to the fan port with only 2 wires. As far as I can remember this feature worked in the past, did anyone notice this too? There is also a 3rd pin on the FAN connector, but it seems to be only a dummy. Couldn't measure any PWM signal here and the other pins always have full power. Best regards, Gerald

Hi Michael, I can only emphasise Waldemar's suggestion to upgrade your DDM60. It's worth it. Beside from that, I also use a 12" Newton and it works great. Just start Autotuning with the "Heavy Telescope" configuration and then fine-tune to your needs. You can also you the supplied software "Sequence" to automatically make a pointing file without the need to center each single star.

Hi, did anybody here ever try to invoke the ASCOM Action(Name, params) method on the ASA driver? It seems to be implemented, i.e. "Telescope:MotorOn" but I can't call it because there's always an error telling me that the Action method is not found on the Telescope interface. BR, Gerald

*up* after 3 years. Maybe someone at ASA finally finds time to implement this or at least what Matts suggested. - Gerald

Finally the pointing is fine again here and a test sub with 10 minutes was great with a new 150 point alignment. There is also a current "release notes" in the program folder of Autoslew, where it is noted that the new version is incompatible with the old "Fourier only" configuration. I also agree that the hardware is great. The function of the software is also great, but the user interface needs improvement. And as already said in the initial post, the documentation needs a complete rework. From my point of view I still have the feeling that the complete software development, testing, release management, bug tracking, documentation, etc. is allocated to only one person. This would make me very nervous as a business owner, as there is also no 3rd party software to drive the mounts. Hopefully they have at least intern docs about all the math behind, but I doubt so to be honest. An official issue tracking system like Jira would be great for all of us. - Gerald