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Waldemar, I have done what I usually do with these sorts of issues and had a look around on the net but did not find anything useful. So then I spoke to my son who is an IT professional. He thinks it is probably a driver or driver setting issue. Tomorrow I will look at the driver settings and version on my observatory laptop and send them to you for comparison. My son also told me something I did not know. He says that most laptops and some desktop machines actually keep power applied to USB ports even when turned off to avoid this problem. Do you use a laptop or desktop? Ian

Hi Waldemar, I run Win7 64 bit and I don't have any problems with the GPS. The GPS box at the bottom line of Autoslew goes green very soon after every startup without any intervention from me. Always finds 8 to 12 satellites quite quickly. As I said I bought it from ASA with my mount and followed the ASA installation instructions. Some (most??) users seem to have bought their GPS from other sources. I am aware that there is more than one type of GPS chip. The ASA GPS is a u-blox 6 GPS receiver from u-blox AG. It even gets driver updates from Windows Update without any issues. Perhaps Autoslew is not so happy with other types of GPS? I do not have trouble with comports. The GPS is always attached to COM6 where it was installed. I am wondering where you have your GPS connected. I have mine plugged into a powered USB hub which is plugged into my observatory PC. I turn on power to all my devices including the hub with the GPS and the mount and then start the PC. This procedure works every time. Best regards, Ian

Thanks Robert. That is really useful information. I had actually not noticed that setting. I am using 5.1.1.6 and I will check if this setting is selected. Ian

Thanks Jay and Bernard. I do not actually have any problem with the function of the GPS. It always finds satellites quite quickly, usually at least 8 and sometimes 11 or 12. But my questions still remain.......Does Autoslew get the time from the GPS automatically or is this only a manually selected function? And does this function actually correct the PC clock???? Perhaps not many of us use the GPS to set time?? My understanding is that for the GPS system to work, very accurate time is essential and therefore a GPS can be a very accurate source of time. Or am I worrying about this too much? Will a PC time error of a few seconds make no significant difference to pointing accuracy? Ian

Hi, When I ordered my DDM60 Pro I also ordered the USB GPS from ASA. In Autoslew there is a menu item called "Get time from GPS". My questions are:- 1. Once this has been used once does it then happen automatically each time Autoslew is started or does it have to be done manually on every start? 2. Does this function actually set the computer clock? As I have satellite internet there is a significant latency which I think may affect normal computer clock setting using internet time servers. I notice that when I use internet time servers to set two different computers there is usually several seconds difference between them. So I am assuming that the GPS method will be more accurate. Regards to all Ian

Michael, Thanks for updating us. Regards Ian

Sounds like a useful idea to me. Ian

Thanks to you all, you have given me a lot to think about. A couple of other things I have noticed. 1. There is a setting in balance called time which is set to 5 seconds. If I change this to say 10 or 20 seconds the balance result changes. To my mind if changing the time over which the averaging is done changes the result it can only be that the motor is encountering a significantly varying resistance to movement so that an accurate average cannot be determined in the default time of 5 seconds. 2. If I slew the dec axis throughout its full range several times the balance result also changes slightly. I don't know what is happening here (maybe lubricant being redistributed in the bearings???). Before anyone suggests it I have VERY carefully made sure that every screw, nut, clamp or whatever in the whole system is fully tightened. I have only done automatic PID adjustments, both normal and high performance. I believe the only time I have ever seen position errors is when I tried high performance tuning before the standard tuning. Doing the normal one first and then high performance worked fine. Perhaps I should just ask ASA for a remote session and see what they think. Thanks again to you all, Ian

Thanks Erik and Mark, I have to say I am really confused by this balance issue. Some previous posts in this forum suggest that an imbalance equivalent to the weight of a coin (an Australian 50 cent piece was mentioned) is a problem. But Mark, your post suggests to me that it is not so critical. If the current varies as much as I see from watching the balance function doing its job then that suggests to me also that it is not so critical. Also I recall Philip Keller (I think) saying somewhere that the mount can easily handle a 1 Amp variation. My mount is permanently mounted on a 270 mm diameter steel pipe pier which is filled with concrete and buried in roughly 1 cubic metre of concrete in a Sirius observatory so I don't think there are any issues there. Also claims are made that a mount out in the wind can deal with wind gusts. Surely the varying loads induced by wind gusts will be more of an issue than a small constant load caused by a small imbalance. So I simply don't know what to believe! What I would really like to know is whether others see significantly varying current when running the Autoslew balance function. If this is normal then what is the point of precise balance in all positions????? My concern is that the constant current variation as the balance routine runs is that it is a sign that there is a problem with the bearings in the Dec axis. As I mentioned, uneven mechanical resistance is easily felt when moving the Dec axis by hand. I really wish these things were clearer than they seem to be!!! Ian

Hi all, I am trying to improve my all position balance on my DDM60 Pro. I have been having problems getting sensible results and it has occurred to me that what I am seeing may not be normal. Before I ask ASA for help I would like forum members advice as to how what I see compares with your experience. As I understand it the red line is an average of the current drawn by the motor during the balance movements. My question is how much variation do you see in the peak of the yellow bar as the average is calculated? On my system the top of the yellow bar moves up and down around the red line average by around several hundred milliamps when the average is about 1 Amp. In other words, the variation in the peak current would be approximately 20 to 30% of the average current. It suddenly occurred to me that in trying to achieve good balance I am actually trying to achieve the same current draw in all positions and that becomes rather pointless if the current drawn is varying so much as the axis rotates! The pattern of variation I see is repeated in exactly the same way during each cycle of the balance movements. Soon after I received the mount from my ASA dealer I asked ASA why I could feel an obvious variation in resistance to movement when turning the Dec axis by hand. I was advised that this was most likely due to what they called "magnetic remanance" and not to be concerned. I am now concerned that the resistance variation I was feeling back then is actually a problem that explains what I am seeing now during balance. How does this compare with your experience? The prospect of having to return the mount to Austria from Australia is not a nice feeling! Thanks in advance and regards to all, Ian

This is indeed great news. Particularly, from my point of view, regarding the professional manuals. May I suggest that the English versions be proofread by a native English speaker before publication. As I have posted in the past, there are some inappropriate uses of English words in the current manuals that are obvious to a native speaker but maybe not to non-native speakers. Thankyou and regards, Ian

Hi, I recently read something interesting about the difference between normal consumer USB hubs (and probably other USB devices) and "industrial" grade hubs. Apparently consumer grade devices use ceramic resonators rather than crystal oscillators for frequency control. The problem with ceramic resonators is that they are affected by temperature in that the frequency changes if they are exposed to temperatures outside the range that might normally be expected in an interior environment. Apparently crystal oscillators are not affected in this way. This can cause the operating frequency to drift outside the specified USB operating frequency and lead to malfunction. This has lead me to wonder if this is the cause of some of the USB problems astronomers have reported as, I guess, some of our equipment is likely to be exposed to fairly extreme temperatures. The article recommended using industrial grade devices with crystal oscillators in such circumstances. Ian

Hi Mark and Thomas, I am a new and very inexperienced user of ASA equipment. While I have as yet not had any significant problems with the function of the provided ASA software I am by no means experienced enough to judge more than the most basic levels of operation. I have only just purchased MaxIm DL and Pinpoint and I am just beginning to climb this part of the learning curve. The only software fault I have noticed so far is the well known one of MaxIm DL reporting the telescope is at park when it is not. As a new user I am very dependent on comprehensive and up to date documentation. This has been my issue that has led to me joining this debate. Really the documentation is seriously out of date. Autoslew version 5.1.1.6 has been around for a long time but the manual is way behind that. Sequence is up to version 9 but the manual is for version 4 with an addendum for version 7! On top of that I find the organisation of the documentation difficult to follow. These issues may not be an issue for experienced astrophotographers but I am starting from zero! Frankly I believe that properly written documentation should not assume anything but the most basic prior knowledge. Also the documentation should cover every aspect of every function of the software. There are significant parts of Autoslew that are not even mentioned in the manual. As I said I have just purchased MaxIm DL. I would put forward the manual for this complex software as at least a good attempt at comprehensive documentation. As far as I can see so far every single function is explained and every obscure term is elaborated. They have only just released a new version and the manual already reflects the changes. This is the way it should be! As far as I can tell ASA makes some of the best hardware available. I think it is unfortunate both for new users and for ASA's reputation that the documentation is not up to the same standard. I will leave more experienced and knowledgeable users to discuss any flaws in the software itself. Regards, Ian

I have tried something different. I have just sent an email to the Manager/Owner of ASA. If we still get no response I will be very concerned indeed! Here's hoping! Ian

Hi, I have to say that I am feeling pretty much the same. Particularly as I posted 7 months ago asking ASA about manual updates and, despite receiving a lot of support from members for what I had to say, there has been no response from ASA. We are all human beings, we understand that things go wrong, unexpected issues arise and, who knows, maybe the delays are even related to health issues. BUT the point is communication!!! It is the deafening silence that irritates me! Please speak to us ASA! Let us know about progress! Or if there are problems tell us about them! I notice that there is a lot of non-member traffic on this forum. It cannot be helping ASA's future sales prospects for non-members to be seeing posts like this. I think all of us have deep admiration for the ASA hardware. I would like to be able to say the same for software updates, up to date manuals and, above all, open and regular communication between ASA and its customers through this forum. Come on ASA! Talk to us! You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Best regards, Ian

Hi Waldemar, Thank you very much for your very kind offer which I would like to accept. I was just about to post again asking which catalogue was recommended by forum members as I found the advice on the Pinpoint website a little confusing. I was also dreading downloading it as I live in an area of Australia where only satellite internet is available and while it is reasonably fast for downloading, this download would use nearly half my monthly allowance. So your post and offer have helped me in several ways! I will PM you my address. Regards Ian

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies. I have purchased Maxim DL Pro V6 and the full version of Pinpoint. Now for some more fun with learning software! Ian

Thanks George and Norbert. I expected the answers I got but just wanted to be sure. Looking at the Maxim DL website it implies that Pinpoint LE comes with Maxim DL Ver 6. However I believe that the full version of Pinpoint is necessary. Can you confirm this for me please? Ian

Hi, Please make allowance that I am completely new to astrophotography and I am on a very steep learning curve. I now think I have all my hardware operating properly and I am at the stage of wanting to make a large all sky pointing model. From reading this forum I understand that the fast and easy way to do this is using Sequence and Pinpoint. This is where it gets confusing for me. There seem to be so many overlapping capabilities in software packages. So far I have been using and learning Autoslew. I think I have a reasonable understanding of that. For planetarium software I have so far been using C2A which seems to work well with Autoslew. As I am currently using a Canon 60Da I have been using Backyard EOS for camera control. This also works well and is very intuitive. So to move on from here I believe that I will need to buy Maxim DL and the full version of Pinpoint and install and learn Sequence. Is this correct? Are there alternatives? Can I just buy Pinpoint and use it with Sequence without Maxim DL? I would like some advice before I buy this expensive software. Thank you, Regards Ian

Hello Gerald, I agree with Mark. Could you please post this information for the benefit of all users. Regards, Ian ps Has there been any progress with an updated Autoslew manual as requested by a number of users some months ago?

Hi, I am pretty new to all this too. I found the ASA document "Autoslew 5.1.0.0, Additional Information" very helpful. Particularly for its description of the "three star same declination" polar alignment routine. I found it easier to do this manually. I thus avoided having to learn/understand Sequence at this early stage. Ian

Hi, I have been following this thread out of interest (My mount is a DDM60Pro). There is something odd going on. I have an ASA document called "How to connect an ASA DDM Mount". As far as I can tell it applies to all versions. The first instruction is for connecting the DC IN cable. This specifically states that the DC power is supplied by the brown wire (red plug, +12V) and the black wire (black plug, Ground). If there is integrated focuser electronics in the mount (DDM85 only) there are two more wires, grey with red plug and yellow/green with black plug. This does not correspond with your photos of the cable!!!! Perhaps ASA has changed the wire they use to make the cable?? I would be surprised if that were so. Unfortunately I do not recall where I found this pdf. Ian

I reported this issue to ASA support and they have told me they believe that "there is a problem with transferring the settings from the software to the controller box". They are working on a solution which is expected soon. Ian

Hi all, I am feeling a little frustrated at the moment. On the 12th of February I emailed ASA support about a possible problem with my OK3 focuser. The same day I received an automated reply saying I had been put into the system. It is now 22nd of February and I have heard nothing more. Surely this is a bit slow??? What are others experiences? Ian

Hi all, I too would like to do something "useful" with my ASA equipment when I feel I am ready and experienced enough. While I spent many years in a scientific research environment as a technician, I have similar feelings to those expressed by some others here in that I am not sure what to do and how to get started. I think the new forum section is a good idea in that it may give me some ideas of which direction to head in. Ian