Hello everyone from Germany!
I had to fight yesterday with a massive problem and have read me until today through endless forum posts and possible solutions without getting a step further, so I hope that someone can help me or give me an advise. In the hope that I forget nothing because it is quite a lot, I describe my problem in the following.
To the setup:
I use NINA in the version 2.2 in interaction with the Skywatcher SynScan App in the current version. (I had problems with EQMOD at that time, which is why I changed this after a long time of try and error, since then everything was good. I do not want to change this, unless its a must be :-D).
ASTAP is used for solving.
The mount is an EQ - 6R Pro connected via USB cable directly to the PC (hub in between, active). The optics with which the problem happened I name for the sake of completeness also, is an Esprit 80 ED from Skywatcher with 400mm. The camera used is a Touptek 2600 MC Color camera. Guiding is done with the Asi120 via PHD2, guiding tube is an Omegon 50mm.
On the PC all ASCOM drivers are up to date and have already been reinstalled yesterday. NINA is configured accordingly, focal length, pixels etc. are all entered correctly. I have checked this several times.
To the problem (attention Storytime):
First of all I would like to say that due to solving problems that existed from time I have completely rebuilt and reinstalled the laptop last year. Since I now had almost 1 year break and have not touched anything is actually everything relatively new on the computer. The problem also occurred with my 620mm Apo that solving was partially not possible in the past.
But now then:
Yesterday I wanted to photograph an object in Cepheus near the pole and selected the object in NINA normally with the Framing Assistant. After that I used the Calibration Assitant in PHD2 which is available in the beta there to calibrate the star before.
The assistant is relatively new, but works very well. After that, the mount was moved back to park position and the sequence started when it got really dark. Then something happened that happened to me several times before I set up the computer 1 year ago (the solving problem as such, not the process described below):
The mount moved to the coordinates, in this case swiveled only a few degrees to the right of the pole and exposed. Of course it was not in tolerance so the whole thing was repeated, but without the mount actually executing the command to slew.
I then started everything from the beginning and tried again, then the mount moved a little further, but then got stuck in the west, way too far away. I then parked the mount and then tried another object, VDB152 which I have done the night before and also a region in Cygnus which I have done 2 days before. Well what can I say, that worked without any problems in a go.
I then tried the Cepheus again, same game.... did not work. I then tried this several times always with the same result. When I parked the mount after a few tries (and I didn't notice it right away) the parking position was changed and that was in the declination. It was exactly where the first solve attempt got stuck a few degrees to the right of the pole.
I guess this happened at some point during the constant sequence starting and parking, but I can't say when. I didn't notice it, though, and kept going. I then set the limit in the Lower Limit in the SynScan app once to 10 degrees (was previously at 5 degrees) and in Nina set the Pointing Tolerance in ArcMin from 1 to 3. Then started the sequence again. It then moved back to the position to the right of the pole, then got stuck again, but Nina gave me the following error message this time:
So I stopped everything, tried again, again the same message. Then I solved on VDB152, now the error message came also there. Great!
Then I closed everything and reinstalled the ASCOM platform/updated from 2.2 SP1 to 2.2 SP2.
After I did the update there was no more error message but the telescope did the same ****. I then FINALLY noticed that the parking position does not fit at all and fixed that, rebooted everything incl. computer and tried again.
After that I started the sequence again, this time the mount moved again to the position a few degrees to the right of the pole, but then solved to the west, then over to the east only to land after another try just next to the object, but then manage to make also the last small slew (HURRA!).
So the exposures ran fine along for the time being. Since I currently have problems with the autofocus and wanted to photograph this night simply and had no desire to go on problem solving for the focus, I have then stopped after about 1 hour the sequence, focused, but have forgotten to deactivate in the sequencer that he should slew again on the target and center... And then THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. I then set everything back to park, disconnected the mount from Nina, from the Synscan app, turned off the mount. Restarted everything. Checked if the park position is correct, fits. Restarted the sequence.
I was pissed off and went in. The tricky thing now was that I was not outside but inside on the computer via remote and the sequence started. He told me then also directly that the Meridian Flip has to be done and I thought nothing badly about that and went on the toilet. When I came back he did the flip but it didn't work, he solved, wasn't in tolerance, solved and so on, we know that already... But at some point I noticed that the GuidingCam looks totally Defocused and pixelated, so I went out and found the following:
My telescope must have rotated several times around the RA axis because all the cables were around there, stretched to the breaking point. The Guidingcam was only half in the Omegon guiding tube and the focus wheel was completely 180 degrees to the left. The Touptek Color Camera was hanging on the tripod leg (it still works, no dent nothing but I don't want to know how it suffered). The telescope was pointed at the sky northwest. The USB cable of the mount was half hanging out, the focuser was half torn off....
I have no idea what happened here.
What I noticed is that the USB cable in the mount was loose several times, but that is always loose, the socket is a disaster. I have also fixed it so that no train is on it but even then the part slips out... Have also tried several cables, none holds in there properly ... this USB-Port ist a joke if you ask me.
I really don't know what to do, this error pattern is so strange. Every other Platesolve works except a few times i have the same problem a year ago but never a Meridian Flip was that devastating...
I'm attaching NINA logfiles from yesterday, I don't know if you can do anything with them. The logfile from 00:20 should show the mess with the meridian flip.
I hope I didn't forget anything.
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help.
Kind regards,
Markus
20230908-203651-2.2.0.9001.7644.log 20230909-200344-2.2.0.9001.8284.log 20230909-215647-2.2.0.9001.10320.log 20230909-220739-2.2.0.9001.3372.log 20230909-222236-2.2.0.9001.11344.log 20230910-002348-2.2.0.9001.11572.log
I had to fight yesterday with a massive problem and have read me until today through endless forum posts and possible solutions without getting a step further, so I hope that someone can help me or give me an advise. In the hope that I forget nothing because it is quite a lot, I describe my problem in the following.
To the setup:
I use NINA in the version 2.2 in interaction with the Skywatcher SynScan App in the current version. (I had problems with EQMOD at that time, which is why I changed this after a long time of try and error, since then everything was good. I do not want to change this, unless its a must be :-D).
ASTAP is used for solving.
The mount is an EQ - 6R Pro connected via USB cable directly to the PC (hub in between, active). The optics with which the problem happened I name for the sake of completeness also, is an Esprit 80 ED from Skywatcher with 400mm. The camera used is a Touptek 2600 MC Color camera. Guiding is done with the Asi120 via PHD2, guiding tube is an Omegon 50mm.
On the PC all ASCOM drivers are up to date and have already been reinstalled yesterday. NINA is configured accordingly, focal length, pixels etc. are all entered correctly. I have checked this several times.
To the problem (attention Storytime):
First of all I would like to say that due to solving problems that existed from time I have completely rebuilt and reinstalled the laptop last year. Since I now had almost 1 year break and have not touched anything is actually everything relatively new on the computer. The problem also occurred with my 620mm Apo that solving was partially not possible in the past.
But now then:
Yesterday I wanted to photograph an object in Cepheus near the pole and selected the object in NINA normally with the Framing Assistant. After that I used the Calibration Assitant in PHD2 which is available in the beta there to calibrate the star before.
The assistant is relatively new, but works very well. After that, the mount was moved back to park position and the sequence started when it got really dark. Then something happened that happened to me several times before I set up the computer 1 year ago (the solving problem as such, not the process described below):
The mount moved to the coordinates, in this case swiveled only a few degrees to the right of the pole and exposed. Of course it was not in tolerance so the whole thing was repeated, but without the mount actually executing the command to slew.
I then started everything from the beginning and tried again, then the mount moved a little further, but then got stuck in the west, way too far away. I then parked the mount and then tried another object, VDB152 which I have done the night before and also a region in Cygnus which I have done 2 days before. Well what can I say, that worked without any problems in a go.
I then tried the Cepheus again, same game.... did not work. I then tried this several times always with the same result. When I parked the mount after a few tries (and I didn't notice it right away) the parking position was changed and that was in the declination. It was exactly where the first solve attempt got stuck a few degrees to the right of the pole.
I guess this happened at some point during the constant sequence starting and parking, but I can't say when. I didn't notice it, though, and kept going. I then set the limit in the Lower Limit in the SynScan app once to 10 degrees (was previously at 5 degrees) and in Nina set the Pointing Tolerance in ArcMin from 1 to 3. Then started the sequence again. It then moved back to the position to the right of the pole, then got stuck again, but Nina gave me the following error message this time:
So I stopped everything, tried again, again the same message. Then I solved on VDB152, now the error message came also there. Great!
Then I closed everything and reinstalled the ASCOM platform/updated from 2.2 SP1 to 2.2 SP2.
After I did the update there was no more error message but the telescope did the same ****. I then FINALLY noticed that the parking position does not fit at all and fixed that, rebooted everything incl. computer and tried again.
After that I started the sequence again, this time the mount moved again to the position a few degrees to the right of the pole, but then solved to the west, then over to the east only to land after another try just next to the object, but then manage to make also the last small slew (HURRA!).
So the exposures ran fine along for the time being. Since I currently have problems with the autofocus and wanted to photograph this night simply and had no desire to go on problem solving for the focus, I have then stopped after about 1 hour the sequence, focused, but have forgotten to deactivate in the sequencer that he should slew again on the target and center... And then THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. I then set everything back to park, disconnected the mount from Nina, from the Synscan app, turned off the mount. Restarted everything. Checked if the park position is correct, fits. Restarted the sequence.
I was pissed off and went in. The tricky thing now was that I was not outside but inside on the computer via remote and the sequence started. He told me then also directly that the Meridian Flip has to be done and I thought nothing badly about that and went on the toilet. When I came back he did the flip but it didn't work, he solved, wasn't in tolerance, solved and so on, we know that already... But at some point I noticed that the GuidingCam looks totally Defocused and pixelated, so I went out and found the following:
My telescope must have rotated several times around the RA axis because all the cables were around there, stretched to the breaking point. The Guidingcam was only half in the Omegon guiding tube and the focus wheel was completely 180 degrees to the left. The Touptek Color Camera was hanging on the tripod leg (it still works, no dent nothing but I don't want to know how it suffered). The telescope was pointed at the sky northwest. The USB cable of the mount was half hanging out, the focuser was half torn off....
I have no idea what happened here.
What I noticed is that the USB cable in the mount was loose several times, but that is always loose, the socket is a disaster. I have also fixed it so that no train is on it but even then the part slips out... Have also tried several cables, none holds in there properly ... this USB-Port ist a joke if you ask me.
I really don't know what to do, this error pattern is so strange. Every other Platesolve works except a few times i have the same problem a year ago but never a Meridian Flip was that devastating...
I'm attaching NINA logfiles from yesterday, I don't know if you can do anything with them. The logfile from 00:20 should show the mess with the meridian flip.
I hope I didn't forget anything.
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help.
Kind regards,
Markus
20230908-203651-2.2.0.9001.7644.log 20230909-200344-2.2.0.9001.8284.log 20230909-215647-2.2.0.9001.10320.log 20230909-220739-2.2.0.9001.3372.log 20230909-222236-2.2.0.9001.11344.log 20230910-002348-2.2.0.9001.11572.log
