Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Hi Doug, glad to hear you got it solved! Driver and installer issues with Windows are notoriously painful to troubleshoot. Frequent reboots, uninstalls/reinstalls, and switching to another computer are frequently the only way to get it working ;)
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On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 05:15 PM, WayBack wrote:
Paul,
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This just shows how important it is to ask for advice.? Thinking about this as a system issue, I pulled out a defunct Windows 10 Surface Tablet {one last act of Service from the thing} and went through the directions.? ?I spent more time getting connected to the internet that loading up the Keil software.? On the Windows 10 system these instructions worked as expected.? The Not-Keil ULINK2 worked perfectly.? All programed now as expected and the IPL of G2 executes faster too.
?
Thank You
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Re: Gemini 2 handset will not connect to Gemini 2
On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 06:35 PM, Jay Freeman wrote:
Update on my problem: I called Losmandy and spoke to Tanya; she said that about half a dozen new Gemini-2 units had made it out the door with an SD card installed in the Gemini-2 box that was too small -- 2 GB, whereas 8 GB was needed. She said that she would mail me a new, updated 8 GB SD card which would likely fix the problem. I will report what happens when I get it. I thought I should report what she said as soon as possible, in case other owners of recent Gemini-2s are having similar problems and are confused.
Tanya said that with the too-small cards, problems often do not occur until after several startups of the unit, which is what happened to me and could indeed be mystifying. (I conjecture that the underlying issue might be lack of sufficient scratch space in some part of the file system that gets written on startup.)
-- Jay Reynolds Freeman
---------------------
Jay_Reynolds_Freeman@...
(personal web site)
Jay, as I said, I suspect a bad SD card. The firmware files in 6.12 require about 110Mb on the SD card (unless you also copy videos). A 2GB card is plenty large to leave room for logs and other files that Gemini might need to generate. Let us know if the new card makes it work.
?
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Re: Upgrading Gemini L6 to L6.02 or L6.12
Hi Michael,
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Glad to hear you got your guiding working again. What I find strange is that you are reporting that up arrow on the Gemini.NET virtual HC is sending guide South command -- the only way that could happen is if you had the reverse DEC option checked on the HC:
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In all other cases, the command sent by Gemini.NET is :Mn or move North.
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On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 06:51 PM, Michael Broyles wrote:
Chip and Paul,
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Last night I was able to upgrade to Level 6.12.? I performed the HGM reset after this upgrade.? Eventually, I was able to get the guiding to work but I had to alter the guiding calibration procedure slightly.? My normal procedure, is to press the Up Arrow on the Gemini.net application until the guide star has started to move to the North, then start the calibration.? I found that with Level 6.12 MU and 1.64 HC pressing the Up Arrow is actually sending a Guide South command to mount instead of a Guide North.? Therefore, once the Guide East has been completed by PHD2, it was taking over 30 guide pulses to remove the backlash and always resulted in a PHD2 error indicating RA/DEC axis guide rate mismatch..??
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To fix the issue, instead of pressing the Up Arrow on the Gemini.net application, I pressed the Down Arrow.? This resulted a successful PHD2 calibration.? After getting a successful PHD2 calibration, I was able to slew to a target and guide as normal.
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I have confirmed from the logs, that pressing Up Arrow send GuideSouth command and pressing Down Arrow sends GuideNorth command.? Also confirmed that Gemini is sending GuideNorth commands during PHD calibration which is as expected.
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Not sure when or why Up Arrow press resulted in a GuideSouth but that what I observed and found in the logs.? FYI, I did confirm that the RA/DEC Reverse checkbox on the HC were not checked.? Also confirmed they were not checked on the Gemini Web.? Or maybe I had some setting set that was effecting altered behavior that clearing the HGM fixed.
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I do have the log file if you still want to see it.? Just let me know if you want it uploaded.? I'll put together some notes where to look? in the logs for the above explanation.
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Also let me know if there is any other analysis you would like to have performed.
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At this point, I seem to be able to perform PHD2 calibration and guide on an imaging target, so I'm fairly happy.? Now I need to get a good PE curve to see if it still works after PEC.
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Re: Upgrading Gemini L6 to L6.02 or L6.12
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I'm sure Paul has.some ideas why this is happening but I'm fresh out of ideas.? Something is flipped or flipping, I don't know all the places it could be altered but at least we have some change though? not sure why.? This is the part that is bothering me, nothing visible changed and the results are different.??
?
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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Re: Upgrading Gemini L6 to L6.02 or L6.12
Chip and Paul,
?
Last night I was able to upgrade to Level 6.12.? I performed the HGM reset after this upgrade.? Eventually, I was able to get the guiding to work but I had to alter the guiding calibration procedure slightly.? My normal procedure, is to press the Up Arrow on the Gemini.net application until the guide star has started to move to the North, then start the calibration.? I found that with Level 6.12 MU and 1.64 HC pressing the Up Arrow is actually sending a Guide South command to mount instead of a Guide North.? Therefore, once the Guide East has been completed by PHD2, it was taking over 30 guide pulses to remove the backlash and always resulted in a PHD2 error indicating RA/DEC axis guide rate mismatch..??
?
To fix the issue, instead of pressing the Up Arrow on the Gemini.net application, I pressed the Down Arrow.? This resulted a successful PHD2 calibration.? After getting a successful PHD2 calibration, I was able to slew to a target and guide as normal.
?
I have confirmed from the logs, that pressing Up Arrow send GuideSouth command and pressing Down Arrow sends GuideNorth command.? Also confirmed that Gemini is sending GuideNorth commands during PHD calibration which is as expected.
?
Not sure when or why Up Arrow press resulted in a GuideSouth but that what I observed and found in the logs.? FYI, I did confirm that the RA/DEC Reverse checkbox on the HC were not checked.? Also confirmed they were not checked on the Gemini Web.? Or maybe I had some setting set that was effecting altered behavior that clearing the HGM fixed.
?
I do have the log file if you still want to see it.? Just let me know if you want it uploaded.? I'll put together some notes where to look? in the logs for the above explanation.
?
Also let me know if there is any other analysis you would like to have performed.
?
At this point, I seem to be able to perform PHD2 calibration and guide on an imaging target, so I'm fairly happy.? Now I need to get a good PE curve to see if it still works after PEC.
?
?
?
?
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Re: Gemini 2 handset will not connect to Gemini 2
Update on my problem: I called Losmandy and spoke to Tanya; she said that about half a dozen new Gemini-2 units had made it out the door with an SD card installed in the Gemini-2 box that was too small -- 2 GB, whereas 8 GB was needed. She said that she would mail me a new, updated 8 GB SD card which would likely fix the problem. I will report what happens when I get it. I thought I should report what she said as soon as possible, in case other owners of recent Gemini-2s are having similar problems and are confused.
Tanya said that with the too-small cards, problems often do not occur until after several startups of the unit, which is what happened to me and could indeed be mystifying. (I conjecture that the underlying issue might be lack of sufficient scratch space in some part of the file system that gets written on startup.)
-- Jay Reynolds Freeman
---------------------
Jay_Reynolds_Freeman@...
(personal web site)
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Re: Gemini 2 handset will not connect to Gemini 2
Typo in my last, fixed below -- net address should have read "192.168.0.111".
-- Jay Reynolds Freeman
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Jay_Reynolds_Freeman@...
(personal web site)
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 21, 2025, at 14:45, Jay Freeman <jay_reynolds_freeman@...> wrote:
Continuing my report ...
Summary: It has gotten worse, now the problem seems to be intermittant ... :-(
This morning, I set up the hand controller and Gemini-2 box as before, and again connected to my house modem with an Ethernet cable in anticipation of tryng to ping the unit (which I neglected to do yesterday), but on powering up, the hand controller quickly made it past the "connecting to ..." stage and came up with the "Mount Startup" screen, but could not get much further: When I tried "Cold Start", the hand controller simply hung -- no further changes in its screen after pressing that button. When I cycled power and tried "Quick Setup", the system made it to the screen where I set time and date, but on pressing "Next" from there, the controller hung again. This behavior was repeatable.
Possibly the problem retarding progress was that I did not have the motor drive cables installed ... ?
Next I tried pinging 192.168.0.111 but gave up after 130 packets had been sent with no returns.
I then disconnected the Ethernet cable, on the odd chance that it had something to do with the situation, and the system behavior did not change -- made it to "Mount Startup" but could't get much further.
I don't believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny or self-healing electronics, so I am going to call Losmandy. Further suggestions welcome, and I will keep you all advised.
-- Jay Reynolds Freeman
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Jay_Reynolds_Freeman@...
(personal web site)
On Apr 21, 2025, at 04:37, Paul Kanevsky via groups.io <yh@...> wrote:
On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 12:43 AM, Jay Freeman wrote:
my present plan is to contact them tomorrow and ask advice. Sounds like a good plan, Jay. If you have a 2-4GB micro-SD card on hand, I'd format it with FAT and then try replacing the card in the Gemini CPU with it. That should be good enough to get Gemini to boot-up. If that works, then you just have a problem with the SD card. In that case, populate the blank card with all the Gemini firmware files, and you should be good to go. Otherwise, contact Losmandy for help with troubleshooting.
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Re: Gemini 2 handset will not connect to Gemini 2
Continuing my report ...
Summary: It has gotten worse, now the problem seems to be intermittant ... :-(
This morning, I set up the hand controller and Gemini-2 box as before, and again connected to my house modem with an Ethernet cable in anticipation of tryng to ping the unit (which I neglected to do yesterday), but on powering up, the hand controller quickly made it past the "connecting to ..." stage and came up with the "Mount Startup" screen, but could not get much further: When I tried "Cold Start", the hand controller simply hung -- no further changes in its screen after pressing that button. When I cycled power and tried "Quick Setup", the system made it to the screen where I set time and date, but on pressing "Next" from there, the controller hung again. This behavior was repeatable.
Possibly the problem retarding progress was that I did not have the motor drive cables installed ... ?
Next I tried pinging 192.168.0.001 but gave up after 130 packets had been sent with no returns.
I then disconnected the Ethernet cable, on the odd chance that it had something to do with the situation, and the system behavior did not change -- made it to "Mount Startup" but could't get much further.
I don't believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny or self-healing electronics, so I am going to call Losmandy. Further suggestions welcome, and I will keep you all advised.
-- Jay Reynolds Freeman
---------------------
Jay_Reynolds_Freeman@...
(personal web site)
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 21, 2025, at 04:37, Paul Kanevsky via groups.io <yh@...> wrote:
On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 12:43 AM, Jay Freeman wrote:
my present plan is to contact them tomorrow and ask advice. Sounds like a good plan, Jay. If you have a 2-4GB micro-SD card on hand, I'd format it with FAT and then try replacing the card in the Gemini CPU with it. That should be good enough to get Gemini to boot-up. If that works, then you just have a problem with the SD card. In that case, populate the blank card with all the Gemini firmware files, and you should be good to go. Otherwise, contact Losmandy for help with troubleshooting.
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Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Paul,
?
This just shows how important it is to ask for advice.? Thinking about this as a system issue, I pulled out a defunct Windows 10 Surface Tablet {one last act of Service from the thing} and went through the directions.? ?I spent more time getting connected to the internet that loading up the Keil software.? On the Windows 10 system these instructions worked as expected.? The Not-Keil ULINK2 worked perfectly.? All programed now as expected and the IPL of G2 executes faster too.
?
Thank You
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Re: What Coordinate System is Gemini Using?
On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 09:19 AM, <fishonkevin@...> wrote:
Could I just edit the CCS catalog by adding these to stars as another line in the catalog?
I don¡¯t see why not.
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Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Sounds like a problem with the ULink2 USB device/adapter. If you're seeing the driver show up in driver manager, then the device is being detected but apparently not able to connect to uVision. What driver does it show, and can you ask the device manager to uninstall/reinstall it?
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On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 03:51 PM, WayBack wrote:
Paul,
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It looks correct on the first panel.? On the second panel this displays as last shown.? Set to 100 KHz but no ULINK2 can be found.
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I'm reasonably confident then it's a ULINK2 issue but I've no idea how to flash the ULINK 2 device to repair, or even that this was a thing.?
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Looking at my Not-Keil ULINK2 I see USB entries appear on connection under Human Interface Devices, like a Keil unit would report.? But this unit apparently died (does not communicate) during use.
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That makes this a one off and unlikely occurrence.? If you can point to a recovery for ULINK hardware I can look at that.? Otherwise, Not-Keil ULINK2 needs replacing.
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Or I can employ Wishful Thinking and employ the belief that while it did not verify, the initial flash attempt succeeded.
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Thanks,
Doug
- Connect the Keil ULINK2 Adapter to the PC.
- Right-click on?My Computer?and open the?Properties?dialog.
- Under?Hardware?click on?Device Manager?and select?Human Interface Devices.
- Open the?Properties?page for each device. Under?General ¡ª Location?find the name?Keil ULINK2, which indicates that the ULINK2 adapter is connected properly.
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Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Paul,
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It looks correct on the first panel.? On the second panel this displays as last shown.? Set to 100 KHz but no ULINK2 can be found.
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I'm reasonably confident then it's a ULINK2 issue but I've no idea how to flash the ULINK 2 device to repair, or even that this was a thing.?
?
Looking at my Not-Keil ULINK2 I see USB entries appear on connection under Human Interface Devices, like a Keil unit would report.? But this unit apparently died (does not communicate) during use.
?
That makes this a one off and unlikely occurrence.? If you can point to a recovery for ULINK hardware I can look at that.? Otherwise, Not-Keil ULINK2 needs replacing.
?
Or I can employ Wishful Thinking and employ the belief that while it did not verify, the initial flash attempt succeeded.
?
Thanks,
Doug
- Connect the Keil ULINK2 Adapter to the PC.
- Right-click on?My Computer?and open the?Properties?dialog.
- Under?Hardware?click on?Device Manager?and select?Human Interface Devices.
- Open the?Properties?page for each device. Under?General ¡ª Location?find the name?Keil ULINK2, which indicates that the ULINK2 adapter is connected properly.
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Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Doug,?
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On the Debug tab, make sure you have ULink2 device selected next to Use: radio button and that Use Simulator is unchecked:
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Then, click Settings next to the drop-down list. Make sure the clock is set to 100kHz and that the ULink device is detected (you should see serial number, version, etc.)
?
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If you're still having problems connecting to ULink2 device, it sounds like its firmware may need to be (re) flashed.
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Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Paul,
?
I used Windows uninstall of the Kiel software and reinstalled the package prior to sending the first note.? However, with the suggestion to repeat I found an issue occurred by my using the previously saved installation files.? It seems to install correctly requires going back to the Keil site and entering the same use request again.? I could be wrong, but it appeared their downloaded files require an active Keil server to support the install process after the download.? I tried this installing in a sandbox quite a few times to prove this to myself.? Then I reinstalled into the workstation environment by new request.? Pretty sure, assuming the software is now proper to at least what existed on the first attempt.
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Now looking at the re-installed Kiel debugger,
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going down the Keil Debugger check list.
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?1. Yes
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?2. Not exactly, this shows
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?3. Yes
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?4. No
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During this, I am connected (red strip at J10 location), G2 has power, RealView_Ulink_2 shows USB status lighted, USB connected to the workstation. {All as before when it partially functioned.}
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Perhaps after the Flash step on, the first attempt, the RealView unit failed??
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In any case, If I attempt the download step now under Flash, it reports
?
?
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I appreciate your insights, thanks
Doug
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Re: Gemini 2 handset will not connect to Gemini 2
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Hmm,
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From your initial post it sounds like you bought one of the two available Gemini 2 mini upgrades. If this is a new purchase from Losmandy stop and call Losmandy, let them handle diagnosis and repair.? If this is a used Gemini 2 then your options are different but after the advice given here the first thing to do remains to call Losmandy for advice and go from there.?
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BTWs what o/s are you using?? If you have a Linux box you should? see a reply to a ping at the address? you tried to talk to.? Even a Mac can still ping and talk to the Gemini 2 webserver if the Gemini 2 main board is operational and you know the IP address the Gemini 2 is set to.? By default it comes set to the IP you tried so unless you changed it something should have come back from the Gemini 2 box.??
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Keep us posted!?
?
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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Re: What Coordinate System is Gemini Using?
In SkySafari you can specify the precession epoch: in the Settings menu choose Precession, checking "Use Current Epoch" ?sets it to JNow, otherwise you can specify the epoch (2000 for example).
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Re: What Coordinate System is Gemini Using?
Thanks Paul. I can get J2000 coordinates from my Starry Night Pro.? I've been to Didier's page on Catalogs and found some I'd like to add to Gem. His directions for loading them sound easy, I like the cookbook approach. I've also like his tute about building your own catalog. I've been trying my hand at righting the code for a couple of stars, Beta Mon, and Iota Cas. These are in the Struve Catalog, but not in the Combined_Constellation_Stars catalog. Could I just edit the CCS catalog by adding these to stars as another line in the catalog? I think I have them written correctly. I used Didier's code for Bayer( Beta, and Iota) and wrote them just like the other stars in the CCS are written.
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Here is Alpha Cas from CCS ? ? ? ?Cas α Schedar,00:40:30,+56:32:14#
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My Beta Mon ? ? ?Mon β,06:28:48,-07:02:00#
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My Iota Cas ? ? ? Cas κ,02:29:03,67:24:09#
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Re: Gemini 2 handset will not connect to Gemini 2
On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 12:43 AM, Jay Freeman wrote:
?my present plan is to contact them tomorrow and ask advice.
Sounds like a good plan, Jay. If you have a 2-4GB micro-SD card on hand, I'd format it with FAT and then try replacing the card in the Gemini CPU with it. That should be good enough to get Gemini to boot-up. If that works, then you just have a problem with the SD card. In that case, populate the blank card with all the Gemini firmware files, and you should be good to go. Otherwise, contact Losmandy for help with troubleshooting.
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Re: What Coordinate System is Gemini Using?
Hi Kevin, Gemini is using J2000 coordinates for catalog entries. Sounds like SkySafari gives you JNow coordinates, precessed to epoch of date instead of J2000.
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On Sun, Apr 20, 2025 at 11:08 PM, <fishonkevin@...> wrote:
While using Sky Safari to track down SAO Numbers to add to my Double Star list, so I can use Gemini HC SAO catalog, I found that Sky Safari uses RA(2025.3)/Dec(2025.3). Searching for Beta Mon, I learned that it is SAO 133317, but it is also STF 919, which is in the Gemini HC Struve catalog. The RA/DEC coordinates in Sky Safari and Gem Struve don't match. What coordinate system is Gemini using?
Gem Struve Catalog? RA ?06:28:48, Dec? -07:02:00
Sky Safari? 2025.3? ? ? RA 06:30:03,? Dec? -07:03:00
?
Kevin
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Re: Gemini 2 handset will not connect to Gemini 2
Summary: NO FIX.
Reporting test and debugging actions taken:
1) Put hand controller and Gemini 2 box on the bench at home, connected them, supplied power, and verified that problem still existed, unchanged.
2) Power off, disconnected everything, carefully opened hand controller and removed auxiliary board containing screen so as to access SD card on motherboard underneath. SD card appeared well-seated in slot -- both tabs holding it in place were engaged. Cautiously wiggled SD card in its slot (retention tabs allowed about 1 mm of movement). Did not attempt to remove SD card. Reassembled hand controller, connected everything and powered up. NO FIX -- problem unchanged.
3) Power off, disconnected everything, carefully opened Gemini 2 case and removed faceplate bearing silkscreened text so as to access SD card on main board. SD card appeared well-seated in slot -- both tabs holding it in place were engaged. Cautiously wiggled SD card in its slot (retention tabs allowed about 1 mm of movement). Did not attempt to remove SD card. Connected everything and powered up before reassembling. NO FIX -- problem unchanged.
4) Powered down. The on-board battery in the Gemini 2 case was a CR 2450. I did not have any on hand, but I removed the existing battery, checked its output voltage with a digital volt meter, and got 3.01 Volts. Looks good to me. Replaced the battery.
5) Reassembled Gemini 2 case, connected everything and powered up. NO FIX -- problem unchanged.
6) Tried connecting to the Gemini 2 via Ethernet. On plugging the unit into my home's modem, the modem appears to indicate that it has identified the cable -- one light showing at the connector on the modem side -- but no use of ipconfig, ifconfig and so on on a computer on my home network could identify the Gemini 2. Connecting to " turns up nothing, not surprising since the route would have been through the modem. Connecting to " got Losmandy's web site, not the Gemini 2 box. I tried connecting a laptop (Macintosh) to the Gemini 2 by direct cable, but when I did so, " reports no connection to anything. Not sure whether any of this is normal behavior or an indication of a problem.
For these tests and the in-the-field tests that I have previously described, the hand controller was indeed connected to the "HC" port, at lower left on the faceplate of the Gemini 2 box. For tests where I mentioned using the GPS unit, that unit was connected to the "Serial/GPS" port, just above the "HC" port. For the tests described above, nothing was connected to the ports for the right-ascension and declination motors.
For the record, I do not have a Windows box and have not run one in decades. I am not personally acquainted with anyone who has a Gemini 2. I am located in southern California, about an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles in light traffic (as if ever...). I could get to Pasadena as some have suggested, but Losmandy is closer, so my present plan is to contact them tomorrow and ask advice.
I would welcome other suggestions, and express much thanks for all the assistance so far.
-- Jay Reynolds Freeman
---------------------
Jay_Reynolds_Freeman@...
(personal web site)
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 20, 2025, at 09:00, Chip Louie via groups.io <chiplouie@...> wrote:
[Edited Message Follows]
[Reason: Additional information ]
On Sun, Apr 20, 2025 at 06:26 AM, Jay Freeman wrote:
In January I retrofitted my old G-11 to Gemini 2. The Gemini 2 worked the first two times I had it out but tonight it failed during startup. It made it past recognizing the (Losmandy's) GPS unit but hung when I pushed "Next". On turning the power switch off and back on, it made it past initializing the hand controller, but after a few seconds of trying to connect to the gemini, the controller screen went black, and then the colored start-up screen appeared, just as if I had cycled power.
This behavior repeats indefinitely no matter what I do -- initialize, fail to connect to Gemini, back to start-up screen, repeat ...
I have turned the Gemini power switch off and on many times and also disconnected and reconnected the battery many times. I have tried three different batteries and two different power cords. I also disconnected and reconnected all cables many times, and tried it without the GPS unit connected. No luck.
I have not yet opened either case for any purpose: The unit has the same internal battery, the same SD cards (thus far un-reseated by me) and the same software as when Losmandy delivered it.
I thought I should ask advice before I proceeded further. Any suggestions?
-- Jay Reynolds Freeman
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Jay_Reynolds_Freeman@...
(personal web site)
Open the case up and remove and reseat the micro SD card. Power up and see if the Gemini boots normally. If it does not contact Losmandy on Monday you may have a bad micro SD card.
Oh,. I forgot to ask as it seems like a long shot but can you talk to the Gemini using the Ethernet port? If so this would mostly isolate the issue to the HC and cable.
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA
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Paul Kanevsky
Chip Louie
Michael Broyles