|
Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Good news! Thanks for reporting the issue and then testing the update, Don!?
?
It makes sense, but it is an unanticipated benefit that faster booting means that GFU is no longer required to wait minutes for a reboot to complete :)
?
Regards,
?
? -Paul
?
On Fri, Apr 11, 2025 at 12:51 PM, Don Klase wrote:
|
|
Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Hi Paul,
?
Great news! ?This new file worked perfectly. ?Attached is a photo of the final confirmation.
?
Also, and this is the best part, no more timeout error messages when updating via the GFU! ?I just did the update like you normally would, didn't remove the SD card or reformat it first.
?
Thanks again guys. |
|
Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Hi Don, and others,
?
Please try this file instead of the .uvproj file that was mentioned in the instructions. This is the complete project zip that you'll need to download and extract to your hard drive.
?
Then, in Keil debugger open the MB_BL_2024.uvproj file from this extracted zip archive and proceed as in the instructions. Please post your results. We'll update the instruction file with the latest project file a bit later.[edit: done!]
?
File structure should look like this after you uncompress the zip file:
?
?
Regards,
?
? ?-Paul |
|
Re: Mount Disconnect and Ignores Safety Limit
On Thu, Apr 10, 2025 at 09:38 PM, Konstantin Baranov wrote:
1 -- I don't believe there was any issue or compatibility with 2GB cards. That's the cards that Gemini has been working with for many years. I suspect just a bad batch of cards.? 3 -- OK, then it's not likely due to the date/time not being set
4 -- It sounds like something is causing Gemini to lock up. It could be communication from the PC, bad cable, power surge, ESD, or something else that someone else can think of.
?
I also don't know for sure if anything is really damaged. Try resetting Gemini to HGM defaults, reset all settings, and see if the problem will reoccur. There are also some logs on Gemini SD card. After it locks up again, it may be worth it to retrieve all the logs from the SD card and check if anything was recorded during the incident.
? |
|
Re: Mount Disconnect and Ignores Safety Limit
Hi Konstantin,
?
There are many symptoms that you're describing that are hard to diagnose individually, but taken alltogether might be even harder to explain :)
?
Let me try to put my thoughts down, one incident at a time:
?
1. You said that your second Gemini was bricked, but replacing the SD card fixed it. Then, the first Gemini was "bricked", and again, replacing the SD card fixed that one.
I find this hard to imagine, except if the SD card was loose in both cases, and just moving things around caused it to dislodge.. in both cases? Strange, but not impossible.
It's also possible that the SD cards were from a bad batch and had some issues when Gemini attempted to write. Also not impossible, and maybe even a bit more likely.
Some sort of static electricity (or lightning) discharge may have corrupted Gemini memory, and/or SD card. Unlikely, but do you live in a very dry climate? Is there static electricity around, or lightning storms?
Without seeing and testing the "bricked" SD card, it's hard to know what actually happened, and if the card was bad or something else caused it to be corrupted.
?
2. The voltage display is incorrect. That's measured by an analog-to-digital converter on the CPU. If it is really showing the wrong result, there may be some damage of the circuit board or the CPU or the supporting circuitry. Static electricity/lightning discharge can also explain this.
?
3. The battery voltage appears to drop quickly. How old is your Gemini, and is it the "mini" or the "tall-boy" version? There was an issue with older Gemini revisions that required you to set the date/time soon after putting in a new battery. If you didn't do that, the battery would be quickly discharged. If your Gemini is fairly new... I don't have a good explanation for this.
?
4. Gemini not responding but continues to track. For whatever reason, it sounds like Gemini is locking up. Tracking is handled by the servo PIC controllers, so if the CPU is hung, the mount will continue to track and will not respond to PC or HC commands. Other than sharing INDI drivers for that session, I don't know what else you could check.
?
An HC connected to a non-responding (hung) Gemini will continue to cycle, trying to re-establish connection. The HC doesn't access Gemini directly -- there is a serial protocol between them, and the HC sends serial commands to the main CPU when the user selects a menu or presses a button. Other than some electrical fault (like a short) in the HC or its cable, I can't think of any way that plugging it into Gemini can cause Gemini to be bricked. Again, it could be static electricity (ESD) - caused damage.
?
That's all I can come up with at the moment. Sorry, but other than ESD, I can't think of one common explanation that can explain all the faults you've reported.
?
Oh, and do use a voltmeter to double-check your power supply when Gemini is plugged in and tracking (or slewing). Make sure that it doesn't vary too much from the expected 14v. Much over 18v can cause problems, and even permanent damage.
?
Regards,
?
? ?-Paul
?
?
On Thu, Apr 10, 2025 at 07:04 PM, Konstantin Baranov wrote:
|
|
Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
On Thu, Apr 10, 2025 at 07:43 PM, Brendan wrote:
?
Yes, there are a few files missing that should be included. The full bootloader was a compressed zip file with this project file and some additional files under the Objects folder. I asked Ren¨¦ to send the complete file, and will post the update here as soon as I get it.
?
Don -- until then, please don't worry about trying all the settings I posted earlier: that's not going to help.
?
Regards,
?
? -Paul
|
|
Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Bren, I think you're right. The project file that Losmandy made available is just part of the package and is missing some extra files.
?
On Thu, Apr 10, 2025 at 07:15 PM, Brendan wrote:
|
|
Re: Mount Disconnect and Ignores Safety Limit
Paul,
?
I saw very similar symptoms with my mount 3 times over last month. 20 nights, give or take.
?
I do imaging with KStars/Ekos. The mount is connected to PC via Ethernet, HC is not connected at all. At some random point the mount stops talking to INDI driver. I do not see anything interesting the exact moment when it happens, seems pretty random. Meanwhile, the mount continues tracking until it hits mechanical resistance. Gemini Web server does not respond. Ethernet link is up as seen from the PC but no traffic there. When I see it happened, I come to the mount and plug HC. It lights up, goes to 'Connecting to Gemini' screen, waits there several seconds, and cycles back, again and again. Simple power cycling Gemini restores it back to a good state.
?
This has never happened during the two years I have and very actively use the mount. It was L5 originally. I upgraded it to L6 as soon as the upgrade kit became available. I upgraded it further to 6.10 later with GFU. So far so good.
Until recently when bought second mount. Now please bear with me.
?
That mount's Gemini bricked on second night. I contacted Losmandy and they sent me a replacement SD card. You may have heard this story from them. That new card helped resurrecting the Gemini and also likely updated the HC. Likely (I cannot say for sure but also do not see any alternative explanation) I then plugged that HC to the first mount for some quick task as I occasionally do. Nothing wrong at that point but next day the first mount bricked too! Losmandy sent me another SD card and it helped again. It happens to be 6.10 which should be the same version and I already had on that Gemini. The mount worked mostly fine since then. One suspicious thing started after that upgrade:
The power supply is 14.1V, not anywhere near 24V. I did not change it. The second mount sits on the same DC output and is connected in very similar manner. It reports 14.1-14.2V. Anyway, the mount has been working, so I ignored this quirk. Before the bricking and upgrade the first mount reported the voltage correctly.
Not long before I was forced to upgrade I saw the coin battery at ~2.8V. So I decided to change it too while I was there. I do not remember when exactly I changed it though. At first it was reported above 3V, but after several days it dropped to 2.9V, then 2.8V. That may be just a crappy battery or a symptom of something in Gemini, I don't know. Somewhere at that time I had the disconnect issue happened to me the first time.
I ignored the problem and continued using the mount for another several nights. Three days ago it happened again and had been waiting for me until last night.
As the coin battery was looking quite bad by then I decided to replace it again. I checked the old battery by shorting its outputs for 10s and measuring voltage after that. It was in the 2.95-3.0V range. The battery itself and Gemini contacts look clean, no rust or anything. Anyway, I put the new battery in, reset the settings, set time, loaded SRAM back.
I then immediately upgraded to 6.12 with GFU, cycled the power a few times. All looked good, so I started the imaging session.
In two hours it disconnected again! I simply restarted it because I have no more ideas what more I could jiggle. It worked fine through the rest of the night and is still online. The above screenshot it taken just now.
?
I hope you fine some clue it this pile of details! |
|
Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
Hi Don,
?
Check a few settings in Keil debugger:
?
1. Goto Flash->Configure Flash Tools... menu. Click on Device tab. Check that the correct device is selected: NXP/LPC2388/ARM
2. Then, inside the same window click Target tab. Check that ARM Compiler is selected as Compiler Version 5.
3. Go to Debug tab. Near the top, the second radio button Use: ULINK2/ME ARM Debugger should be selected
4. Under the same Debug tab, click Settings... button next to the "Use:" selection in step 3.
?
If your ULINK2 is connected to Gemini and Gemini is turned on, you should see the ULINK2 device name shown under JTAG Device Chain.
If it shows an error, you may not have a good connection. Check cable and pin alignment.
Try changing the max JTAG Clock on the same screen to 100KHz instead of 1MHz. Your goal is to see the ULINK2 device shown as connected. Then, you can proceed to Flash->Download
?
?
?
? |
|
Re: Gemini BOOTLOADER update available
I have an update on the instructions provided.
?
I ordered the ULINK2 programmer and downloaded both software packages. ?Here is what I learned.
?
1. ?Failed the first time as the Keil link 2 software didn't download the legacy packages for the processor used in the G2. ?I was able to download the package as suggested by Keil so that was resolved.
2. ?I received the could not load file error message when doing the Flash and Download selections from the menu bar. ?See attached photo.
?
For reference I also ttached a photo of the ulink2 programmer attached with the G2 powered on.
?
Please let me know what you think is the next step.
?
Thank you.
?
?
?
? |
|
Re: Reverse RA & DEC enabled
On Wed, Apr 9, 2025 at 12:27 PM, Paul Romero wrote:
?
That's because the battery really needs to be replaced once a year to ensure reliability.? Don't go by the voltage display or the idea that the circuit should be able to maintain the memory correctly down to some lower voltage per the chip maker's data sheet.?
?
The battery industry standard for a worn out / failed battery of this type is a 10% voltage drop unloaded from the as new voltage.? In the real world these batteries when fresh are 3.2 - 3.3V tops volts unloaded.? This means that as long as you replace the battery when it measures 2.9V out of circuit you will have a reliable system.? This is seen time and time again in Gemini and Losmandy groups but somehow it escapes almost everyone.??
?
I put a piece of blue painter's tape on the back of my Gemini controllers and write the replacement date on it when I install a new battery. I also carry small tools and battery spares in the mount's hard case.? I no longer have these mysterious failures and bad behaviors.? Now my only Gemini issues seem to be caused by me.
?
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware? Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA? |
|
Re: Gemini-2 confusing east and west
If it takes several days for this to happen, but doesn't happen within 24 hours, it sounds like you may have an issue with the real-time clock in Gemini. It's powered by a 3v battery internally, so that could be another source of problems. I would check how off the Gemini-reported? date and time is after a few days of Gemini being powered down.
?
On Thu, Apr 10, 2025 at 11:20 AM, Joe Ulowetz wrote:
|
|
Re: Gemini-2 confusing east and west
The diagram in my message may not have been clear about what is going on. Maybe this will help.
?
This is the situation when I power up Gemini-2 after being off for several days.
?
When I tell it to park CWD, this is what happens:
?
After doing a cold start (usually requiring a power cycle as well), it fixes the problem. If I tell it to park at my Home location (due west ), it reports the correct location now.??
?
Leaving Gemini-2 unpowered for one day, the problem doesn't happen. If I leave it unpowered for several days, that is when it starts up (after a Warm Restart) with the wrong location reported.? As I mentioned in my previous message, maybe the firmware update fixed something. I'm leaving it off for a few days right now to see what happens when I restart it next.
? |
|
Re: Just out of curiosity...
On Wed, Apr 9, 2025 at 05:23 AM, Paul Kanevsky wrote:
Are these helpful in overcoming periodic error and for reducing the need for autoguiding on these mounts? Well you asked things which I have not tested lately but long time ago and do not remember. I would need to test it again but honestly ?for what? The price of the mounts compared to other encoder equippedones is good.
?
The tracking is very good I would say even so I do autoguide with maybe 1-2 second exposure time and inbetween a pause of 4-5 seconds.
?
The big problem is the SDE error ( Sub-Divisional error) but this comes from bad programming.
?
BTW I have number 1 and 2 from the production start and they had a lot of bugs which I reported during 2 years and iOptron gave me the nickname " Mr. Bug #1".
?
I was the one who reported the most quantity of Bugs but then they left me standing in the rain with my rest problems, but OK, I can use them and SDE error comes up mainly over 1500mm focal length at high resolutions. At lower focal length you do not see it.
?
I assume iOptron has solved this problem in the last 7 years. I got mine in April 2018. Mechanically those mounts are very good. Balancing is a piece of cake.
?
I can track the Sun over 4 hours and it moves a negligible amount in RA. Of course the Sun moves in DEC all the year feom South to North and backwards.
?
Here is the Sun tracking with the eclipse of 2024 at my place. I had Ha and White light scope on the same mount. I did not correct during the whole eclipse.
?
?
?
?
Rainer
?
? |
Paul Kanevsky
Don Klase
Chip Louie
Rainer