Is there any need to keep it for the future?
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Yes, I was near the limits, but the spring was too tight, and has been for a while because I have seen the "RA Stall!" before I upgraded to L6. No light or heat. Apparently when there is an "RA Stall!", you cannot move that axis, as I could move the Dec axis. It seems the other buttons may be inactive also as to get your attention. I imagine this is new to L6, because like I said, when I had "RA Stall!" in L5 I could still move the RA axis. I was asking about the erratic beeping, it is very obvious as it sounds like something failing, but it seems to be the warning that limit is about to be reached. can you confirm my assumptions?
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Re: Gemini ASCOM Driver and NINA Settings when I change equipment
Well, this is all very helpful - and clarifying. The interplay btw software, mounts, OTAs and photography equipment is complex, especially for those of us who are relatively new to this hobby - and who might image once or twice a month. ?Plenty of room to get confused. ?
I don¡¯t use an OAG, and generally wouldn¡¯t think of a mid session addition of a reducer. ?I was trying to understand the relationship btw NINA and the Gemini driver. I will adjust them both to match equipment in my setup moving forward. ?Easy enough to do.
thanks, all.
Geoff
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My PICKIT turns out to be a 2, not a 3.?? I have no trouble using it with MPLAB X to program PICs.? Is it going to be sufficient for the upgrade?
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Apparently, the Spring was too tight. I had seen that "RA Stall!" before with Level 5 but the mount would still function. Is there something in Level 6 that acts as a safeguard when the spring is too tight?
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The spring loaded worm must be too tight. I am going to adjust it.
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I"m getting a little confused here Peter. Are you anywhere near the limits?
This just sounds like an RA stall.?
>>>I am now trying to get it to CWD but the HC is unresponsive, it is stuck on the screen in the picture I posted.
Are you exposing it to light/heat for extended periods of time?
trying unplugging and then re-plugging in the HC
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 10:18?AM < peter@...> wrote: Is the beep supposed to be erratic? Also, it is now tracking the sun and it says RA Stall! at the top of the display.  I think I have seen this is level 5.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
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I am now trying to get it to CWD but the HC is unresponsive, it is stuck on the screen in the picture I posted.
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Is the beep supposed to be erratic? Also, it is now tracking the sun and it says RA Stall! at the top of the display.  I think I have seen this is level 5.
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Hi Varun
as greg mentioned, you can send it back for a refund, but if you no longer require it, but you can certainly keep it as well
Brian
--
Brian
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Re: Level 6 Upgrade: How to activate 4x-mode
Hi Bernd
if you reset to HGM Defaults after the upgrade (described in the readme file), 4x should be set as the default
You can confirm this by going under the HC gearing tab. If it's activated that's all you need to do.?
--
Brian
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>>>?Is it supposed to say RA Stall before it reaches the Limits? The cord may have been wrapped up a bit also.
no, a stall is different from hitting the limits. If you are tracking towards your limits, it will beep to warn you and then stop tracking when it hits the limit
However, if you have other things going on such as a cord being wrapped up and causing strain, that could separately cause a stall
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 7:49?AM < peter@...> wrote: It then said Limits Reached. Is it supposed to say RA Stall before it reaches the Limits? The cord may have been wrapped up a bit also.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
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Re: Gemini ASCOM Driver and NINA Settings when I change equipment
Geoff
In addition to Paul's comments, if you are using an oag you would also need to change your settings in PHD2.?
I want to amend my earlier comment that PHD may report incorrect settings if you are changing?
Generally though, making changes like you mentioned carries some risk that you may impact scope balance, camera orientation, backfocus/tilt of the sensor, guiding orientation, cable management, etc.?
the longer the focal length the more any issues arising from these would exhibit themselves.?
I don't know of a lot of people (or anyone really) who change their configuration mid-imaging. I think you would need to inspect those things and take all this into account for your results
I have a GM811 and recently upgraded to Level 6 with the LM L6 kit. Thanks to all for the hard work and careful instructions! Everything seemed to go well, and I have since had a couple of successful nights of imaging, complete with meridian flips.?
In exploring the Gemini Driver (version 1.1.23.0) and its interplay with my NINA settings, I am pondering a variation between them that seems to occur if I change my equipment. I am running an ES 127 with an ASI2600MC for AP, and am using NINA for acquisition. I occasionally set it up with an added reducer. I may add or remove that reducer in the middle of a session without rebooting my telescope & computer.
When I startup for the night, it looks to me like NINA draws my focal length and focal ration from the Gemini driver settings. Correct?
But in my workflow, when I have added a reducer to my optics, I would usually go to the NINA panel (Options>Equipment>Telescope) and adjust the Focal Length and Focal Ratio settings. I have thought that this was all I needed to do.
But I notice that if I look at my Gemini Telescope.net (Setup>Configure Telescope>Optics), the lower Focal Length does not automatically come over. I also see in that panel that I can set a separate option for my scope with the reducer with the new focal length.?
What is the proper workflow for adding or subtracting a reducer (or changing a camera or changing the OTA)? Should I manually reset both my NINA settings and my?Gemini Telescope.net settings?? If I do not reset the??Gemini Telescope.net setting (as I have not done for months before), will it affect the performance of guiding or tracking in any way??
Two other Q's on the Gemini Driver:
? * In Setup>Advanced Gemini Settings>Controller Settings, is the "Gemini Expects J2000 coordinates" to be checked or unchecked? Leaving it unchecked seems to have been ok so far...
? *?NINA gives me the option to use??Gemini Telescope.Net 2, though it does not work if I try it.? What is this driver?
Thanks for the help...
Geoff
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
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Re: Gemini ASCOM Driver and NINA Settings when I change equipment
>>>If so, would it affect tracking or guiding performance?
It would not affect *actual* guiding performance, but if your values are incorrect it might affect what it presents to you. PHD2 shows values in both pix and arcsec, so the arcsec values would be off (and that is usually what people are focused on)
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 9:39?AM Paul Kanevsky < yh@...> wrote: I doubt the guiding performance would be affected if you have an incorrect focal length or ratio specified -- most autoguider software deal with pixels, internally. Conversion to arcseconds does require these settings, but that's mostly for human consumption :) Plate solving, centering, etc., might be affected if you have an incorrect image scale, but that depends on the software.
I assume that when you restart your system, NINA will attempt to read these settings from ASCOM driver. Since these were not updated in ASCOM during the previous session, they may be incorrect. This is more about NINA behavior with respect to these settings than about ASCOM, so maybe someone with better knowledge of NINA can answer this.
Regards,
? ?-Paul
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 12:25 PM, <geoffchapman47@...> wrote:
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 12:05 PM, Paul Kanevsky wrote:
I assume that NINA has its own setting that overrides ASCOM. But when you change it in NINA, this cannot be updated in Gemini.NET driver, since ASCOM doesn't support this.
Thanks for these, Paul.
If NINA does indeed 'override ASCOM' - let's say I changed equipment, adding the reducer after boot up and reset my NINA focal length and focal ratio settings to match the added reducer. But let's say I did NOT reset the Gemini driver to match my equipment change - in that case the Gemini drivers and NINA would not agree.
If so, would it affect tracking or guiding performance?
And when I reboot, if I do not reset the Gemini Driver to match my added reducer, wouldn't it import its (now incorrect) focal length setting to NINA, further confusing my equipment?
I have had tracking issues in the past, which now seem largely resolved through mechanical adjustments. But could this have been part of my problem??
Geoff
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
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Re: Gemini ASCOM Driver and NINA Settings when I change equipment
I doubt the guiding performance would be affected if you have an incorrect focal length or ratio specified -- most autoguider software deal with pixels, internally. Conversion to arcseconds does require these settings, but that's mostly for human consumption :) Plate solving, centering, etc., might be affected if you have an incorrect image scale, but that depends on the software.
I assume that when you restart your system, NINA will attempt to read these settings from ASCOM driver. Since these were not updated in ASCOM during the previous session, they may be incorrect. This is more about NINA behavior with respect to these settings than about ASCOM, so maybe someone with better knowledge of NINA can answer this.
Regards,
? ?-Paul
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 12:25 PM, <geoffchapman47@...> wrote:
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 12:05 PM, Paul Kanevsky wrote:
I assume that NINA has its own setting that overrides ASCOM. But when you change it in NINA, this cannot be updated in Gemini.NET driver, since ASCOM doesn't support this.
Thanks for these, Paul.
If NINA does indeed 'override ASCOM' - let's say I changed equipment, adding the reducer after boot up and reset my NINA focal length and focal ratio settings to match the added reducer. But let's say I did NOT reset the Gemini driver to match my equipment change - in that case the Gemini drivers and NINA would not agree.
If so, would it affect tracking or guiding performance?
And when I reboot, if I do not reset the Gemini Driver to match my added reducer, wouldn't it import its (now incorrect) focal length setting to NINA, further confusing my equipment?
I have had tracking issues in the past, which now seem largely resolved through mechanical adjustments. But could this have been part of my problem??
Geoff
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Re: Gemini ASCOM Driver and NINA Settings when I change equipment
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 12:05 PM, Paul Kanevsky wrote:
I assume that NINA has its own setting that overrides ASCOM. But when you change it in NINA, this cannot be updated in Gemini.NET driver, since ASCOM doesn't support this.
Thanks for these, Paul. If NINA does indeed 'override ASCOM' - let's say I changed equipment, adding the reducer after boot up and reset my NINA focal length and focal ratio settings to match the added reducer. But let's say I did NOT reset the Gemini driver to match my equipment change - in that case the Gemini drivers and NINA would not agree. If so, would it affect tracking or guiding performance? And when I reboot, if I do not reset the Gemini Driver to match my added reducer, wouldn't it import its (now incorrect) focal length setting to NINA, further confusing my equipment? I have had tracking issues in the past, which now seem largely resolved through mechanical adjustments. But could this have been part of my problem?? Geoff
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Re: FW: L6 - Hand Controller Connection on Power-Up
Okay... I'll check again but this is the second set of SD cards that it has
shown the problem. I reprogrammed a new set in hopes it would make a
difference. Seems like if the SD card was a problem, I would be seeing
other problems too, but everything works great after I get past start-up.
Thanks for the suggestion,
Bill
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Show quoted text
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Daniel Rake Sent: Sunday, July 9, 2023 11:02 AM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Gemini-II_io] FW: L6 - Hand Controller Connection on Power-Up Check and make sure the sd card is secure. Daniel On Jul 8, 2023, at 2:33 PM, Bill Flanagan <wdfgrpmail@...> wrote:
The hang is somewhat intermittent. Some days it h
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Re: Gemini ASCOM Driver and NINA Settings when I change equipment
Hi Geoff,
>> When I startup for the night, it looks to me like NINA draws my focal length and focal ration from the Gemini driver settings. Correct?
Correct.?
>> But in my workflow, when I have added a reducer to my optics, I would usually go to the NINA panel (Options>Equipment>Telescope) and adjust the Focal Length and Focal Ratio settings. I have thought that this was all I needed to do.
ASCOM interface does not provide for NINA or any other application to change telescope properties, such as focal length or aperture. These must be set through the ASCOM driver if you expect NINA or other software to be able to use these. I assume that NINA has its own setting that overrides ASCOM. But when you change it in NINA, this cannot be updated in Gemini.NET driver, since ASCOM doesn't support this.
>>? * In Setup>Advanced Gemini Settings>Controller Settings, is the "Gemini Expects J2000 coordinates" to be checked or unchecked? Leaving it unchecked seems to have been ok so far...
With NINA, this shouldn't matter. NINA adjusts the coordinate precession based on what the ASCOM driver is set to, automatically. If your current setting works fine, there's no reason to change it.
>>? *?NINA gives me the option to use??Gemini Telescope.Net 2, though it does not work if I try it. ?What is this driver?
This second driver instance is for those lucky ones who want to control two Gemini units simultaneously. If you have just one Gemini, just pick the first one.
Regards,
? ? -Paul
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Show quoted text
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 11:48 AM, <geoffchapman47@...> wrote:
I have a GM811 and recently upgraded to Level 6 with the LM L6 kit. Thanks to all for the hard work and careful instructions! Everything seemed to go well, and I have since had a couple of successful nights of imaging, complete with meridian flips.?
In exploring the Gemini Driver (version 1.1.23.0) and its interplay with my NINA settings, I am pondering a variation between them that seems to occur if I change my equipment. I am running an ES 127 with an ASI2600MC for AP, and am using NINA for acquisition. I occasionally set it up with an added reducer. I may add or remove that reducer in the middle of a session without rebooting my telescope & computer.
When I startup for the night, it looks to me like NINA draws my focal length and focal ration from the Gemini driver settings. Correct?
But in my workflow, when I have added a reducer to my optics, I would usually go to the NINA panel (Options>Equipment>Telescope) and adjust the Focal Length and Focal Ratio settings. I have thought that this was all I needed to do.
But I notice that if I look at my Gemini Telescope.net (Setup>Configure Telescope>Optics), the lower Focal Length does not automatically come over. I also see in that panel that I can set a separate option for my scope with the reducer with the new focal length.?
What is the proper workflow for adding or subtracting a reducer (or changing a camera or changing the OTA)? Should I manually reset both my NINA settings and my?Gemini Telescope.net settings? ?If I do not reset the??Gemini Telescope.net setting (as I have not done for months before), will it affect the performance of guiding or tracking in any way??
Two other Q's on the Gemini Driver:
? * In Setup>Advanced Gemini Settings>Controller Settings, is the "Gemini Expects J2000 coordinates" to be checked or unchecked? Leaving it unchecked seems to have been ok so far...
? *?NINA gives me the option to use??Gemini Telescope.Net 2, though it does not work if I try it. ?What is this driver?
Thanks for the help...
Geoff
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Re: FW: L6 - Hand Controller Connection on Power-Up
Hi Bernd, ? Seems like this is one of those bugs that can manifest itself differently on different machines and setups.? Could be that the HC connection always works fine for most users and only a few of us see the problem.? Anyway at least there is an easy work around, I just never saw it on Level 5. ? Bill ?
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From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Bernd Sent: Sunday, July 9, 2023 10:33 AM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Gemini-II_io] FW: L6 - Hand Controller Connection on Power-Up ? Hi Bill,
this occurs anytime I power up the Gemini 2 with a plugged in HC. It's constantly plugged in. The reconnection works. But just after the first try fails.
Bernd
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Re: FW: L6 - Hand Controller Connection on Power-Up
Check and make sure the sd card is secure.
Daniel
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On Jul 8, 2023, at 2:33 PM, Bill Flanagan <wdfgrpmail@...> wrote:
The hang is somewhat intermittent. Some days it h
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Paul Kanevsky