Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
Hi Edward,
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Either one should work, although I used the PicKit 3 software myself.?
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Regards,
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? -Paul
On Tue, Nov 19, 2024 at 06:35 PM, Edward Plumer wrote:
Paul,
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Of the options you linked for the PICKit 3 unit I got, do you recommend the
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PICKit 3 V3.0.3.3
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or the
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MPLabX v4.15
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approach?
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--
Edward
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Thanks Chip,
I sent my Gemini in to Losmandy about 5 months ago, they installed version 6.? The polar align is not really a problem; it is more of an idiosyncrasy.? The speed of rotation seems to vary.? Some times the counter will count of degrees but the mount is moving very slowly.? Other times the mount moves fast without the count up.? Usually, once I cancel the PA and tell it to PA again, it works fine.? ?I will look at the HC to see what speed is being displayed as it moves.? That reminds me...I was resetting the mount limits by following a Losmandy you tube video.? My mount did not behave the way the mount in the video did.? The video said slew to the limit...listen for the beep...change the speed...I don't remember exactly now but I followed the video exactly and it took forever for the mount to move beyond the existing limit to the new limit.? Is there a different method I should use with version 6?
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Problems I had with meridian flips were probably due to my lack of understanding the mount limits.? I just added an RA extension and 12" pier extension.? My hope is that those two additions will allow me to increase the limits and reduce the idle time during a flip.
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To be clear, I am not complaining about the mount.? It is a beautiful, well made piece of equipment that I would recommend with hesitation.? It is just different than my Skywatcher EQ6-r.
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Thank you
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Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
Paul,
?
Of the options you linked for the PICKit 3 unit I got, do you recommend the
?
PICKit 3 V3.0.3.3
?
or the
?
MPLabX v4.15
?
approach?
?
?
--
Edward
|
I have attached a pic of my hc firmware readout. Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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-------- Original message -------- From: "Chip Louie via groups.io" <chiplouie@...> Date: 11/19/24 11:12 AM (GMT-05:00) Subject: Re: [Gemini-II_io] Asiair
On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 02:40 AM, <djewing@...> wrote:
Can someone point me in the direction of getting my mount working with the asiair. Some things function but not all.?
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We can't help if you don't respond.? What is your rig configuration and what issues have you had?? Let us know if you still need help.?
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--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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The issue of PA will slow/motion rotation to 60degs is easier then that. Soon as rotation should begin, look as the speed selection in lower left of HC. Simple toggle to ¡°slew¡±. ?Always it goes. ?This takes little effect w/o screwing wick the mounts speed settings.
I don¡¯t have problems with flips that I recall. ?Other than not letting AAP re-plate solve after the flip. ?
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On Nov 18, 2024, at 5:11?PM, Tjkallenbach via groups.io <Tjkallenbach@...> wrote:
? My experience is that while I still experience "problems", most of them have work-arounds.? For example, when I run the polar align routine in the air, the degrees of rotation will not count up.? Even though the mount is moving the counter stays at 0.0 degrees.? I have to cancel the operation and run it again for the degrees to increment toward 60¡ã.? If I just let it go without the count, the polar align fails and I need to go to CWD with the hand controller, switch the air off, switch the gemini off, restart the gemini then restart the air.? It is not a big deal just a little quirky.? After a successful PA, I go home and restart everything.? Oh...going home, When I tell the mount to go home in the air, the mount will go home but I do not get the message go home success or whatever it is.
When it is time to do a meridian flip it seems that the mount will not move until the air has issued the command three times but then will do the flip.??
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Tom
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I am currently working on figuring out what firmware i have. Was told it was L6 by previous owner. I need to confirm myself when I get home today. Mine is guilty of the quirks mentioned in a previous message. Polar alignment being funky, not getting a finished home notification after telling it to go home and meridian flip issues. Only had it out 1 time since purchasing it. I need to tinker some more.?
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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-------- Original message -------- From: "Chip Louie via groups.io" <chiplouie@...> Date: 11/19/24 11:12 AM (GMT-05:00) Subject: Re: [Gemini-II_io] Asiair
On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 02:40 AM, <djewing@...> wrote:
Can someone point me in the direction of getting my mount working with the asiair. Some things function but not all.?
?
We can't help if you don't respond.? What is your rig configuration and what issues have you had?? Let us know if you still need help.?
?
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 02:40 AM, <djewing@...> wrote:
Can someone point me in the direction of getting my mount working with the asiair. Some things function but not all.?
?
We can't help if you don't respond.? What is your rig configuration and what issues have you had?? Let us know if you still need help.?
?
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 04:11 PM, <Tjkallenbach@...> wrote:
My experience is that while I still experience "problems", most of them have work-arounds.? For example, when I run the polar align routine in the air, the degrees of rotation will not count up.? Even though the mount is moving the counter stays at 0.0 degrees.? I have to cancel the operation and run it again for the degrees to increment toward 60¡ã.? If I just let it go without the count, the polar align fails and I need to go to CWD with the hand controller, switch the air off, switch the gemini off, restart the gemini then restart the air.? It is not a big deal just a little quirky.? After a successful PA, I go home and restart everything.? Oh...going home, When I tell the mount to go home in the air, the mount will go home but I do not get the message go home success or whatever it is.
When it is time to do a meridian flip it seems that the mount will not move until the air has issued the command three times but then will do the flip.??
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Tom
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Hi Tom,
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Not to be dismissive but much of the trouble is just not being up to date and setup right. So first, what level Gemini 2 firmware are you on?? The old L5.x has some issues that were resolved in L6.x particularly small positionimg movements with the v3.0 PIC code rewrite.?
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As far as your mount not completing the auto PA routine and assuming you have a full L6.x update a couple issues could be in play.? The first is that your mount is not completing the required RA movement before the ASIAIR times out for the move.? I suggest you try increasing Gemini-2 MOVE speed to something around 400 or higher.? But my best advice is to enable and use the built-in ASIAIR All-Sky PA. My driveway has an obstructed NCP view 90% of the year and using All-Sky I can get my PA to under 0.30" of arc in about 5-8 minutes.? It works great for imaging and visual.?
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I have not used the meridian flip in anger but have tested it quite a bit and confirmed telescope position post flip using Sky Safari 7 Pro and the fabulous Nexus DSC system and IME it seems to work fine if configured correctly as many others have reported.? There are some settings you need to configure on the Gemini-2 and the ASIAIR.? The setting are a bit different and the later ASIAIR app / ASI firmware and Gemini-2 L6.x seem to work fine, L5.x may still have issues.?
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AFAIK the only real bug is ZWO's lack of understanding about the Gemini-2 "Park" command which is a complex command not found in 14" and smaller LX200 classic mounts. This is a true ASIAIR issue that has existed since day one.? It doesn't seem like a serious issue to ZWO probably because it would take more than a few minutes to resolve and they have no Gemini 2 to test with. If you are an observatory user this might be annoying. As a field user this is not a big deal as I almost never park the mount IRL.?
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What other problems have you had with your Gemini-2 and ASIAIR?? Maybe I know the problem and can help.?
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--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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My experience is that while I still experience "problems", most of them have work-arounds.? For example, when I run the polar align routine in the air, the degrees of rotation will not count up.? Even though the mount is moving the counter stays at 0.0 degrees.? I have to cancel the operation and run it again for the degrees to increment toward 60¡ã.? If I just let it go without the count, the polar align fails and I need to go to CWD with the hand controller, switch the air off, switch the gemini off, restart the gemini then restart the air.? It is not a big deal just a little quirky.? After a successful PA, I go home and restart everything.? Oh...going home, When I tell the mount to go home in the air, the mount will go home but I do not get the message go home success or whatever it is.
When it is time to do a meridian flip it seems that the mount will not move until the air has issued the command three times but then will do the flip.??
?
Tom
?
?
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Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
Thanks Paul...on to it....
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Brendan
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Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
I've used PicKit2 and PicKit3 programmer software instead of MPLab with good results on multiple Gemini units.
Installers for this software are still available from the Microchip website:
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or
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MPLabX v4.15 is available from a dropbox link:
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Regards,
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? -Paul
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It is interesting to see that some people repeatedly have issues with their ASIAIR and Gemini systems while the vast majority do not.? I was a Losmandy Gemini-2 L6 beta tester and the Gemin 2 L6 beta did have a couple of serious issues come up in the development phase of the all new L6 firmware and PIC controller code that were eventually tracked down and killed in the iterative L6 beta process.? Since the initial production L6 release there have been some nice cosmetic refinements and internal updates made to the Gemini firmware which are worth doing the update for.??But for a user who often has problems with these things the advice to hold off on updating firmware and software if your system is working for you is IMO sound.? For those who have not had many issues getting and installing the later apps and firmware you can feel confident in choosing to update to the latest ASIAIR production or beta 2.3 app and firmware as well as the latest current production version Gemini-2 L6.1 and HC v1.63 firmware as they are working just fine for the vast majority of people using them.? ??
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Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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Acting goofy happens to many ASAairs on rare occasion. ?
Your issue: you have some firmware loaded onto the SD card and respective unit acts goofy; either due to corruption or a firmware update failure. ? What one needs to do is reload the software and firmware. ?One should always own two SD cards. ?Keep one either blank or at an older firmware rev; the other will be your production SD card. ?The issue is your current updated card. Trying to reload that fails cuz the Air sees it is up to date and won¡¯t update the firmware even if it¡¯s corrupt. The task is to fool the Air into re-updating the box
Tho rarely a problem, it¡¯s a good practice to delete the app on the mobile device and redownload ?that. ?Then take the blank SD card or the one w/ a previous version and put that in the Air box. If you don¡¯t have two cards you can take the card to a computer and delete the Air image.
With the freshly installed mobile app, connect to the AAP and let it load the current app¡¯s firmware to the AAP box that has the old version or blank SD card installed.?
I always keep two cards. ?One is the production or current card, the other is the older version. ?I use an iPad and iPhone. ?So ?I ?update the iphone but NOT the install on my iPad. ?Do not let the Air auto update on your mobile device.?
By have two platforms I eliminate the risk of loading a new but buggy firmware onto the unit w/o a way to backup to the previous version. I keep many versions on my Mac so I can restore to any version. I am updating only one mobile device first.
Once I¡¯m convinced the new release is good I update the other mobile device. ?The issue is one needs a method of version control and Zwo will not give you an older version if you, or they, have problems. To protest yourself always keep two setups. The last thing you want is being at a star-site and having your mobile device auto-update and find it doesn¡¯t work.
Never be suckered into updating your gear cuz someone in social media reports the new update. I always stay behind Zwo one version for a couple months before I make any update. ?If this doesn¡¯t work, the issue is NOT the Air, but mysterious issues are commonly resolved as describe above.
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On Nov 18, 2024, at 10:31?AM, Chip Louie via groups.io <chiplouie@...> wrote:
? On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 02:40 AM, <djewing@...> wrote:
Can someone point me in the direction of getting my mount working with the asiair. Some things function but not all.?
?
Sure, please post details of your system and the smart device you run the ASIAIR app on.??
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For example my Gemini 2 mini and ASIAIR Plus both use Ethernet to connect to a GL.iNet Slate-AX1800 travel router.
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Gemini 2 mini - L6.1 firmware, 1.63 HC firmware with v.3 PIC code?
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My phone is a Google Pixel 7XL on Android 15
My tablet is a Samsung Tab A8 on Android 14
Latest ASIAIR app 2.3 11.44beta
ASIAIR Plus 256G 2024 version
ASI2600MC-Pro? main camera
EAF
EFW?
ASI678MM? piggybacked guide camera
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Haven't had any issues to speak of, everything seems to work as far as I can tell.? I have tested the meridian flip but not used it IRL.?
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Post and ask away.
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--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 02:40 AM, <djewing@...> wrote:
Can someone point me in the direction of getting my mount working with the asiair. Some things function but not all.?
?
Sure, please post details of your system and the smart device you run the ASIAIR app on.??
?
For example my Gemini 2 mini and ASIAIR Plus both use Ethernet to connect to a GL.iNet Slate-AX1800 travel router.
?
Gemini 2 mini - L6.1 firmware, 1.63 HC firmware with v.3 PIC code?
?
My phone is a Google Pixel 7XL on Android 15
My tablet is a Samsung Tab A8 on Android 14
Latest ASIAIR app 2.3 11.44beta
ASIAIR Plus 256G 2024 version
ASI2600MC-Pro? main camera
EAF
EFW?
ASI678MM? piggybacked guide camera
?
Haven't had any issues to speak of, everything seems to work as far as I can tell.? I have tested the meridian flip but not used it IRL.?
?
Post and ask away.
?
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
|
Can someone point me in the direction of getting my mount working with the asiair. Some things function but not all.?
|
Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
quick update....you can use MPLABX downloader then install MPLAB IPE5 or MPLAB IDE (don't know that ver) instead of full package.
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MPLAB IPE is much easier to use than MPLABX or MPLAB IDE.? for programming dspic33s or any hex/bin file
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Gives a video how to ....so sorry yes you can get MPLAB IPE ver 5....buy following instructions.? Its compatibility with PICkit3...unknown
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Ill try on another computer and get back
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cheers
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Ben
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Brendan
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Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
yeah Chip if you have links to them that¡¯ll be great or links to a google drive if you have one.?
I deleted the installers for. MPLAB IPE 4.15 and MPLAB IDE 6.05. ? But have the programs installed on lappy. ? But this is useless when I want to ?change computers ¡I¡¯ll need the installer packages.?
any links appreciated?
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Damn microchip! ?I was an idiot to discard installer packages.?
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cheers
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Brendan
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Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
Hi Bob,
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I have various versions of the PIC chip programing and IDE apps. The easiest to use is probably the oldest standalone app - PicKit2 v2.61.00, very simple interface.? I also have copies of MPLAB X 4.15 and 6.05? all worked fine using the routines posted for use with the older PICKit2/3 programmers I posted links to above.? Let me know if you need me to email them to you.? ??
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Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
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Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
Bob,
if I remember correctly, when you turn Gemini on with the motor cables disconnected, it will beep constantly to remind you there¡¯s something amiss (Gemini is not sensing the signals from the encoders). To bypass the beeps turn terrestrial tracking on (the mount essentially stops tracking).
Also, if you have the motors connected make sure the loads are well balanced as level 6 firmware is more sensitive to imbalances. The issue has been reported before and is well documented in these forums so you¡¯re not alone :)
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good luck
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Jonathan
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Re: Can¡¯t connect Ethernet or USB
Thank you everyone, great suggestions. I unplugged the cables to both servos and turned on the Gemini 2 and the rapid beeping still happily continues.???¡á?
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Thanks Brendan for the PIC programmer information, very helpful.
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Best regards, Bob
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Paul Kanevsky
Edward Plumer
Chip Louie