|
Re: Mount Disconnect and Ignores Safety Limit
On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 05:58 PM, John Dias wrote:
John, it sounds like Gemini was in a bad state if everything was initialized properly, but then it lost communications with the PC and continued to track past the safety limit.
?
A few things to check, before trying to figure out what may have caused this:
?
1. Did you start in CWD position with a cold start during that session? Gemini has to know the physical position of the mount relative to the safety limits when you start it, otherwise there's no guarantee that it'll stop at the right position.
2. Check and possibly replace the 3v battery in Gemini, reset Gemini to HGM Defaults and set all the settings again
3. If this happens again and you're using ASCOM, try going to the ASCOM driver and run Setup->Troubleshooting Report... It'll collect all the recent logs, connect to Gemini and retrieve settings, etc., and will create a single Zip file that you can upload here to Files section. Possibly there'll be something in the logs to indicate what happened.
?
Regards,
?
? ?-Paul
?
|
|
Bug fix released, Gemini L6.12 firmware
Hi folks,
?
An updated version of Gemini firmware L6.12 is now available. This fixes the reported issue where PEC, once programmed, can't be turned off and must be cleared to disable.?
?
Update your Gemini using the usual methods:
?
When flashed, the version should read:
?
Note that the HC firmware version didn't change, and remains at .
?
Regards,
? ? -Paul
|
|
Re: Can not disable PEC
Hi Ryan, Dale, and others using PEC with L6.11,
?
Ren¨¦ investigated the PEC not turning off issue in L6.11, and has produced an updated firmware L6.12 to resolve this. Please test with your Gemini and let us know if this fixes the issue. Once you confirm, this can become the official new version.
?
The test firmware (only the .bin file) is here:
?
?
Download the zip file, drag-and-drop it into GFU advanced tab, as shown below, and press Start to update:
?
?
Please report back with your findings.
?
Regards,
?
? -Paul
?
|
|
Mount Disconnect and Ignores Safety Limit
I woke up to my telescope as shown in this picture. Somewhere around 11PM the mount disconnected - second time this has happened recently. But what troubles me is that the mount continues to track and ignores the safety limit. Shouldn't it stop tracking if it reaches the limit?
This is an ethernet connected mount, and it's worked fine except for the occasional disconnect like this. Luckily I don't think it hit the pier (this time). Any idea why this is happening? ?
|
|
Gemini-2 confusing east and west
I have a new G11/Gemini-2 that I bought last summer. I've set up a Home park location of due west, and park it when I'm done each evening.
?
I've noticed that if I leave it unpowered for more than a couple of days, when I turn it back on and do a warm restart, Gemini reports that it is pointing East, not West.? I thought this might be that the battery in Gemini was low (although I had just bought it), so I bought and installed a fresh one recently. However the problem is still happening.
?
After power up and warm restart, with scope physically pointing west, it reports that it is pointing east:
If I then tell it to a?Park CWD (when it is parked at the Home position pointing west), it actually moves to the correct?location at the pole,?but as the?mount is physically slewing from West to North, it reports that it?is slewing from East to North:
Even if I tell it to park at my Home location (which I defined as west), the mount will physically move to point west, but reporting that it is moving east. However, if I tell it to slew to some target that is up in the sky from the Home location, it starts to slew the telescope down into the ground. So although it knows where CWD and Home are physically, its coordinates are treated differently.
?
From the CWD position, I turn off the power to Gemini and then do a cold boot, and everything is fine for a few days. The position it reports matches the way the telescope is pointing. If I tell it to slew to a target, the target is usually in my guide scope even before I build an alignment model.
?
Scope again parked at Home position (west) (after cold boot at CWD fixed the problem):
?
FYI, this is my second Gemini unit. I have a G11/Gemini-1 that is 20 years old so I'm familiar with settings like date/time, mount type, etc. This is just my first experience with a Gemini-2.? I know that Gemini-1 can act strangely when its battery gets low, so I wasn't especially worried about my new Gemini-2 until I replaced its battery and see it continuing to have the same problem intermittently.
?
Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks,
-Joe
?
?
?
?
|
|
Re: Starlight Xpress AO Connections
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Mar 23, 2025, at 2:48?PM, Paul Kanevsky <yh@...> wrote: On Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 05:28 PM, Rick Scott wrote:
Ah, in that case all you need is the same Ethernet connection and PHD2 will bump the mount using pulse guiding ASCOM commands. You don¡¯t need any additional connections.
?
|
|
Re: Can not disable PEC
Thanks Dale.?
Yeah I couldn¡¯t get PEMPro to change the PEC status at all and like you said, if selected in the Hand Control it would momentarily deselect and then reselect itself. I didn¡¯t try to deselect PEC through PEMPro while capturing PE like you did.?
I appreciate your response?
?
Ryan |
|
Re: Can not disable PEC
Thanks Paul,?
I feel somewhat validated, lol.? I¡¯ll probably just leave PEC on for now. I only discovered it because I was playing with PEMPro this morning but my existing PEC will still suffice for now. I appreciate the idea though and I¡¯ll keep it in my back pocket if I need to turn it off down the road.? |
|
Re: Can not disable PEC
Hi Ryan, I do see that PEC isn't turning off from the HC or virtual HC. Seems Gemini is now insisting on keeping it going -- something Rene will need to check :)
?
A simple way to overcome this from the ASCOM driver is to go to Setup->Configure PEC menu and press the Clear PEC button:
?
?
That seems to work for me. For those who don't use ASCOM, I believe deleting PEC/CurrPEC.pec file from the Gemini SD card and restarting Gemini will do the same.
|
|
Can not disable PEC
Good morning,?
Just came across something this AM and curious if anyone else can replicate:
?
Gemini2: 6.11
ASCOM: 7.0
?
When I deselect the PEC container while PEMPro is connected, it immediately reselects. I've tried:
?
Deselecting PEC on Configure PEC page (turning off PEC playback)
Deselecting PEC on main Hand Controller window
Deselecting PEC on Advanced Settings Page.
?
I noticed this originally when I was trying to record a few cycles this morning before sunrise with PEMPro and the PEC OFF command didn't work. But I tried it with and without PEMPro open and the status of PEMPro did not matter (open or closed) so PEMPro does not seem to be causal.
?
I tried a cold start from the desktop hand controller and a power recycle with the power switch on the Gemini 2, reattempting all three of the above options after the cold start and power recycle. No change.
?
I've attached a log file Here in the Files Section
?
Can anyone else replicate? or is it just a matter of ghosts in my machine?
My mount does seem slow to connect and lately fails the first attempt from NINA and then works on the second try. I'm using a direct connection with a crossover cable and a USB-Ethernet dongle. If no one else can replicate, then I will start troubleshooting connections.?
?
Thanks
Ryan |
|
Re: Starlight Xpress AO Connections
On Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 05:28 PM, Rick Scott wrote:
Ah, in that case all you need is the same Ethernet connection and PHD2 will bump the mount using pulse guiding ASCOM commands. You don¡¯t need any additional connections.
? |
|
Re: Starlight Xpress AO Connections
Thanks Paul.
?
The PHD2 documentation says that it can drive the Starlight Xpress AO and Starlight Xpress support staff says that PHD2 is their preferred software to drive it. I'm trying to figure out how to interface the "bump" command to the Gemini. I'll experiment with the connection you described.
?
Thanks again,
Rick
? |
|
Re: Starlight Xpress AO Connections
On Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 11:31 AM, Rick Scott wrote:
?
Hi Rick, I think that will depend on the software you use to control the autoguider. I see that SX AO unit has an autoguider output, so I assume the native SX software can use that port to bump the mount. You'll then want to connect the RJ11 port on the AO to the Autoguider input on Gemini-2 and calibrate it using SX software. Alternatively, if you use some other software that can control SX AO and that supports ASCOM telescope interface for guiding, then you can use the Ethernet port to bump using? theASCOM pulse guiding commands, just like you do today with PHD2.
?
?
Regards,
?
? ?-Paul
|
Paul Kanevsky
John Dias
Ryan Noonan
Rick Scott