Thanks Brian.? I Thought I did a calibration.? I will do it again.? As for the latest.? I am running 2.6.11.? But I don't see a "dev 6 release."? Where or what is "dev 6 release"?
Now all I need is clear skies tonight!
Steve
|
Re: How to track ISS with new Leve 6
Jim
As you may know we added a bunch of support for satellite and NEO tracking with variable moveaxis rate
I think the best way to get into satellite tracking/imaging is use SkyTrack, which does have tutorials to walk you through how to configure your scope. You will need to enable the variable moveaxis rate (under telescope?settings in GTDN) and use the mount calibration wizards in SkyTrack
Just curious, has anyone tried to track ISS with the new firmware upgrade?? If not, any suggestion how you use the "user define" to track, is there a tutorial or is it pretty easy to figure out?
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
|
Re: How to track ISS with new Leve 6
Watching to see others experiences...Now that I have upgraded to L6 I plan to use SkyTrack software to track ISS. I have downloaded and played around with it for planning purposes and was waiting for L6 changes to give it a try in anger under the stars.
|
How to track ISS with new Leve 6
Just curious, has anyone tried to track ISS with the new firmware upgrade?? If not, any suggestion how you use the "user define" to track, is there a tutorial or is it pretty easy to figure out?
|
Hi Steve
What's happening with your calibrations?
I don't see any calibration runs, and in one guidelog the calibration was from back in May.
It would be a good idea to recalibrate from a baseline standpoint (slew to meridian/celestial equator), recalibrate from there and address any calibration errors you may run into.?
I also suggest updating to the latest 2.6.11 dev 6 release and use the new calibration assistant, which can help guide you through?the process
Brian
On Fri, Jun 30, 2023 at 7:48?AM Steve Elmore via <gizmo_s67= [email protected]> wrote: First night out I ran into two problems, three if you count hazy skies.? Hand controller stopped working.? I would unplug and plug it back in and it would work again.? I did have a virtual HC open on PC.? This happened about 3 times and did not reoccur the second night.? I also had the DEC motor stall warning.? This happened about 3 times than I slightly loosened the spring load and it did not reoccur.? Guiding the first night was OK, +/- 1" in between clouds.
The real problem I have was the second night of guiding.?? It was still hazy, but I would guide on bright stars.? First I spent some time doing PA.? I spent too much time trying polar drift alignment with PHD2.? I didn't like it.? I did go back to regular drift alignment and PA looked good.? I did start with Polemaster, but it never seems as exact as doing a drift alignment.? My guiding was a disaster.? The Dec was a giant sinusoidal wave.? I tried resetting to default values and ran Guide Assistant multiple times and tried backing off on the aggressiveness on Dec guiding.? I changed to guide Dec in North only and the oscillation stopped.? Dec stayed fairly flat, but was shifted about 10" above zero with essentially no guiding.? How do I get the Dec guiding to work properly?
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
|
Hi Chris
Thanks for?the update
I can confirm similar behavior for the caldwell catalog. i tried several other catalogs and they all seem to work fine. the caldwell catalog hasn't changed in a long time and looks like it's formatted properly. We'll have to look into this
Brian?
On Fri, Jun 30, 2023 at 5:57?AM criscopenneys via <criscopenneys= [email protected]> wrote: Received the upgrade kit and updated to L6 on Tuesday this week.? As I mentioned before, all went well with no issues upgrading. "at the bench".? I took screenshots of my L5 setup before I upgraded to make sure I had all the correct settings for my 2001 MI-250.?
Last night, it was "clear" here in MN with only light smoke from Canada so I decided to finish the L6 setup under the stars (but with some mosquitoes of course).? Built a new model and set my home position. Powered down for a couple minutes then powered back up.? Now it was time to give L6 a test drive.? Because of the haze, selected a couple of Messier objects on both sides of the meridian.? Objects came pretty close to centered using a 26mm old school Meade smoothie in my C11.? Motors certainly seemed to run smoother, quieter.? At one point, I had to check (listen) to see if the RA motor was actually running.? It was!
Now to my "hiccup".? I had my old school, laminated S&T Caldwell Objects card and chose C33 (part of the Veil) from the Caldwell catalog.? C33 came up as "No object found!" (I found out later that C33 is not listed in the Catalog).
I hit the "Back" button to get back to the entry screen.? I entered C15 (which is in the catalog).
Upon hitting "Ent", I got the "No object found!" message screen again. I hit the "Back" button and got back to the entry screen.? No matter what Caldwell object I selected, I got the "No object found!" message.? Then I was stuck in this loop where I could not back out of the entry screen to get to another menu screen.? Since I was desperate, I closed my eyes and hit the "ALIGN" button on the "No object found!" screen.? That brought me back to the main screen.? I parked the mount, powered it down and restarted.? I once again chose C15 as the first target and Gemini slewed to C15 (apparently hitting the "ALIGN" button to get back to the main screen had no effect on the model).? I then chose C33 (which I now know is not in the catalog) and got the expected "No object found!" message.? But then I got into that same loop where no Caldwell object was recognized (this time I didn't panic).? Hitting the "ALIGN" brought me back to the main screen and I was out of the loop.? Going back into the Caldwell catalog, every object came up "No object found!".? Only a reboot allowed me to choose the cataloged objects.
Can anyone else duplicate this scenario?? I only tried the Caldwell catalog so I'm not sure if this behavior would duplicate in another catalog with missing entries.? I'm assuming it's not just me since this does not have to do with any settings but I don't know.? Or what did I do wrong?
One question I do have as result of this is, if I inadvertently choose the wrong catalog (and I'm at the screen as in the second image), how do I get back to the previous screen?? Can a "Back" button/function be added to this screen?
Maybe I missed something since it was almost 2am when I was trying to figure this out!
Chris N
Cedar, MN
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
|
First night out I ran into two problems, three if you count hazy skies.? Hand controller stopped working.? I would unplug and plug it back in and it would work again.? I did have a virtual HC open on PC.? This happened about 3 times and did not reoccur the second night.? I also had the DEC motor stall warning.? This happened about 3 times than I slightly loosened the spring load and it did not reoccur.? Guiding the first night was OK, +/- 1" in between clouds.
The real problem I have was the second night of guiding.?? It was still hazy, but I would guide on bright stars.? First I spent some time doing PA.? I spent too much time trying polar drift alignment with PHD2.? I didn't like it.? I did go back to regular drift alignment and PA looked good.? I did start with Polemaster, but it never seems as exact as doing a drift alignment.? My guiding was a disaster.? The Dec was a giant sinusoidal wave.? I tried resetting to default values and ran Guide Assistant multiple times and tried backing off on the aggressiveness on Dec guiding.? I changed to guide Dec in North only and the oscillation stopped.? Dec stayed fairly flat, but was shifted about 10" above zero with essentially no guiding.? How do I get the Dec guiding to work properly?
|
Re: Level 6 Upgrade for Gemini 2 using Linux
Thanks for the update Richard
On Fri, Jun 30, 2023 at 4:35?AM Richard Beck < beckrd@...> wrote: I want to report another successful upgrade using Linux. I used a PickKit3 clone and MPLAB X.
My only issue was apparently from formatting the SD card as FAT16.? I ended up saving a copy of the L5 SD card image and reformatting it to FAT32 (which is what it was before formatting), and the firmware upgrade went smoothly from there.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
|
Re: Gemini2 L6 and full version of PemPro V3
HI Greg
no specific date at this time. We are focused on supporting everyone upgrading to L6.
It is the next big thing on the list
?
Brian,
When can we expect to see PEC support in L6?
-Greg
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
|
Re: Level 6 is here - List Addition
Sorry, I meant 180 degrees from the Cold Start position.? It was a long day yesterday and I got my right angles from straight lines mixed up! ? When looking down on the DEC axis, 180 degrees clockwise from Cold Start produces a DEC stall and 180 degrees counterclockwise from Cold Start causes the stop.? You can¡¯t move past the stall in the clockwise direction, but you can move past the stop in the counterclockwise direction using the HC buttons. This showed up for me when a I was checking for DEC stalls by rotating the DEC axis a full 360 degrees. ? Bill ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Michael A. Covington Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2023 6:56 PM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Gemini-II_io] Level 6 is here - List Addition ? Do you mean 90 or 180?? If the dec axis really won't go more than 90 degrees from the start position, then you can't aim at anything south of the celestial equator at all!?? On 2023-06-29 18:50, Bill Flanagan wrote: I have one suggestion for the list and that¡¯s the behavior of the DEC axis 90 degrees away from the CWD position.? Apparently the new firmware will prevent the mount from rotating a full circle at this point.? It will indicate a stall when rotating one direction and slow down and stop when rotating from the other direction.? This is different than L5, which confused me after upgrading. ?When I saw it stall at this point, I thought it was a problem with the worm pressure being too tight.? A heads-up on this change might be useful to other upgraders. ? Anyway, thanks to all again for the L6 improvements! ? Regards, Bill
|
Received the upgrade kit and updated to L6 on Tuesday this week.? As I mentioned before, all went well with no issues upgrading. "at the bench".? I took screenshots of my L5 setup before I upgraded to make sure I had all the correct settings for my 2001 MI-250.? Last night, it was "clear" here in MN with only light smoke from Canada so I decided to finish the L6 setup under the stars (but with some mosquitoes of course).? Built a new model and set my home position. Powered down for a couple minutes then powered back up.? Now it was time to give L6 a test drive.? Because of the haze, selected a couple of Messier objects on both sides of the meridian.? Objects came pretty close to centered using a 26mm old school Meade smoothie in my C11.? Motors certainly seemed to run smoother, quieter.? At one point, I had to check (listen) to see if the RA motor was actually running.? It was! Now to my "hiccup".? I had my old school, laminated S&T Caldwell Objects card and chose C33 (part of the Veil) from the Caldwell catalog.? C33 came up as "No object found!" (I found out later that C33 is not listed in the Catalog).  I hit the "Back" button to get back to the entry screen.? I entered C15 (which is in the catalog).  Upon hitting "Ent", I got the "No object found!" message screen again. I hit the "Back" button and got back to the entry screen.? No matter what Caldwell object I selected, I got the "No object found!" message.? Then I was stuck in this loop where I could not back out of the entry screen to get to another menu screen.? Since I was desperate, I closed my eyes and hit the "ALIGN" button on the "No object found!" screen.? That brought me back to the main screen.? I parked the mount, powered it down and restarted.? I once again chose C15 as the first target and Gemini slewed to C15 (apparently hitting the "ALIGN" button to get back to the main screen had no effect on the model).? I then chose C33 (which I now know is not in the catalog) and got the expected "No object found!" message.? But then I got into that same loop where no Caldwell object was recognized (this time I didn't panic).? Hitting the "ALIGN" brought me back to the main screen and I was out of the loop.? Going back into the Caldwell catalog, every object came up "No object found!".? Only a reboot allowed me to choose the cataloged objects. Can anyone else duplicate this scenario?? I only tried the Caldwell catalog so I'm not sure if this behavior would duplicate in another catalog with missing entries.? I'm assuming it's not just me since this does not have to do with any settings but I don't know.? Or what did I do wrong? One question I do have as result of this is, if I inadvertently choose the wrong catalog (and I'm at the screen as in the second image), how do I get back to the previous screen?? Can a "Back" button/function be added to this screen? Maybe I missed something since it was almost 2am when I was trying to figure this out! Chris N Cedar, MN
|
Re: Level 6 Upgrade for Gemini 2 using Linux
I want to report another successful upgrade using Linux. I used a PickKit3 clone and MPLAB X.
My only issue was apparently from formatting the SD card as FAT16.? I ended up saving a copy of the L5 SD card image and reformatting it to FAT32 (which is what it was before formatting), and the firmware upgrade went smoothly from there.
|
Re: Gemini2 L6 and full version of PemPro V3
Brian,
When can we expect to see PEC support in L6?
-Greg
|
Re: L6 and new Flip Points
Hi Steve,
if everything was working fine before you don¡¯t need to change anything. Keep your old settings.
Regards,
? ?-Paul
On Thu, Jun 29, 2023 at 09:55 PM, Steven Schiebel wrote:
Hi all, I received my L6 upgrade kit today and successfully updated my mount to L6 and new firmware.? I was going through the updated Gemini 2 driver settings and was wondering if there was any guidance on the new "Flip Point" settings in the safety limits.? I use NINA for imaging and had it setup and working fine before, so not sure if I will need these but I would like to understand how they are used.
Thanks all for the great work on L6.??
Regards,
Steve
|
Hi all, I received my L6 upgrade kit today and successfully updated my mount to L6 and new firmware.? I was going through the updated Gemini 2 driver settings and was wondering if there was any guidance on the new "Flip Point" settings in the safety limits.? I use NINA for imaging and had it setup and working fine before, so not sure if I will need these but I would like to understand how they are used.
Thanks all for the great work on L6.??
Regards,
Steve
|
Re: Level 6 is here - List Addition
Do you mean 90 or 180?? If the dec axis really won't go more than
90 degrees from the start position, then you can't aim at anything
south of the celestial equator at all!??
On 2023-06-29 18:50, Bill Flanagan
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I have one suggestion for the list and
that¡¯s the behavior of the DEC axis 90 degrees away from the
CWD position.? Apparently the new firmware will prevent the
mount from rotating a full circle at this point.? It will
indicate a stall when rotating one direction and slow down and
stop when rotating from the other direction.? This is
different than L5, which confused me after upgrading. ?When I
saw it stall at this point, I thought it was a problem with
the worm pressure being too tight.? A heads-up on this change
might be useful to other upgraders.
?
Anyway, thanks to all again for the L6
improvements!
?
Regards,
Bill
|
Re: Level 6 is here - List Addition
Hi Bill, I encountered stall and guidance problems when imaging M8, M20. Their close to 90 degrees from cwd position. Oops I meant 180 deg.
Thanks for the tip!
Paul
|
Re: Level 6 is here - List Addition
I have one suggestion for the list and that¡¯s the behavior of the DEC axis 90 degrees away from the CWD position.? Apparently the new firmware will prevent the mount from rotating a full circle at this point.? It will indicate a stall when rotating one direction and slow down and stop when rotating from the other direction.? This is different than L5, which confused me after upgrading. ?When I saw it stall at this point, I thought it was a problem with the worm pressure being too tight.? A heads-up on this change might be useful to other upgraders. ? Anyway, thanks to all again for the L6 improvements! ? Regards, Bill ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Paul Kanevsky Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2023 9:30 AM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Gemini-II_io] Level 6 is here ? Good idea to collect these, Bren!
If anyone wants to forward me additional ones that could be useful to others, I can add them to the FAQs on website.
Regards,
? ?-Paul
On Thu, Jun 29, 2023 at 09:42 AM, Brendan wrote: Brian, David Paul etc el
i was reading that some (more than one) users have had some issues with their mounts after lvl6 update :
Stall¡rebalance and worm adjust due to new stall routine.
Clicking; the stall gives suitable click on Gemini MU and auidable warning.
Reset HGM Defauls snd Re-enter mount etc: ? Speaks for itself.
Mount limits: Reset. Speaks for itself.?
GFU not installing: ?Antivirus not allowing it ?
Ensure lvl6 dsPIC and lvl 6 MU firmware match: in that user hasn¡¯t forgotten to update the MU firmware and left it on lvl5!
Others issues I haven¡¯t listed:? Mostly it¡¯s users either skipping steps or forgetting the basics or the new stall detection and test has caught more than one. ?Even not reading document?
Just saying might be good to add to FAQs a ¡°lvl6 problems and ?fixes sub heading¡±? ?Ensure users directed to read this before posting new posts with same issue
I know that all these will decrease in reporting once users get the hang but I appear to be reading?
FWIW
--
Brendan
|
The point here was slewing is where power is peaking, not tracking. Most of the night is tracking, not slewing
The ramping and acceleration axis offset features are still the same
>>>The main current draw is on acceleration and it is mitigated by acceleration ramps and individual axis travel. Both these features have historically been in my Geminis and I can remember when the individual channel starts were implemented.
David I believe you meant to say:-
The main current draw is on acceleration and it is mitigated by acceleration ramps and individual?axis travel. Both these features have historically been in my?Geminis and I can remember when the individual?channel
starts were?implemented.
An accurate lock on the servo allows the slower start and then acceleration continues until the servo approaches lock and slows down to?synchro lock.
A note on Lithium batteries Vs Deep Cycle Absorbent Glass Mat.?My 32AH AGM is trickle charged to 13.4 volts at all times, like the Lithium, It can be charged at?higher voltages from Solar panels, bur the
advantage of the AGM, I have an?Anderson Plug connection with truck duty jumper leads and it doubles as my ride on mower battery.
Why have I made a distinction, well if you empty or reverse charge the individual holes in a lithium it never recovers the lost capacity so they need exceptionally good battery?management
Apologies if I am mistaken, but I always have a full battery from the float charge even at the end of my nights imaging.
Regards
Len
I think you meant to say:
The main CURRENT draw is when slewing.
?
David
?
?
Edit: (typo and additional thoughts)
?
As Paul has mentioned, the voltage range (12-18v) and recommendation to use higher voltage has always been the case since the Gemini was introduced
in early 2000s. There is nothing new about the power requirements and recommendations.?
?
That being said, many users happily use 12v. Someone else mentioned one of the things to look for in a 12v supply is that it can dip lower than 12v,
especially if you are powering multiple devices from the one power source (dew heaters come to mind as power hungry). Batteries typically start at a higher voltage around 13.5v and reduce their voltage output as the night progresses. Lithium batteries do a
better job at maintaining the higher voltage output over time, but when they are approaching drain, it can drop quickly. Something to watch for.?
?
The main voltage draw is when slewing. You can further reduce your power requirements by reducing the slew speed (consider this more of a hack, such
as if your battery is low and you don¡¯t have other options)
?
When the mount is just tracking (which is most of the time) power consumption is minimal
?
Do not use anything outside of the 12-18v spec.?
?
?
Thanks
?
Brian
?
Brian Valente
Losmandy Astronomical
?
Tutorials and vids at?
?
?
As Paul has mentioned, the voltage range (12-18v) and recommendation to use higher voltage has always been the case since the Gemini was introduced
in early 2000. There is nothing new about the power requirements and recommendations.?
?
The main voltage draw is when slewing. You can further reduce your power requirements by reducing the slew speed (consider this more of a hack, such
as if your battery is low and you don¡¯t have other options)
?
Tracking is minimal power consumption
?
Do not use anything outside of the 12-18v spec.?
?
?
Thanks
?
Brian
?
Brian Valente
Losmandy Astronomical
?
Tutorials and vids at?
?
?
On Wed, Jun 28, 2023 at 11:59 PM, Michael A. Covington wrote:
Let's keep an eye on this.? Does the new firmware somehow make the mount more sensitive to lower voltage?? I can supply any voltage needed when at home (currently using 13.5 V), but when I go portable, the battery puts
out 12.0 to 12.6 V.? I have not tried the L6 firmware upgrade yet.
From the very first versions, Gemini was always documented as supporting 12-18v voltage range, but preferring higher voltage for increased servo torque. The reason higher voltage may be needed in some applications is that Gemini
servos can't get more power once they reach 100% duty cycle. The only way to increase power to the servos at 100% is to increase voltage. 18v is the maximum, don't try to feed it any more than that. 16v has been my sweet spot with multiple Gemini mounts.
Regards,
? ?-Paul?
-- Brian?
Brian Valente astronomy portfolio?? nature portfolio? other astronomy??
--
Brian
|
Re: Voltage; was: Re: [Gemini-II_io] L6 Pic Programming Kit Arrived - Long Island NY
I had brought my Gemini to Losmandy a week ago for the level 6 upgrade.? I had used it several times since, without issues. Until last night.? See images of screenshots from my? iPad running asiair plus. With precise polar alignment,?
I was seeing total error of. 30-.50 rms while imaging M8, Lagoon Nebula. But then some very erratic motion occurred in both RA and Dec, that repeated itself every couple of minutes,? and sometimes more frequently.? I also show a screenshot of the star's motion.?
I changed my guide star and that, mostly, eliminated the issue. But not completely.?
It's unclear to me if this is an asiair issue or the mount. I'll toss it out to the group for opinions.?
Thanks,
Howard.?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
yes sorry thanks for the fix there David ;)
The main CURRENT draw is when slewing.
I think you meant to say:
The main CURRENT draw is when slewing.
?
David
?
?
Edit: (typo and additional thoughts)
?
As Paul has mentioned, the voltage range (12-18v) and recommendation to use higher voltage has always been the case since the Gemini was introduced
in early 2000s. There is nothing new about the power requirements and recommendations.
?
That being said, many users happily use 12v. Someone else mentioned one of the things to look for in a 12v supply is that it can dip lower
than 12v, especially if you are powering multiple devices from the one power source (dew heaters come to mind as power hungry). Batteries typically start at a higher voltage around 13.5v and reduce their voltage output as the night progresses. Lithium batteries
do a better job at maintaining the higher voltage output over time, but when they are approaching drain, it can drop quickly. Something to watch for.
?
The main voltage draw is when slewing. You can further reduce your power requirements by reducing the slew speed (consider this more of a
hack, such as if your battery is low and you don¡¯t have other options)
?
When the mount is just tracking (which is most of the time) power consumption is minimal
?
Do not use anything outside of the 12-18v spec.
?
?
Thanks
?
Brian
?
Brian Valente
Losmandy Astronomical
?
Losmandy.com
Tutorials and vids at
?
?
As Paul has mentioned, the voltage range (12-18v) and recommendation to use higher voltage has always been the case since the Gemini was introduced
in early 2000. There is nothing new about the power requirements and recommendations.
?
The main voltage draw is when slewing. You can further reduce your power requirements by reducing the slew speed (consider this more of a
hack, such as if your battery is low and you don¡¯t have other options)
?
Tracking is minimal power consumption
?
Do not use anything outside of the 12-18v spec.
?
?
Thanks
?
Brian
?
Brian Valente
Losmandy Astronomical
?
Losmandy.com
Tutorials and vids at
?
From:
[email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Paul Kanevsky
Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2023 4:13 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Voltage; was: Re: [Gemini-II_io] L6 Pic Programming Kit Arrived - Long Island NY
?
On Wed, Jun 28, 2023 at 11:59 PM, Michael A. Covington wrote:
Let's keep an eye on this.? Does the new firmware somehow make the mount more sensitive to lower voltage?? I can supply any voltage needed when at home (currently using 13.5 V), but when I go portable, the battery puts out 12.0 to 12.6
V.? I have not tried the L6 firmware upgrade yet.
From the very first versions, Gemini was always documented as supporting 12-18v voltage range, but preferring higher voltage for increased servo torque. The reason higher voltage may be needed in some applications is
that Gemini servos can't get more power once they reach 100% duty cycle. The only way to increase power to the servos at 100% is to increase voltage. 18v is the maximum, don't try to feed it any more than that. 16v has been my sweet spot with multiple Gemini
mounts.
Regards,
? ?-Paul
--
Brian?
Brian Valente
astronomy portfolio??
nature portfolio?
other astronomy??
--
Brian
|
Steve Elmore
Brian Hiatt
Jim Potts
Richard Beck
Paul Kanevsky
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