I just upgraded Gemini firmware and ASCOM 7 software and the mount keeps turning off PEC while doing imaging session.
Sometimes I see PEC checkbox is unchecked from Gemini hand controller screen. I also noticed from PHD log viewer after imaging night.
I don't really know if this is really related to the firmware and software update since I don't have old data.
I use NINA software to control everything. Is there any log in the Gemini to tell me why it turned off PEC?
|
Re: Hand Controller (HC) Won't Respond to Touch
Kenneth. ?I¡¯m pretty sure this early 1st ver HC is no longer supported by Losmandy ? ?Mainly due to lack of displays available and obsolescence of this display and other parts and improving the design.
?
Spare displays for these 1st ver HC dried up a long time ago. ?Losmandy also improved the HC design and concentrated on these as they could much more easily obtain parts by the 1000¡¯s and frankly they were better?
But I understand you¡¯d rather get yours fixed. ?as would I! ?From Losmandy¡¯s POV they would rather commercially concentrate on their better ver 2 & 3 HC¡¯s ?as their 1st ver displays ran out.?
David, Myself and Michael (maybe Rene¡¯) got the last 1st ver displays available and can easily R&R them. ? It was a hassle getting them.?
Michael and David are your best bet. ?FWIW.?
cheers
?
?
--
Brendan
|
Re: February 29th abnormality
I just fired up Gemini and noticed that same date anomaly. Time is fine.? Attached are some screenshots that might help.??
?
Does not seem to have any affect on the performance.? Goto's worked just fine.??
?
?
Chris N
?
Forgot to add that I had that same "issue" last year.? Hopefully this link works.? If not search for "HC Date Display Not Correct".
?
/g/Gemini-II/topic/104088832#msg26067
|
Re: February 29th abnormality
¸é±ð²Ô¨¦, David,
?
Naturally there are several ways to look at the usage of these words, but IMHO - when used in this context "Built" refers to a previous action, whereas "Build" refers to the current condition. I consider the version and revision current conditions.
?
Therefore, I vote for "Build".
?
(Or better yet, don't append the date and just use the version.revision like the Servo controllers do.)
?
Ed
?
|
Re: February 29th abnormality
Though TBH ¡°Built¡± works well also ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: David C. Partridge <david.partridge@...>
Sent: 27 February 2025 08:31
To: '[email protected]' <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: [Gemini-II_io] February 29th abnormality? I¡¯d normally say build for a build number with out obvious meaning.?? For a date, I would say ¡°Build Date¡± ? ? Hi Ed,
Thanks for the detailed description! I'll check this. If I should find something I can't supply a fix until tomorrow, but I guarantee to fix that in time before February 2026! ;)
Firmware "Built" or "Build"... What's better?
Thank you,
¸é±ð²Ô¨¦ Am 27.02.25 um 01:14 schrieb 100e9Stars via groups.io: After performing a recent firmware update on a Gemini II mini-controller on a GM811 (received new from Losmandy in early 2022), I noticed that the Hand Controller is displaying February 29th in the lower right corner, regardless of the actual date. With my time zone offset (-7) this only occurs between the civil hours of 17:00:00 to 23:59:59 for any date in February and the year is 2025 or three year increments thereof (i.e. 2028, 2031, etc.). If the HC's 'Menu / Time' screen -and/or- the web page 'Time' are displayed while the incorrect date is shown, the date setting boxes show the correct date! With other time zones, the abnormality start time changes accordingly but the end time remains the same. In addition, the initial GOTO pointing accuracy after a 'CWD / Cold Start' is within the expected error even with the Feb. 29th date being shown. Hopefully this can be duplicated, and is not an isolated issue with my controllers. To confirm this - on the HC set the time zone offset to any valid negative value (AFAIK the problem does not appear with positive offsets), set the civil date to any day in February with a year as mentioned above, and set the civil time to (23:59:50 + time zone) and hit 'Set' at the bottom of the screen. After the display returns to the Home Screen, watch the date in the lower right corner jump from the set one to Feb.29th when the time rolls over to the next whole hour. If the year is set to anything other than mentioned, the date remains correct. It appears that the UTC 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 roll over triggers the Feb.29th date, and the civil 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 roll over corrects it. I have used GFU V1.0.0.32 to reload both the mainboard and HC firmware several times. The current firmware shown on the HC 'Menu / HC / Info' is : Mainboard ? ? ? ? - Level 6.10, Built Nov.5, 2024 HC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- V1.63, Build Oct.14, 2024 (Dumb question : why does one say 'Built' and the other say 'Build'?) I have performed the 'Reset HGM Defaults' and 'SRAM Reset' then reload from file, and have cleaned the contacts and reseated both micro SD cards, all without any improvement. By the way the micro SD cards are from Losmandy as part of their 'Level 6 Upgrade Kit' that I purchased last summer. The backup battery voltage is 3.01V, with the main battery reporting 14.98V. Other than what appears to be a 'cosmetic abnormality / annoyance', this mount and controllers perform flawlessly!? I know it's late in February 2025, but I didn't want to get caught off guard in February 2028....
?
|
Re: February 29th abnormality
I¡¯d normally say build for a build number with out obvious meaning.?? For a date, I would say ¡°Build Date¡± ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Rene Goerlich
Sent: 27 February 2025 07:04
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Gemini-II_io] February 29th abnormality? Hi Ed,
Thanks for the detailed description! I'll check this. If I should find something I can't supply a fix until tomorrow, but I guarantee to fix that in time before February 2026! ;)
Firmware "Built" or "Build"... What's better?
Thank you,
¸é±ð²Ô¨¦
Am 27.02.25 um 01:14 schrieb 100e9Stars via groups.io: After performing a recent firmware update on a Gemini II mini-controller on a GM811 (received new from Losmandy in early 2022), I noticed that the Hand Controller is displaying February 29th in the lower right corner, regardless of the actual date. With my time zone offset (-7) this only occurs between the civil hours of 17:00:00 to 23:59:59 for any date in February and the year is 2025 or three year increments thereof (i.e. 2028, 2031, etc.). If the HC's 'Menu / Time' screen -and/or- the web page 'Time' are displayed while the incorrect date is shown, the date setting boxes show the correct date! With other time zones, the abnormality start time changes accordingly but the end time remains the same. In addition, the initial GOTO pointing accuracy after a 'CWD / Cold Start' is within the expected error even with the Feb. 29th date being shown. Hopefully this can be duplicated, and is not an isolated issue with my controllers. To confirm this - on the HC set the time zone offset to any valid negative value (AFAIK the problem does not appear with positive offsets), set the civil date to any day in February with a year as mentioned above, and set the civil time to (23:59:50 + time zone) and hit 'Set' at the bottom of the screen. After the display returns to the Home Screen, watch the date in the lower right corner jump from the set one to Feb.29th when the time rolls over to the next whole hour. If the year is set to anything other than mentioned, the date remains correct. It appears that the UTC 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 roll over triggers the Feb.29th date, and the civil 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 roll over corrects it. I have used GFU V1.0.0.32 to reload both the mainboard and HC firmware several times. The current firmware shown on the HC 'Menu / HC / Info' is : Mainboard ? ? ? ? - Level 6.10, Built Nov.5, 2024 HC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- V1.63, Build Oct.14, 2024 (Dumb question : why does one say 'Built' and the other say 'Build'?) I have performed the 'Reset HGM Defaults' and 'SRAM Reset' then reload from file, and have cleaned the contacts and reseated both micro SD cards, all without any improvement. By the way the micro SD cards are from Losmandy as part of their 'Level 6 Upgrade Kit' that I purchased last summer. The backup battery voltage is 3.01V, with the main battery reporting 14.98V. Other than what appears to be a 'cosmetic abnormality / annoyance', this mount and controllers perform flawlessly!? I know it's late in February 2025, but I didn't want to get caught off guard in February 2028....
?
|
Re: February 29th abnormality
Hi Ed,
Thanks for the detailed description! I'll check this. If I should
find something I can't supply a fix until tomorrow, but I
guarantee to fix that in time before February 2026! ;)
Firmware "Built" or "Build"... What's better?
Thank you,
¸é±ð²Ô¨¦
Am 27.02.25 um 01:14 schrieb 100e9Stars
via groups.io:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello all,
?
After performing a recent firmware update on a Gemini II
mini-controller on a GM811 (received new from Losmandy in early
2022), I noticed that the Hand Controller is displaying February
29th in the lower right corner, regardless of the actual date.
With my time zone offset (-7) this only occurs between the civil
hours of 17:00:00 to 23:59:59 for any date in February and the
year is 2025 or three year increments thereof (i.e. 2028, 2031,
etc.). If the HC's 'Menu / Time' screen -and/or- the web page
'Time' are displayed while the incorrect date is shown, the date
setting boxes show the correct date! With other time zones, the
abnormality start time changes accordingly but the end time
remains the same. In addition, the initial GOTO pointing
accuracy after a 'CWD / Cold Start' is within the expected error
even with the Feb. 29th date being shown.
?
Hopefully this can be duplicated, and is not an isolated
issue with my controllers. To confirm this - on the HC set the
time zone offset to any valid negative value (AFAIK the problem
does not appear with positive offsets), set the civil date to
any day in February with a year as mentioned above, and set the
civil time to (23:59:50 + time zone) and hit 'Set' at the bottom
of the screen. After the display returns to the Home Screen,
watch the date in the lower right corner jump from the set one
to Feb.29th when the time rolls over to the next whole hour. If
the year is set to anything other than mentioned, the date
remains correct. It appears that the UTC 23:59:59 to 00:00:00
roll over triggers the Feb.29th date, and the civil 23:59:59 to
00:00:00 roll over corrects it.
?
I have used GFU V1.0.0.32 to reload both the mainboard and HC
firmware several times. The current firmware shown on the HC
'Menu / HC / Info' is :
Mainboard ? ? ? ? - Level 6.10, Built Nov.5, 2024
HC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- V1.63, Build Oct.14, 2024
RA / DEC Servo - V3.0
(Dumb question : why does one say 'Built' and the other say
'Build'?)
?
I have performed the 'Reset HGM Defaults' and 'SRAM Reset'
then reload from file, and have cleaned the contacts and
reseated both micro SD cards, all without any improvement. By
the way the micro SD cards are from Losmandy as part of their
'Level 6 Upgrade Kit' that I purchased last summer. The backup
battery voltage is 3.01V, with the main battery reporting
14.98V.
?
Other than what appears to be a 'cosmetic abnormality /
annoyance', this mount and controllers perform flawlessly!?
?
I know it's late in February 2025, but I didn't want to get
caught off guard in February 2028....
?
Clear skies,
Ed
?
|
February 29th abnormality
Hello all,
?
After performing a recent firmware update on a Gemini II mini-controller on a GM811 (received new from Losmandy in early 2022), I noticed that the Hand Controller is displaying February 29th in the lower right corner, regardless of the actual date. With my time zone offset (-7) this only occurs between the civil hours of 17:00:00 to 23:59:59 for any date in February and the year is 2025 or three year increments thereof (i.e. 2028, 2031, etc.). If the HC's 'Menu / Time' screen -and/or- the web page 'Time' are displayed while the incorrect date is shown, the date setting boxes show the correct date! With other time zones, the abnormality start time changes accordingly but the end time remains the same. In addition, the initial GOTO pointing accuracy after a 'CWD / Cold Start' is within the expected error even with the Feb. 29th date being shown.
?
Hopefully this can be duplicated, and is not an isolated issue with my controllers. To confirm this - on the HC set the time zone offset to any valid negative value (AFAIK the problem does not appear with positive offsets), set the civil date to any day in February with a year as mentioned above, and set the civil time to (23:59:50 + time zone) and hit 'Set' at the bottom of the screen. After the display returns to the Home Screen, watch the date in the lower right corner jump from the set one to Feb.29th when the time rolls over to the next whole hour. If the year is set to anything other than mentioned, the date remains correct. It appears that the UTC 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 roll over triggers the Feb.29th date, and the civil 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 roll over corrects it.
?
I have used GFU V1.0.0.32 to reload both the mainboard and HC firmware several times. The current firmware shown on the HC 'Menu / HC / Info' is :
Mainboard ? ? ? ? - Level 6.10, Built Nov.5, 2024
HC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- V1.63, Build Oct.14, 2024
RA / DEC Servo - V3.0
(Dumb question : why does one say 'Built' and the other say 'Build'?)
?
I have performed the 'Reset HGM Defaults' and 'SRAM Reset' then reload from file, and have cleaned the contacts and reseated both micro SD cards, all without any improvement. By the way the micro SD cards are from Losmandy as part of their 'Level 6 Upgrade Kit' that I purchased last summer. The backup battery voltage is 3.01V, with the main battery reporting 14.98V.
?
Other than what appears to be a 'cosmetic abnormality / annoyance', this mount and controllers perform flawlessly!?
?
I know it's late in February 2025, but I didn't want to get caught off guard in February 2028....
?
Clear skies,
Ed
?
|
Re: Hand Controller (HC) Won't Respond to Touch
Brendan,
?
Thanks for your comments. I'm not that good at soldering, and I learned a long time ago I don't do great with electronics repairs! So, I'll write to Losmandy and see what they have to say.
?
Ken
?
On Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 03:01 PM, Brendan wrote:
I wonder if has some?
?
Sending one.....you need to be capable soldering as you have to remove the old and resolder the new and getting alignment is the trick?? Also posting...needs to be triple boxed as these things are so fragile.?? Even mishandling can crack the display (been these done that)
?
|
Re: Hand Controller (HC) Won't Respond to Touch
I wonder if has some?
?
Sending one.....you need to be capable soldering as you have to remove the old and resolder the new and getting alignment is the trick?? Also posting...needs to be triple boxed as these things are so fragile.?? Even mishandling can crack the display (been these done that)
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Send Michael him a PM...or David has some
--
Brendan
|
Re: Hand Controller (HC) Won't Respond to Touch
David,
?
I'm in the United States, Illinois, to be specific.
?
Thanks!
?
Ken
|
Re: Hand Controller (HC) Won't Respond to Touch
It¡¯ll be 1st version that needs soldering down. ? Maybe try use a small plastic ¡°spludger¡± (use to take iPhones start)
?
But sounds as if touch screen overlay is dead and you have to replace the screen as it¡¯s glued together. ?
cheers
?
?
--
Brendan
|
Re: Hand Controller (HC) Won't Respond to Touch
Ken ? Where on the planet are you??? I have some of the touch screens but I probably isn¡¯t economic for you unless you¡¯re in the UK ? David ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Kenneth Boquist via groups.io
Sent: 24 February 2025 14:58
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Gemini-II_io] Hand Controller (HC) Won't Respond to Touch? I have a G-11/Gemini II that has not been used for a number of years. I recently decided to return it to active service given some new observing interests, and I found out that the HC won't respond to my touch. It wouldn't even respond when the calibration screen came up. I'm aware I only have about a second or so to touch it, so I touched right away, but the calibration routine didn't start. When the screen finally reached the menus, even those wouldn't respond. I tried this a number of times with the same result, even when using a ballpoint pen with the tip retracted (my favorite way of using it when it was really cold). I tried the procedure for releasing the top of the HC case from the bottom to see if maybe the gasket was pressing down too tight, but I was unable to complete it. I had no problems getting the sides to release from the glass, but the bottom won't release. So, I can't completely release the top of the HC case. I've tried this several times, and decided to stop to avoid breaking the glass. Does anyone have any suggestions on this? While trying to fix this, I found out that the membrane buttons on the back worked since the mount started turning when I pushed them. So, I'm hoping that this HC can be fixed even though it is about 14 years old.
|
Hand Controller (HC) Won't Respond to Touch
I have a G-11/Gemini II that has not been used for a number of years. I recently decided to return it to active service given some new observing interests, and I found out that the HC won't respond to my touch. It wouldn't even respond when the calibration screen came up. I'm aware I only have about a second or so to touch it, so I touched right away, but the calibration routine didn't start. When the screen finally reached the menus, even those wouldn't respond. I tried this a number of times with the same result, even when using a ballpoint pen with the tip retracted (my favorite way of using it when it was really cold).
?
I tried the procedure for releasing the top of the HC case from the bottom to see if maybe the gasket was pressing down too tight, but I was unable to complete it. I had no problems getting the sides to release from the glass, but the bottom won't release. So, I can't completely release the top of the HC case. I've tried this several times, and decided to stop to avoid breaking the glass.
?
Does anyone have any suggestions on this? While trying to fix this, I found out that the membrane buttons on the back worked since the mount started turning when I pushed them. So, I'm hoping that this HC can be fixed even though it is about 14 years old.
?
Thanks,
?
Ken
|
Re: Is it possible to connect the Gemini II directly to a PC if the Gemini is not connected to the DEC/RA motors?
You may find it helpful to add an entry for gemini in your hosts table. ?Location in windows is \Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts file. ?If you have a static address for the gemini you should add it here so for example ASCOM and other drivers can do the name to address conversion via this table
In my case the added last line looks like this where the address is specific to my setup and gemini setting ? ? 192.168.1.110 gemini
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Feb 22, 2025, at 14:40, Don Bottaro via groups.io <dpbottaro@...> wrote:
? Hi All,
?
I was able to reach the Gemini 2 through my PC by directly connecting the Gemini to my router using an ordinary ethernet patch cable, so everything is now up to date. Switching to terrestrial mode stopped the ticking as advised. Thanks to all for the help.
?
Don
|
Re: Is it possible to connect the Gemini II directly to a PC if the Gemini is not connected to the DEC/RA motors?
Hi All,
?
I was able to reach the Gemini 2 through my PC by directly connecting the Gemini to my router using an ordinary ethernet patch cable, so everything is now up to date. Switching to terrestrial mode stopped the ticking as advised. Thanks to all for the help.
?
Don
|
Re: Is it possible to connect the Gemini II directly to a PC if the Gemini is not connected to the DEC/RA motors?
Thanks for elucidating that. I stand corrected. Obviously I meant a switch. And he actually has one already he can use if he decided to pursue this path.
[Edited Message Follows]
On Thu, Feb 20, 2025 at 01:56 PM, F. X. Flinn wrote:
ethernet switch = ethernet switching hub
?
may depend on when you started doing local area networks ... for me it was 1989
?
Hmm, actually no.? As you must know the topography of a hub is quite different from a switch.? Hubs have been obsolete for decades, packet collisions made them very inefficient and slow on active networks.?
?
I'm sure there are a few people here that were around even earlier than me but I was designing and building IBM Token ring networks even though the writing was on the wall that IEE 802.3 was coming and it was faster, simpler and had fewer limitations.? The old IBM Token Ring network topography required hubs and basically I designed and installed these walking dead networks shortly before the IEEE 802.3 was accepted and developed commercially.?
?
Once the IEEE accepted 802.3 all we did was 10BASE5 fat coax until maybe 2 years later when the much better 10BASE2 skinny coax AKA cheapnet was accepted by the IEEE and became commercially available and the first really widely used office network.?
?
We did use hubs with Ethernet for a short time window in the very early days of twisted pair under StarLAN but it was a pig and once the switches showed up in the marketplace nobody used them and StarLAN died of natural causes.??
?
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
|
Re: Is it possible to connect the Gemini II directly to a PC if the Gemini is not connected to the DEC/RA motors?
On Thu, Feb 20, 2025 at 01:56 PM, F. X. Flinn wrote:
ethernet switch = ethernet switching hub
?
may depend on when you started doing local area networks ... for me it was 1989
?
Hmm, actually no.? As you must know the topography of a hub is quite different from a switch.? Hubs have been obsolete for decades, packet collisions made them very inefficient and slow on active networks.?
?
I'm sure there are a few people here that were around even earlier than me but I was designing and building IBM Token ring networks even though the writing was on the wall that IEE 802.3 was coming and it was faster, simpler and had fewer limitations.? The old IBM Token Ring network topography required hubs and basically I designed and installed these walking dead networks shortly before the IEEE 802.3 was accepted and developed commercially.?
?
Once the IEEE accepted 802.3 all we did was 10BASE5 fat coax until maybe 2 years later when the much better 10BASE2 skinny coax AKA cheapnet was accepted by the IEEE and became commercially available and the first really widely used office network.?
?
We did use hubs with Ethernet for a short time window in the very early days of twisted pair under StarLAN but it was a pig and once the switches showed up in the marketplace nobody used them and StarLAN died of natural causes.??
?
--
Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
Astrospheric - South Pasadena, CA?
|
Re: Is it possible to connect the Gemini II directly to a PC if the Gemini is not connected to the DEC/RA motors?
You will probably get ticking in terrestrial mode as the system has no encoder signals. ?But it won¡¯t be trying to move the Ra etc.?
?
the ticking is warning of motor stall (Aka no encoder signal seen) but the Gemini system will work fine without motors ¡.that is connect etc. ?but no drive obviously?
cheers
--
Brendan
|
Re: Is it possible to connect the Gemini II directly to a PC if the Gemini is not connected to the DEC/RA motors?
I connect both of my HGM Titan and G-11 with Gemini 2 directly to my PC using a standard Ethernet cable. You just need to make sure that the IP address is set up correctly. I've done it with the motors disconnected and it works.
|
David C. Partridge
Chip Louie
Rick Scott