Mine readily change w/ temperature; recheck throughout evening as temps fall.?

Maybe? Shouldn't have moved, but I'll ask the staff to check the clutches.

Loose clutches; axis slipping?

Sorry, I should have mentioned, this is happening at CWD, so I don't think it's a cable snag.

I also reconfigured the mount back to my settings before using it. I have restarted the mount a few times as well.

Just got my G811 back from Losmandy with the L6 update. Tonight it is giving me star trails when tracking on short exposures (5 seconds). I have no idea what's going on, any advice?

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On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 10:25 AM, Paul Kanevsky wrote:

1. Flip points are set relative to the meridian, not safety limit

Paul,

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Could you confirm this, relative to which meridian?

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I still see the mount responding using Flip Point by using the uncorrected or Limit based meridian position.? Not the Meridian used by the scheduling software (that Meridian in the sky) once synchronization of the mount on the first star occurs and an RA Index value exists.? This then requires the insertion of a delay to use Flip Go-To modification not required using the WGL method.

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(I'm at 6.10 / 1.63 / 3.0 checking this.)

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The “Use flip command if supported” is still there but it seems it has moved. ?Bring up the Options for the Capture tab and you will see it. ?Not clear why it was moved. ?I think they also lost the previous setting. ?I used to have this enabled, but when I when searching for it in 3.7.4 it was no longer set. ?I haven’t tried a meridian flip since this new release came out.

Bill

On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 09:47 AM, Michael A. Covington wrote:

I? have had a lot of experience testing coin cells, and I don't think
the open-circuit voltage is deceptive.? It is higher than the voltage
under load, of course, but if it's reading 3.2 V open circuit, the coin
cell is good and the problem lies elsewhere. You could substitute
another one just in case -- easier than getting a new tester.

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Agreed.? No load coin cell voltage is the standard used by the battery manufacturer associations.? A new manufacturer small lithium coin cell can read over 3.3v out of the package, typically 3.2v on the shelf and after 6 to 12 months in my Gemini 2 minis 3.0v in a warm room.

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Once the hit 2.9v in a warm room I toss them due to having and seeing too many experiences with bad behavior at this voltage level with Gemini 2 controllers. The industry standards say that once the unloaded voltage falls 10% of nominal new voltage it is worn out.?

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This is not to say they don't still mostly work just that this is considered an exhausted cell. But this checks out with my experiences in the field in the cold.? Some people report not having issues with voltage readings below 2.9v in a warm room but if there is anything that can ruin a night in the field it is strange Gemini 2 behavior.? If you have to do an HSM default? reset or replacing the battery solved the problem it can be traced back to a marginal battery and most folks don't recognize it.??

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Believe me, 2.9v unloaded on a warm room is a marginal battery in the field on a cold night. It may not happen that night but the low voltage battery caused data corruption will eventually disrupt your night.??

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The other major bummer is an old power pack battery.? This can also cause issues with Gemini 2 data corruption and can look like a bad internal battery. Most lead acid chemistry batteries unless very fresh and freshly charged are marginal in the cold.? Modern LiFePo4 chemistry batteries with onboard battery management and regulation do not display this problem.??

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On Fri, Dec 13, 2024 at 09:44 AM, BrianH wrote:

Unless your meter has a battery check setting the cell is under no load. I used to use the 9v battery check on my meter and toss a battery if under 2.9 volts under load.

Now use a Tenergy t-333 battery tester .

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The usual way most folks test a coin cell is open circuit.? The reason this is suggested is few people will have a battery tester that can be set with the correct load for the particular cell type and chemistry of the battery under test.? Even fewer people will have an accurate recently calibrated DMM which can accurately measure and display voltage below 0.01 volts.?

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If you do have a better DMM basic accuracy of 0.5% + 3 lab most of which start at $150-$600 and up you know how easy it is easy to look up the specs for a particular type and chemistry of the cell and use an inexpensive resistor with the correct value in line to see the drop.?

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There is a nuance that I wasn't aware of.? In prior versions on KStars, there was an option to "Use flip command if mount supports it".? I cannot find that in the current version, so now I am left guessing as to whether it will issue a flip or a Goto.? As a result, I need to make sure that the flip will work correctly regardless of the command issued.? Please clarify "For FW ?6.x and Flip Points enabled, and both, East and West flip points set to 1°, then a Goto to past 1° would result in a flip."? Does this mean that regardless of flip command or Goto past 1°, the flip will succeed??

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Thanks Again,

Anand

Hi Anand,

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1: Correct

2: The software needed to issue a flip command when the telescope was in the allowable range. For Goto, the telescope could be anywhere prior to the allowable range, but the Goto should be to a target in the allowable range.

3: correct

For FW? 6.x and Flip Points enabled, and both, East and West flip points set to 1°, then a Goto to past 1° would result in a flip.?

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Regards,

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? ? -Paul

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On Fri, Dec 13, 2024 at 05:08 PM, Anand Narwani wrote:

Hi Paul,

Thanks for helping with us new folks.? I think I understand this, but I need some confirmation.? Would you please confirm these statements are true for FW < 6.1:?

For FW >= 6.1:

Thanks in Advance,

Anand

Hi Chip et al,

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Not yet.. I had to solve a problem with my new Stellarmate OS X to Gemini connection last weekend, then got called out of town for work, now its clouds. Its looking like the weekend before Christmas before I can get out under the stars, which us convenient since Ill be on the lookout for Santa, anyways.

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Clear Skies,

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Paul

Unless your meter has a battery check setting the cell is under no load. I used to use the 9v battery check on my meter and toss a battery if under 2.9 volts under load.

Now use a Tenergy t-333 battery tester .

Thank you for your replies. So I did a test and feel better about my results. I’m using a digital level to ensure that my mount is level and my angle is set to my Lat of 35.09 degrees, and a compass to ensure that I’m pointing true north, a good basic mechanical alignment without a Polar scope. I did a cold start with CWD and then selected GOTO Polaris, after a RA movement of I believe 90 degrees to the left, the scope angle was close to my Lat of 35.09 degrees. I fully understand that at this step it might not point directly at Polaris but close, this is a good starting point, I’m in the ballpark. Next, in a few weeks without such a bright moon, I can model / align it with west and east bright stars. Many thanks, Bob

I will clean the connections and try again.?

On Thu, Dec 5, 2024 at 07:11 AM, Paul Romero wrote:

Will Do (this weekend hehe)!

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Paul

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Success??

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On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 10:39 AM, <bobthorpe@...> wrote:

Thank you all for your past help, I’m all upgraded with ver 6 and servo driver 3. I have my date, time, time zone, Lat/Lon all set correctly. I noticed that when I do a cold start in CWD pointing north with my mount angle set to the proper angle, then tell it to go to Polaris, the servos kick in and move the mount, I’d assume that it shouldn’t move, that it should assume that it’s already pointing at Polaris upon cold start, am I incorrect?

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No, you are not correct.??Polaris is NOT the North Celestial Pole and Gemini knows Polaris is not the North Celestial Pole.? But Gemini has a "perfect" default model and will attempt to GOTO Polaris which it likely cannot find because you have not done an accurate mechanical RA polar alignment before hand.? ? ?

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I then manually pointed and then pressed synchronize on Polaris, then I told it to GOTO Jupiter, after mount movement the upward angle looked roughly correct but it was pointing about 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Any thoughts? Many thanks, Bob at 7,000’ in dark sky Flagstaff, AZ

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By doing what you are doing instead of the correct routine of mount head leveling, mechanical RA axis polar alignment using polar scope, Polemaster or other camera based PA routine, then doing at least a 2-3 star alignment AKA "model building" in Losmandy speak you are not going to have much success with GOTOs.? By randomly syncing Gemini following your routine you are setting yourself up for failure.? ?

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Start with Losmandy's basic setup videos they will help you to learn the basic setup routines to be successful with a Losmandy Gemini powered mount.?

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After you have reviewed the Losmandy videos, practiced a bunch in daylight get back to us with any questions you have.??

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On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 05:01 PM, Kevin Hannon wrote:

HC says battery on main board is low. Gemini web server says battery at 2.066 volts. Mount is operating normally. I checked the battery with volt meter and it reads 3.2volts. Been a while since I updated the HC and mainboard. Using GM8 with the tall mainboard. Pls advise.?

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Hi Kevin,

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How did you check the battery voltage?? The standard measurement method of a coin cell is out of circuit, in other words the battery should be removed from the battery holder to get an accurate measurement.? If you have a recently calibrated DMM and the battery is reading 3.2v this sounds like a nearly new battery and it seem like this is not the source of your voltage reading error.?

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You could try the HGM reset trick I posted and see if this fixes your incorrect battery voltage reading.? But if the low battery voltage display doesn't impact anything maybe don't mess with it until you see other strange behaviors.? ?

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