Gemini 1 ASCOM and Maxim DL 6 - Nudge scope position
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I have the same exact setup.? Forecast here is for clear skies tomorrow and Tuesday night.? I'll give the nudge command a try and report back Andrew
On Sunday, November 21, 2021, 09:36:04 AM CST, Howard via groups.io <hmooers@...> wrote:
Hoping you can help me with an issue, which I assume is operator error, but I can't track it down. I am using Maxim DL6 with the ASCOM Gemini driver (v.1.0.75) on my Losmandy G-11. Scope connects as it should, syncs, and long slews are fine. However, in Maxim on the Telescope tab of the observatory control I want to "nudge" the scope by a few seconds of arc. It appears that all of the buttons, N S E W make the mount "nudge" in the same direction and it moves far beyond the 1-2 seconds I specify. If I open the Gemini hand control in the ASCOM driver, I am able to move the scope in very small increments using the guide or center slewing speeds; everything works as it should. Going back to Maxim, still not working in the Nudge commands. Have others experienced this? Am I just missing some setting in either the Gemini driver or Maxim? Would appreciate any suggestions. |
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Hi Howard, On Sat, Dec 25, 2021 at 12:22 PM, Howard wrote: I reported an issue with MaxIm DL 6 not nudging properly using the Gemini Telescope ASCOM driver. I would choose "nudge" 10 arcsec and the scope would move way to far. The issue is NOT with MaxIm. After logging serial traffic in ASCOM, Maxim is issuing the correct command, but the mount is way over correcting. The same happens in The Sky Pro using the ASCOM driver. I also connected The Sky using its native Gemini driver. However, I am accessing the observatory remotely and can't check on the accuracy of the coordinates (I do not have access to the hand controller). |
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Hi Howard, First of all, updating the Gemini-1 to the last available version 1.05 is easy to do.? Send me your address, privately (see Respond to Sender at the bottom of these emails for a link) and I can send you a new EPROM.? You will use a metal hook tool to gently pry up the existing EPROM by it's ends, remove it fully, then use tweezers to gently nudge the pins of the replacement EPROM into the same mounting holes.? Here is a picture showing the correct orientation...also printed on the circuit board.? Second thing... your puzzling overshoot corrections when you "nudge" the mount.?? Two ideas come to mind: There is a "TVC" parameter that you can adjust it's value.? If that is not zero, try changing that to zero and see what happens.? I thought that parameter only affects the DEC axis, but I never use it (always zero in my case) so I can't be sure.? Anyways, look into that setting. On the Gemini-2, when you slew RA, it will drive to the destination then reverse the motor briefly...to eliminate backlash. At least in one direction.? I've seen it on my G11T RA belt drive, that makes this reversal observable.? I've no way to look for that behavior on the DEC drive of the G-2, or on any of the G-1 controllers.? So TVC may be a variable in your puzzle. Another idea is that the skew rate setting before the Nudge is having an effrct.? To autoguide, you must have the Gemini set to "G" guide mode.? But the Gemini will slew from remote commands in C center mode or S slew mode.? These more coarse modes will give a large quantum jump in position.? So try and see if setting your Gemini into G guide mode gives you "nudge" the smaller gradation you are seeking.? My guess at the moment is that you are doing a "nudge" in either C or S modes and these will certainly jump your pointing position a large distance.? Only G guide mode will work for my precision centering.?? Best of luck and merry Xmas, Michael On Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 10:22 AM Howard via <hmooers=[email protected]> wrote: I reported an issue with MaxIm DL 6 not nudging properly using the Gemini Telescope ASCOM driver. I would choose "nudge" 10 arcsec and the scope would move way to far. The issue is NOT with MaxIm. After logging serial traffic in ASCOM, Maxim is issuing the correct command, but the mount is way over correcting. The same happens in The Sky Pro using the ASCOM driver. I also connected The Sky using its native Gemini driver. However, I am accessing the observatory remotely and can't check on the accuracy of the coordinates (I do not have access to the hand controller). |
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Howard,
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?I just had an issue similar to yours. ?I also use MaxIm. ?During an RA guide correction, my G11 would run off in RA indefinitely until I intervened. ?I found that I had Precision Pulse Guide checked in the setup in Gemini ASCOM. ?I unchecked it and my problem went away. ?If you¡¯re running a Gemini1 unit, you can¡¯t use Precision Pulse Guiding. ? Andy? On Saturday, December 25, 2021, 12:13 PM, Michael Herman <mherman346@...> wrote:
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On Sat, Dec 25, 2021 at 05:02 PM, collimated1 wrote:
Howard,That's good advice for Gemini 1 / Level 4. This was fixed in Gemini-2 L5, so that precision pulse-guiding became the default and only available option. For Gemini-1, turn it off if it's turned on. Regards, ? ? -Paul |
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Paul
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?Do you think it¡¯s possible that MaxIm is using the guide command signal for the move command? ?If so, maybe this is tied to Howard¡¯s issue if he has Precision Pulse Guide checked. ?I recently installed a new computer at my observatory and installed the Gemini ASCOM driver. ?I¡¯m assuming the driver installs with Precision Pulse Guide checked on? Andy? On Saturday, December 25, 2021, 5:45 PM, Paul Kanevsky <yh@...> wrote:
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Hi Andy,
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That's what I think Howard should try. Without seeing the ASCOM logs, I can't guess as to what each software is doing when trying to nudge. If it really is using pulse guiding, then guider calibration must be done first, and yes, precision pulse-guiding should be turned off for Gemini-1 (but not for Gemini-2). Regards, ? ? ?-Paul On Sat, Dec 25, 2021 at 07:22 PM, collimated1 wrote: Paul |
collimated1
Paul Kanevsky
Michael Herman
