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On Sat, Nov 4, 2023 at 01:21 AM, Chuck Schreiner wrote:

Anyone else find the axis to be too stiff initially?

I have. I recently did the same, upgraded my G811 to the G11 Dec. I've been using mine for about a month now and can't say its got any looser yet. I did noticed the G11 Dec was pretty smooth unloaded with the counter weight bar horizontal to the ground, but when I park it at CWD position it's stiff and with a scope mounted its worse. But I think this is just how the clutch plate feels when the knob is loose. I also took the gear box off and checked it. It's really smooth like that, no binding at all. With the clutch knob tight and a scope attached, I looked at the mount balance screen (on the hand controller) and the servo PWM to motor position offset display doesn't look like its working any harder, that's with the scope reasonable balanced. Mine seems to be work okay, but it does feel different than the G8 Dec.?

I have a pier in my observatory now. In the past I marked where the tripod legs would hit the floor. Drill holes there and take a sledgehammer and drive a 6' piece of 1" pipe in each hole. Then I put the tripod legs on the pipes. This separates your tripod from the floor.

Sean,

I do not have a dog in the fight, so just an observation on my part.

You have the sky shed, basically a permanent home for the scope.? What a pier, concrete or metal bolted to the ground does for you is a warm restart everytime.? No PA variance.? Turn it on, turn it off.? Same remote everything you have now, just less movement.

One and done period.

Just saying,?? Joe

See if this works as an attachment.

This is really interesting.....? I can't view your attached pics, would really like to see them.? Do you know of any other way to insert them in a message?? I've attached a pic of my RA Worm block which shows the 9/16" bolts and nuts on the bottom of the RA mounting and the Allen head screws on the top.? I screw in the 9/16" bolts into the RA Worm Block until the hole is visible through the Allen Head screw holes and then loosely attach the nuts to hold them in place.? Then I insert the Allen Head screws through the 9/16" bolt holes loosely, then follow Scott's video from that point forward.?

I just spent most of the summer rebuilding my G11T and took pictures but did not take pictures of the RA worm housing with the bold holes lined up (Uurrgghh!). To do that now I'd have to remove the nut on one bolt and remove the corresponding Allen head bolt, then snap a pic. Easy to do, but it would destroy my RA Worm alignment which I really do not want to do again.

Sounds like there could be different variations of the RA worm block assembly (not the block itself but the mounting hardware).? I purchased my G11T in 2017.

- Jerry

That's exactly what I'm seeing. Tightening the vertical screws pushes the worm against the RA gear and tightens instead of loosening as shown in the Youtube video.

Gerard, The G11 TRA Axis that I bought from Losmandy does not have a bolt with a hole in it and no nuts at all. See the attached pics. It has a bolt with an Allen head and no hole that the vertical (also Allen head) screws tighten onto.

LOL,? so many little details we forget to pass on. That's an important bit to tuck away for when you update to a G2.?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astrospheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?

Yes, I use a G1!

My gotos were always off by the same amount! After much searching and use of the ASIAir Facebook group and this group, J2000 in the G1 was the issue. No problems since I changed it.

I already posted there is an update and put the download links in my message.?

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Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astrospheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?

Late to this folks, travelling this weekend. I'm kind of confused with the use of bold and studs. The 9/16" bolts screw into the RA worm block from the bottom of the mount fixture and are held in place with nuts.? The Allen head screws are inserted into the top of the fixture and provide lift to the worm off of the Ring gear when tightened.? The 9/16" bolts have holes drilled through them that the Allen head screws pass through to provide the required lift.? If you did not remove the 9/16" bolts from the worm block or spin them so that the holes are not aligned for the pass through, then you should be OK.? I don't believe the Allen head screws are used to lock the 9/16" bolts in place.? The 9/16" nuts do that.

Apologies if I'm not reading this right.

- Jerry

Mark

FYI - ZWO announcement.?
/g/ASIAIR/topic/new_version_v1_7_is_out_for/102450989?p=,,,20,0,0,0::recentpostdate/sticky,,,20,2,0,102450989,previd%3D9223372036854775807,nextid%3D1672637368444762213&previd=9223372036854775807&nextid=1672637368444762213

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Jim W
Phoenix, AZ. USA

Losmandy G11G w/ L6, NINA 2.3 / ASTAP, ASI2600MC Pro, ASI533MM Pro,?Sky-Watcher Scopes, Canon L Lenses.

On Tue, Nov 7, 2023 at 08:30 AM, Bryn Evans wrote:

Mark,

Ive done it very successfully. I’ll write more when I have time but the 3 key things are:

1. The ASIAir uses JNow, so make sure the mount is set to that
2. Buy (or more likely make) a serial to RJ 12 (I think) cable to connect the Air Supplied USB to serial cable to the mount.
3. Use the Air Losmandy driver at the lowest baud rate (9800 off the top of me head)

These solves most of the initials I had!

I did not know about JNow...I'll have to check that in my gemini.??

For #2, I do not use this type of cable with the current Gemini II - I use a USB connection to the printer port looking USB port on the Gemini.? If OP's Gemini is older, it may be a different version which requires a serial connection.?

Brian

Also as David posted join the Gemini-II @ groups.io . That is where you will find more folks using the ASIAIR with Gemini 2.?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astrospheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?

On Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 11:46 PM, Mark Eastman wrote:

I just purchased an ASI Air plus and I would like advice on step-by-step process to get started using it with my G11 Gemini 2 mount.? I haven't used my G 11 and four years. I purchased the mount 12 years ago and I have never updated the firmware. So that is my starting point. I would appreciate a step-by-step guide if one exists.?

thanks, Mark E.

Hi Mark - welcome back to the darkness with Losmandy the folks.? ?

Absolutely the first thing I would do after replacing the battery with a fresh name brand coin cell is to update to the latest L6 firmware. I was part of the L6 BETA and the new code is really good and resolves issues folks had with the ASIAIR Pro/Plus controllers and L5.21 firmware. I have not tested the meridian flip as it is not possible in my location but I have used the ASIAIR for imaging on the east side and EAA and video with the L6 firmware with good results. Autoguiding is excellent and reliable now and the All-Sky PA works really well at my location which acks a straight shot at the NCP.??

In case you need a refresher the best battery replacement method is to plug the Gemini 2 into the usual power source and power it up. Next remove the cover and swap the coin cell out making sure to not short anything on the circuit board. A possibility if you drop the battery on the board, just take your time and be careful. Once the cell is in place power down the Gemini 2 and replace the cover and screws. Using this method eliminates any chance of the controller killing the battery due to an issue in the controller chip. The alternative is to leave the board powered down and replace the coin cell with a piece of paper covering the top of the coin cell to keep the battery from contacting the battery clip. Once the battery is in place power up the Gemini 2 and then remove the coin cell blocking paper. Next set your Gemini to HGM defaults, SAVE the settings and power down the Gemini 2 and reinstall the front panel and fasteners. You will need to reconfigure your Gemini 2 for your mount particulars, network, default locations etc.??

This is the harder part, not that it's actually hard to do just that you need to buy, beg or borrow a particular PIC chip programmer to update the PIC controller chips on the Gemini 2 board. Losmandy sells kits with everything but IME all you really need is the right PICKit3 chip programmer from Amazon. You will also need a little header converter or use prototyping board jumpers as the headers are different sizes. That's what many of us early L6 BETA group tester did. I also tested the later version of the PIC programmer Losmandy selected to use in the kits, both work fine. The one I ordered from Amazon 18 months ago is not available from the same vendor but this one looks almost identical. Get it and use the MPLabs MPLABS IDE v4.15 app to run it. There are newer releases of MPLABS IDE and I have used up to version 6.10 but most people are using this older 4.15 version per the Losmandy How-To document Brian V did for the L6 BETA group. Just let me know if you need some help. I have also just done the update for people locally and even via UPS. Just pack the Gemini 2 and HC in a sturdy box, prepay a return label and toss it in the box mail it to me and I'll do it free. IDK where you are but there are others doing the same thing out there possibly near you.? ? ??


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Next download the latest Gemini GFU from Gemini-2.com and run it to install both the new Gemini 2 L6 controller firmware and Gemini 2 Hand Controller firmware. You will need to have your networking configured for this to work but it is the BEST way to do the L6 firmware update IME. Now you are ready to configure the Gemini 2 and ASIAIR controller.

I have been using the ASIAIR with the Gemini 2 and G11G since the ASIAIR Pro was introduced. The problem with ASIAIR Pro and Plus models is the internal ASIAIR Wi-Fi is basically useless. I modified an ASIAIR Pro to use an external antenna but the issue was not much better, the Wi-Fi on the R-Pi4B boards is just terrible and this was a known issue with R-Pi4B boards when they were released.

It has been several years now since I posted on Face Book how to use an external travel router to provide a solid Wi-Fi connection. I also got much faster phone screen upload speeds by using faster and faster travel router as they became available to talk to my Android phones and tablets. I may have been the first to post how to use the ASIAIR over Ethernet with a Gemini 2, ZWO said it won't work but they were very wrong. As it turns out using wired Ethernet between the ASIAIR and travel routers is limited by the Ethernet ports used on the routers.

Most travel routers were at the time limited to 10/100 and one or two LAN ports but the ASIAIR is a 1Gbps Ethernet port. The fastest travel routers I found a couple years ago were the GL.iNet routers which over time I followed and upgraded as newer faster Wi-Fi travel routers became available. I am still using the GL.iNet Beryl MT1300 which if I am within 10-20 feet of the router connects and moves data and previews on the 5GHz channel at over 866Mbps. This is about as fast as the Ethernet port can go on the ASIAIR Plus while it is busy doing other things. So I am not in a hurry as it turns out to spend money on a faster travel router quite yet as the Wi-Fi speed improvement would be minimal.??

IME the hot setup is to connect the ASIAIR and Gemini 2 using Ethernet to a router with at least two switched 1Gbps Ethernet ports and at least 802.11/AC Wi0Fi with at least 1200-1300Mbps 5GHz Wi-Fi speed. This gets you a fast reliable Wi-Fi connection to the router which then utilizes the 1Gbps connection to the ASIAIR so you get the fastest preview and focusing downloads possible over Wi-Fi.?

Oh, also know there is a new version of the ASIAIR app and firmware. Download it from the not so secret Chinese site and install it on your Android devices.?
Here is the Android website:???
Here is the iOS download website:??

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Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astrospheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?

Join?[email protected] | Topics . and look at the first topic about Gemini Level 6 upgrade for the firmware update.