Anyway, last night was forecast clear and I set up to do a set of 20 min Ha subs of M101 and everything went well until…
,at 01.10hrs, after downloading frame 7, SGPro froze with a report that Frame 7 was complete. I waited until 01.18hrs before I tried to abort the sequence - and just got an “Aborting” report for three minutes after which I disconnected all equipment and closed SGPro.
SGPro ran fine after it was re-opened and the sequence resumed… until after frame 12, at 03.34hrs when exactly the same thing happened…so I gave up and went to bed because we only had another hour of darkness left.
Attached are the two log files. Could you have a look and see if you can identify what is going on please?
Both sequences appear to suffer from the same issue. The only thing I can figure right now is that SGPro was somehow waiting for your mount to report it was done slewing (possibly from guider movement?) and it never got this. I could be totally wrong, but I would be very curious to see your mount logs during the time either of these issues occurred.
Which 10 Micron firmware version are you using? I am using the latest beta 2.14.15 and have been since its release several months ago. It seems very stable. I have not seen this behaviour with SGP that you have experienced.
Just some ideas:-
What connection method do you use? Are connected via ethernet or via wi-fi? Via a router or with the crossover cable?
Are you guiding? I always build a good model and have not found the need to guide, even with 30 minute subs - perhaps this will help you? Without PHD2, it’s one less interaction and one less complication.
I’ll try 2.14.15 - and have just found the beta section on the 10Micron forum - thanks for the info.
I have the mount connected to a gigabit switch, which is connected to my observatory PC via an ethernet cable.
Yes - I’m guiding using PHD2. I’ve done a model - which probably needs updating - but never tried unguided imaging. So I’ll re-do my model and have a go …next time we get clear skies!! Having said that, I would have thought that SGPro and the mount should be able to cope with guiding(?)
That’s good to hear that you connect via a gigabit switch and ethernet, so you would anticipate solid communication between mount and PC.
Might you have had a USB cable or communication issue with your guide ccd or a USB hub? Could you have had a dew or moisture problem affecting any cable connection?
The new modelling applications MountWizzard and ModelCreator, by Michel (“mworion”) and Martin (of “Astromi.ch”) respectively, are both available on the 10 Micron forum and are very effective, much simpler to use now that you can use SGP instead of Maxim. A 90+ point model will give you a low RMS (aim for less than 6", you should easily get 4" or less after optimisation) and you will be able to guide without recourse to PHD2, which may help with your issue, as it removes a USB cable.
Happy to help here via my personal email if you need.
If I might add one additional point to all that Barry has provided, what Cat cable 5 or 6 and is it shielded? What length is the run of ethernet cable?
I had a lot of problems with maxim version 666 and was using a cat 5 cable with an icron ranger 2304. I then went with cat. 6 shielded and many of the problems with maxim went away, except for the guide star problem. I now use the cat 5 cable to supply the 10u mount ONLY and use the cat 6 cable for the icron and all of the usb connections from cameras, ect.
Don’t know if this will help in your situation, but it might be worth a try. SGP has always worked flawlessly for me and is definitely better than maxim…Gunny
Thx for the mount logs. Process of elimination suggests that there is a problem with the dome driver that is not allowing the sequence to continue. It seems that, when the sequence stops running, the dome is always indicating that it is slewing and SGPro just keeps waiting.
As always, if you think there is a problem with an ASCOM driver then running the ASCOM Conform application may help. It exercises the device, checking every command and tries to operate it. It generates a fairy extensive log. Post the Conform log, and any others that the driver produces.
We’ve found a possible bug in the dome driver related to slewing setting to false. As Chris has suggested, I’ll run it through Conform when fixed and report back.
Thanks also for the pointers about the model makers Barry. I’ve downloaded both and will have a play next time we get some clear skies.