Resolved "ERROR: camera not initialized (USB)"

Another thought: If the Drive was not properly calibrated and the problem image required a bump then that could cause some sudden and unexpected tracking behavior.

- Brian

 

And attaching the log in case it's of use.

So

Sorry Brian - - I should have explained that image: Test 2-0773L.fit is a single unguided 50 second exposure - - neither the SC-2 or the AO-8A were engaged for that one. I just included it for comparison to the other image, made while the AO-8A was engaged.

 

And yes, let's schedule something - - tomorrow and Monday don't really work for me, but I'll try to accommodate anything on any other day - - except for between 12 and 1:30 or so, when I have regular standing meetings. Please let me know if I need to set up everything including the mount, or just the connection to the three components.

 

We can try for something next week then. Tuesday or later works for me, though I am generally unavailable on Friday evenings for remote sessions. My timezone is EDT (UTC-4:00).

- Brian

 

Tuesday should work. I can do anytime after 5 pm, or I might be able to do something between 2 and 5. And it looks like we're in the same time zone. (I'm near Toronto.)

 

Alright I'll schedule it for Tuesday, assuming good weather. We can start whenever it gets dark enough to field test, probably around 9 pm.

- Brian.

 

Looks like the weather will co-operate tonight, at least until 11:00 or so, which should give us enough time. I will try to set up for 8:00, so we can begin as soon as it's dark. And I tried again last night, but no joy. Neither the SC2 nor the AO-8A could locate stars - - I thought maybe it was a focus issue, but it had been correctly focused the last time I tested it. Anyway it didn't work. And I was imaging the Pleiades, so there were tons of stars to choose from.

Let me know how we'll communicate, whether through this chat or phone call, etc..

 

FYI for anyone else following this thread (I DM'd Brian already):

Confirmed - - I used GPUSB with the SC-2 and it worked fine. Tracked really well on both axes. So the issue must be specific to the 'guider relay' protocols.

 

Hi Ian,

Thank you for the feedback. I think this will help with the investigation.

-Brian

 

So, some new developments - - and thanks again Colin for the site visit - - that's really going the extra mile (or 50-ish):

1. The guiding speed was listed as 5 (x 10); I dropped it down to 3.
2. The night of this visit things went well - - even though it 'failed' calibration, it worked reasonably well for a couple of hours (oblong shaped stars, but not the level of problem like before - - the staccato imaging). See attached (image 076) - - note that this was only a 100 second exposure; at 400 seconds, the shape of stars was about the same. When I dropped it down to 60 second exposures, it improved considerably(070). Then started acting up (same issues). So I disengaged the AO unit, connected through GPUSB, and had a great night of imaging just using the SC2 and STC 7. See 073 for comparison - - 400 seconds using GPUSB - - better than 100 using AO.
3. The next night, I went out, extended the calibration time to 30 seconds. Calibration still failed, but it worked great - at 400 seconds, the AO performance was just as good as the GPUSB the night before (0776). Then it failed again - - the staccato effect. (0782), so I went back to GPUSB, all good.
4. Then last night, nothing worked. Not the AO, not the SC 2 using either guider relays or GPUSB. Calibration failed everytime, under all circumstances, and lost it's tracking star immediately. All I could do was pack everything up. Attached are the images referenced, and the logs for the sessions I've had since Colin's visit. (I've hit the file limit - - I'll attach the last log in the next post.

 

Last log attached. I'll open up the calibration time to 60 seconds next time, but I'm pretty sure that won't help. The unit seemed to lose the initial star during calibration - - the red line would show up where there was no star (if you know what I mean - - see the capture). I verified the pick off mirror was secure, no issues with it being loose or anything.

By the way - - the last few sessions were on a different mount - - a Losmandy GM8 - - but the first two sessions with it, it behaved exactly the same way as it did with my G11, so I believe whatever works for one will work for the other. And the good photos attached in the previous post were with the GM8, so I don't see last nights issues being related to the mount.

After my next set of tests, with the calibration time extended, I'm going to remove the SC2 and AO 8A, and just use the STC 7 with the $400 autoguider I purchased for DSLR work. If it doesn't work next time, I think we're at the point where I need to send these two units back for you guys to figure it out; I've already invested 6 months trying to get these things to work as advertised, I've lost a lot of clear nights fiddling with this equipment, and it boils down to this: these two units do not behave the same way twice. That doesn't make sense. I'm sure I've made some user errors, but most of them are pretty obvious - - I've never talked about my issues with image processing because I know they're not hardware or software issues, they're just part of the expected learning curve, and I can tell because changes in my methodology yield better and better results. But these units don't behave in repeatable ways, applying the same methods on two occasions frequently yields two different results - - which means something cannot be working correctly.

 

I believe I tried both ways. In the past, I've just bypassed the AO by using the guide tab of the camera connect dialog box, other times, I disconnected everything then reconnect switching the AO off when configuring. In past sessions, both methods have worked, in this case, neither did.

 

Sorry - - I should clarify: last night I only had the SC 2 connected - - I had physically removed the AO. All other sessions detailed here started with the AO attached and engaged. What was really alarming about last night's session was that this was the first time I was unable to get the SC2 to work using guider relays or GPUSB; using guider relays, it would usually drift on one axis until it lost the guide star. GPUSB circumvented this problem. But last night, no method worked - - I was never able to successfully track at all, to even get to the point that it would drift.

 

Hi Adam:

Welcome to the party. I will do that when I set up this evening - - but I should tell you I've already connected through ASCOM once before - - and the SC2 worked fine, but I'm told the AO-8A does not have an ASCOM interface. I have not connected using the "Telescope" setting yet though - - I'll try both settings tonight and let you know.

 

So if I understand you correctly, when I connected through ASCOM before, it was the AO unit issuing commands to the mount via that connection?
I just realized, this is further complicated because my main mount is acting up (unrelated issues - - easily distinguished from what's happening with the autoguider), and the other mount that I'm using (a 20 year old Losmandy GM 8 without Gemini) does not have an ASCOM connection. Other than that, it seems to behave the same way with the SC2 as the G11 does.
Will the "telescope" setting work in this scenario? This mount is completely manual - - no catalog of any kind, just an autoguider / hand controller port.