Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

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gianlucazanier
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Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:15 pm

Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#1

Post by gianlucazanier »

Hi all,
After updating the driver of my Ioptron CEM120 mount, Sharpcap not performs the plate solve. I have seen that the mount control panel not displays AR and DEC correctly. The driver works correctly for other apps such as Skycharts. Thanks for the tips.
Sharpcap version 4.0.9246.0
Windows 10 Pro
ASI294MCPRO and Ioptron CEM120
iOptron_Commander and ASCOM_Driver 8 (latest version)
Ascom Platform 6.6
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Image sharpcap.png
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admin
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Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

I think the new ASCOM driver must be reporting very odd values for RA/Dec/Alt/AZ - this would stop plate solving from working and also account for the weird display.

Can you please turn on 'Mount hardware communication' logging as shown here and retest? https://docs.sharpcap.co.uk/4.0/#Logging%20Tab

If you open the camera and mount after turning on the log and then post the log here, I will be able to see in the log what responses are coming from the ASCOM driver.

thanks,

Robin
gianlucazanier
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Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:15 pm

Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#3

Post by gianlucazanier »

Hi,
I open Sharpcap, then connect the camera and the mount, after few seconds I close all the devices.
This is the log (with "Mount" flagged)

Thanks,
Log_2022-08-20T15_38_06-3840.log
(97.02 KiB) Downloaded 33 times
Gianluca
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Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#4

Post by admin »

Hi,

ok, so the log shows pretty much what I expected which is that the requests to get the declination/RA/Alt/Az are giving ridiculous results - ie -415102555555556 for declination.

Code: Select all

Verbose	15:38:20.654981	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Declination :: Completed (returned -415102555555556) get_Declination()
Verbose	15:38:20.665951	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_AtPark :: Starting get_AtPark()
Verbose	15:38:20.665951	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_AtPark :: Completed (returned False) get_AtPark()
Verbose	15:38:20.676924	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_SiderealTime :: Starting get_SiderealTime()
Verbose	15:38:20.676924	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_SiderealTime :: Completed (returned 12454046310732,7) get_SiderealTime()
Verbose	15:38:20.687893	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Altitude :: Starting get_Altitude()
Verbose	15:38:20.687893	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Altitude :: Completed (returned 121033333333333) get_Altitude()
Verbose	15:38:20.698720	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Azimuth :: Starting get_Azimuth()
Verbose	15:38:20.698720	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Azimuth :: Completed (returned 162987777777778) get_Azimuth()
Verbose	15:38:20.709087	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_SideOfPier :: Starting get_SideOfPier()
Verbose	15:38:20.709087	#12	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_SideOfPier :: Completed (returned pierWest) get_SideOfPier()
Verbose	15:38:21.221259	#24	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Tracking :: Starting get_Tracking()
Verbose	15:38:21.221259	#24	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Tracking :: Completed (returned False) get_Tracking()
Verbose	15:38:21.231748	#24	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_RightAscension :: Starting get_RightAscension()
Verbose	15:38:21.231748	#24	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_RightAscension :: Completed (returned 13987602777777,8) get_RightAscension()
Verbose	15:38:21.242253	#24	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Declination :: Starting get_Declination()
Verbose	15:38:21.242253	#24	Mount : SharpCap.MountProxy.ASCOM.MountInterceptionProxy.get_Declination :: Completed (returned -415102555555556) get_Declination()
I suspect that somehow the ASCOM driver has messed up the way that it is returning the values in the new version, but it's difficult to see how it could work correctly in other applications and be broken like this in SharpCap.

Do you have the download link for the new version of the driver? When I get back from my trip I will download it and see if I can work out what might be happening.

thanks,

Robin
gianlucazanier
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Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#5

Post by gianlucazanier »

Hi,
driver available from Ioptron website
https://www.ioptron.com/v/ASCOM/iOptron ... aller8.exe
Thanks
Gianluca
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Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#6

Post by admin »

Hi,

unfortunately not much that I can work out from that without having the hardware to test it with. I did notice this in the change log though

Code: Select all

Improvements:
Rebuilt communication between iOptron Commander and ASCOM driver from scratch.
Software developers love rebuilding things from scratch, but it sadly introduces the possibility of a whole host of *new* bugs in place of the old ones (at least you knew what the old bugs were).

Do you know the actual RA/Dec/Alt/Az that the scope was pointing at that correspond to any of the silly values in the SharpCap log? If I knew the right values and the crazy ones I might just spot some pattern connecting them.

To be honest though, if you didn't say that the new driver was working with other software then I would 100% be saying that this was an ASCOM driver bug. I can't work out how it can give rubbish values to SharpCap but not to other software (at least not how that could happen while SharpCap works with every other ASCOM driver out there). What happens if you try using the new driver via the ASCOM device hub?

cheers,

Robin
gianlucazanier
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Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:15 pm

Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#7

Post by gianlucazanier »

Hi
I tried to use ASCOM Hub device and the result is that the application crashes!
Other applications like Cartes du Ciel or Astrotortilla read correctly AR and DEC values.
Attach an image with coordinates from Ioptron Commander and Sharpcap at the same time.
crazyvalues.png
crazyvalues.png (77.03 KiB) Viewed 1171 times
I think to send an e-mail to Ioptron support, driver problably needs a bug control.

Cheers
astromyr
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Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#8

Post by astromyr »

I have the same issue with my Ioptron GEM45 and Sharpcap. Sharpcap reports coordinates to be 00000... at all times.
Stellarium receives coordinates correctly.

Could be related to this change: "Added 2 decimal digits for coordinates." ?
https://www.ioptron.com/v/ASCOM/ASCOM8_ ... istory.txt
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Menno555
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Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#9

Post by Menno555 »

For what it's worth: I use the newest drivers for my Ioptron CEM25EC which also have those 2 digits. But I have no troubles with plate solving or whatever.
This mount of a bit older and uses the Ioptron Commander software 5.9.0.2.
So it seems that it's an issue with the mounts who are using the Ioptron Commander 8 software?

Menno
astromyr
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Re: Plate solve error with new driver Ioptron CEM120

#10

Post by astromyr »

Tested iOptron Commander and driver v8,0 with N.I.N.A, ASTAP, and Stellarium last night. No problems at all.
Seems there is something with how Sharpcap works with the new iOptron driver/Commander/coordinate format.
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