Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

A place to report problems and bugs in SharpCap
Forum rules


If you have a problem or question, please check the FAQ to see if it already has an answer : https://www.sharpcap.co.uk/sharpcap-faqs

Please also read about Troubleshooting USB Issues before posting.

*** Please do not post license keys - please report any problems with licensing to 'admin' by private message ***

Please include the following details in any bug report:

* Version of SharpCap
* Camera and other hardware being user
* Operating system version
* Contents of the SharpCap log after the problem has occurred.
[If SharpCap crashes, please send the bug report when prompted instead of including the log]
kLoui
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 5:37 pm

Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#1

Post by kLoui »

I use an iOptron GEM45G mount with SharpCap and have encountered what might be considered a "bug".
Don't know if this is truly a software issue or merely a problem with my mount, but I thought I'd pass the info along for review.

I noticed a few months ago that the Co-Ordinate readout under the telescope control always stops updating at some point during my imaging sessions
- whether I'm running a capture sequence, or when live stacking.

I have no problems otherwise... plate solving functions properly, image acquisition, etc.
It is just nice to be able to know at a glance where the mount thinks its pointing!

Enclosed is a recent SharpCap log file.

Thanks
Attachments
Log_2022-05-29T23_02_33-7636.log
(321.44 KiB) Downloaded 25 times
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 13177
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:52 pm
Location: Vale of the White Horse, UK
Contact:

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

there are a few reasons why the updates might stop (mostly related to the ASCOM driver for the mount starting to give errors or becoming disconnected), but nothing is showing in that log that would indicate those particular problems, which is odd. I will add a few extra log entries around the areas where it might manage to stop without currently recording anything in the log and we will see if that helps sort out what is going on.

cheers,

Robin
Mr Groch
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:06 pm

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#3

Post by Mr Groch »

I can confirm this bug in my setup. I'm using SynScan Windows App to control SynScan Wifi mount and SkyWatcher ASCOM driver v1.3 (newest available). My mount coordinates are freezing always only in SharpCap - in Stellarium that is connected to the same ASCOM device coordinates are updated all the time. Only SharpCap restart will refresh displayed telescope coordinates. I've tried with direct connection to SynScan App ASCOM driver and with ASCOM Device Hub as a proxy in both Stellarium and SharpCap - in both situation this bug accurs.

Here is my lates log from my blind test session (not aligned mount, blind tracking, no camera, but bug was noticable)
Attachments
Log_2022-07-02T23_45_12-25708.log
(161.32 KiB) Downloaded 22 times
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 13177
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:52 pm
Location: Vale of the White Horse, UK
Contact:

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#4

Post by admin »

Hi,

thanks for posting the log - SharpCap is receiving a 'Convesation timeout' error from the ASCOM driver, which I suspect means that the data transfer between the ASCOM driver and the hardware has been interrupted somehow so that a message to get the latest position receives no reply.

Currently SharpCap stops updating on the second such error (in this case it looks like they happened straight away - 2 times in a row). I think whay I will do is make the code more 'forgiving' of errors, so that maybe only 5 or 10 failures in a row would be considered enough to completely stop the updating. In that way, if the ASCOM driver is just having a bit of a wobble, it has a chance to recover.

cheers,

Robin
Mr Groch
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:06 pm

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#5

Post by Mr Groch »

Thanks for investigating. Yes, SharpCap should be more forgiving - Stellarium for example works all the time, I'm not noticing any hangs or timeouts there (it may be not visible for my eye). It is frustatnig that SharpCap stops to update position (M'm using plate solver integration in SharpCap to sync position often and this bug breaks that functionality). I've checked SynScan App - there is response diagnostic tool and it says that there is about 5000 frames < 50ms, less than 100 < 100ms and 5 frames marked as infinite. The same results I'm having each time I press Test there.
Mr Groch
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:06 pm

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#6

Post by Mr Groch »

Hi again, I was testing 4.0.9132.0 and there was huge improvement for me in coordinate reading hangs. I noticed that mount coordinates was stopping updating only in some weird situations and when testing some beta functionality.

But I have upgraded to 4.0.9152.0 and I think that there is regression in coordinate reading hanging... Coordinates stopped updating two times in a row while just using SharpCap for previewing, none advaced functionality...
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 13177
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:52 pm
Location: Vale of the White Horse, UK
Contact:

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#7

Post by admin »

Hi,

there have been no changes relevant to this between 9132 and 9152 (at least as far as I can tell), so I suspect that this may just be a combination of bad luck with one version and good luck with another. If you could post the log from the problem session with 9152 I can investigate to see if anything unexpected is happening - it may be that the code I have put in to keep retrying as long as there are no more than 10 failures in a row does not cover all the possible failure points.

cheers,

Robin
Mr Groch
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:06 pm

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#8

Post by Mr Groch »

Situation has repeated today. I've connected everything, started SynScan App, Stellarium and SharpCap, all was fine till I tried to set focus using Bathimov mask, after that I noticed that coordinates stopped updating in SharpCap...

Here's log
Attachments
Log_2022-07-12T22_42_11-26684.log
(59.38 KiB) Downloaded 18 times
Mr Groch
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2022 10:06 pm

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#9

Post by Mr Groch »

I've made some blind tests, and can confirm 100% repro - coordinates will stop updating each time when I open Bahtimov Mask Focusing Tool. I'm sure that opening other features also makes it to stop updating - I have noticed earlier when I was testing some other features that my coordinates stopped updating, but haven't noticed what exactly caused that...
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 13177
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:52 pm
Location: Vale of the White Horse, UK
Contact:

Re: Telescope Control Co-Ordinate Readout Hangs

#10

Post by admin »

Hi,

well, that outcome was *not* what I was expecting, but I have just tested and can confirm the issue you are seeing. I can even see why it is happening, but a fix will require some careful thought as it is not obvious ;)

cheers,

Robin
Post Reply