AP900GTO issue with PHD2

[L]

I recently acquired an AP900GTO with a CP2 controller. By all appearances, the mount seems to work fine. GOTOs are typically within .01-.05 deg. Stars are round. I get an "excellent" polar alignment using Sharpcap. No cable snags, and the scope is well balanced. I went through the PHD2 setup wizard, and all input parameters are correct. Focus is decent on the 200mm focal length William Optic guide scope with an ASI 120 MM guide camera. Mount connects to a mini pc with a serial to usb cable. Running latest NINA nightly and Cartes du Ceil.  

So, here's what happens: In PHD2, I power up the guide camera and mount, begin looping,  then select a star. All good to this point. However, when I try to do a calibration with PHD2,  stars become streaks, and it loses its lock. I have to park then unpark the mount to get it to track again. I double checked PA after this happen and it was still excellent, so nothing moved mechanically. I'm at a loss here. I use PHD2 on my AM5 mount without issue, so I don't think it's anything I'm doing. I attached the log file for reference. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

https://openphdguiding.org/logs/dl/PHD2_logs_GD4Z.zip

[Rick Cohen]

That's happened to me when the mount tracking was not enabled.

[Brian Valente]

The 900/CP2 is quite a vintage setup

Have you checked compatibility for your CP2 chip? ASCOM driver requires E1 or later. Preferably a CP3 or CP4

You can read more on this in the AP ASCOM V2 driver clicking any of the  "?" buttons to bring up the built-in documentation

Brian

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Brian 

Brian Valente

astronomy portfolio https://www.astrobin.com/users/bvalente/ 

[L]

Sidereal tracking was activated in this case.

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[Bruce Waddington]

Yes, you will need to upgrade your controller chip because it doesn't support pulse-guide commands in the expected way.  Upgrading the chip to a later version is an easy, do-it-yourself operation.  You may be able to find later versions of the controller chip on Astromart at reduced prices.  This was a path I followed myself so I think what I'm telling you is right. :-)

Regards,

Bruce

[L]

Thanks, Bruce. Can you put a CP3 chip in a CP2 controller? I have a CP3 chip (version S dated 07/06/2012) and installation tool.

[Brian Valente]

CP3 chips are for the CP3 controller. Also that chip won't help, the CP3 requires V1 or later

GTOCP3: Chip Rev V1 (non-encoder mounts) Rev V2 (encoder mounts) 

you could also look at astromart for used CP3 control box

Brian

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[Bruce Waddington]

Yes, that's what I did.  AP makes the whole thing pretty easy, the chips are pin-compatible and easily accessible in the controller box.

[L]

It's actually a CP1 controller, and according to the ASCOM controller interface, the chip was updated at some point to a CP3 Version D.

[Brian Valente]

Are you sure it's not a CP3 control box?

Do you have a pic of the serial number badge?

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[L]

CP1

[Brian Valente]

Did you accidentally select CP3 in the Setup Telescope dialog box instead of CP1?

It's not possible to put a CP3 chip in a CP1 controller

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[L]

OK, I opened the setup program and selected CP1 from the drop -down menu. I then clicked "find mount," and it automatically toggles to CP2. So, yes, I had the wrong chip selected, but for some reason it switches to CP2.  Perhaps the previous owner updated it to CP2 at some point.

[Bruce Waddington]

I'm going to formally butt out of this conversation. :-)  I was trying to recall something I did almost 15 years ago and I can't even remember what I had for breakfast.  You should absolute trust Brian and AP on this one.  The one thing I am sure of is that you can't do conventional pulse-guiding with the AP driver and a CP2 chip.

Good luck,

Bruce

[Brian Valente]

Rev D is a CP2 chip, but CP1 and CP2 are pretty much the same other than some hardware updates

It's possible the ASCOM driver sees rev D and identifies it as CP2, but that's not a relevant detail for your reported issues.

You still need a chip update to meet the minimum requirements. You might call Astro Physics and asking if they still have Chip Rev. E1 or later for your control box.

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[L]

Thank you for the help. I called AP.  Will report result of that call here.