Unable to get mount movement with PHD2

[Sam Park]

I am unable to get my 2022 SW EQ6R-Pro to work with PHD2 2.6.11dev1. The error seems to be that PHD2 can not make the mount move. The mount connects and works (slewing and tracking) with other software, including metaguide.

Setup:

ASCOM 6.6

EQASCOM v200w

Prolific v204

I have tried both under dark skies with real stars and under the simulator camera but connected to EQMOD ASCOM HEQ5/6. The error comes back as "star did not move enough." I have read through and tried suggestions supplied by PHD2 troubleshooting to no avail (including manual guide and x star pattern). I have attached both the Debug and Guide logs for the most recent attempt.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sam

[Brian Valente]

>>>  I have read through and tried suggestions supplied by PHD2 troubleshooting to no avail (including manual guide and x star pattern). 

what happened with the star cross test and manual guiding? Did it move?

Your settings look incorrect here:

your pixe scale is 41.25, that can't be right

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[Sam Park]

Hi Brian,

No movement with both manual guide and x star pattern tests. I think the image scale is like that because I was using the simulator camera - i wanted to try to isolate the issue without potential problems with focus, ect from my asi120mc guide cam.

What is frustrating is that the mount under ASCOM control works with SGP, Stellarium, and metaguide (works well with guiding) but for some reason won't work with PHD2.

[Brian Valente]

You can't use a simulator camera to test the mount in this way, you have to use real stars and camera

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/open-phd-guiding/f81d5a0c-db4c-4133-840c-675285a3ffben%40googlegroups.com.

[bw_m...@earthlink.net]

You need to send us the log files showing usage of THE REAL EQUIPMENT.  You also need to be sure the EQMOD settings are done according to this document:

 

https://github.com/OpenPHDGuiding/phd2/wiki/EQASCOM-Settings

 

When you post the log files, please use this procedure:

 

https://openphdguiding.org/getting-help/

 

 

PHD2 is used with thousands of EQ mounts so you’ve just fouled something up with your configuration.

 

Bruce

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[Sam Park]

Hi. Sorry guys I just read that I shouldn't try testing with simulator equipment right after I posted. Here's logs with my real equipment - both guide cam and mount the other night.

I understand its totally something I have to be doing. I just am kinda dumbfounded as to what it might be.

[Sam Park]

https://openphdguiding.org/logs/dl/PHD2_logs_R2pQ.zip

[Bruce Waddington]

Sigh.  After assuring you that you'd simply mis-configured something, now I can't see what it is.  Just to get on the same page, the various planetarium apps slew the scope, they don't use pulse-guiding.  I don't know what metaguide does - when was the last time you did that?  So we will need to work through this to figure out what's going on.  To begin, there is the simple question of whether the mount was actually tracking and not "parked" when you were trying to calibrate.  I assume 'yes', but we've had other users who didn't know they had to manually start tracking with EQMOD.  I notice you had a bunch of problems maintaining connections with the guide camera, those were much earlier in the evening.  In the process of fixing whatever that was, did you do anything to the USB/serial connection to the mount?  Have you disabled the ability of Windows to suspend the USB port for reasons of power management?

The next thing would be to review all your EQASCOM settings - could you post screen-shots of the various configuration windows?  Beyond that, I think we should test the pulse-guiding capabilities of the mount, something that can be done in the daytime.  Here is a link to a "mount exerciser" test app that can duplicate the pulse-guiding activities of PHD2 without needing a camera:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Amy5FkXK3OuQgnKd1-7Er-5P3Iad?e=zeW744

 Instructions for using it are included in the folder.  The app will connect to EQMOD the same way as PHD2.  If you start a sequence of large guide pulses like you've been using, you should see the displayed RA and Dec positions change. You should also move the scope to a different pointing position, the one you were using with PHD2 was pointing way low in the western sky - it's possible you've got cables or something interfering with the mount's ability to move.  If we can work through all these things, we should be able to find the problem.  As I said, there are literally thousands of people doing what you're trying to do.

Regards,

Bruce

[Sam Park]

Thanks so much for sending the Mount Exerciser link. I think I found the user (my) error. I did not set the baud rate in the device manager profile for the mount com to 115200, it was set correctly in EQASCOM but not on my com side. After changing this and running the Mount Exerciser I see that pulses generated is causing movement in RA/Dec as it should. Thank you so much for responding. Hopefully will be able to test out at first clear night.

[Brian Valente]

Great job hunting that down Sam

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[Bruce Waddington]

Glad you got that figured out.  But I think you previously messed up some of the calibration parameters, probably in a futile attempt to get the mount moving.  Before you try this again, you should create a new PHD2 profile so the calibration params make sense and you can have a reasonable chance of getting decent results out of the box.  Just re-run the new-profile-wizard to get that done.  At this early stage, there's no reason to mess with any guiding parameters.  When you do the calibration, point the scope near Dec=0 and within an hour or so of the central meridian - not pointing down at the east or west horizons.

Good luck,

Bruce