Skywatcher SynScan version 3.36

[coldknights]

http://www.skywatcher.com/downloads.php?cat=49

[Eden]

New Features:
1. User configurable declination offset for a mount(e.g. EQ8) which supports Auto-Home function.
2. Astronomical time-lapse photography.
3. Atmospheric refraction, cone error and non-perpendicular error compensations for better pointing accuracy.
Cone error measured in 3-Star alignment can be used in subsequent 1-Star or 2-Star alignment.
4. Meridian flipping for GOTO can be enforced or disabled.
5. New algorithm for alignment stars filtering to improve alignment quality.
Note: Please download the latest manual for details on the above new features.

Bugs fixed:
1. Occasional irregular approaching at the end of GOTO.
2. New firmware uses J.2000 coordinates for computer communication.
3. Unreliable Auto-Home when the mount is already at home position.
4. Other minor bugs.

[rustigsmed]

thanks for the heads up. cone error measurement sounds interesting.

[Philming]

If anyone gets a chance to test this new fw, I'd be interested into knowing if the 1 and 3 stars alignment got any better.
It seems to me that anything above 3.27 lacks precision. I usually just do a 1 star alignment, with a star as near as possible to the DSO I want to shoot. With 3.27, the goto will be at the dead center of the DSLR's sensor. With any fw above 3.27, I seem to be always a little off.
So if this has evolved, I'd be interested to know. It's the only thing that keeps me at 3.27 on my EQ6 for now.

[Andy01]

+1 above. EQ6 & v3.27 work well, also interested in user test results from later versions,

Cheers
Andt

[Philming]

Happy to see I'm not the only one with this problem...

[rustigsmed]

anyone given this a go yet?

[VPAstro]

I have been using it for about a week now, and find it the same as 3.35 in terms of 3star alignment and polar alignment functions.
Andrew...

[rustigsmed]

thanks Andrew and cam, it was the cone error/correction that I've found potentially could be an improvement over 3.35.

cheers

rusty

[VPAstro]

Hi Rusty,
Yes, I did see that in there after the three star alignment, but I haven't done it as yet. I think it was previously included as the 3rd of the 3star alignment.
Tracking was still good. I was getting 105 second exposures unguided, which was slightly better than what I could do on the 3.35 version.
Andrew

[VPAstro]

One different thing is that I did throw up a caution after the end of the alignment, saying CAUTION: prev. NPE, CE applied. It looks like it writes values to the CE (cone error) and overwrites them at each 3 star alignment. You can also add values to the non perpendicular error according to the manual.

Andrew

[AndrewJ]

Just for info, has anyone out there tried to use the V3.3 updater on an older Synscan handbox????
I still have Firmware 3.21 loaded on my Hbx, and was going to update to 3.27.
I couldnt get the latest updater to connect in download mode.
I tried the alternate DetectPC2Synscan app and that worked OK.
Then i went and tried the updater again, and on failing, just tried again.
This time it connected ????
I then went back and repeated the process, but using Portmon to sniff what was going on. Ref log below
( I also tried with 2 different cables just to be sure, and its 100% repeatable )
Do others see this behaviour????
as im not sure i want to do a load if the updater is flakey.
( Note, the first send at 115k doesnt actually attempt to send anything, and i think this is what screws it up )

Andrew

ref

[slt]

I've been running my AZ-EQ6 with V3.35 pretty much since I bought it in March, primarily in ALT-AZ mode, since the SCP is obscured from where I observe, and frankly because it's simpler to set up for visual observation.

Anyway, I've been having this weird (or so I thought) problem where after a goto to the correct target, the mount would slew away right at the end, as much as 30' in alt. Happened whether I used the HC on it's own, or drove it through SkySafari or Skytools3. Was a bit annoying early on, but after I while I got used to it, and simply corrected the alt (and since Skytools showed me where the mount was in relation to the target it wasn't too onerous).

Last night I had my first session with the upgraded 3.36 HC firmware, and lo and behold, the mount now points to where I tell it. No idea whether there are any improvements in EQ mode, but for the time being I'm happy with what they've done!

[rustigsmed]

thanks for the feedback, sounds like it could be a winner - will upgrade next opportunity. :thumbsup:

[killswitch]

Happens to me on Skysafari too, you need to hit GoTo again after it slews away and it should correct itself the second time.

Glad they fixed it.

[coldknights]

Will update the EQ8 sometime next week with 3.36 and give it a try .
Hope it fixes the swing away from target problem !

[big-blue]

I have tried out ver 3.36 with my EQ6 a few times now over the past week and I like it.

I had previously tried Ver3.35 but Polar Alignment (PA) seemed erratic and did not converge on multiple re-tries during a night. (noting I pack my gear away every evening hence start from scratch each time) Also the erratic to-fro slewing at the end of go-to annoyed me too much, so I reverted to the reliable ver3.27 and made-do without PA. Until now. The latest 3.36 seems to give me the reliability of 3.27 plus star-based PA.

I also like the way this new 3.36 release seems to have separated cone error correction from PA. Conceptually, 2-star alignment on the same side of the meridian should provide an accurate figure of PA error, which then becomes the target for the software-assisted PA routine via handbox. Then the 3rd star on the other side of the meridian works out the cone error & consequent correction required, but leaves PA error unaltered. I tested PA using 2 vs 3-star alignment in 3.36, and the results were much more consistent for the reported PA error to correct. Though of course only 3-star provided the additional cone error correction.

I am a visual observer and appreciate accurate go-to to find the faint stuff. Ver 3.36 seems more consistently accurate for go-to, maybe because cone error is better handled.

Once I go thru a full PA routine, I also find tracking to be much better than before. I have left an object tracking in a 20' eyepiece field, and found it still there after 3 hours. Which tells me the ver3.36 PA routine now resolves much more accurately than with the prior ver3.35.

Hopefully it all continues to work as well as the seasons change, and different alignment stars are used...

cheers

[rustigsmed]

have uploaded the firmware but still haven't had a proper go at it yet as I have been clouded out.
I did set it up and start to align before the clouds rolled in and it seems to move more 'directly' to an object.
early reports sound fairly promising.

[raymo]

People seem to have different experiences. I found no difference in the
to-fro slewing at the end of go-to between 3.27 and 3.35. It has been
occasional and irregular for me using both versions.
raymo

[Camelopardalis]

I tried out 3.36 a week or so ago...no to-ing and fro-ing around targets so far. However, with 3.35 my mount only seemed to do it occasionally anyway...not on every target, so maybe I just didn't sample enough targets for it to present itself :confused2:

Anyone understand the cone error values?

[killswitch]

Updated the handset to v3.36. I noticed the setup asks for the elevation now. Cant wait to test it out.

Voltage and temp reading is still quite off. The voltage patch lowers the voltage, i need it to read higher.

[cyberblitz]

What on earth do I put in for elevation on the new fw for Synscan? I have know Idea what this is for.

[Robert9]

This will be your height above sea-level. The higher you are the more you will see around the horizon. Unless you're not in Brisbane, don't need to worry about it. Put in a nominal if figure if needed, say 25m; that will keep the software happy.:thumbsup:
Robert

[SkyWatcherMike]

Hi guys,

It would be good if anyone would be able to document the changes in behaviour after 3.27.
I would like to raise these issues with Sky-Watchers engineers and see if we can resolve them.

Regards,
Mike - Sky-Watcher Australia.

[AndrewJ]

Gday Mike

Dunno if it helps, but i was playing with 3.27 and getting really odd behaviour at times when it was applying backlash via the Hbx. ( which may explain why other people also had odd behaviour at times )

I loaded 3.36 and "so far" the lash appears to apply properly but can still take some time. What is Odd ( to me ) tho is it appears they have also changed the commands associated with doing "gotos", and that may have something to do with it???
I am still playing with that tho, as no one i have contacted to date even knows about the new commands, but my mount responds to them.

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia
( Using an EQ6Pro )

[rustigsmed]

Giving 3.36 a proper go tonight... Have been trying to polar align for 45 mins and not even close to having it sorted, frustrating on a clear night. I would be done in 15 mins tops on 3.35... Not liking this aspect of it as we speak ... When in polar align mode it swings really far away from the star and it does the adjustments in a different order.

[Eden]

Hi Russell,

What mount are you using? I've been running 3.36 since November and haven't had any hassles with it on my AZEQ6GT so far.

They did change the polar alignment process slightly a couple of versions back, so that the altitude and azimuth adjustments are broken into separate steps. I preferred it the way it was originally, however Skywatcher are claiming that this method is more accurate.

If the polar alignment tool slews a long way from the star, it's a good indication that your starting point with respect to the pole wasn't ideal to begin with. I recommend adjusting the altitude and azimuth of the mount onto the first star when you do a 2 or 3 star alignment, this will give you a reasonably accurate starting point and should prevent the polar alignment tool from having to make as large a correction on either axis.

[Camelopardalis]

My experiences with 3.36 aren't very positive either, I just couldn't eliminate the drift after several hours of trying with my NEQ6. I rolled it back to 3.35 and last weekend I was getting 3+ minute subs relatively easily again (it takes me longer than 15 minutes though), just like the last half a dozen times at the same site.

[rustigsmed]

Hi Eden,
This is with an eq8, yes it does indicate that however in 3.35 it didn't matter how far out you are within a few iterations you were ready to roll - user friendly is the name of the game. As when you were asked to adjust the altitude the mount would only move the altitude, then again for azimuth, not both at once which meant that no matter how far off you would end up going through the cross hairs more or less. 3.36 appears to be wanting to save a step that wasn't really a problem in the first place - I don't like that. I will probably go back to 3.35 and wait for a new update as the cone error feature that was introduced sounds promising. :thumbsup: