Team,
I really need some help and feel like I am caught in a cycle that I cannot seem to navigate out of regarding my new setup.
What I think the issues are:
1) EQMOD Disconnecting: Over the past ~3 weeks, I have had nights where EQMOD constantly disconnects / drops out. When running NINA, the error pops up that the 'telescope' has disconnected. When I try to reconnect, the 'port not connected' error comes up. Often I need to completely*restart the computer to get it reconnected. Last night, it did this for over an hour before I threw the towel in and gave up for the night. Specifically, this kept happening when I was attempting PA plate solving in NINA...it would stall, freeze, the error would pop up and then I would need to restart to get the whole thing going again.*
2) PHD2 Guiding Issues: I have the following errors come up when I try to calibrate PHD2. I suspect that the issues are linked and that my mount is not tracking correctly but I am such a novice....I really dont*have any idea what is going on.'PHD2 is not able to make sufficient corrections in RA'
'Advisory: Calibration completed but few guide steps were used so accuracy is questionable'
What I have tried:
EQMOD
* Uninstalled and reinstalled EQMOD (not ASCOM, raising this as I am not sure if I needed to remove everything and then reinstall...but I didnt*do that, I only uninstalled EQMOD and re-installed / reconfigured)
* Changed out the USB cable (trying to eliminate if it is a dodgy USB cable)* Tried running everything in Admin mode (with no change)
* Restarted multiple times to get things re-working...for it to only happen again Note: I have not yet tried to run the setup with a different powersource. I have a new Lithium powerhub 170AH and have not noticed anything with it and it has not caused any issues from what I can tell with the controller unit (primelicelad Eagle LE).*
PHD2
* I have posed on the PHD2 forum with my guide data and Bruce has provided the following insight* "The*issue Bruce mentioned is something I discovered several months ago. I was also getting non-orthogonal calibration results, among other strange behaviors. The issue was that when Eqmod connects to a EQ6R Pro, it turns off the mount's tracking. The easiest way to spot this is to watch the stars in the PHD2 window while the camera is looping, you'll see the stars marching off the screen. Simply use the hand controller to restart sidereal tracking or use the tracking button on the bottom of the Eqmod window. This also happens with Sharpcap and Stellarium, which also use Eqmod. Just something to check each time PHD2 first connects to the mount". I have not been able to try this as the EQMOD keeps disconnecting.
* It appears to me that there is a software issue here that I am facing (or hardware) relating to EQMOD, NINA, PHD2Link to PHD2:*
https://groups.google.com/g/open-phd...m/-UkFk7C4AwAJ
Any thoughts, links to other chats, ideas....most welcome. I am feeling like I am hitting a brick wall with my capability. The only other things I have not yet tried are to not use the control unit and setup on a fresh PC, try an alternate power supply or take the mount back to the retailer for some investigative support.*
Setup:
* Scope: ED80 Explore Scientific (w/Field Flattener), EFW 8x w LRGB*+ Narrowbands), ZWO EAF
* Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM Pro cooled
* Guiding: Testar 50mm*+ ZWO ASI120MM
* Mount: AZEQ6 Pro (USB version)
* Controller Unit: Primalucelab Eagle LE*+ ECCO* Software: NINA, PHD2, ASCOM / EQMOD, CDC
Thank you so much for any support. Steve