Connection to AP1200 Failing

[K Michael McDowell]

Hi Bob - I hope you had a good Thanksgiving! My system has been working pretty well lately. But last night I had repeated occurrences of ACP losing connection with the mount. The logs (see attached) show the problem as a Hyperion server issue, but ACP is still connected to the telescope (Hyperion) as it still shows a connection to the rotator, while all the information from the mount no longer shows in ACP control panel. I have the AP1200 connected via USB directly to my laptop, while the Hyperion and cameras are running through a powered USB hub. I ran ASCOM diagnostics, and everything passed (see attached log).
I'm going to try changing out the USB cable and I may switch the AP1200 over to WiFi/TCP control to get away from the USB connection altogether. I'm not sure what else I can do to get passed this recurring problem. Any other suggestions?
Thanks, Mike

[Yves Laroche]

I'm going to try changing out the USB cable and I may switch the AP1200 over to WiFi/TCP control to get away from the USB connection altogether.

Hello Mike,

At least don't connect your GTOCP4 mount controller over WiFi/TCP connection for testing. This is the weakest connection of them all. In this order, serial, ethernet and USB are far better than WiFi. My two cents!

Regards,
Yves

[Bob Denny]

Let us know the outcome of tonight's tests. This is 99% a connectivity issue. Your logs show a very nicely running system, with very good mount behavior.

[K Michael McDowell]

Bob - Yes, that is the frustrating part of this connectivity issue. I have replaced the USB cable to the mount. I have also connected the USB for the Hyperion controller directly to the computer. I connected everything this afternoon. I just got back out to the observatory (5:45) and ACP had lost connection with the mount again.
I'm going to run my routine again this evening and see how it goes. Some nights it has worked like a champ and other times it doesn't. Last night was the worst I had ever experienced. I don't get it because nothing had changed from the previous night. It is a mystery for sure.
Cheers, Mike

Update after testing with direct connections to the computer. Same results. See attached logs...

[Bob Denny]

Is it colder? ACP is at the top of the food chain on this. Under ACP is the mount control software/ASCOM Driver and that is what is responsible for talking to the mount. ACP never connects to a mount. However if the mount throws an error it will stop and disconnect. Do you have a dome or roof? A communication error coming from the dome/roof controller will also cause ACP to drop the connection. Is the Hyperion a dome control or telescope control or both? Is this what you are using https://www.silabs.com/developers/us...ge-vcp-drivers ? If so this is where the problems are coming from.

These three lines in your logs are really telling you the truth, really:

02:11:11 [Source: ASCOM.HyperionServer.CP210X]
02:11:12 [Communication Failure]
02:11:12 [This is not an ACP problem]

[K Michael McDowell]

Bob - I don't have a dome or roof controller. The Hyperion is a controller that talks to the focuser and other controls on the scope (e.g., fans, heaters). I am not familiar with the cp210x drivers, but it is possible that is what the Hyperion is using. I'll check with Starizona to see if that is the case. I'm less sure what to do about trying to fix the issue. But is seems to be getting worse. I'll let you know what I find out.
Thanks, Mike

I stopped by Starizona and talked with Dean (the owner). He thinks it is a software issue. He suggested I download and install the lastest version of ASCOM, which I have done. His experience is that ASCOM sometimes gets messed up when Windows does an update at that reinstalling ASCOM often times clears up the issue. He also thinks there may be some traffic issues with my computer that might cause the issue, although as I have thought about that, ACP has dropped out when nothing is happening, it's just sitting there like yesterday afternoon when I fired everything up and left it sitting from about 3:30 to 5:30 with the telescope parked and nothing was happening with any of the sub-systems. ACP still crapped out. So, the traffic issue may not really be the problem.
Dean also suggested that I reinstall ACP, but I'm less sure about that.
I'm going to plug everything in and get things running as I did yesterday and let it sit for a while to see what happens. Maybe the new ASCOM install will fix the problem, whatever it is. It's great having you and Dean basically pointing fingers at each other. It doesn't really help me get this resolved. As I have pointed out when this happens ACP shows the connection to the rotator, which goes through the Hyperion server, is still active (green light on the dashboard) whereas all the information that comes from the mount, presumably via APCC, is gone from the ACP dashboard and when it really craps out is tells me via a dialog box that it has lost connection with the mount and when I click the OK button in that dialog box ACP shuts itself off.
I know it is contrary to the information that shows up in the log, blaming the Hyperion server, but from my perspective based on what I see on the screen it is a loss of connection with the mount that occurs. I really don't understand what ACP does and does not do. You claim that ACP doesn't "talk" to the mount, yet the information from the mount shows up in ACP when I connect ACP to the telescope, so I guess I simply don't understand the distinction. The fact that ACP still has the rotator connection active seems to indicate that it is still in communication with the Hyperion server that it is citing as the offending issue.
I don't get it and it is very frustrating.
I'll let you know what happens with the new version of ASCOM. Fingers crossed?!?
Mike

[Bob Denny]

Mike — I’m sorry to be so blunt, but reinstalling the ASCOM Platform and/or ACP will accomplish nothing apart from giving both packages a black eye for even suggesting it. Dean is grasping at straws. And reinstall is the weakest of all straws.

I understand your frustration. Finger pointing. Please give me a time to talk on the phone. Since Starizona is a retail business I think I can get Dean to join us at your convenience.

ACP doesn’t make stuff up. It simply reports what it gets from the devices it talks to. Don’t shoot the messenger. It is 100% that this error is coming from the Hyperion. I will try to explain in more detail with you both in a 3-way meeting. There is no hope of solving the problem unless we can focus on the real cause and eliminate the things that cannot be a cause.

I want you to be happy.

[K Michael McDowell]

Bob - There are times when I think I understand what ACP does and doesn't do and then there are times when I feel completely at a loss. As I describe ACP to my wife and daughter, I liken it to the conductor of the orchestra. And that the other components, telescope, mount, and cameras, are like sections in the orchestra that ACP directs. But I really don't know if that is either accurate or particularly useful. It is obvious to me that something is amiss in the orchestra at the moment, and I would like to get to the bottom of that and fix it. I just don't know what to fix. Dean is just as certain as you seem to be that there is nothing wrong with Hyperion server. I have no idea. And since the software, his and yours are communicating at essentially light speed as far as my perceptions are concerned I can't "see" what is happening or not when the system crashes. I just see the result. It is particularly disheartening when the system crashes in the 597th second of a 600 second exposure, which I watched it do last night. It also crashed at lots of other times so that wasn't really special, it just would have been nice to actually get that image.
This evening the system has been running for about a hour and has not crashed. But it is also not doing anything, although that didn't keep it from crashing yesterday afternoon. I plugged the different USB cords into different spots on my laptop just for grins. Maybe one of my USB ports is a little flaky. I'm grasping at straws because there seems little else, I can do.
I'm available tomorrow afternoon, or sometime next week. Let me know your preference and we can always wrap Dean in.
I too would like to be happy. I am when the system works. I'm not now. But I have no idea how to fix this. I'm sorry that sometimes my frustration shows.
Mike

[Bob Denny]

I'm available tomorrow afternoon, or sometime next week. Let me know your preference and we can always wrap Dean in.

I will contact you tomorrow at 1PM our time. I have you at (206) 35*-**24 is that right?

[K Michael McDowell]

Bob - That sounds fine. Yes, that is the right number. I tried to run some test this evening. Too many clouds. The system crashed before I started imaging. See attached log. Same message, Hyperion server.