Telescope Connection Issues after changing from USB to Serial

[Paul Gardner]

Bob,

I switched my MKS4000 control board from serial to USB recently and have not been able to reliably connect to the telescope via The Sky X. I get the following error at startup:

**Failed to connect to the Telescope:
ACl Syntax error. error=2.

So startup fails. If I go directly into TSX I can connect the telescope no problem.

after it has failed from scheduler utility test, I ran the script from ACP directly and it had no problem connecting. Not sure where the problem is.

Paul

[Bob Denny]

This error is definitely coming from within TheSky. ACL is the protocol used within the MKS4000. I have seen TheSky throw errors when it is started "on demand" by a connect call to its ASCOM driver. In your startup script, are you starting TheSky explicitly before having ACP connect? If so, then this is probably going to be a Bisque support ticket. But if you start TheSky, then you can connect using ACP's Telescope many/Connect OK?

FYI, the call Util.TelescopeConnected = True that you probably have in the startup script does just exactly that -- invokes the identical logic within ACP as the Telescope menu, Connect. I hope the preceding will help you get to a point where you can connect during the Scheduler startup script. If not, I can join you remotely... but this is a Bisque quirk, nothing in ACP or the startup script for Scheduler could possibly have any clue whether the scope is running on USB or Serial...

[Paul Gardner]

Bisque didn't have any answers for my question. So I have been running a few more tests to make sure COM ports are turning on during the appropriate times during startup. No issues there. Something I noticed today after running a series of back to back tests is that I can run startup and shutdown scripts back to back all day long if I run directly from ACP (no scheduler). After my last shutdown from ACP I opened up scheduler, let it latch to ACP, and then ran Test Startup. Immediately I had the problem with it connecting to the telescope. Once it failed, I did nothing and just pressed Test Startup again and it connected just fine.

So what is different between ACP and Scheduler when it calls a connect and why does it work the second time through scheduler's test utility but not the first time?

The ONLY variable that has changed in the system is the switch from serial to USB. I understand that it may be a bisque issue but when using two different ACP methods for startup I get drastically different results which raises some red flags for me. If both methods are calling the exact same command i should get the exact same result but I don't.

Paul

[Paul Gardner]

One more step....

After the second Test Startup call that succeeded, I ran a shutdown which also succeeded. Then I ran a Test Startup from scheduler and it again, failed on the first attempt.

**Failed to connect to the Telescope:
Error code = 995 (3e3). No additional information is available.

On the second attempt immediately after it connects just fine. (after the first attempt all the software is still open).

Paul

[Colin Haig]

Paul, if you are connected via USB to the mount, you might want to check that ALL power management is disabled. A lot of folks have problems with this, and it may be a contributor to your problem. You need to turn of USB Selective Suspend for the Power Plan, in windows power management. Then for each USB device including the USB root hub, disable the ability to Turn Off the device to save power. You can find this in the Device Manager.
If there are usb hubs or repeater cables between PC and mount, check those also are not allowed to go into power save mode.

[Paul Gardner]

It's not in power save mode if it works just fine with ACP but not when scheduler does a startup test. Within minutes of each other. The COM port never goes away in the hardware manager. None of the other dozen devices goes into power save mode unless this is a bisque specific thing. They mentioned this issue.

[Colin Haig]

I hear you, however, there is no visible way to tell if Windows has powered down a device in the USB chain. The COM port would still be listed. It's a function of the low level hardware device driver and Windows power management. It may not be the root cause of your issue, however it is often a contributor, and a commonplace problem. It certainly can't hurt.
Perhaps Bob has some ideas as well.

[Bob Denny]

Let me see if I understand this... Looking again...

1. Connecting with the UI within TheSky OK

2. Run StartupObs via the Scheduler Test Startup (which just loads it into ACP and runs it) and it fails

3. Load StartupObs into ACP and run it, using the ACP console UI, and it succeeds

Can you repeat 2 and 3 at will? If so I will be rather amazed and befuddled because the Scheduler Test Startup does just load and run the Startup script and the calls through ACP's API just call the same functions as the button presses in ACP!

[Dean Salman]

Hi Paul,

Let me add some more information that may help. First I was told there is no advantage of using the USB over serial with the Mk4000. The Mk 5000 is only USB but they made big improvements in the 5000. However, the USB works best if you do the following. Start Sky X first and then use the Telescope.Connected to connect the telescope to ACP. You need a 10 second delay to wait, more or less. When you shutdown, you should recycle the power on the mount which I assume your shut down does. Lastly, you are best to run the USB from the PC port. If you use a hub, it must be a very good brand, I can send you a link. We paid about $40 for what we use at Kitt Peak. Also, it should be the only connection on the USB hub.

Others may have this working without all these conditions. I have to say we have connection issues sometimes on USB when a night observing program was a go for the night. I finally said, guys, we are using the serial port from now on which never failed. The ME 2 with the MK 5000 never has problems with the USB. So if it was my telescope, I would just use the serial cable.

Hope that helps