ASCOM-AWR + Cartes du Ciel = Delayed success!

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7.2.17 Another couple of frustrating hours trying ASCOM-AWR but with Cartes du Ciel. Goto slews were quick to start but constantly interrupted by a warning notice. [See box below.]  Which always caused the reticule to freeze in place until I clicked on Okay. As the telescope 'reticule' wandered across the night sky it regularly jumped right off the star map into another dimension. Or jumped completely at random literally all over the map. Each time this happened there was a loud bleep and the warning notice was shown in the middle of the screen. Not a single Goto was managed without numerous jumps and error notices.
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I recorded 7 videos without catching a single uninterrupted track for posterity. Telescope selection was POTH, COM3 and ASCOM-AWR. I photographed all the configuration panels but lost the images when PHOTOFun STUDIO HD kept crashing. I don't remember it crashing before now. I only use it for acquiring videos from my Panasonic Lumix TZ7 since AVCHD Light isn't tolerated by Picasa3. 

StellariumScope continues to crash constantly. Stellarium on its own doesn't do slews even with Ctrl+1. Then I tried Telescope Simulate and that was a bit weird. It may be that the idea that StScope works with W10 is too optimistic. I have uninstalled both softwares again.

Now I have discovered, downloaded and installed ASCOM Platform 6.3. Will it bring the magic? Or bring the magic smoke to my drive system? Read all about it tomorrow:




IH2 handset, Cartes du Ciel, ASCOM-AWR driver and the stepper motors performing Gotos.

Next day Wed. 8.2.17. ASCOM Platform 6.3 + Cartes du Ciel: Half a dozen smooth and flawless Gotos from start-up. NO more error notices. NO changes made to any settings. Is the improvement due to the new ASCOM Platform 6.3? Or the complete absence of Stellarium software on my W10 PC? I am trying to set up my camera to simultaneously record the C-du-C screen, the IH2 and the stepper motors simultaneously. See video above. 👍 The blue tape shows the Declination and the Red the RA motor.

Note how the IH2 [handset] screen shows the constantly changing RA and Dec during the Goto slew. Even when the Declination stepper motor was still turning rapidly the RA motor can be seen making small and continuous changes to maintain the track. The motor noise is entirely the result of sitting on an empty, resonant box to lift them into the camera's view. The supporting mat was also curved which made the motors slide together and then buzz. With more normal support they are remarkably quiet.

I had another look at the worm support metalwork. Only to discover that my 10mm thick, worm support, base plates were convex across their width. Which meant that the alloy angle I had just cut rocked up and down. I shall just have to invert the base plates to make them cupped [or concave] instead. The temperature was at freezing in the workshop with light snow falling [outside] all day. The same the following day but heavier until lunch time when it brightened slightly.

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