Anthony, Chuck, Richard and all the Gang!

I'm sorry this took so long, but I had to start from scratch. Anyway,
if you go to our Tech Support section on the website and look under
either 900GTO or 1200GTO, you will see a new entry entitled:
Troubleshooting and Repairing Your 900GTO or 1200GTO Servo "Y" Cable
(GTOCP2 or 3 only) (11 -29-07) - PDF document. I hope that this will
fit the bill and help you with your cable issues.

http://www.astro-physics.com/tech_support/tech_support.htm

Good luck, and please provide feedback on the document. I suppose I
will need to make similar versions for the different cables used in
other mounts. A tech guy's work is never done . . .

Howard

Joe,

Sorry about the foobar.FIT part. foobar is used by unix-types to
denote an unspecified item - its sort of a wildcard variable. Anyway,
the Measure Now button on the Camera Information page apparently
creates a file in the PEMpro directory called mosaic.fit (or something
close to that). Similarly the Determine N, S, E, and W start button
creates 3 FIT files somethingorother1.fit, somethingorother2.fit, and
somethingorother3.fit. I don't recall the exact names for these latter
3 files so I just inserted the unix wildcard name foobar.

OK, understood.

Interestingly, when I was using the DMK firewire camera last night
these files were created (and called mosaic.fit.bmp ...) but were
completely black. The ones from the DSI via AstroArt were never
created (or were deleted). Nothing noteworthy to my untrained eye in
the polar alignment wizard log file either.

The DMK firewire file is a bitmap file (not a FITS file). It was probably
black because the driver for the camera does not support the DirectDraw
callback interface. The Imaging Source uses their own toolkit interface for
their cameras and thus I am not sure it complies completely with the aspects
of DirectDraw that PEMPro needs to use. Anyway, I have no way of knowing for
sure because I do not have that camera. I did send them an email a few weeks
back asking if I could borrow one (but not your particular model) for
testing but I never heard back from them.

I'll remove/delete everything and reinstall from scratch as you
suggest (not sure I have the AP SE v1.7 'source' file anymore, but I
plan to buy v2 once I get it to work). I'll pick this thread back up
in the CCDware forums since there are no more loose ends here. Any
particular place in the forum you'd recommend?

The PEMPro forum would work for me! :-)

-Ray

Ray,

Sorry about the foobar.FIT part. foobar is used by unix-types to
denote an unspecified item - its sort of a wildcard variable. Anyway,
the Measure Now button on the Camera Information page apparently
creates a file in the PEMpro directory called mosaic.fit (or something
close to that). Similarly the Determine N, S, E, and W start button
creates 3 FIT files somethingorother1.fit, somethingorother2.fit, and
somethingorother3.fit. I don't recall the exact names for these latter
3 files so I just inserted the unix wildcard name foobar.

Interestingly, when I was using the DMK firewire camera last night
these files were created (and called mosaic.fit.bmp ...) but were
completely black. The ones from the DSI via AstroArt were never
created (or were deleted). Nothing noteworthy to my untrained eye in
the polar alignment wizard log file either.

I'll remove/delete everything and reinstall from scratch as you
suggest (not sure I have the AP SE v1.7 'source' file anymore, but I
plan to buy v2 once I get it to work). I'll pick this thread back up
in the CCDware forums since there are no more loose ends here. Any
particular place in the forum you'd recommend?

Thanks once again to you, and to the rest of the group for tolerating
this.

Joe

--- In ap-gto@..., "Ray Gralak" <rgr@...> wrote:

Hi Joe,

I do not connect through the POTH. However, I must start the POTH,
connect to the telescope simulator, disconnect from it and then select
& setup the AP driver. If I do anything else I get the dreaded Runtime
Error 91. I never connect to it with the POTH. Once I've gotten the
driver to load, I shut down the POTH and fire up PEMpro v2. It then
connects to the mount without a hitch. Obviously something weird going
on here since this is not the way it used to work with PEMpro AP SE
v1.7 a year ago, but that is what I have to go through now. I gather
from other posts to this thread that there is another AP driver in the
works???

Yes, there is another driver in the works but the current driver

works so

there is a problem with your PC somewhere. Just to be sure you don't

have

any residual components installed go to add/remove programs and

uninstall

all instances of ASCOM and PEMPro V1, V2, and APSE. Then reinstall

ASCOM and

PEMPro V2. Make sure to install the latest AP driver and helper.dll

(PEMPro

will warn you if the wrong versions are installed).

BTW, I tried using the Meade DSI (no Pro, no II's) via AstroArt. I
connect OK but get an error that PEMpro cannot open the foobar.FIT

Huh? what is foobar.fit?

file when I'm going through the polar alignment wizard. Does PEMpro
care that the DSI pixels are not square (if I ever get this to work)?

It doesn't matter. Pixel scale is calculated in the RA direction on

the CCD

so it gets scaled correctly no matter what the orientation is.

I hate debugging out in the cold!

Why not try it indoors then? You don't need stars to test for any of the
above problems.

Also, if you have more questions please post to the CCDWare forum as

this

discussion may be getting off-topic (unless others have interest in the
outcome).

I thought about buying MaxIm DL, but I'd only use it to work with
PEMpro. That seems to be a waste of $460 doesn't it?

IMO, no it is not a waste. Maxim has a lot of functionality including
extensive image processing capabilities. If you haven't tried remote
automation from inside your warm home yet then maybe Maxim is for

you (you

can use it with automation applications like ACP, MaxPoint, and CCD
Autopilot). Plus MaximDL/CCD works with virtually every camera, so

when you

migrate to a new camera you do not have to buy and/or learn another
application.

-Ray

Hi Joe,

I do not connect through the POTH. However, I must start the POTH,
connect to the telescope simulator, disconnect from it and then select
& setup the AP driver. If I do anything else I get the dreaded Runtime
Error 91. I never connect to it with the POTH. Once I've gotten the
driver to load, I shut down the POTH and fire up PEMpro v2. It then
connects to the mount without a hitch. Obviously something weird going
on here since this is not the way it used to work with PEMpro AP SE
v1.7 a year ago, but that is what I have to go through now. I gather
from other posts to this thread that there is another AP driver in the
works???

Yes, there is another driver in the works but the current driver works so
there is a problem with your PC somewhere. Just to be sure you don't have
any residual components installed go to add/remove programs and uninstall
all instances of ASCOM and PEMPro V1, V2, and APSE. Then reinstall ASCOM and
PEMPro V2. Make sure to install the latest AP driver and helper.dll (PEMPro
will warn you if the wrong versions are installed).

BTW, I tried using the Meade DSI (no Pro, no II's) via AstroArt. I
connect OK but get an error that PEMpro cannot open the foobar.FIT

Huh? what is foobar.fit?

file when I'm going through the polar alignment wizard. Does PEMpro
care that the DSI pixels are not square (if I ever get this to work)?

It doesn't matter. Pixel scale is calculated in the RA direction on the CCD
so it gets scaled correctly no matter what the orientation is.

I hate debugging out in the cold!

Why not try it indoors then? You don't need stars to test for any of the
above problems.

Also, if you have more questions please post to the CCDWare forum as this
discussion may be getting off-topic (unless others have interest in the
outcome).

I thought about buying MaxIm DL, but I'd only use it to work with
PEMpro. That seems to be a waste of $460 doesn't it?

IMO, no it is not a waste. Maxim has a lot of functionality including
extensive image processing capabilities. If you haven't tried remote
automation from inside your warm home yet then maybe Maxim is for you (you
can use it with automation applications like ACP, MaxPoint, and CCD
Autopilot). Plus MaximDL/CCD works with virtually every camera, so when you
migrate to a new camera you do not have to buy and/or learn another
application.

-Ray

Ray,

I do not connect through the POTH. However, I must start the POTH,
connect to the telescope simulator, disconnect from it and then select
& setup the AP driver. If I do anything else I get the dreaded Runtime
Error 91. I never connect to it with the POTH. Once I've gotten the
driver to load, I shut down the POTH and fire up PEMpro v2. It then
connects to the mount without a hitch. Obviously something weird going
on here since this is not the way it used to work with PEMpro AP SE
v1.7 a year ago, but that is what I have to go through now. I gather
from other posts to this thread that there is another AP driver in the
works???

BTW, I tried using the Meade DSI (no Pro, no II's) via AstroArt. I
connect OK but get an error that PEMpro cannot open the foobar.FIT
file when I'm going through the polar alignment wizard. Does PEMpro
care that the DSI pixels are not square (if I ever get this to work)?

I hate debugging out in the cold!

Yes, I'm in the US.
Yes, my DMK31 is a DMK31AF firewire camera and a fine one at that.
I thought about buying MaxIm DL, but I'd only use it to work with
PEMpro. That seems to be a waste of $460 doesn't it? Especially since
I can't get the AAv4 demo to work with PEMpro v2. I had a demo of
MaxIm DSLR a year ago and I do not think I could get another demo of
it to test.

Thanks,

Joe

--- In ap-gto@..., "Ray Gralak" <rgr@...> wrote:

Hi Joseph,

1. You should not be using POTH. You should connect directly to the AP
driver or things will not work correctly. Unfortunately I did not

write that

driver so I may not be able to help you much with this problem. Are

you in

the USA?

2. The DMK31 is a firewire CCD camera, isn't it? PEMPro just supports
inexpensive USB cameras. I don't have the time/inclination to test

all of

the firewire camera variations out there so you should try MaximDL

or maybe

AstroArt.

If you would like to correspond more you should post to the PEMPro

forum on

the CCDWare site.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...]
On Behalf Of Joseph M Zawodny
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 7:00 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: PEMpro V2, ASCOM, drivers, and 900GTO questions

Thanks Ray, I was hoping you were going to be around this evening.
I made some progress despite myself. I'll post some details here, but
I am also willing to continue this in some other venue if you think it
would be more appropriate.

I reinstalled everything as you suggested. I still immediately ran
into the Run Time Error 91 on the AP driver, but found a work around.
I found that if I fired up the POTH and got that to connect to the GTO
first, I could then get PEMpro v2 to connect to the mount without any
further complaints. Part 1 reproducibly solved.

Part 2: getting the DMK 31 to work with PEMpro. Firing up the Video
interface works for the most part. When trying to change the settings
I get an error/warning that some format is not set. Nevertheless, the
changed settings seem to get set and I can control the camera and see
an image. Part 2 sort of works.

Part 3: trying out the polar alignment wizard. Here is where the
camera needs to work but does not. The 'Measure Now' part of the
Camera Information (2 of 9) attempts to take an image, but the picture
that pops up is black. The video window did show me that stars should
have been visible, so I have no idea why this pop-up is totally black.
I have to pretend I see something and click twice to get out of this
without PEMpro crashing/hiccuping. The next page 'determine N, S, E,
W' fails every time. I can get to the third exposure occasionally, but
I get another error (specifics of which I don't recall) a variable not
set error or some such.

Summary, I can get the mount to connect, but the camera only partially
works. I do not know how many other DMK31 camera owners you have in
the beta test program. I may still be doing something stupid
(enlighten me please), but I am willing to help debug this if you need
me to. I also have a Meade DSI to throw into the mix.

BTW, thanks for working on a self contained solution for PEMpro to
work with 'video cameras'.

Joe

--- In ap-gto@...
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> , "Ray Gralak" <rgr@> wrote:

Hi Joe,

Try reinstalling the ASCOM 4.1 platform again. Do NOT install the

5.x beta

(it is still a beta). Then update the astro-physics driver and just
helper.dll. Update whichever driver PEMPRo asks about first

(probably

Helper.dll). When that works go onto the next dll. Do not do

anything more

than what is asked.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@...

<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ]

On Behalf Of Joseph M Zawodny
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 3:25 PM
To: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ap-gto] PEMpro V2, ASCOM, drivers, and 900GTO questions

First, my apologies for probably being off topic ...

I had PEMpro AP SE v1.7 working with my 900GTO a year

ago. I now need

to redo my PEC and want to use PEMpro V2 with my DMK31

'video camera'.

So I grab a trial version, have problems, read the web, grab beta
build 33 and seen to get the camera working with PEMpro

on my desktop.

OK so far so good. Then I install the beta on my laptop

and head out

to the observatory tonight (the first clear night in weeks) and
encounter problems galore. I'm getting all sorts of error messages
like need helper.dll V5.0.x or higher. So, I go to the

ASCOM website

see the beta version 5, download and install it. I also grab the
separate helper.dll v5.x.y just in case.

Short version of the story from this point forward is

that the ASCOM

software does not seem to be able to work with the AstroPhysics
driver. I get an 'AP Driver runtime error 91: Object

Variable or With

block variable not set'.

I have also seen along the way errors like:
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. cannot create ActiveX
component',
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. Application defined or
Object defined error', and
'ASCOM Chooser failed to load driver. Class does not support
Automation or does not support expected interface.'

And after uninstalling and reinstalling just about

everything, I can't

even get PEMpro AP SE to work again (reliably). I'm

obviously omitting

a lot of the details here in the hope that someone will

have seen this

before and can just set me straight. I'm using XP with all of the
latest service packs and patches including all the

flavors of .NET. I

have also tried build 36 of PEMpro V2. I suspect I have

my versions

crossed in some fatal way.

This ASCOM stuff is great in principle, but it sure seems

like a house

of cards in a wind storm.

Can someone help or at least direct me to the proper

place to inquire

further?

TIA, Joe

Bob,

Are you using the latest ASCOM driver - there's an update which isn't
rolled into the platform install: v4.1.25

It's a separate download from the link below - it fixed some parking
problems according to the release notes.

http://ascom-standards.org/download/APDriver-4-1-25.zip


I use this and can connect all ASCOM apps (including ACP) to my AP900
CP2 and park just fine every time.

John


--- In ap-gto@..., "Bob Holzer" <b.holzer@...> wrote:

Hi Ray:

Just to make sure you are aware as you write the new Pulseguide
driver, I need to attach ACP to the POTH driver first and then to the
current ASCOM driver. If I don't, there some kind of timing issue and
the mount won't Park correctly 90% of the time. It works 100% when I
use both drivers.

BTW, any eta on the new Pulseguide driver?

Bob






--- In ap-gto@..., "Ray Gralak" <rgr@> wrote:

Hi Joseph,

1. You should not be using POTH. You should connect directly to the AP
driver or things will not work correctly. Unfortunately I did not

write that

driver so I may not be able to help you much with this problem. Are

you in

the USA?

2. The DMK31 is a firewire CCD camera, isn't it? PEMPro just supports
inexpensive USB cameras. I don't have the time/inclination to test

all of

the firewire camera variations out there so you should try MaximDL

or maybe

AstroArt.

If you would like to correspond more you should post to the PEMPro

forum on

the CCDWare site.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...]
On Behalf Of Joseph M Zawodny
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 7:00 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: PEMpro V2, ASCOM, drivers, and 900GTO

questions

Thanks Ray, I was hoping you were going to be around this evening.
I made some progress despite myself. I'll post some details

here, but

I am also willing to continue this in some other venue if you

think it

would be more appropriate.

I reinstalled everything as you suggested. I still immediately ran
into the Run Time Error 91 on the AP driver, but found a work

around.

I found that if I fired up the POTH and got that to connect to

the GTO

first, I could then get PEMpro v2 to connect to the mount

without any

further complaints. Part 1 reproducibly solved.

Part 2: getting the DMK 31 to work with PEMpro. Firing up the Video
interface works for the most part. When trying to change the

settings

I get an error/warning that some format is not set.

Nevertheless, the

changed settings seem to get set and I can control the camera

and see

an image. Part 2 sort of works.

Part 3: trying out the polar alignment wizard. Here is where the
camera needs to work but does not. The 'Measure Now' part of the
Camera Information (2 of 9) attempts to take an image, but the

picture

that pops up is black. The video window did show me that stars

should

have been visible, so I have no idea why this pop-up is totally

black.

I have to pretend I see something and click twice to get out of this
without PEMpro crashing/hiccuping. The next page 'determine N, S, E,
W' fails every time. I can get to the third exposure

occasionally, but

I get another error (specifics of which I don't recall) a

variable not

set error or some such.

Summary, I can get the mount to connect, but the camera only

partially

works. I do not know how many other DMK31 camera owners you have in
the beta test program. I may still be doing something stupid
(enlighten me please), but I am willing to help debug this if

you need

me to. I also have a Meade DSI to throw into the mix.

BTW, thanks for working on a self contained solution for PEMpro to
work with 'video cameras'.

Joe

--- In ap-gto@...
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> , "Ray Gralak" <rgr@> wrote:

Hi Joe,

Try reinstalling the ASCOM 4.1 platform again. Do NOT install the

5.x beta

(it is still a beta). Then update the astro-physics driver and

just

helper.dll. Update whichever driver PEMPRo asks about first

(probably

Helper.dll). When that works go onto the next dll. Do not do

anything more

than what is asked.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@...

<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ]

On Behalf Of Joseph M Zawodny
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 3:25 PM
To: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ap-gto] PEMpro V2, ASCOM, drivers, and 900GTO

questions

First, my apologies for probably being off topic ...

I had PEMpro AP SE v1.7 working with my 900GTO a year

ago. I now need

to redo my PEC and want to use PEMpro V2 with my DMK31

'video camera'.

So I grab a trial version, have problems, read the web, grab

beta

build 33 and seen to get the camera working with PEMpro

on my desktop.

OK so far so good. Then I install the beta on my laptop

and head out

to the observatory tonight (the first clear night in weeks) and
encounter problems galore. I'm getting all sorts of error

messages

like need helper.dll V5.0.x or higher. So, I go to the

ASCOM website

see the beta version 5, download and install it. I also grab the
separate helper.dll v5.x.y just in case.

Short version of the story from this point forward is

that the ASCOM

software does not seem to be able to work with the AstroPhysics
driver. I get an 'AP Driver runtime error 91: Object

Variable or With

block variable not set'.

I have also seen along the way errors like:
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. cannot create ActiveX
component',
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. Application defined or
Object defined error', and
'ASCOM Chooser failed to load driver. Class does not support
Automation or does not support expected interface.'

And after uninstalling and reinstalling just about

everything, I can't

even get PEMpro AP SE to work again (reliably). I'm

obviously omitting

a lot of the details here in the hope that someone will

have seen this

before and can just set me straight. I'm using XP with all

of the

latest service packs and patches including all the

flavors of .NET. I

have also tried build 36 of PEMpro V2. I suspect I have

my versions

crossed in some fatal way.

This ASCOM stuff is great in principle, but it sure seems

like a house

of cards in a wind storm.

Can someone help or at least direct me to the proper

place to inquire

further?

TIA, Joe

Hi Bob,

The new AP driver will be a hub so you can eliminate POTH.

-Ray

Hi Ray:

Just to make sure you are aware as you write the new Pulseguide
driver, I need to attach ACP to the POTH driver first and then to the
current ASCOM driver. If I don't, there some kind of timing issue and
the mount won't Park correctly 90% of the time. It works 100% when I
use both drivers.

BTW, any eta on the new Pulseguide driver?

Bob






--- In ap-gto@..., "Ray Gralak" <rgr@...> wrote:

Hi Joseph,

1. You should not be using POTH. You should connect directly to the AP
driver or things will not work correctly. Unfortunately I did not

write that

driver so I may not be able to help you much with this problem. Are

you in

the USA?

2. The DMK31 is a firewire CCD camera, isn't it? PEMPro just supports
inexpensive USB cameras. I don't have the time/inclination to test

all of

the firewire camera variations out there so you should try MaximDL

or maybe

AstroArt.

If you would like to correspond more you should post to the PEMPro

forum on

the CCDWare site.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...]
On Behalf Of Joseph M Zawodny
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 7:00 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: PEMpro V2, ASCOM, drivers, and 900GTO questions

Thanks Ray, I was hoping you were going to be around this evening.
I made some progress despite myself. I'll post some details here, but
I am also willing to continue this in some other venue if you think it
would be more appropriate.

I reinstalled everything as you suggested. I still immediately ran
into the Run Time Error 91 on the AP driver, but found a work around.
I found that if I fired up the POTH and got that to connect to the GTO
first, I could then get PEMpro v2 to connect to the mount without any
further complaints. Part 1 reproducibly solved.

Part 2: getting the DMK 31 to work with PEMpro. Firing up the Video
interface works for the most part. When trying to change the settings
I get an error/warning that some format is not set. Nevertheless, the
changed settings seem to get set and I can control the camera and see
an image. Part 2 sort of works.

Part 3: trying out the polar alignment wizard. Here is where the
camera needs to work but does not. The 'Measure Now' part of the
Camera Information (2 of 9) attempts to take an image, but the picture
that pops up is black. The video window did show me that stars should
have been visible, so I have no idea why this pop-up is totally black.
I have to pretend I see something and click twice to get out of this
without PEMpro crashing/hiccuping. The next page 'determine N, S, E,
W' fails every time. I can get to the third exposure occasionally, but
I get another error (specifics of which I don't recall) a variable not
set error or some such.

Summary, I can get the mount to connect, but the camera only partially
works. I do not know how many other DMK31 camera owners you have in
the beta test program. I may still be doing something stupid
(enlighten me please), but I am willing to help debug this if you need
me to. I also have a Meade DSI to throw into the mix.

BTW, thanks for working on a self contained solution for PEMpro to
work with 'video cameras'.

Joe

--- In ap-gto@...
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> , "Ray Gralak" <rgr@> wrote:

Hi Joe,

Try reinstalling the ASCOM 4.1 platform again. Do NOT install the

5.x beta

(it is still a beta). Then update the astro-physics driver and just
helper.dll. Update whichever driver PEMPRo asks about first

(probably

Helper.dll). When that works go onto the next dll. Do not do

anything more

than what is asked.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@...

<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ]

On Behalf Of Joseph M Zawodny
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 3:25 PM
To: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ap-gto] PEMpro V2, ASCOM, drivers, and 900GTO questions

First, my apologies for probably being off topic ...

I had PEMpro AP SE v1.7 working with my 900GTO a year

ago. I now need

to redo my PEC and want to use PEMpro V2 with my DMK31

'video camera'.

So I grab a trial version, have problems, read the web, grab beta
build 33 and seen to get the camera working with PEMpro

on my desktop.

OK so far so good. Then I install the beta on my laptop

and head out

to the observatory tonight (the first clear night in weeks) and
encounter problems galore. I'm getting all sorts of error messages
like need helper.dll V5.0.x or higher. So, I go to the

ASCOM website

see the beta version 5, download and install it. I also grab the
separate helper.dll v5.x.y just in case.

Short version of the story from this point forward is

that the ASCOM

software does not seem to be able to work with the AstroPhysics
driver. I get an 'AP Driver runtime error 91: Object

Variable or With

block variable not set'.

I have also seen along the way errors like:
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. cannot create ActiveX
component',
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. Application defined or
Object defined error', and
'ASCOM Chooser failed to load driver. Class does not support
Automation or does not support expected interface.'

And after uninstalling and reinstalling just about

everything, I can't

even get PEMpro AP SE to work again (reliably). I'm

obviously omitting

a lot of the details here in the hope that someone will

have seen this

before and can just set me straight. I'm using XP with all of the
latest service packs and patches including all the

flavors of .NET. I

have also tried build 36 of PEMpro V2. I suspect I have

my versions

crossed in some fatal way.

This ASCOM stuff is great in principle, but it sure seems

like a house

of cards in a wind storm.

Can someone help or at least direct me to the proper

place to inquire

further?

TIA, Joe

Jeff/Murray,

I have such a soft spot for my AP1200GTO, I will be getting one (or
two) more next year so that I can have multiple scopes up and running
at the same time for imaging.

Anthony.

--- In ap-gto@..., "Jeff" <jlc@...> wrote:

I have a similar feeling w/ the AP1200... except I think its the

tendons in

my arms. I just feel really "pumped up" after setting it up!

(sorry, couldnt resist.)


_____

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On

Behalf Of

Murray Hammick
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 7:21 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Re: Awesome Mount



Call me weird - but I get a bit of a buzz every time I take my 900

out for

the night.

I love good and fine machinery and equipment and this certainly

falls into

that category.

I second the motion of thanks.

Murray

astrokattner <kattnerk@haynesboon

<mailto:kattnerk%40haynesboone.com> e.com>

wrote: Well just so you know,

I took my AP900 out to the Texas Hill Country over Thanksgiving, got
it set up with my c9.25, camera, rotator, aol unit, and filter wheel
(lots of weight). I decided to see how well that mount tracks, so I
ran PEMPRO while I cooked some good german sausage on the grill. And
guess what? +/- 1 arcsec without PEC. I didn't believe it and ran
it two more times and made sure I was looking at the correct axis.
Still +/- 1 arcsec. Although the moon was almost full, it was a
magical night imaging M1 with an AWESOME mount.

Thanks AP.


--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups. <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> com,
chris1011@ wrote:

In a message dated 11/26/2007 4:15:56 PM Central Standard Time,
jlc@ writes:

("Fried mount" is ~probably~ not quite the appropriate topic

name, but does

get our attention.)

Right, and it gives aid and comfort to competitors who must be

chuckling over

the dozens and dozens of posts with this heading. You know,

sometimes a quick

e-mail to the AP guys like Howard (copy to me) can solve many

problems much

faster than wading through the numerous theories that come up on

newsgroups.

Then, when everything is fixed and working right, you can post a

results on the

newsgroup to alert others as to potential problem, the symptoms,

how to fix

it, etc.

Rolando


**************************************
Check out AOL's list of 2007's
hottest products.

(http://money. <http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?>

aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?
NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

Hi Joseph,

1. You should not be using POTH. You should connect directly to the AP
driver or things will not work correctly. Unfortunately I did not write that
driver so I may not be able to help you much with this problem. Are you in
the USA?

2. The DMK31 is a firewire CCD camera, isn't it? PEMPro just supports
inexpensive USB cameras. I don't have the time/inclination to test all of
the firewire camera variations out there so you should try MaximDL or maybe
AstroArt.

If you would like to correspond more you should post to the PEMPro forum on
the CCDWare site.

-Ray

Thanks Ray, I was hoping you were going to be around this evening.
I made some progress despite myself. I'll post some details here, but
I am also willing to continue this in some other venue if you think it
would be more appropriate.

I reinstalled everything as you suggested. I still immediately ran
into the Run Time Error 91 on the AP driver, but found a work around.
I found that if I fired up the POTH and got that to connect to the GTO
first, I could then get PEMpro v2 to connect to the mount without any
further complaints. Part 1 reproducibly solved.

Part 2: getting the DMK 31 to work with PEMpro. Firing up the Video
interface works for the most part. When trying to change the settings
I get an error/warning that some format is not set. Nevertheless, the
changed settings seem to get set and I can control the camera and see
an image. Part 2 sort of works.

Part 3: trying out the polar alignment wizard. Here is where the
camera needs to work but does not. The 'Measure Now' part of the
Camera Information (2 of 9) attempts to take an image, but the picture
that pops up is black. The video window did show me that stars should
have been visible, so I have no idea why this pop-up is totally black.
I have to pretend I see something and click twice to get out of this
without PEMpro crashing/hiccuping. The next page 'determine N, S, E,
W' fails every time. I can get to the third exposure occasionally, but
I get another error (specifics of which I don't recall) a variable not
set error or some such.

Summary, I can get the mount to connect, but the camera only partially
works. I do not know how many other DMK31 camera owners you have in
the beta test program. I may still be doing something stupid
(enlighten me please), but I am willing to help debug this if you need
me to. I also have a Meade DSI to throw into the mix.

BTW, thanks for working on a self contained solution for PEMpro to
work with 'video cameras'.

Joe

--- In ap-gto@..., "Ray Gralak" <rgr@...> wrote:

Hi Joe,

Try reinstalling the ASCOM 4.1 platform again. Do NOT install the

5.x beta

(it is still a beta). Then update the astro-physics driver and just
helper.dll. Update whichever driver PEMPRo asks about first (probably
Helper.dll). When that works go onto the next dll. Do not do

anything more

than what is asked.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...]
On Behalf Of Joseph M Zawodny
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 3:25 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] PEMpro V2, ASCOM, drivers, and 900GTO questions

First, my apologies for probably being off topic ...

I had PEMpro AP SE v1.7 working with my 900GTO a year ago. I now need
to redo my PEC and want to use PEMpro V2 with my DMK31 'video camera'.
So I grab a trial version, have problems, read the web, grab beta
build 33 and seen to get the camera working with PEMpro on my desktop.
OK so far so good. Then I install the beta on my laptop and head out
to the observatory tonight (the first clear night in weeks) and
encounter problems galore. I'm getting all sorts of error messages
like need helper.dll V5.0.x or higher. So, I go to the ASCOM website
see the beta version 5, download and install it. I also grab the
separate helper.dll v5.x.y just in case.

Short version of the story from this point forward is that the ASCOM
software does not seem to be able to work with the AstroPhysics
driver. I get an 'AP Driver runtime error 91: Object Variable or With
block variable not set'.

I have also seen along the way errors like:
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. cannot create ActiveX
component',
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. Application defined or
Object defined error', and
'ASCOM Chooser failed to load driver. Class does not support
Automation or does not support expected interface.'

And after uninstalling and reinstalling just about everything, I can't
even get PEMpro AP SE to work again (reliably). I'm obviously omitting
a lot of the details here in the hope that someone will have seen this
before and can just set me straight. I'm using XP with all of the
latest service packs and patches including all the flavors of .NET. I
have also tried build 36 of PEMpro V2. I suspect I have my versions
crossed in some fatal way.

This ASCOM stuff is great in principle, but it sure seems like a house
of cards in a wind storm.

Can someone help or at least direct me to the proper place to inquire
further?

TIA, Joe

I have a similar feeling w/ the AP1200... except I think its the tendons in
my arms. I just feel really "pumped up" after setting it up!

(sorry, couldnt resist.)


_____

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On Behalf Of
Murray Hammick
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 7:21 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Re: Awesome Mount



Call me weird - but I get a bit of a buzz every time I take my 900 out for
the night.

I love good and fine machinery and equipment and this certainly falls into
that category.

I second the motion of thanks.

Murray

astrokattner <kattnerk@haynesboon <mailto:kattnerk%40haynesboone.com> e.com>
wrote: Well just so you know,

I took my AP900 out to the Texas Hill Country over Thanksgiving, got
it set up with my c9.25, camera, rotator, aol unit, and filter wheel
(lots of weight). I decided to see how well that mount tracks, so I
ran PEMPRO while I cooked some good german sausage on the grill. And
guess what? +/- 1 arcsec without PEC. I didn't believe it and ran
it two more times and made sure I was looking at the correct axis.
Still +/- 1 arcsec. Although the moon was almost full, it was a
magical night imaging M1 with an AWESOME mount.

Thanks AP.


--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups. <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> com,
chris1011@... wrote:

In a message dated 11/26/2007 4:15:56 PM Central Standard Time,
jlc@... writes:

("Fried mount" is ~probably~ not quite the appropriate topic

name, but does

get our attention.)

Right, and it gives aid and comfort to competitors who must be

chuckling over

the dozens and dozens of posts with this heading. You know,

sometimes a quick

e-mail to the AP guys like Howard (copy to me) can solve many

problems much

faster than wading through the numerous theories that come up on

newsgroups.

Then, when everything is fixed and working right, you can post a

results on the

newsgroup to alert others as to potential problem, the symptoms,

how to fix

it, etc.

Rolando


**************************************
Check out AOL's list of 2007's
hottest products.

(http://money. <http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?>

aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?
NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

Hi Joe,

Try reinstalling the ASCOM 4.1 platform again. Do NOT install the 5.x beta
(it is still a beta). Then update the astro-physics driver and just
helper.dll. Update whichever driver PEMPRo asks about first (probably
Helper.dll). When that works go onto the next dll. Do not do anything more
than what is asked.

-Ray

First, my apologies for probably being off topic ...

I had PEMpro AP SE v1.7 working with my 900GTO a year ago. I now need
to redo my PEC and want to use PEMpro V2 with my DMK31 'video camera'.
So I grab a trial version, have problems, read the web, grab beta
build 33 and seen to get the camera working with PEMpro on my desktop.
OK so far so good. Then I install the beta on my laptop and head out
to the observatory tonight (the first clear night in weeks) and
encounter problems galore. I'm getting all sorts of error messages
like need helper.dll V5.0.x or higher. So, I go to the ASCOM website
see the beta version 5, download and install it. I also grab the
separate helper.dll v5.x.y just in case.

Short version of the story from this point forward is that the ASCOM
software does not seem to be able to work with the AstroPhysics
driver. I get an 'AP Driver runtime error 91: Object Variable or With
block variable not set'.

I have also seen along the way errors like:
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. cannot create ActiveX
component',
'PEMpro error opening ASCOM setup dialog. Application defined or
Object defined error', and
'ASCOM Chooser failed to load driver. Class does not support
Automation or does not support expected interface.'

And after uninstalling and reinstalling just about everything, I can't
even get PEMpro AP SE to work again (reliably). I'm obviously omitting
a lot of the details here in the hope that someone will have seen this
before and can just set me straight. I'm using XP with all of the
latest service packs and patches including all the flavors of .NET. I
have also tried build 36 of PEMpro V2. I suspect I have my versions
crossed in some fatal way.

This ASCOM stuff is great in principle, but it sure seems like a house
of cards in a wind storm.

Can someone help or at least direct me to the proper place to inquire
further?

TIA, Joe

I do know someone interesting in ordering one of these, do you have a
date in mind when they are avaiable. dean


--- In ap-gto@..., "Rick Wiggins" <rickwiggins@...> wrote:

Hi Roland,
I think the switches may be the beat overall idea. I understand the
issue with the clutches, etc. I have installed one mechanical "kill
switch" that shuts off mount power when the mount slews all the way
below the West horizon. A better design is to have two mechanical
switches that can be set to control maximum East and West slewing.
Thanks, Rick

--- In ap-gto@..., chris1011@ wrote:

In a message dated 11/23/2007 12:09:09 AM Central Standard Time,
rickwiggins@ writes:

Hi Roland,
I expect that if you are operating your mount manually or

through a

simple planetary program, you may not ever have the mount get

lost.

However; if you operate remotely in an automated environment,

you are

going to have the mount get lost. There are so many

indeterminate

failure modes of all the software and the computers, that it is

very

likely that you will have this happen. It has happened twice to

me.

Once when a Windows error caused a freeze and then reboot

during

the

night. A second time was when an error between two programs

stopped a

CCDCommander action and the mount eventually hit the pier. Both
instances caused the mount to hit the pier, clutches to slip,

and

mount to get lost.
Thanks, Rick

The problem is this: Once the mount is lost, which way should the

axes move

in order to find the homing signal? east or west?

For a mount which cannot track through the meridian, this

question

is simple.

For a mount that we make with clutches and the ability to track

through the

meridian, this is not so simple.

By the way, the 3600 can be permanently locked down in one

position if need

be. The clutches will not slip. Another option will be for the

astrographic

configuration where your scope cannot hit the pier and can swing

freely through

360 degrees in RA.

Finally, although your command programs might mess up and your

computer might

fail, the servo always knows where it is. therefore, a simple

RA/Dec command

to the servo will result in proper positioning, regardless of

failures in the

commanding software. Only a failure in the servo electronics or

an

improper

Sync will cause the mount to become inoperable.

Hitting the pier in a non-astrographic setup is still a

possibility. This can

be eliminated by the use of two switches added to the RA and Dec

axis which

define the maximum limits that the scope can track or slew to,

and

turn off the

power to the servo if these limits are reached. A remote switch

added across

the contacts of this power switch can re-activate the servo to

allow you to

slew the mount back into safe territory.

Rolando


**************************************
Check out AOL's list of 2007's
hottest products.

(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?

NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Call me weird - but I get a bit of a buzz every time I take my 900 out for the night.

I love good and fine machinery and equipment and this certainly falls into that category.

I second the motion of thanks.

Murray

astrokattner <kattnerk@...> wrote: Well just so you know,

I took my AP900 out to the Texas Hill Country over Thanksgiving, got
it set up with my c9.25, camera, rotator, aol unit, and filter wheel
(lots of weight). I decided to see how well that mount tracks, so I
ran PEMPRO while I cooked some good german sausage on the grill. And
guess what? +/- 1 arcsec without PEC. I didn't believe it and ran
it two more times and made sure I was looking at the correct axis.
Still +/- 1 arcsec. Although the moon was almost full, it was a
magical night imaging M1 with an AWESOME mount.

Thanks AP.


--- In ap-gto@..., chris1011@... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 11/26/2007 4:15:56 PM Central Standard Time,
> jlc@... writes:
>
>
> > ("Fried mount" is ~probably~ not quite the appropriate topic
name, but does
> > get our attention.)
> >
>
> Right, and it gives aid and comfort to competitors who must be
chuckling over
> the dozens and dozens of posts with this heading. You know,
sometimes a quick
> e-mail to the AP guys like Howard (copy to me) can solve many
problems much
> faster than wading through the numerous theories that come up on
newsgroups.
> Then, when everything is fixed and working right, you can post a
results on the
> newsgroup to alert others as to potential problem, the symptoms,
how to fix
> it, etc.
>
> Rolando
>
>
> **************************************
> Check out AOL's list of 2007's
> hottest products.
>
> (http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?
NCID=aoltop00030000000001)
>
>
>
>

You're right - the topic name was a bit harsh (more possessed than
fried) but it's never amusing to lose a good night of viewing. By the
way, as I said in my initial posting, this mount has performed
flawlessly up until yesterday.

I've done what checks I can on the cable connections and can't find a
problem. I've unplugged and re-plugged the cables several times today
and jiggled all the connections while the system was running to try to
recreate the problem to no avail. I've monitored the voltage input
and it's rock steady at 13.8. Switching the DEC and RA plugs has
yielded no insight at this point. The good news is that the problem
has not recurred during the past several hours. The one thing that
seemed to produce a positive result was applying heat via a blow dryer
as suggested on this forum - cause and effect? I still don't have a
clue as to what caused the problem and so I don't know that the
problem won't reappear. I feel like the guy that takes his car in to
fix a problem that disappears the minute he drives it to the mechanic.

Thanks for all the suggestions on this forum. If the problem
reappears, I'll call the shop.

Chuck

--- In ap-gto@..., "Jeff" <jlc@...> wrote:

I had exactly the same problem some time ago.... runaway slews, keys

would

stop it, but then yellow light.

Turns out I broke the DEC cable at one of the solder points in the
connector. (I had a cable snag.) I fixed it onsite, and then the mount
worked normally.
(I also ordered a spare Y cable.)

("Fried mount" is ~probably~ not quite the appropriate topic name,

but does

get our attention.)




_____

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On

Behalf Of

chris1011@...
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 1:02 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Re: Fried Mount



In a message dated 11/26/2007 2:39:13 PM Central Standard Time,
cheber@comcast. <mailto:cheber%40comcast.net> net writes:

Roland,

Comment on the y-cable came from the fact that, initially, both axes
were behaving strangely. Right now, I've got things running smoothly
again on both axes. I've jiggled the cables while everything is
running with no impact. I will check the connections on the pins to
be sure that the cable is or isn't the issue.

From your initial discription one axis ran away, The Dec I believe.

Then the

servo quit after 2 seconds. You may not have had the cables fully

seated, or

there is a break in the connections which is intermittent. When a servo
motor
runs away for a short time, 2 seconds, and then quits, it is an

indication

that
the servo is not getting an encoder signal, and that possibly there

is a

connection problem in the cable.

Even though the cables have strain reliefs, after a period of

twisting the

wires, perhaps tugging on them, it is possible for the connection to
eventually
fail. Therefore I urge everyone to check their cables once in a while,
especially if they are plugged and unplugged numerous times. In real

humid

environments the pins could conceivably become oxidized, so check the
conditions of the
pins also.

Rolando

**************************************
Check out AOL's list of 2007's
hottest products.

(http://money.

<http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001>

aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Well just so you know,

I took my AP900 out to the Texas Hill Country over Thanksgiving, got
it set up with my c9.25, camera, rotator, aol unit, and filter wheel
(lots of weight). I decided to see how well that mount tracks, so I
ran PEMPRO while I cooked some good german sausage on the grill. And
guess what? +/- 1 arcsec without PEC. I didn't believe it and ran
it two more times and made sure I was looking at the correct axis.
Still +/- 1 arcsec. Although the moon was almost full, it was a
magical night imaging M1 with an AWESOME mount.

Thanks AP.



--- In ap-gto@..., chris1011@... wrote:

In a message dated 11/26/2007 4:15:56 PM Central Standard Time,
jlc@... writes:

("Fried mount" is ~probably~ not quite the appropriate topic

name, but does

get our attention.)

Right, and it gives aid and comfort to competitors who must be

chuckling over

the dozens and dozens of posts with this heading. You know,

sometimes a quick

e-mail to the AP guys like Howard (copy to me) can solve many

problems much

faster than wading through the numerous theories that come up on

newsgroups.

Then, when everything is fixed and working right, you can post a

results on the

newsgroup to alert others as to potential problem, the symptoms,

how to fix

it, etc.

Rolando


**************************************
Check out AOL's list of 2007's
hottest products.

(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?

NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Roland,
I think the switches may be the beat overall idea. I understand the
issue with the clutches, etc. I have installed one mechanical "kill
switch" that shuts off mount power when the mount slews all the way
below the West horizon. A better design is to have two mechanical
switches that can be set to control maximum East and West slewing.
Thanks, Rick

--- In ap-gto@..., chris1011@... wrote:

In a message dated 11/23/2007 12:09:09 AM Central Standard Time,
rickwiggins@... writes:

Hi Roland,
I expect that if you are operating your mount manually or

through a

simple planetary program, you may not ever have the mount get

lost.

However; if you operate remotely in an automated environment,

you are

going to have the mount get lost. There are so many

indeterminate

failure modes of all the software and the computers, that it is

very

likely that you will have this happen. It has happened twice to

me.

Once when a Windows error caused a freeze and then reboot during

the

night. A second time was when an error between two programs

stopped a

CCDCommander action and the mount eventually hit the pier. Both
instances caused the mount to hit the pier, clutches to slip,

and

mount to get lost.
Thanks, Rick

The problem is this: Once the mount is lost, which way should the

axes move

in order to find the homing signal? east or west?

For a mount which cannot track through the meridian, this question

is simple.

For a mount that we make with clutches and the ability to track

through the

meridian, this is not so simple.

By the way, the 3600 can be permanently locked down in one

position if need

be. The clutches will not slip. Another option will be for the

astrographic

configuration where your scope cannot hit the pier and can swing

freely through

360 degrees in RA.

Finally, although your command programs might mess up and your

computer might

fail, the servo always knows where it is. therefore, a simple

RA/Dec command

to the servo will result in proper positioning, regardless of

failures in the

commanding software. Only a failure in the servo electronics or an

improper

Sync will cause the mount to become inoperable.

Hitting the pier in a non-astrographic setup is still a

possibility. This can

be eliminated by the use of two switches added to the RA and Dec

axis which

define the maximum limits that the scope can track or slew to, and

turn off the

power to the servo if these limits are reached. A remote switch

added across

the contacts of this power switch can re-activate the servo to

allow you to

slew the mount back into safe territory.

Rolando


**************************************
Check out AOL's list of 2007's
hottest products.

(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?

NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I had exactly the same problem some time ago.... runaway slews, keys would
stop it, but then yellow light.

Turns out I broke the DEC cable at one of the solder points in the
connector. (I had a cable snag.) I fixed it onsite, and then the mount
worked normally.
(I also ordered a spare Y cable.)

("Fried mount" is ~probably~ not quite the appropriate topic name, but does
get our attention.)




_____

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On Behalf Of
chris1011@...
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 1:02 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Re: Fried Mount



In a message dated 11/26/2007 2:39:13 PM Central Standard Time,
cheber@comcast. <mailto:cheber%40comcast.net> net writes:

Roland,

Comment on the y-cable came from the fact that, initially, both axes
were behaving strangely. Right now, I've got things running smoothly
again on both axes. I've jiggled the cables while everything is
running with no impact. I will check the connections on the pins to
be sure that the cable is or isn't the issue.

From your initial discription one axis ran away, The Dec I believe. Then the

servo quit after 2 seconds. You may not have had the cables fully seated, or

there is a break in the connections which is intermittent. When a servo
motor
runs away for a short time, 2 seconds, and then quits, it is an indication
that
the servo is not getting an encoder signal, and that possibly there is a
connection problem in the cable.

Even though the cables have strain reliefs, after a period of twisting the
wires, perhaps tugging on them, it is possible for the connection to
eventually
fail. Therefore I urge everyone to check their cables once in a while,
especially if they are plugged and unplugged numerous times. In real humid
environments the pins could conceivably become oxidized, so check the
conditions of the
pins also.

Rolando

**************************************
Check out AOL's list of 2007's
hottest products.

(http://money.
<http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001>
aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)