main@ap-gto.groups.io | What unparked the mount?

Roland Christen

Any time a move command is issued, this requires the mount to unpark.

Parking the mount disables power to the motors while keeping the electronics active so that they can respond to external commands. Whenever an external program issues any kind of move command, the motors must be re-energized. This will also start tracking unless you have set the tracking rate to STOP. In that case the RA motor will not track at the sidereal rate, but will keep the RA axis stationary.

Rolando

Show quoted text

-----Original Message-----
From: ap@... <ap@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Sent: Mon, Nov 28, 2022 10:53 am
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] What unparked the mount?

On Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 07:49 AM, Ray Gralak wrote:

A ":Q#" command will also unpark the mount. This is not the only way that command can be sent, but it may be that you have "Auto-enable tracking when ASCOM clients send certain commands with tracking disabled" enabled in the "Other Options" group box in "Advanced" options of the driver setup window. Any "move" command, like a guider command, or pressing the move button in APCC, driver, or ASCOM client will send a ":Q#" as one of the commands.

That may be it, though frankly I would never have thought enabling tracking would also do an unpark. It's certainly possible that PHD2 was still active, though I thought I stopped it; since it will also stop on slew I am not sure.

So if I clear "Auto-enable tracking (etc)" in the Ascom setup, there should be nothing that can unpark the mount except an explicit unpark method from a client to ascom? (Or obviously me unparking in APCC, and I don't have a handheld).

I'm happy to make sure tracking is enabled in my NINA sequences, even if it need be done explicitly.

To me "park" is a safety thing. I like to think that once parked, errant programs still sending commands (other than unpark) cannot have any impact. Is that right?

Linwood

--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics

ap@CaptivePhotons.com

#90573

On Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 07:49 AM, Ray Gralak wrote:

A ":Q#" command will also unpark the mount. This is not the only way that command can be sent, but it may be that you have "Auto-enable tracking when ASCOM clients send certain commands with tracking disabled" enabled in the "Other Options" group box in "Advanced" options of the driver setup window. Any "move" command, like a guider command, or pressing the move button in APCC, driver, or ASCOM client will send a ":Q#" as one of the commands.

That may be it, though frankly I would never have thought enabling tracking would also do an unpark. It's certainly possible that PHD2 was still active, though I thought I stopped it; since it will also stop on slew I am not sure.

So if I clear "Auto-enable tracking (etc)" in the Ascom setup, there should be nothing that can unpark the mount except an explicit unpark method from a client to ascom? (Or obviously me unparking in APCC, and I don't have a handheld).

I'm happy to make sure tracking is enabled in my NINA sequences, even if it need be done explicitly.

To me "park" is a safety thing. I like to think that once parked, errant programs still sending commands (other than unpark) cannot have any impact. Is that right?

Linwood

Ray Gralak

#90571

Hi Linwood,

I can't figure out how or why it was unparked.  It was still physically and logically roughly at Park 2 (I do not recall
if it started tracking), but APCC had unpark greyed out, it said unparked at the bottom, and NINA was happy to
do a slew and continue where it had been imaging.  I did not unpark in NINA and there was no unpark in the
sequence anywhere.  Plus no sequence was running as I had stopped it.  It was also connected to PHD2 but
guiding was stopped.A ":Q#" command will also unpark the mount. This is not the only way that command can be sent, but it may be that you have "Auto-enable tracking when ASCOM clients send certain commands with tracking disabled" enabled in the "Other Options" group box in "Advanced" options of the driver setup window. Any "move" command, like a guider command, or pressing the move button in APCC, driver, or ASCOM client will send a ":Q#" as one of the commands.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io] On Behalf Of ap@...
Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2022 5:44 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] What unparked the mount?

I was deep into working on tilt last night but something odd happened late into the evening and while there was
no problem caused, it worries me.

At 1:44:50 am I needed to change something on the imaging train and parked the mount directly from APCC to
Park 2.



It parked to park 2, all was well, I did my thing on the imaging train and came back inside to unpark and.... it was
unparked.

I can't figure out how or why it was unparked.  It was still physically and logically roughly at Park 2 (I do not recall
if it started tracking), but APCC had unpark greyed out, it said unparked at the bottom, and NINA was happy to
do a slew and continue where it had been imaging.  I did not unpark in NINA and there was no unpark in the
sequence anywhere.  Plus no sequence was running as I had stopped it.  It was also connected to PHD2 but
guiding was stopped.

When I look through the APCC logs (which I certainly do not understand well) I see an unpark in the first log after
8pm or so when I started, and I do not see any other unpark (either as a word, or :PO#).   Anywhere.  And I
imaged the rest of the night afterwards, then parked at 5am-ish, so it was definitely unparked.  Maybe I'm not
looking in the right place?

Anyway, if Ray you or someone else more fluent in this stuff has a moment, I'd sure like to understand this better.
Generally I depend on "park" to mean "sit there and ignore everything else unless I explicitly tell you to unpark".
So it was very strange to see it not parked after it parked (and the log seems to show a completed park
(1:45:28.217).

Mostly curiosity.

Here are the logs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qZflpSAKI4M-0rfgfeAgKNWKTvvvFnw4/view?usp=share_link

Linwood

ap@CaptivePhotons.com

#90566

I was deep into working on tilt last night but something odd happened late into the evening and while there was no problem caused, it worries me.

At 1:44:50 am I needed to change something on the imaging train and parked the mount directly from APCC to Park 2.

It parked to park 2, all was well, I did my thing on the imaging train and came back inside to unpark and.... it was unparked.

I can't figure out how or why it was unparked. It was still physically and logically roughly at Park 2 (I do not recall if it started tracking), but APCC had unpark greyed out, it said unparked at the bottom, and NINA was happy to do a slew and continue where it had been imaging. I did not unpark in NINA and there was no unpark in the sequence anywhere. Plus no sequence was running as I had stopped it. It was also connected to PHD2 but guiding was stopped.

When I look through the APCC logs (which I certainly do not understand well) I see an unpark in the first log after 8pm or so when I started, and I do not see any other unpark (either as a word, or :PO#). Anywhere. And I imaged the rest of the night afterwards, then parked at 5am-ish, so it was definitely unparked. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place?

Anyway, if Ray you or someone else more fluent in this stuff has a moment, I'd sure like to understand this better. Generally I depend on "park" to mean "sit there and ignore everything else unless I explicitly tell you to unpark". So it was very strange to see it not parked after it parked (and the log seems to show a completed park (1:45:28.217).

Mostly curiosity.

Here are the logs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qZflpSAKI4M-0rfgfeAgKNWKTvvvFnw4/view?usp=share_link

Linwood