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[Plate Solving]* How Come Celestron StarSense Will Not Complete Plate Solving Alignment? (Answer: Contact Celestron Support For Plate Solving Issues - This Was A Hardware Issue With The Camera)

Other night using my Evo 8 HD with Star sense auto align, after doing a recalibration (which I do every few observations, even though Celestron says once) and the alignment, began getting error: ‘Star Sense Error: could not plate solve the image’ using Sky Safari after successfully completing only the 1 of 3 alignments (Solved plate!). It finds stars on second of third attempt, but can’t plate solve the image and then ‘resets’ to 0 of 3 alignments and tries all over again resulting in same error. Same thing in Sky Portal albeit with different verbiage in error msg (will retry at new position). Current time date and location are correct. Deleted sky safari and reinstalled to no avail. When I used the Hand controller alignment was successful. Placed ticket w Celestron still awaiting reply. Bought scope this past April and everything had been fine until now. Some older threads indicated it could be bad WiFi module yet the HC works. Running IOS 17.6.1 which updated couple weeks ago. I don’t want to get in ***** match between you and Celestron.
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33 comments

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    Keiron Smith

    Keith, 

    Celestron writes and maintains the code responsible for this part of your SkySafari experience.  We cannot address this issue, it is not within our code base.

    Please pursue the issue further with Celestron Support.  They will provide a solution or document for their own developers to fix.

    Thanks!

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    Carson Hanrahan

    Keiron, is it the same codebase between SS 6 and 7? SkyPortal, which is based on SS 6 to my knowledge, works but SS 7 Pro has stopped working.

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    keith stepp

    I will be trying with an somebody's Android Saturday at a star party  My guess is it will work 

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    Keiron Smith

    Celestron developers know which code base is included with which version.  Celestron develops and maintains their code independently from us.

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    keith stepp

    It was working prior to IOS 17.6!

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    Keiron Smith

    Developers will review this issue. 

    Please, if you have not done so already, join the beta, instal and test the latest beta 7.5.0 (1115) and report back.

    https://support.simulationcurriculum.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/4408525702167-Beta-Testing-SkySafari-7-iOS-Only-Read-This-To-Participate?page=8#community_comment_26924128383511

    Thanks!

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    keith stepp

    This is still unresolved.  SkySafari 7 Pro 7.5.0 (1117). 

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    Keiron Smith

    Thanks, Keith.  Please bring this to the attention of Celestron Support and let us know what they say.

    Our devs have your report - but may not be the ones who can fix this issue.

    Thanks!

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    keith stepp

    Keiron, Android did not work either

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    keith stepp

    Keiron and Carson, with the help from a fellow astronomy club member, the plate solving alignment errors have been SOLVED.  He also owns a Celestron scope equipped with the Star Sense Auto Align camera. We met up last night at the local club observatory and switched cameras (I placed his on my scope, mine on his scope and performed alignments using both Sky Safari and Sky Portal).  His alignments subsequently erred, my alignments were successful.  Thanks for all of your attention to this issue.

    On a side note, it would be nice if your development team could add  the reticle/bullseye feature for the gotos in Sky Safari Pro as does in Sky Portal.  Attached....

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    Carson Hanrahan

    Keith, are you saying the StarSense Auto Align camera itself is the root cause of the issue? By switching SSAAs you were able to move the problem from one scope to the other? If so, are their firmware versions the same?

    On the SSPro reticle, that can be added easily - look under Observe/My Equipment and make sure your telescope, eyepieces, etc. are added as options. Then, under Observe/Scope Display, select the telescope/eyepiece combo to display as a reticule. You can also add a Telrad reticle. I display several at once to aid in eyepiece selection for specific targets.

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    Carson Hanrahan

    Here's an example of the reticle on my SS7 Pro display, note you can specify different colours for each scope/eyepiece combo:

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    keith stepp

    Yes, that is the cause and firmware versions are the same (ver: 01.02.13343) which is the latest.  Besides, Celestron hasn't created an update for the camera in quite some time.  Thanks for reticle info.

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    keith stepp

    ...moved from one scope to the other

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    keith stepp

    Still under warranty (only 7 months old) so will call Highpoint Scientific tomorrow for new camera.

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    keith stepp

    It's just odd that I was able to align with hand controller.  I guess the apps are more sensitive and intolerant of camera defect.

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    Carson Hanrahan

    Agreed, odd - have had issue intermittently on two different SSAA cameras, only with SS7 Pro though, no issues with HC or SkyPortal.

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    Keiron Smith

    Keith, 

    I believe you are in contact with Celestron Support about this issue too.  Did they reply regarding your switch experiment?

    Carson,

    How would you like to proceed?  Is it possible you can meet and test by switching cameras with someone?  Or, if there is a local store, ask to borrow another one for testing? 

    Thanks!

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    Keiron Smith

    Carson, 

    ...have had issue intermittently on two different SSAA cameras, only with SS7 Pro though, no issues with HC or SkyPortal.

    Please clarify this statement as "intermittently" is defined as inconsistently, not always, etc.

    Also, if you have TWO StarSense AutoAlign cameras, please try just switching them on the scopes - not that that should make any difference, but it is very strange that you have two that do not work correctly.

    Thanks! 

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    keith stepp

    Keiron,

    Yes, Celestron has just replied…

    Hello Kieth,
    thank you for that confirmation. Would you be willing to send in the starsense camera and hand controller for a replacement if you are within your warranty period for that product?

    Jesse

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    Carson Hanrahan

    Kieron - I agree, suspect indeed, especially across two cameras. Will try to swap and see if that makes a difference. And correct, by intermittent, I mean sometimes SS7 Pro throws that error and sometimes it doesn’t. SkyPortal does not, even when SS7 Pro does.

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    Carson Hanrahan

    Kieron - tried again this weekend, swapping SSAA cameras between two scopes. Still doesn't work. But also now not working in either SS7 Pro (7.5.1 (1118)) or SkyPortal (3.5.0.13) on either iPad (iOS 18.1) or iPhone (iOS 18.1). Confirmed via CFM both SSAA cameras have latest firmware, 1.2.13343.

     

    Will attempt again tonight across iPad/iPhone, two 'scopes, with two SSAA cameras and see if either work.

     

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    Carson Hanrahan

    Kieron - interesting results tonight. Reference this thread on CloudyNights for additional detail in debug logging across the AUX bus: StarSense AutoAlign, SkySafari 7 Pro - loops continuously, never finishes alignment - Celestron Computerized Telescopes - Cloudy Nights

    Used logs attached for each of four tries. All were with c11 on GPS mount using the HBG3 v8.61 and SkySafari 7 Pro v3.5.1 (1118) on an iPad Air, iOS 18.1. SSAA firmware is 1.2.13343, HC firmware is NXS 4.22, MC firmware is 4.06/4.06. Connecting direct to 1.2.3.4. PuTTY was running telnet to same on port 3000 via Win11/x64 laptop.

    C11, HBG3 – attempt 1

    1. Getting plate… Found 98 stars, solved plate, increment count to 1 of 3, moving to new position
    2. Getting plate… Found 86 stars, unable to solve plate, error: %@, moving to new position
    3. Getting plate… Too few stars, moving to new position
    4. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, reset count to 1 of 3, moving to new position
    5. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 2 of 3, moving to new position
    6. Getting plate… Found 85 stars, unable to solve plate, error: %@, moving to new position
    7. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 3 of 3, alignment success

    C11, HBG3 – attempt 2

    1. Disconnected, levelled scope, reconnected, started alignment routine all over again
    2. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 1 of 3, moving to new position
    3. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 2 of 3, moving to new position
    4. Disconnect in SS7 Pro, unable to reconnect, telnet session still running

    C11, HBG3 – attempt 3

    1. Restart c11 & HBG3, levelled scope, reconnected, started alignment routine all over again
    2. Getting plate… Found 96 stars, unable to solve plate, error: %@, moving to new position
    3. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 1 of 3, moving to new position
    4. Getting plate… Too few stars, moving to new position, connection failure (again, telnet session didn’t fail),reconnected and restarted SSAA alignment
    5. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 1 of 3, moving to new position
    6. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 2 of 3, moving to new position
    7. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 3 of 3, alignment success

    C11, HBG3 – attempt 4

    1. Restart c11 & HBG3, levelled scope, reconnected, started alignment routine all over again
    2. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, unable to solve plate, error: %@, moving to new position
    3. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 1 of 3, moving to new position
    4. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, unable to solve plate, error: %@, moving to new position
    5. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 2 of 3, moving to new position
    6. Getting plate… Found 84 stars, solved plate, increment count to 3 of 3, alignment success

    For reference, iPad and laptop were <1m away, so same skies, as was my c8 Evo. It was powered off whilst testing the c11 HBG3. Powered off the c11 HBG3 and powered up the c8 Evo to test. Using same iPad, SS7 Pro, etc. as above.

    C8 Evo – attempt 1

    1. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, unable to solve plate, error: %@, moving to new position
    2. Getting plate… Found 86 stars, solved plate, increment count to 1 of 3, moving to new position
    3. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, unable to solve plate, error: %@, moving to new position
    4. Getting plate… Found 86 stars, solved plate, increment count to 2 of 3, moving to new position
    5. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, unable to solve plate, error: %@, moving to new position
    6. Getting plate… Found 100 stars, solved plate, increment count to 3 of 3, alignment success

    Frankly, I was a little annoyed the c11 HBG3 combo eventually and actually worked tonight. Ran it Saturday night through like a dozen attempts (all getting the error %@) without it working, kept losing connection, and eventually gave up and did a two star align via the HC. Frustrating especially because I was hosting a star party.

    Let me know if you want those PuTTY logs from the AUX bus.

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    Carson Hanrahan

    Looks like there's a bug in the SSAA commands being returned across the AUX bus...

    001385017  relay_rx: 3b 05 b4 20 92 09 64 28     [SSAA -> SW]
    Starsense: 5/806 (100 stars)
    001385052  relay_rx: 3c 00 00 03 20 34 dc 8b 44 4c b6 36 44 ce e4 4c
                         44 00 99 f6 43 f6 01 76 43 ae 7d 41 44 b1 e2 99
                         44 86 6b ed 42 ed 8e a6 43 78 50 87 43 b3
    Starsense: 62/808 (+2 padding)
    Starsense: 63/808 bad padding 0x0a FAIL

    SSAA data is sent over AUX using a different protocol than normal. The usual messages all begin with 0x3b, but for SSAA data they begin with 0x3c to signify a different format for very large data transfers. Within that raw camera data, there is the occasional image data byte that happens to be 0x3b. The problem with this is that other devices on the AUX bus will see the 0x3b and try to interpret it as a command. The way Celestron deals with this, is by following any such 0x3b data byte with a padding byte in the "length field" of 0x02, which means nothing will interpret it as a valid 0x3b protocol message. All good so far.

    But what the code is reporting is that it saw the camera send 0x3b in the data, followed by (in this case) 0x0a instead of 0x02. Now 0x0a might get interpreted as a valid message in the original protocol, so this is a bug in the SSAA camera firmware. It should not be doing that. But apparently it does it do it, or perhaps the message is getting clobbered by something else (?).

    Note that 0x0a is 0x02 with a single bit flipped.

     

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    keith stepp

    Carson, you mention that there is a 'bug in SSAA camera firmware, yet as I explained during my test couple weeks ago when I switched cameras with c with his, everything was all good and we are both running same firmware versions (1.2.13343)  as you.

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    Keiron Smith

    Carson Hanrahan

    Are you using Celestron WiFi to make your connection from SS7 Pro to your mounts?

    Thanks!

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    Keiron Smith

    Carson Hanrahan

    Also, you are reporting SkySafari 7 Pro v3.5.1 (1118) - I assume you mean SkySafari 7 Pro v7.5.1 (1118) - but in either case this is not the latest beta.  Are you in the beta-testing?  If so, you should be updating the beta to the latest version, always.

    On Nov 4, beta 7.5.2 (1122) was released to TestFlight.

    Today, beta 7.5.2 (1125) was released to TestFlight.

    Thanks!

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    Carson Hanrahan

    keith stepp - I'm not convinced it's the camera. Your experience may be coincidence. I have two SSAA cameras, both running the same firmware, which hasn't been updated since 2014, and purchased several years apart. Both have the issue. Could indeed be both are bad. But they weren't always so. Swapping the cameras doesn't swap the issue.

    Keiron Smith - Yes, using the Evo mount's built-in Celestron wifi (v1.2.0.10) for the c8. The c11 GPS doesn't have wifi as you know, so using Mark Lord's HBG3 device for wifi, which also relays (pass-through) all Celestron AUX bus signals. That's how I was able to capture and debug the AUX traffic. I could use the Python AUXBUS Scanner (https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/744856-celestron-auxbus-scanner/) on the c8, but know it'll return the same AUX traffic. And you're right, SS7 Pro v7.5.1 (1118). SkyPortal, based on SS6, version is 3.5.0.13. Thanks for catching my typo, apologies.

     

    Let me know if you want the SS7 Scope Logs. Riddled with errors too.

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    Keiron Smith

    Carson Hanrahan

    Please focus on the Celestron WiFi.  

    Reduce the setup to the minimal requirement.

    SS7 Pro - latest beta or latest public release (out today).

    Celestron Evolution mount with Celestron WiFi connection.

    That's it, nothing else.

    Please test for an evening and report what happens (along with all the specs).

    Thanks!

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    Keiron Smith

    Carson Hanrahan

    SS7 Pro - latest beta or latest public release (out today).

    Stay with the beta.

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