New post
0

App Freezing When Connected To OnStepX 10.25 Telescope

Good morning to all. As requested by tech support I post here my problem. My configuration is: Skysafari pro 7.5.2 - Iphone 14 256Gb - IOS 18.1.1 - Telescope controller OnstepX 10.25 with no hand controller but connected to a samsung tablet running android - I have no additional wifi hardware because it is provided by the board where Onstep is installedv(wemos D1 ESP32 is already providing wifi access) - I have no serial cables connected - SkySafari preset is Meade LX200 classic.

I set up onstep through the onstep app, setting site location, time and date and performing telescope alignment. After that I start skysafari and connect to the telescope in my home wifi, that has a very good signal. Normally at first connection sky safari show the right position of the telescope. With the connection established skysafari slow down and sometimes freezes. If I try a goto with skysafari the scope move in the right coordinates, but the app freezes, i cannot see the telescope cursor moving ( I also tried to lower the refresh rate to 3 per second). Sometimes, when the slew finishes, the cursor reappear in the right location, sometimes in the wrong one, and sometimes the app give an error that the connection to the scope is lost. In this case if I try to reconnect, it is always a fail. I have to go to the telescope preset, edit it, without changing anything, just verify the connection, always getting a positive answer, then go back to the map and reconnect the scope, randomly is showing the right coordinates or sometimes the wrong one, in the middle of the last slew.

Attached are the screenshots of my configuration, I don't have the error message because I'm at work


 

I would like to point out that onstep is working fine if it is used alone, or connected to a raspberry with astroberry or astroarch (indi server and kstar).

3 comments

  • 0
    Avatar
    Keiron Smith

    Your challenges are outside the scope of my experience, so the reply below has been generated with AI assistance.  Thanks!

    Thank you for sharing the detailed description of your setup and the issues you’re encountering. Based on your configuration and the behavior of SkySafari, it seems there might be a few potential causes for the freezing and connection issues:

     

    Possible Causes and Recommendations:

    1.Wi-Fi Signal Interference or Strength:

    •While you mentioned that your home Wi-Fi has a good signal, the OnStep’s ESP32 Wi-Fi module might still experience interference or dropouts.

    Recommendations:

    •Try creating a dedicated Wi-Fi network using the OnStep module without connecting to your home Wi-Fi. This ensures no interference from other devices on your home network.

    •Use a Wi-Fi analyzer app to check for channel interference and set the OnStep module to a less crowded Wi-Fi channel.

    2.SkySafari Refresh Rate:

    •Even though you set the refresh rate to 3 per second, this might still be too frequent if the connection is unstable.

    Recommendation: Try lowering the refresh rate further to 1 update per second to see if stability improves.

    3.OnStep Protocol Compatibility:

    •While the “Meade LX200 Classic” preset is generally recommended for OnStep, there may be subtle protocol mismatches.

    Recommendation: Ensure you have the latest OnStep firmware installed. Sometimes firmware updates include improvements to the LX200 protocol implementation.

    4.SkySafari App Behavior:

    •Freezing and slowdowns in SkySafari could be related to the app struggling to parse or update data from the OnStep controller.

    Recommendation:

    •Check if there are any pending updates for SkySafari. Updating to the latest version might resolve compatibility issues.

    •Clear SkySafari’s cache or reinstall the app to ensure no corrupt settings are causing the problem.

    5.OnStep Alignment and Status Updates:

    •If the OnStep alignment process isn’t fully complete or if SkySafari misinterprets its status, it could cause erratic behavior.

    Recommendation:

    •After performing alignment in the OnStep app, ensure that the telescope’s home position and alignment are correctly saved.

    •Try using the OnStep app to monitor telescope status during a SkySafari connection to see if the coordinates are consistent.

    6.Connection Drop and Reconnect Issues:

    •Requiring you to “edit” the telescope preset to reconnect suggests a potential software bug in SkySafari or a dropout in OnStep’s Wi-Fi connection.

    Recommendations:

    •Disable power-saving features on your iPhone Wi-Fi settings to prevent it from reducing connection stability.

    •Monitor the OnStep Wi-Fi module’s uptime to ensure it is not restarting or dropping the connection.

     

    Troubleshooting Steps:

    1.Simplify your network by directly connecting your iPhone to the OnStep’s Wi-Fi, bypassing your home network.

    2.Test the OnStep connection using other telescope control apps (e.g., Luminos, Stellarium) to isolate whether the issue is with SkySafari or the OnStep setup.

    3.Reproduce the issue and check the OnStep logs (accessible through the OnStep app) for any errors or connection timeouts.

     

    Next Steps:

    •If the issue persists, try sharing the OnStep connection logs and SkySafari settings with the support team for deeper analysis. To share screenshots, you can upload them to a cloud service (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox) and provide a link.

     

    If you need help with any of these steps or further clarification, let me know!

  • 0
    Avatar
    Keiron Smith

    SkySafari also has a log file, see Help > Scroll to the bottom.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Roberto Rodoero

    Thanks for all the suggestions, I will try to use the onstep wifi instead of my home wifi. I’ll check the log too.
    Now I’m on holiday away from home.
    I will make further tests when I will be back.
    Happy new year

Please sign in to leave a comment.