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Skysafari 6 Pro | Celestron CGX + Starsense + Celestron WiFi = System Lockup (Now Works!)

Hi Bill

I could not find my other posting on this so I am restating here.

About a week ago ,  I had a complete snafu on the scope operation (with Skysafari6 pro and WiFi control)

It went  from Sticky keys, freeze ups, slow response sometimes.then Skysafari 6 pro stopped  connecting via wifi all together.

Then I Could not get a connection via ASCOM through the HC. After a number of power cycles and numerous trys via ASCOM connection the scope finally started connecting OK.

It also started to work via wifi , skysafari

 

Last night basically the same thing happened.

I had the same kind of complete system lockup (as mentioned above) 

Running Skysafari 6 pro, with CGX, Starsense, Astrophotography Tool, PHD2, Celestron WiFi module

I had been taking a series of photos for about 45 mins, checking on the progress every 10 mins or so.

I came in and saw the msg on my Ipad that Skysafari had lost connection.

Tried reconnecting but no luck. Checked the WiFi connection under Ipad setup and it was still connected to scope. Tried reconnecting in Skysafari a few more times, no luck.

During this time Astrophotography was still running,  Then I noticed star trails on my pictures.

The scope was no longer tracking and it was very slowly (speed 1 or 2) slewing by itself. Even jogging with HC keys would not get it to stop.

I then had to go through a couple of power cycles on the CGX to get WiFi control back with Skysafari.

I will also report this Celestron.

 

I will also report this Celestron.

Date Votes

18 comments

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    Not sure what to tell you.  Definitely report this to Celestron. Sounds like a problem that goes beyond SkySafari.

     

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    I know Bill. very strange.

    Just wanted to let you know on this.

    I am trying an experiment right now .

    I have my CGX , Starsense , Skysafari 6 pro running right now , via the "connect" in Skysafari. (No alignment.)

    Letting it stay connected for the next couple hours to see if the response deteriorates or goes flaky on me again.

    Hopefully this is about the same as doing the "connect and align" as far as scope communications go.

    I will let you know any results on this.

     

    .

     

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    OK . Short story.

    I seemed to have eliminated the connection drop outs.

    This was apparently caused because my 2nd Ipad was trying to link to the Scope WiFi. I would not have expect this since that Ipad was Closed and not logged in!

     Anyway once I discovered this and connected that Ipad to my router WiFi., no more disconnects .

    I believe the Skysafari 6 pro response lag also improved with this "fix".

    I may test this some more today by doing the same experiment:

        Have my CGX , Starsense , Skysafari 6 pro running , via the "connect" in Skysafari. (No alignment.)

        Letting it stay connected for a couple hours to see if the response deteriorates or goes flaky.

    I will add this to my "watch out " list while using my scope.

    Hmmm, would this mean if I was in a group using Celestron scopes with WiFi, I would have issues with other Ipads trying to connect?

    Thanks for listening on this.

     

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    Good sleuthing.  There should not be a problem with others in a group also using Celestron Wi-Fi as long as they are connected to their unit, and not yours.

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    What I wonder about is, if someone nearby does not have their scope turned on but they do have their IOS or Android device set for linking to a Celestron scope, would that cause the type problem I was seeing? 

    Do you know if each scope WiFi dongle has a unique broadcast name ?

    if it does then there should not be a problem unless someone accidentally linked to the wrong scope address.

     

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    Each Celestron Wi-Fi dongle creates its own Wi-Fi network.  They should not interfere.  The broadcast name (SSID) of each dongle is unique.

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    Bill 

     thank you for your time and the information on this.

    your support helps make your company a superior provider for the astronomy society.

    take care

    stephen

     

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    Bill

     I just wanted to update you on my experience with skysafari 6pro and control of my CGX scope via Celestron WiFi module.

    no more complete lockup’s BUT

     I do see a response delay about 30% of the time while issuing commands from my iPad Pro.

    this,happens for

      arrow slew commands (arrow does not respond, or stays acting after release)

       Selection of objects for Goto commands

       Scrolling through setup screen selections.

    i could understand some command delays if interfacing with the scope but I wouldn’t think scrolling through menus in the setup screen would be affected by scope communications.?

    Are there settings on the iPad that we need to watch out for?

    Most delays are not of concern but the jog arrow staying active for several seconds after release can be nerve racking.

    any ideas on how to trouble shoot this?

    thanks

    stephen 

     

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    Stephen,

    Do you see the same delays when using Celestron's SkyPortal app?  

    I hate to send you to Celestron, but you should probably talk to them about this.  The delays happen when the scope is slow to respond to commands we send.  For technical reasons these commands are synchronous and wait for a response before proceeding.  This can lock up the user interface but it really shouldn't if everything is working correctly.

    Celestron is the keeper of knowledge for our interaction with the Celestron Wi-Fi.  If you don't see this with SkyPortal, then it is something we can look into.

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    Thanks for getting back to me Bill.

     Ok , I will try the  skyportal app on my Ipad and see if I get similar delays in some of the reactions.

    I understand the synchronous mode of your software interacting with the scope. 

    That is why I mentioned the slow down and delays I was seeing while scrolling through the settings menu in Skysafari.

    Would you expect your program to delay responses that are not part of the communications to the scope.?

    Or is your program continuously trying to poll the scope for status, even when in the Setup submenu...

    Anyway, I will give skyportal a try as soon as I can and let you know what the findings are.

    Take care

    Stephen 

     

     

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    Bill

     I was able to run last night so I conducted some experiments.

    Setup and aligned my CGX/Starsense , Celestron WiFi module system using Skyportal.

    Performed 5 to 6 GOTOs to make sure scope was responding properly.

    Experiment 1

    I then used the jog buttons on the Skyportal app (at 1 speed slower than max) to move the scope in a continuous pattern:

    1. hold up arrow of DEC for 3 secs , release then
    2. hold up arrow of RA for 3 secs, release then
    3. hold down arrow of DEC for 3 secs , release then
    4. hold down arrow of RA for 3 secs , release then back to #1

    I exercised the scope control this way for 3 to 4 minutes and monitored the movement and watched for any pauses in response .

    Experiment 2

    I then did a similar type pattern, but this time holding a RA and DEC button at the same time:

    1. hold down arrow of DEC and RA for 3 secs , release then
    2. hold up arrow of DEC and RA for 3 secs , release then back to #1

    I exercised the scope control this way for about 2 minutes and monitored the movement and watched for any pauses in response .

    For Skyportal I did NOT notice any pauses in response, "stuck" arrow keys or loss of communication with the scope.

     

    I then performed the same experiment , this time running with Skysafari 6 pro as the control program.

    Performed 5 to 6 GOTOs to make sure scope was responding properly.

    While performing experiment 1, I began to notice some delays in the response of the arrows on the Ipad after a few minutes.

    While performing experiment 2, the App stopped responding to arrow keys after about 1 minute and would not respond to any menu selections.

    I went into Ipad "setup" to verify WiFi was still active, and the status lights of the Celestron WiFi module were active.

    I could not get any response from Skysafari.

     

    I restarted my CGX system and Skysafari 6 Pro.

    I then reran the two experiments again, with no issues.

     

    I restarted my CGX system and Skyportal.

    I then reran the two experiments again, with no issues.

     

    I thought this would be a good "stress" test of the control interface .

    Let me know what you think.

    Take care

    Stephen

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    Thanks for testing.  The control code in SkyPortal and SkySafari should be identical.  I do recall that Celestron made a change in the default Readout Rate so that it is 2 per second.  They decided that worked best for them.  I don't think this is settable in SkyPortal but make sure that SkySafari is using the same value.  Looking at the code, For Celestron Wi-Fi it sets the readout rate to 2 per second each time you connect

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    Coincidentally, I had my skysafari rate set  to 2/sec. I didn’t know that was the fixed rate of skyportal, as there is no way to observe the skyportal rate value.

    that makes it even more puzzling why skysafari should exhibit the performance problems and skyportal does not if they are both polling at same rate.

    if the weather will cooperate, I will try skysafari at 1 sec rate with the same experiments and see if will stay stable.

    When I run either program, I make sure there are no other apps idled or trying to run in the background. At least as far as I can on the iPad.

     Out of curiosity, is  your program polling the scope, even when in the settings screen?

    will let you know what next experiments show.

    take care

    stephen

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    It polls as long as you are connected to the scope.  So if you go into the Settings, it will continue to poll.

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    Ok . That makes sense then that If I experience delays in the main goto interface, then I would see a slow down in all areas of the program, including accessing and scrolling in other submenus.

    Sorry to ask, but programmer in me just can’t leave it alone.

    are skyportal and skysafari both written in same language and if so do they use the same polling subroutine?

    thanks for your response.

    stephen

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    Yes, the two apps are both compiled from the same code base.  However, SkyPortal is still based on the SkySafari 5 code base so there could be a difference there.  But I don't think we made any change to Celestron Wi-Fi scope control between SS5 and SS6.

    Celestron is just starting to test a version of SkyPortal based on SS6.  It will be interesting to see if they see any pauses.

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    Ok thanks for satisfying my curiosity.

    too many projects I worked on that the code was “mostly “ the same, but those little differences came back to bite us.

    thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions.

    this is what happens when you retire and have more time to get involved with things you enjoy playing with.

    i will leave you alone now , at least until I have the results from my next experiment.

     

  • 0
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    Skaiser3

    Ran the same experiment with Skysafari 6 Pro , but with polling rate set to 1/sec.

    The good news is no lockups or crashes of the software after multiple runs of 3-5 minutes.

    I still saw response delays occurring during my jog runs but they only lasted about  1-2 secs, a few minutes apart.

    So , I am happy no more lockups/crashes.

    Short response delays are only annoying . 

    As long as I don't see any more long moves after I release the jog button I will be happy.

    I will keep you posted on any developments.

    Take care

    Stephen

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