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REALLY strange behavior with Celestron Evolution mount after upgrading SkySafari Plus

Lawrence Conklin

May 07, 2020 20:40

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Yesterday I upgraded my SkySafari Plus app to version 6.7.0.8.  I was particularly interested in two features that were indicated in the description of the update: "SkyWeek replaced with calendar" and "Improved Celestron wi-fi connection for Android 8, 9, 10".  I am running the app on a Motorola Moto G5 Plus phone, under Android ver. 8.1.  My scope is an 8" Celestron Evolution.

My first check of the new update was to take a look at the calendar function as a replacement for the SkyWeek function.  Everything seemd to work fine, but I was offered the option of installing a new settings file, named May06-2020.  Apparently needed to accommodate showing the Eta Aquarius meteor shower, so I installed the new settings file.  Having installed the new settings file, I could now see a graphical animations of the shower.

Next step was to see how the improved  Celestron wi-fi connection worked.  Something I'd been having trouble with.  I had a little trouble until I realized that using the new setting file resulted in the loss of all of the relevant settings for my scope and equipment.  In particular, the app was in Demo mode.  So, I reset the scope selection from Demo to Celestron Wi-Fi, which is what I normally use to control the scope.  Still takes more than 30 seconds to connect, but it finally got there.  Tried the Az-Alt controls which worked as expected.

Now comes the weird stuff.  If I use the +/- controls to adjust the display scale, the scope mount makes rather loud motor sounds, but nothing moves in either axis.  No idea what the mount is trying to do, but the sounds are louder that the normal slewing sounds, even at the fastest slew settings available.

I used the app controls to disconnect from the scope, and the slew buttons disappeared from display as expected.  BUT the +/- controls for display scale STILL caused the unexplained motor noises.

So, I turned off the scope function in the app, and the mount was still responsive to the +/- display controls.

Next, I disconnected my phone from the mount Wi-Fi and reconnected to my home network.  Mount still responded the screen +/- controls.

Next, I powered down the mount.  At this point it shouldn't respond to anything, but it STILL responded to the screen scale controls.

Finally, in desperation, I replaced the May06-2020 settings file in the app with the settings file I had been using prior to updating the app.  THAT solves the problem.  I can connect and control the scope normally, and do not experience any of the artifacts that I was having with the May06-2020 settings file.

To say the least, none of this makes any sense to me at all.  I have never seen the "motor noise but no motion" phenomenon under any circumstance, and don't have any idea how the app could in any way influence what the mount is doing when the scope control function is turned off, the app is not connected to the scope wi-fi, and the mount is not turned on.

If you like mysteries, this is a good one.

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4 comments

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  Pedro Braganca May 10, 2020 03:02

  Hi Lawrence, Keiron did ask me about this and I updated the .skyset files for the calendar events to remove reference to Scope Settings - hopefully that solves the issue for you.  

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  Lawrence Conklin May 10, 2020 21:13

  Hi Pedro,

  Many thanks for your quick attention to my problem.  I hope the following explanation will provide you a laugh for the day.

  I sat down to experiment with the change you made to calendar function.  I found the May10 .settings file, but before I installed it, I simply invoked the "Preview Settings" option associated with the file.  That alone is sufficient to view the sky area that is described in the calendar entry for the selected day.  No need to actually apply the settings, and as I found out, it is much better not to do so.  Turns out that when I pressed either of the screen zoom buttons, I was presented with the mysterious "motor noise but no motion" sounds I described in my original post.  It was at that moment I realized that the sounds were coming from my phone and not from the scope mount!  One of the other settings that differed in the calendar function settings files from the settings that I customarily use is that the calendar associated files have the sound effects function turned on, which I never use.  I should mention that my hearing is very poor, and the sound effects associated with the screen zoom controls are very similar to the sounds the mount makes when it is slewing at high rates.  When I'm sitting next to the mount, I can't tell the difference.

  In the light of this little adventure, I have a couple of observations and suggestions.

  The newly implemented Calendar function did not come with an updated description of how it works in the help system.  The old SkyWeek help page needs to be replaced with a description of the Calendar function.  I was not prepared for the need to go find and invoke a settings file to see the sky view associated with the selected calendar entry.  Based on my experience, I think it would be a good idea to explain that it is sufficient to simply preview the settings without actually applying them.

  It seems as if the only settings parameters that are relevant to the calendar display function are the Az/Alt coordinates, the field of view, and whatever it takes to highlight objects that are mentioned in the calendar text.  But the settings file includes parameters that impact nearly every aspect of the overall functioning of the app.  If the calendar related settings files could be limited to only those parameters that are relevant to the calendar view, it seems that a lot of problems and confusion could be avoided.

  As it now stands, every invocation of the calendar function results in the download of a new .settings file associated with the view described for the selected day.  If you use the function nearly every day as I do, you're going to wind up with a lot of files.  That leaves the user with the chore of deleting the files that will become unwanted clutter otherwise.

   

• 0
  
  Pedro Braganca May 11, 2020 01:12

  Lawrence, I see what is going on in the Android version of SkySafari.  It's a bug - when you press the View button, it's just suppose to automatically load the settings file and show you the event in question.  It's not suppose to ask you to download the file.  We'll fix.  Pedro

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  Lawrence Conklin May 11, 2020 01:47

   

  I'm glad to know that the problem has an identifiable cause.  Before I realized what was going on with the sound effects, I was ready to believe that either I'd lost my mind or that the mount was haunted.