photon Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Hi, recently I upgraded to the newly released version 5.2.1.9 of Autoslew. After making a new pointing file the tracking is now worse than before even the new "SuperFit" feature is used. Probably I did something wrong as there were never elongated stars on 5 minutes subs before. To make it short, when can we expect an updated version of the documentation? Both the English and German docs are from 2012 Also the official release notes are quite outdated (http://www.astrosysteme.at/images/Autoslew-History_D.pdf) Best regards, Gerald Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxmirot Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Gerald, Lack of up to date information continues to be the main problem for ASA. We should have good up to date documentation and some official online dialogue (support). I am disappointed so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w0mbat Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I agree. If you look back through the history of this forum you will find that this has been a continuing frustration for years. Promises have been made by ASA but none have been kept. Frankly I think most of us have given up hoping that proper manuals will ever be produced. I just do not understand this. No one doubts the quality of ASA hardware. But they are prepared to have their reputation damaged by inadequate documentation and communication with users. This has already happened. Some of the comments about ASA in general astronomy forums are simply scathing. In my view for a company to behave like this in such a small world as the astronomy community is utterly stupid and short sighted. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxmirot Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Agree Must hurt business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photon Posted February 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Finally the pointing is fine again here and a test sub with 10 minutes was great with a new 150 point alignment. There is also a current "release notes" in the program folder of Autoslew, where it is noted that the new version is incompatible with the old "Fourier only" configuration. I also agree that the hardware is great. The function of the software is also great, but the user interface needs improvement. And as already said in the initial post, the documentation needs a complete rework. From my point of view I still have the feeling that the complete software development, testing, release management, bug tracking, documentation, etc. is allocated to only one person. This would make me very nervous as a business owner, as there is also no 3rd party software to drive the mounts. Hopefully they have at least intern docs about all the math behind, but I doubt so to be honest. An official issue tracking system like Jira would be great for all of us. - Gerald Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakbrooks Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Am I correct in thinking that the ASA2 software has been developed in-house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamaSpaceShip Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Hi Nigel, You just had a dream. The ASA2 software that was shown is just a in-house demo, with some ASA promisses that we all know how to interpret. Today, this software is still "to be made". Ian, I think ASA is afraid to be too successful, so they need to limit the customer interest to their products. They found a solution to this issue that works. Best regards. Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john32712 Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Photon, I recently upgraded my mount (DDM 85XL) with absolute encoders. I really love my mount, it works so well it is unbelievable. I turn it on, slew to a star, synch, and I am rolling... 15 to 20 minute subs unguided and I know it can do even better. But I gotta tell you, just like many stated above. The documentation is shit. It's not months behind, its years behind! We have been promised so many times over the past years that we would finally get updated and concise documentation and it never happens. The communication and updates are horrific. I do like the owners and staff of ASA, but there is no excuse for this. Buying an ASA mount is like dating a hot looking women, you put up with her BS because the sex is good. She may not have any brains in her head, but she has a hell of a body....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john32712 Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Bernard! That was hillarious! Unfortunately we all suffer because of ASA's approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakbrooks Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 What did it cost to update the 85XL to absolute encoders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john32712 Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Hi Nigel, I would suggest contacting ASA with an email and requesting a price. I did a weird deal with them, since I was also having some mount issues. Basically I swapped mounts. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakbrooks Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Thanks John. I assumed it couldn't be a standard upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamaSpaceShip Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 (edited) Hi Nigel, Using absolute encoders in place of incremental ones is only a simplification of the system. Once the "homefind" is done, incremental encoders provide the exact same service. So I don't think it is worth to change as it is not a real upgrade of the system. Best regards. Bernard Edited February 16, 2016 by RamaSpaceShip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakbrooks Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Ah I understand. Thanks Bernard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john32712 Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Bernard, Yes it does simplify things, but if you compare specs, they are tighter. I would assume since the feedback mechanism (absolute encoders) are more accurate in positioning description this should be the overall effect. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamaSpaceShip Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hi John, Yes, the new absolute encoders have a better precision than the current incremental ones. But this additional precision will have nearly no effect on the performance of the mount. The only case where it may help is when the mount is used for some special professionnal operations. For amateurs like us, the current mount performance is already optimal in terms of precision: do you need more than 20 minutes subs? I don't think so. Best regards. Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpze Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Is there any documentation of the new Superfit function? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakbrooks Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Is there any up to date documentation of anything at all ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukepower Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 It's really bad but real: There is no usable documentation out there right now. Damn I was considering writing a short tutorial for new users, but honestly I can't see a real reason (besides being a helpful person) why we should bother and do ASA's job. <_> By the way, I found out that there are other mount manufacturers who are also using absolute encoders and - though they are NOT using direct drives - they also have incredible tracking performances. And also usable documentation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpze Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Well, i have to admit that I am happy with my DDM85, but i would not recomend ASA to a person looking for a premium mount. If i knew what i know today, i would go for a 10 Micron :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamaSpaceShip Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Hi Lukas, why we should bother and do ASA's job I have a similar position. But I would be happy to participate if they open their software as that would be a win-win approach. Best regards. Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john32712 Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Lukas and Bernard, I have heard you guys talking about "Superfit". 2 Questions... 1. I have never used it. I just do a MLPT run and that's it. Tried to find it (superfit), but do not know where to begin? Do you guys like it? 2. If you think it is something we need to know, can someone please post some of the steps needed to get it going? Thanks, John Nemcik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukepower Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Hi John, well, superfit is supposed to make an even better, smoother model of the telescope behaviour over the whole sky. I had quite good results with it and my Cassegrain, but had to revert to use guiding to get always accurately tracked images (with only MLPT, I had about 25% of the images with star trails). If you do MLPT, you do not need Superfit. There was a time/version of Autoslew when it was actually counterproductive, as MLPT and SUperfit did corrections at the same time. This said, if you want to test it, simply make a good pointing file with Sequencer with enough measurements (dunno how many, though, I would start with 50-60), and do as you always did. You should find something like this then: The SuperFIt correction values will change depending on your position in the sky Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxmirot Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Hi Lukas, I have a similar position. But I would be happy to participate if they open their software as that would be a win-win approach. Best regards. Bernard Good luck. They own this forum and don't every drop by enough to monitor negative comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxmirot Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Upgrade would not be worth it . Likely 5K or more. Easier to sell your mount and buy a one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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