5 replies to this topic

[Northrim]

Hey folks;

 

A few days ago I was out and had connection/control issues between NINA and my AVX mount.  The physical connection between my laptop and mount is via a usb cable going into the handset.   I had been using the Celestron ASCOM drivers to connect.  So, last night I tried something I had never done before.  I connected everything through CPWI.

 

I turned on the mount then used CPWI to set the location, date and time and start PEC playback.  I connected the mount to NINA and to Phd2 via CPWI as well as using it to connect the Celestron focuser.  

 

Everything seems to have worked well.  I had some power fluctuations with my laptop that caused some problems (Phd2 shut down for some reason - a new portable  power is arriving Friday) and I had to create a new profile in Phd2 so NINA would know what hardware to look for but other than that, no problems.  Goto was spot on and didn't give me any weird mount pointing positions like a few days ago and guiding was "ok" (for imaging the Lagoon Nebula near the horizon with an AVX with awful backlash that I just couldn't tame last night)

 

My question is simply this:  Is there any reason anyone knows of that I should not be connecting this way?  Any issues I should keep an eye out for?   I don't know the pros and cons of using CPWI and just thought I'd ask.

 

Clear skies everyone.

[Notdarkenough]

CPWI started as planetarium software co-created by Celestron and PlaneWave Instruments, thus the name C.P.W.I. A couple of years ago Celestron decided to morph CPWI into a planetarium software and an ASCOM hub. So, if you have a Celestron mount, using CPWI as your ASCOM hub works well. There are other drivers available for those using Celestron devices without a Celestron mount like the Celestron Focus Motor for example.

 

Short answer: nothing wrong with using CPWI as an ASCOM hub because it is!

[ButterFly]

It takes up some CPU.  With good polar alignment, plate solving, and guiding, there really isn't a need for a good sky model.  Using "quick align" from the hand controller is enough to get one imaging.  Solve and sync to calibrate PHD2, then solve and slew to get to the target.

 

Now that one can solve and inject alignment points into CPWI's model, it's more helpful when there are several targets throughout the night.  For example, doing EAA for many targets, or visual for many, many doubles.  The five minutes to solve for a good model can save lots of time there.

Edited by ButterFly, 04 July 2022 - 04:43 PM.

[scopewizard]

CPWI is actually the replacement for NexRemote (Old software). It is the digital version of your hand controller. It is like eqmod software. I using it all the times as it makes connecting very simple. 

 

With my CGX, I have no need to connect the HC. Connect to the mount USB only. PHD2 connects to CPWI via Ascom and that is it. I use SharpCap Pro to polar align and plate solve for imaging, no need for models.

 

Here is the latest versions, beta 5.

 

https://software.cel...CPWI/CPWI_2.4.3

[drblevy13]

I have a Celestron AVX and connect it to N.I.N.A. using CPWI.  It works quite well that way, and found CPWI to be very reliable.  Only pitfall is that I have to remember to power up the mount and wait for the handset to boot up BEFORE I connect the USB cable from the handset to the laptop.  If I connect the USB first and then power up, I get a message of "Bootloader Bypass" or something to that effect, and then CPWI will throw an error when attempting to connect.  Only way I have found to clear that error is to power down the mount, restart the laptop, power up the mount, wait for handset to load, and then connect USB cable to the laptop.

 

Also agree with ButterFly: I have found that it is much quicker to align though using SharpCap to polar align and then plate solve at 2-3 locations.  Takes a lot less time than fiddling with the slew controls to center a star.

[scopewizard]

I have a Celestron AVX and connect it to N.I.N.A. using CPWI.  It works quite well that way, and found CPWI to be very reliable.  Only pitfall is that I have to remember to power up the mount and wait for the handset to boot up BEFORE I connect the USB cable from the handset to the laptop.  If I connect the USB first and then power up, I get a message of "Bootloader Bypass" or something to that effect, and then CPWI will throw an error when attempting to connect.  Only way I have found to clear that error is to power down the mount, restart the laptop, power up the mount, wait for handset to load, and then connect USB cable to the laptop.

 

Also agree with ButterFly: I have found that it is much quicker to align though using SharpCap to polar align and then plate solve at 2-3 locations.  Takes a lot less time than fiddling with the slew controls to center a star.

A couple of questions, is you firmware up to date?

Are you using the lastest version of CPWI, see link in previous post?

 

I have tried this on my CGX HC connection with no issue. With everything connected, It will say "Bootloader Bypass" when you power the mount and connect to HC in CPWI.