1540 replies to this topic

[mlord]

Just unplug the Nunchuck, and plug it back in again after a second or two.  That should reset things.  The Nunchuck connectors are hot-plug safe, unlike the AUX connectors.

 

Dunno why that happens with your Nunchuck though.  Mine all behave themselves, but if enough others see a similar issue I may have to dig into it.

 

Cheers

[mlord]

My nunchuck has failed a few times now in an odd manner. It will work fine for a while then decide that no matter which direction I move the stick in Dec, it will move the scope north.

 

If you can get it to happen when you have a PC handy, then connect from the PC to either the USB/Serial link, or via telnet to the HBG3 IP-address port 3000.

 

For telnet:

 

telnet xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx 3000

debug

n

 

For Serial/USB:

 

n

 

Either way, the 'n' command should respond with nchuck_debug=1 and then cause lots of output to appear when the Nunchuck is in use.  Share that output and a diagnosis may be possible.

 

Cheers
 

Edited by mlord, 27 June 2024 - 02:16 PM.

[CraigB1960]

Mine mis-behaved recently. It is fairly new and the buttons stopped responding. Took my unit apart and cleaned the pads with contact cleaner. Working great now.

I did buy two more as spares (they are cheap). So I would get another one just to rule out a nunchuck problem.

[vtaDan]

...  The Nunchuck connectors are hot-plug safe, unlike the AUX connectors...

 

If you can get it to happen when you have a PC handy...

Ok, I wasn't sure if the nunchuck was hot-plug safe so I hadn't tried that. I'll try to gather that output next time it happens, then unplug/plug.

Thanks!!

[vtaDan]

Well, the cranky nunchuck didn't pull it's usual trick last night but it did decide I was pointing to far north at some point during the session. It started slewing south on its own and wouldn't take no for an answer until I unplugged it.

I didn't have my pc connected at the time so I didn't try to collect any diagnostics but I'm convinced it's the nunchuck itself at this point. A new one will be here today from a different vendor so the old one is destined for the bone pile.

If I do see odd behavior again I'll speak up but I don't expect to.

[zpapadelias]

So I am running the latest v8.50 software with a homemade focuser using the 28byj-48 5v stepper motor and driver. I have added the 1k resistor and the HBG3 recognizes the focus motor with no issues. 

 

The one problem I've run into is with the nunchuck controller. When using the high speed (joystick left and right) the focus motor will turn in both directions as expected. But when using the slow speed (joystick forward and back) it seems the motor will only turn in one direction no matter which way the joystick is moved. Is this supposed to be normal operation in that speed or is there a problem?

[mlord]

Doesn't sound normal, does it? Mine isn't hooked up at the moment, but I might be able to set it up again later this week for a fresh look.

In the meantime, you could use usb/serial debug features to see what's going on.

Edited by mlord, 01 July 2024 - 07:31 AM.

[zpapadelias]

Doesn't sound normal, does it? Mine isn't hooked up at the moment, but I might be able to set it up again later this week for a fresh look.

In the meantime, you could use usb/serial debug features to see what's going on.

No, I didn't think that was normal, lol. I have an OEM nunchuck I can try as well. I'll try and debug the aftermarket one and see what it does. 

Also, just to clarify, the nunchuck operates the mount normally. Left, right, up, and down all function as expected. It's only the focuser that acts odd in slow mode.

Edited by zpapadelias, 01 July 2024 - 11:21 AM.

[mlord]

  mlord, on 01 Jul 2024 - 08:28 AM, said:

Mine isn't hooked up at the moment, but I might be able to set it up again later this week for a fresh look.

I retested v8.50 with both kinds of stepper motors today, and the Nunchuck does exactly what it is supposed to do on either type.  All good good.

 

Maybe the (HBG3) A,B,C,D control wires are not connected in quite the right order there?

I use A=IN1, B=IN2, C=IN3, D=IN4

 

When using the high speed (joystick left and right) the focus motor will turn in both directions as expected. But when using the slow speed (joystick forward and back) ..

Interesting.  On mine, forward/back (aka. up/down) are the high-speed controls, and side-to-side are for low-speed.  This should be universal.

Edited by mlord, 11 July 2024 - 08:00 AM.

[zpapadelias]

Interesting.  On mine, forward/back (aka. up/down) are the high-speed controls, and side-to-side are for low-speed.  This should be universal.

This actually helps a lot. Since the nunchuck operates the mount properly, and the GOTO_Fast and GOTO_Slow code looks right, the only thing could be miswiring of the stepper motor. I made my motor with a plug and cable so I can unplug and not have wires hanging around, so I must have mis-wired something in there.

[zpapadelias]

This actually helps a lot. Since the nunchuck operates the mount properly, and the GOTO_Fast and GOTO_Slow code looks right, the only thing could be miswiring of the stepper motor. I made my motor with a plug and cable so I can unplug and not have wires hanging around, so I must have mis-wired something in there.

Turns out this was not the issue at all. It's the Aliexpress nunchuck. The OEM Wii nunchuck works as it's supposed to with everything as is. I can't imagine though why the Alie nunchuck only has an issue with the focus motor and not the mount control. 

[mlord]

Here is release v8.51 of the Arduino ESP32 source code for this project:  hbg3.ino.v8.51.txt   325.01KB   17 downloads

• Minor fixes around DEW_RECALIBRATE_ENV_SENSOR.
• Make suppress.lowbattery also hide such messages from verbose/trace.
• Don't do Network Time Protocol (NTP) unless a real/fake GPS is configured.
• Enable tracing 1 or 2 devices at once with the trace command.  Eg.  trace ALT AZM
• Measure Dew Heater voltage on ADS1115 channel-3: use external divide-by-5 voltage divider on the input.
• Read thermistor every 3 seconds instead of every 4 seconds.
• Show p3000 responses when verbose=1.

The two big-ticket items are, support for measuring Dew Controller voltage, and the ability to now trace one or two devices on the AUX bus using the "trace" command (instead of only one device).

 

Sources and binaries are now available in all of the usual places for both this project and the All-In-One (AIO) project.  Using the built-in Over The Air (OTA) Firmware Update mechanism is by far the simplest way to install this latest firmware.  More information is here: https://rtr.ca/hbg3/

Edited by mlord, 13 July 2024 - 02:48 PM.

[jameslew]

A year later (my nxGPS was gathering dust for a while), I've gotten out my scope and have the 20 year gap issue.

 

I've thought about HBG3, but can't decide if I should go all-in on that or if I should just suck it up and turn off GPS on my scope after first sync and manually set the date.

 

Are there any tradeoffs to just setting the date manually?  HBG3 looks fun, but as an occasional user, seems like I may need to get in depth with it before I could get to a fire-and-forget state.

 

Suggestions?

[mlord]

For just fixing GPS, you can disconnect the internal one, and then connect an external GPS to an AUX port.  Done.  There is now a new HomeBrew GPS design that is quite easy to build, and which should do the job nicely:

 

https://www.cloudyni...3#entry13526214

https://www.cloudyni...3#entry13554779

 

If you are unable to assemble one yourself, I did create two prototypes while developing that design, and either of those could be made available.  Email me if interested mlord@pobox.com

 

The Nexstar GPS mount has other issues with some newer things.  Eg. They don't work with the SkyPortlal/SkySafari apps over Celestron's WiFi, and the oldest version of that mount has a hardware incompatibility with StarSense AutoAlign.   Both things are "fixable" along with GPS at the same time, using the HomeBrew Gen3 "Relay" variant, aka. HBG3-Relay.   https://rtr.ca/hbg3/

 

Cheers

Edited by mlord, 17 July 2024 - 06:39 AM.

[mlord]

HBG3 looks fun, but as an occasional user, seems like I may need to get in depth with it before I could get to a fire-and-forget state.

The HBG3/HBG3-Relay has some very advanced capabilities, none of which need ever bother anyone.  Plug it in, and it works.  Normally it is just an invisible intermediary for connections to the mount.

 

The only things for most people to "learn" when using one, are (1) to enable GPS in the Celestron hand-controller (if using a hand-controller), and (2) how to connect the WiFi to one's home WiFi or hotspot: this is done identically to how the Celestron dongles do it, using one of their apps, and only ever need be done once.

 

Cheers
 

Edited by mlord, 17 July 2024 - 06:41 AM.

[josh@]

 CoolTerm Capture (HBG3 Bluetooth connection dropping) 2024-07-16 21-13-28-283.txt   161.61KB   3 downloadsHi All,

 

As I mentioned back in early June, I can't get a Bluetooth connection from my phone (a Pixel 6a) to the HBG3 to stay open for more than a minute or two, and I can't reestablish the connection merely by hitting the connect button on SkySafari, but I can reestablish it by bouncing back and forth between the SkySafari app and the "BT/USB/TCP Bridge Pro" app (now known as Communication Bridge Pro). Each time the connection drops, I hit the connect button in SkySafari, and then immediately switch to the Communication Bridge Pro app, which then indicates that the connection has been reestablished (i.e., the TCP server has a client), and I hear a chime from SkySafari (which is running in the background). At this point, I switch back to SkySafari, and use it again until the connection drops (typically in a minute or so), at which point I repeat the process. Of course I don't actually use my scope this way; It would be too unpleasant. I use WiFi instead, but I want to fix the problem so I can use Bluetooth.

 

I followed Mark's instructions for setting up Bluetooth which say I should 'Tap on Battery, and then Battery Optimisation, and ensure that the app is tagged as "Not optimised".' The language in the settings dialogue box is a bit different on my phone: I've enabled the "Allow background usage" option for Communication Bridge Pro and Sky Safari. I'm running HBG3 firmware version 8.51, I have an AVX mount, and I run SkySafari Plus 6 on a Pixel 6a, Android version 14. I'm running with a nunchuck controller attached to the HBG3 and nothing plugged into the mount's handbox port.

 

Here's a log illustrating the problem, with verbose debugging enabled (v) and aux_only_tracing=0 (a). The connection drops at timestamp 000145459, at which time I reconnect by hitting the connect button in the modal dialog box in SkySafari, making Comm Bridge Pro the active app, and when the connection is reestablished, switching back to SkySafari.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this problem or to perform more through diagnostics? It does seem like the Pixel is doing something that prevents Communication Bridge Pro from running properly in the background. I looked around the phone settings and Communication Bridge Pro settings and tried tweaking various things, but to no avail. Worst case, I'll contact the author of Communications Bridge Pro (Marek Masár), but he may have a hard time reproducing the problem as it's unlikely that he has an HBG3 and a Pixel 6a.

 

Thanks,

 

Josh

[mlord]

Interesting.  I think your diagnosis is mostly correct.  The evidence suggests that the Communications Bridge app is suspending execution, and thereby blocking communications until one switches away from SkySafari.

 

I tried it here a few times tonight with my Pixel 8pro, running the latest (July) Android 14 update from Google.

 

Sometimes, it works fine, and stays connected.  Generally this usually works for me, so long as I keep SkySafari6+ or SkyPortal as the active on-screen app.  Both are set to allow background usage.

 

But the instant I switch to a different app, or possibly even just the android "Recents" screen, the Comm.Bridge gets suspended, and doesn't wake up until I switch to it.  After that, things never really work again until I kill the Comm.Bridge as well as the SkySafari/SkyPortal app, and then reset the HBG3 before starting them all up again.

 

But sometimes, just leaving SkySafari6+ sitting there connected.. it will suddenly lose the connection.  I strongly suspect this is due to Android deciding to save power and suspending one or both apps.

 

I normally use an Android-10 tablet for scope control, and the tablet (Android-10) does NOT have this issue.  All works fine there.

 

Quite possibly the Comm.Bridge app may need an update to avoid being put to sleep by the latest Android versions.  SkySafari6+ has an Android Alarms & Reminders setting for that purpose, as do other (unrelated) apps -- something about that permission helps them to stay awake.

 

EDIT: I have now emailed the app's author seeking help with this.

 

Edited by mlord, 20 July 2024 - 10:11 PM.

[josh@]

Thanks for the quick reply, Mark. That sounds hopeful! I eagerly await Marek's response.

[mlord]

Here is a pre-release of the next firmware version, for early access/testing:   hbg3.ino.v8.51b.txt   332.24KB   6 downloads

There are a few things in it that may interest various people here:

• New 'i' command to toggle ignoring/exclusion of MC_GET_POS packets from tracing.
• Fixes for BATT_GET_VOLTAGE.
• Tidy up implementation/tracing of emulated devices.
• New mount simulator.
• When available, show measured Dew Input Voltage on the OLED.
• Increase dew_aggression temperatures by a degree or so.

The (Evolution) "mount simulator" is a work-in-progress, and for now implements just enough fakery so that SkyPortal/SkySafari can "CONNECT" to it for testing the Bluetooth issue on Android 14, without need of an actual real mount.   If you ever wondered about the extra settings available for an Evolution mount, then try it out! 

 

Enable it with:

 

   set emulate.mount 1

   save

   reset

 

Disable it again with:

 

   set emulate.mount

   save

   reset

 

Some day, this will evolve into the translation layer for controlling a SkyWatcher mount as if it were a Celestron mount.

Edited by mlord, 21 July 2024 - 04:22 PM.

[CraigB1960]

Some day, this will evolve into the translation layer for controlling a SkyWatcher mount as if it were a Celestron mount.

That will be amazing! Thank you for all your hard work on developing this!

[Freddy99]

Hello, I have just discovered this wonderful site.

i have a 25 year old Nexstar 4 with handset controller (model 11041).

I have an electronics background and would love to give it a new lease of life.

Would anyone be kind enough to suggest the best module to build to suit the Nexstar 4.

Thank you.

[mlord]

I have a 25 year old Nexstar 4 with handset controller (model 11041).

The Celestron 11041 appears to be a "4GT" mount, from the GT series.  These pre-date the modern AUX protocol mounts, and instead use a more primitive "direct to the encoders" type of protocol.  They do NOT work with the HBG3, because they don't have an AUX port, and they don't work with AUX protocol.

 

Some reading and resources:

 

https://www.cloudyni...de-4gt-control/

https://www.nexstars...sGTOriginal.htm

https://www.cloudyni...47-nexstar-4gt/
https://www.cloudyni...t/#entry8223027

[mlord]

The evidence suggests that the Communications Bridge app is suspending execution, and thereby blocking communications until one switches away from SkySafari.

..

I have now emailed the app's author seeking help with this.

Marek and I are in touch with each other on this now, and he suspects the GUI tookit used by the app needs an update for Android 14.  That is expected to happen within a week or two, so I'll post again here if/when any news comes out.
 

[josh@]

Marek and I are in touch with each other on this now, and he suspects the GUI tookit used by the app needs an update for Android 14.  That is expected to happen within a week or two, so I'll post again here if/when any news comes out.
 

Wonderful. I'll try any new version as soon as it comes out.

[Astro Andy]

i have a 25 year old Nexstar 4 with handset controller (model 11041).

I have an electronics background and would love to give it a new lease of life.

Would anyone be kind enough to suggest the best module to build to suit the Nexstar 4.

It may be worth keeping an eye out for a modern mount, with Aux ports, for sale on its own. Even better (probably cheaper too) without hand control.