28 replies to this topic

[psy1280]

Two nights ago, I started imaging M13 with my ASIAIR Plus (which I've been using successfully for a decade) along with my AM5 and ASKAR fra 600. Three frames into the "Plan Mode," I get the message, "Device Changed, EFW has been plugged in, please connect it manually." Along with this message, the main camera Filter wheel and EFW all become offline (grayed out). I next go back and reopen the disconnected camera, filter wheel, and EFW. I go back and start imaging my plan again (so far, I have three images collected.) I tried unplugging each USB and re-plugging everything. I reinstalled the firmware.

I start again, six images later, I get the same error: "Device Changed, EFW has been plugged in, please connect it manually." (Again, the main camera goes gray (disconnected) as does the EFW and the filter wheel.

After pressing okay, the screen has me in preview mode. I switch back to Plan Mode and re-open the camera, EFW, and Filter wheel. And then I start the plan mode again.

Now, after the above scenario just repeated (after the 8th image recorded), things are frozen. It says "idle" on the lower task bar, and "loading." Nothing happens.... After a minute or two, the EFW error reappears.

This exact same scenario has now happened two nights in a row (of course, perfect skies, no moon!). The above sequence kept repeating over and over (e.g., I get a couple of images, then the EFW message appears, etc.

Beyond frustrated, please offer any help/suggestions.


Joe

[afd33]

First thing I would do is try a different USB cable. After that I would try plugging the EFW and camera in to a different USB ports. There's a couple different things that could be failing. I would think it would be the EFW or the USB ports on the ASIAIR.

Edited by afd33, 29 April 2025 - 07:28 AM.

[klangwolke]

I second that, change the cables and try different ports. I had my EFW do this and finally found some bent pins, straightened them and it worked. Check that too.

[flightlogic]

Just an observation. Mine did that repeatedly two weeks ago.  I had to reduce the number of devices plugged into the Air, as the voltage was dropping just enough to cause instability in my wifi connection.

The Celestron power pack was showing almost proper voltage, but it is old and must be on a failure trajectory.

I got a small 5 amp supply on Amazon and all is well now.  (I just cut the power cable off and re-used it with the new power supply)

[jmillsbss]

Cables.  And it could be a number of them that could interrupt the code on another accessory, i.e. the AA+ to camera cable, depending on how you're connected, could affect the guiding or EFW or EAF.  I added an EFW and had issues that kept dropping the main camera. I finally connected the EFW to the AA+ directly and moved my guide cam cable from the AA+ to the back of the 2600MCP. Works fine. It worked fine before the EFW, the way I had it connected.  I know how you feel, as it might seem like it's something seriously wrong to blame, but it's usually the weakest link, the cabling.  And it may run fine for a long time but eventually, it all fails.

 

Another thing I did that I think helped with dropped accessories/cameras, and that was to get cables that were juuuuust long enough, instead of, for instance, using a 6' cable on my autoguider, when a very short one or a 3' cable is plenty. Not to mention it helps tugging on connections.  You probably have all your cables cinched up together and not hanging all over the place.  This can help a lot of things, even guiding.

[psy1280]

I don't think it makes a difference regarding the valuable feedback I got on this topic, but it was my EAF not my filter wheel that got the error message. If I understand this, once my EAF failed, that could  have caused my main camera and filter wheel to also faulter. Is that accurate?

I happen to have extra cables and just changed the EAF, Main Camera, and EFW. Hopefully I'll get a break in the clouds tonight to test.

 

Thank you again...I'll let you know how it goes.

[psy1280]

Here's an update of the problem I just sent to  ZWO (still no answer from them)

 

Since my first report of the problem that I sent you (May 28) I have changed all the cables with new cables. I lowered the Dew Heater to 15  (from 65). I'm using a direct Ethernet cable. I honestly don't know what else to do. I have two 5-amp blocks (one connected to the
AM5 the other to my ASI camera. My output is 4.5 amps. Here's tonight's observations:

Plan mode: after three images,  I kept getting the notation, "settling."

After about 1-2 minutes, I get the notice "auto reconnecting." Then I see that the guiding is constantly showing "settling"....

Then the same problem of May 28 (I assume you have this from my original ticket) occurs with the error message: "Device changed, EAF has been plugged in, please connect manually." This error message occurs after the "loading" is shown at the bottom right of the toolbar (it just freezes in the "loading" position, e.g., the image doesn't get loaded.

Along with this message, the main camera, EAF, and EFW all disconnect.

If I reconnect them, then the above scenario happens all over again.
Please let me know if my ASIAIR needs to be replaced....what else can it be?

I'm not sure if my ticket has reached you, so I'm going to resubmit a new ticket.

Please let me know. Thank you,
Joe
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[JF1960]

I had 2 different 5A power supplies that did the exact same thing. Cheap power supplies are erratic in their performance. I finally bought a bigger 10A supply and all problems went away.

[gpsfool]

I had a similar issue -  NOW Fixed.   Get a powered USB hub, plug 1/2 of your USB devices into that and plug the hub into one of the USB 3 ports on the ASIAIR.  Plug your remaining USB items into the ASIAIR USB ports. 
 

Took me a few long sessions in a COLD skyshed pod to figure this out.  One by one I eliminated possible causes and was left with power on the USB buss might be too low, I had just added a ZWO CAA when the issue started. A $15 powered USB hub did the trick. Be sure to buy one powered via 12 volts - easy to power it off your batteries. Many are 5 volts, that would get difficult. 

I had six USB items prior to the powered USB hub and all worked fine - Main and guide camera. Mount, EAF, EFW, and a memory stick. This was using a unpowered USB Hub.  My troubles started when I added the 7th USB item - a ZWO CAA. Replacing the unpowered hub with a powered one did the job.

 

This is what I got - From Amazon:

https://www.amazon.c...asin_title&th=1

 

One note on the hub - It has two USB charging ports - Don’t plug your USB devices into those.

 

gpsfool.

Edited by gpsfool, 01 May 2025 - 12:34 AM.

[Cryhavoc38]

This is a power issue.
Separate your dew heater to use their own exclusive power source.

Even though you are using 5 amp power adapters, it's wire Guage and length will have a negative effect on your voltage.

The asiair will tell you what it detects the voltage is at any given time. Under full load I bet your asiair is reporting voltages in the low 11's and possibly even upper 10's voltage.

Get 10 amp adapters and use quality extensions where needed.

[psy1280]

Hopefully, this will help. Running everything along with dew heater at 65% the 'Total Power' vacillates from 4.6 w to 11.7 w. (camera = 11.8v)

When I change the dew heater to 15% the 'Total Power' is 4.5 w (big drop)

 

Unfortunately, I did have the dew heater at 15% last night and still had the exact same failures.

 

Kurt from High Point Scientific gave me permission to post his thoughts on this:

 

  Kurt Kimbrell (High Point Scientific)

Apr 29, 2025, 10:53 AM EDT
Hello Joe,

Thank you for reaching out and seeking input on this from us here at highpoint. I've used many devices over the years in the hobby including one similar to yours with AM5 and Asiair etc and I too have encountered the murphy's laws problems such as this. This could be a few things which you'd have to run a trial by error on.

Times I've had this happen before the biggest culprit tends to be that the power supply may be degrading in performance or its just not enough juice to run everything especially if you start to add dew heaters to the mix. If you have the Asiair powered by tethering it to the AM5 then you'll need to make sure the single power source is rated at 12v 10amp so it can adequately power everything together. Even then items like dew heaters can really draw out the power, it becomes more apparent the more accessories that are added EFW, EAF, Camera cooling, and USB usage takes up power too on things like guide cameras and exposures with the main camera, signals to swap filters and have the efw active and more. Often times when you have all that gear you have to make the choice to power the dew heaters separately with a dew heater controller or you'll start to have devices disconnect.

There are steps to see if power is the culprit. First you can check your power supply to see what its rated at, if its under 12v 10amp or if you are powering the asiair and am5 separate and the 2 sources are under 12v 5amp then that can be causing the disconnect due to the above mentioned. If the power supplies are rated adequate then the next thing would if you are running dew heaters, go into the asiair app, check the power port for the dew heaters and turn down the power used on them. You only need the dew heaters to run just a tiny bit above ambient so all in all it doesn't need to be hot or very warm and at times a point where you can just barely feel that its warmed up but as if you can barely tell at all.

If the dew heaters are turned down and it still disconnects the devices then the next thing to do is to unplug the dew heaters all together and see then if your gear disconnects again. If it does still do that then chances are the power supply is degrading as they will do that over time when running outside often (same goes for portable batteries). To find that out use a different power supply and see how it performs. Run through the above paragraphs steps again and if it's still disconnecting then on to the next step of troubleshooting.

With all the above mentioned another instance I've had where it was doing this was on my laptop in the past and on Asiair. This time for me it was bad or degraded USB cables. USB cables running outside will eventually degrade and can cause issues. If you're running flat usb cables, they tend to have a very very short shelf life and sometimes are dead right out of the box. This too could be causing disconnect issues. Best way to check is to try different cables to see how it performs.

Not as likely and hasn't happened to me but I have heard of other users encounter this is when there is a bit of moisture in the USB ports/cable inputs themselves. This can tend to happen in moist humid environments or if your bring your gear inside and it experiences a sudden temp change. If that could be the case then you can do one of 2 things or both. Put your Asiair and cables in separate plastic bags with desiccant packs and leave it over night which will dry out any moisture, or if you don't have desiccant packs you can put a fan in front of the opening ports of your gear and let it blow at full blast overnight which will take any of it out. Its not an often occurence this would be the cause but just to rule anything out on the above is always a good measure.

If by some chance its still having an issue then this would end up being advanced troubleshooting as it could be internal on the Asiair itself whether its the internal hardware or the firmware. If all the above has been done then the only solution at that point would be for you to get in contact with ZWO directly for advanced troubleshooting and solutions.

For firmware concerns all you need to do is Submit a bug report.
For internal hardware and alos firmware then the email would be support@zwoptical.com

[psy1280]

So, it seems the consensus is pointing to a degraded power supply. Currently I'm running two 12v 5 amp power supplies. One connected to my AM5 the second connected to my ZWO 2600mm camera (two power supplies was suggested by ZWO a while ago for similar problems)

 

Question: Would it hurt to purchase two 12v 10 amp power supplies? Would the two 10 amp units be too much? Cause damage? Or should I go with two 12v 5 amp units?

 

The dew heater seems to be the biggest draw, however, this was never a problem for years until now....does this suggest a degradation of my current power supply units?

[Tony Bonanno]

POWER, POWER, POWER!  I had similar problems to yours.  After two years, apparently my power supply deteriorated.  Did all the cable stuff, etc.  Didn't help.  New 12 amp, 13.8 V power supply was the answer.  I split the output so that one lead powers my mount and other lead plugs directly into the ASIAIR control box (NO longer powered by mount).  Then powered 2600 camera, EAF, guide, etc. from the ASIAIR box. Having the ASIAIR box powered directly from new power supply made all the difference!  NO more problems all night long!  And the ASIAIR wi-fi range even improved by having power supplied directly from new power supply.

 

BTW, no worries about amperage of your power supply, as long as it is rated at 12-13.8 volts.  Your gear will just draw the amperage needed.  One of my imaging platforms is using a 30 amp 13.8 v supply.  Only draws enough amperage to do the job.  You won't damage anything by using higher amperage power supply.

Edited by Tony Bonanno, 01 May 2025 - 10:54 AM.

[psy1280]

Hey Tony, that helps! When you say one lead goes to the mount and the other to you ASIAIR are you saying that your power supply has two leads? Or are you using two power supplies? My power supplies only have one wire coming out of the supply box.

[JF1960]

So, it seems the consensus is pointing to a degraded power supply. Currently I'm running two 12v 5 amp power supplies. One connected to my AM5 the second connected to my ZWO 2600mm camera (two power supplies was suggested by ZWO a while ago for similar problems)

 

Question: Would it hurt to purchase two 12v 10 amp power supplies? Would the two 10 amp units be too much? Cause damage? Or should I go with two 12v 5 amp units?

 

The dew heater seems to be the biggest draw, however, this was never a problem for years until now....does this suggest a degradation of my current power supply units?

Power draw is variable.  Mine used to work until ambient temperatures made my camera cooler work harder and then the problems appeared.  I’d get at least on 10A rated PS and use it to power ASIAir and accessories.  Keep your mount on a separate unit.  One of your 5A supplies should work.  I ended up with a big box of about 4 different power supplies until I finally got stability with the 10A unit.

 

USB Cables can also cause similar issues.  But those are not as widespread as you seem to see.  I’d check them too to make sure none of them got kinked or damaged.

[Tony Bonanno]

Hey Tony, that helps! When you say one lead goes to the mount and the other to you ASIAIR are you saying that your power supply has two leads? Or are you using two power supplies? My power supplies only have one wire coming out of the supply box.

I use thick gauge cable, one power lead from power supply to the rig.  Then, instead of plugging into the mount, I plug it into a splitter cable, similar to this one ...

 

https://www.amazon.c...GhlbWF0aWM&th=1

 

One lead to the mount power receptable (CEM70), the other lead to power receptacle of ASIAIR box.

 

So far, working great!  

Edited by Tony Bonanno, 01 May 2025 - 09:49 PM.

[psy1280]

I just ordered two 10 amp power supplies. I'll post as soon as they arrive. Hopefully, this will end my recent frustrations! 

[masterzen]

I just ordered two 10 amp power supplies. I'll post as soon as they arrive. Hopefully, this will end my recent frustrations! 

Have you upgraded to asiair 2.3.2 recently?

I've seen a report in their forum about the EAF disconnecting frequently for one user (see https://bbs.zwoastro...been-released/)

While I haven't yet imaged with this version, after the asiair firmware upgraded my EAF was disconnected, enabling it in the asiair settings worked for me and the small test I did didn't show any disconnection, but I didn't run for long.

[psy1280]

I just wanted to touch base and let you know all to know  that I’m stuck! Really stuck!

As per my above postings: My ASIAIR has been crashing (again)” It starts to image (e.g., in Plan Mode), after 3 images, then it disconnects (usually saying WiFi disconnect. Weird, since I have a direct Ethernet connection and even if I try to use the ASIAir Wifi, same problem.) Following this error message, the EAF, main camera, and filter wheel are all disabled.

I've updated the firmware. MasterZen, when you say upgrade asiair to 2.3.3, is that the same as updating the firmware?  I did update the firmware.

Consensus on the forums was to switch my two power supplies from 5 amp to 10 amp. I just did this tonight and everything was inaccessible, e.g., unable to see the camera, EAF, etc. etc. !

A little trial-and-error (using a 10 amp supply connected to my AM5 and my old 5 amp connected to my 2600 mm camera, seems to at least be able to recognize the hardware. But just like  the last three nights, after 2-3 images, everything crashes again (e.g., it starts out  with a "disconnected to Wifi," than not recognizing various hardware, camera, EAF, EFW. etc/)

FY I: I did replace all my cables…

My question is should I buy a new ASIAIR?

[Tony Bonanno]

You mention crashing in "plan mode".  Have you tried to do just a single image capture?  Does that work?   After polar alignment, go to preview, select a target, then use LIVE to start capture and stacking?  If that works, the there may be an issue with how the plan mode is set up .. and your ASIAIR may be working fine???

[psy1280]

I’ll try that Tony (no clear skies in forecast for the next 10 days!!!) I only use Plan Mode, so I need to keep searching for answers. I suspect one of two things, either I have an ASIAIR that has become corrupted, or ZWO is the culprit with one of their downloads.

 

I’m stuck

Edited by psy1280, 03 May 2025 - 08:49 AM.

[psy1280]

Is there any way to test the ASIAIR during the day? We're not expected to have clear skies for the next 10 days. Since I can't go to a target I can't try Plan Mode, etc.

Also, a friend suggested to press the factory reset button on the AIR. This could help, but again, I'm unable to test anything right now because of the weather

[psy1280]

I submitted a ticket to ZWO days ago. I just sent this follow up to them today:

 

My ASIAIR has been crashing. It starts to image (e.g., in Plan Mode), after ~3 images, it disconnects one or two ways,

1.) I get: ‘WiFi disconnect/scan’ (Note: I have a direct, strong Ethernet connection) (Note: if I try to use the ASIAir Wifi, same problem).
Following this error message, the EAF, main camera, and filter wheel are all disabled.
2) Aside from the above, I would occasionally get a message that I have to,       ‘manually replug the EAF.’ When I do this, the AIR crashes, e.g., EAF, main camera, and EFW all become disabled

I've updated the firmware and installed all new cables.

I changed from 12v 5 amp power supply to 10 amp (one directly plugged into the AM5 the other into the 2600mm camera. With two 10 amp supplies, everything was inaccessible, e.g., unable to see the camera, EAF, etc.
When I used the 5 amp going to the camera and the 10 amp to the AM5, the app seemed functional.

After all this, the same crashing mentioned above happens.

Question: might a factory reset help? Do I need to purchase a new ASIAIR?

------------------------

Next I'm going to try the factory reset.

[Ranger Tim]

Shoot some daytime sky flats using autorun to test.

[gpsfool]

Have you tried a powered usb hub?  $15 - cheap test.  I went through same issues you are having, nothing worked until I tried a powered USB hub.  Connect that to a battery, not through your ASIAIR.