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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

ASI 120 Exposure Looping

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Upgrading firmware with -compatible worked

Thank you
7 years 3 months ago #13085

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Replied by Derek on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

Started happening me again just now this evening. First clear night in ages and this happens.
I've already flashed with the 'compatible' firmware a couple of months ago....
I'm ready to put this ASI junk in the bin !!!

UPDATE: I plugged in and out the USB cable from the camera a few times to clean any possible dirt on the contacts.
After doing this I was able to take 1 image with just the ASI driver connected. So I connected all other drivers to start work and bang, the looping started again...
Last edit: 7 years 3 months ago by Derek.
7 years 3 months ago #13112

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I wonder if this is hardware issue or software. Does it work under Windows? or same issue?
7 years 3 months ago #13121

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Replied by Derek on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

I'll do some testing over the weekend when I'm back home at the observatory. The desktop PC its plugged into is not running windows but I'll see what I can discover with a windows 10 laptop connected. Will also try different cables.

One change that I did make since I last used the observatory was that I changed the USB plug that the scope is plugged into...
On this PC (HP elite desktop) there are 4xUSB2 at the front and 5or6xUSB3 at the back. The ASI is plugged into the front of the PC's (USB2).
The scope was plugged into the back of the PC but now is plugged into the front, sharing the internal hub with the ASI.
I'm *guessing* here but I think the ASI does not like to share a hub with anything... I'll see what I can find.

D
7 years 3 months ago #13124

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Replied by nMAC on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

Thats my suspicion, I think that on certain chipsets, the ASI is USB Hungry and takes almost all bandwidth on usb bus even if you
reduce the bandwith in the INDI settings.Or at least it tries to download the frames faster the the bus can handle.
The compatible firmware changes the way usb transfers are made but sometimes even that is not sufficient to solve the problem. Initially I had to try 3 different powered hubs to make mine work ok. Maybe some chipsets are more "sensible" than others.
Last edit: 7 years 3 months ago by nMAC.
7 years 3 months ago #13128

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Replied by S on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

I don't see any crashing of my RPi when I disconnect all other USB devices and use the ASI directly in the RPi USB ports. It still does not work entirely as I like, but it does not crash the whole system which is a major step forward for me. There have also been reports of bad USB connectivity on the RPi with the upgrade from wheezy to jessie, but I guess they should be fixed by now. Anyway, my ASIs are the only devices not working correctly for me which is a shame...
As a side-note: I have also tried to use SharpCap on windows, and it works great for a few minutes but then the video becomes very laggy. FireCapture seems to work fine in all situations.
7 years 3 months ago #13129

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Replied by Derek on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

I've done some more testing with this as I was back at the observatory yesterday. Found spomething interesting (impatient readers can skip to tests 7-9)
I'm not using an RPI, my ASI is plugged into a HP elite desktop PC.

Test 1) Tried to take exposures before changing anything
Result: looping

Test 2) Re-arranged all USB plugs so that just the ASI was plugged into the front of the PC (4xUSB2.0 ports at front). Everything else plugged in at the back of the PC
Result: looping

Test 3) Removed all USB devices except the ASI and a wireless keyboard
Result: looping.

Test 4) Re-flashed the ASI with the 'compatible' firmware (v3). Repeated test 3 above
Result: looping.

Test 5) Repeat same test above with a different cable.
Result: looping.

Test 6) Tried a windows laptop and firecapture
Result: no looping.

All above tests were done at night in the observatory. It was a clear night, about 2degrees c. Ground frost and high humidity.
I decided to take the PC and ASI home with me back to where I live and hack around the next day.

Next day:
Test 7)Setup in living room, Same as test 3 above.
Result: No looping. I can take continuous 2sec exposures no problem. Left running for 30min, still working fine. :angry: I've changed nothing here!! Except bringing the gear for a 1hr drive and into a warmer environment........

Test 8 ) Put the ASI into a plastic bag and into the freezer for 20min. Retry same test again
Result: Looping. :sick: Camera reporting -8.00 deg c. Left running until temp reached 10, still looping. Stop-start indi. Still looping.

Test 9) Warm the camera up again to room temp.
Result: No Looping!! Camera reporting 19deg c. All working fine again

UPDATE

Test 10) Waited a couple of hours. Warm the camera up again to room temp.
Result: Looping.

It looks like the temperature is a red-herring.
Last edit: 7 years 3 months ago by Derek.
7 years 3 months ago #13161

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Replied by Andrew on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

This temperature sensitivity has me rather concerned as I was planning on buying an ASI120MM very soon. And the comment regarding better Linux compatibility makes me wonder if I should I get the USB3 model instead.
7 years 3 months ago #13162

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Replied by Derek on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

Another update, the temperature sensitivity problem is not conclusive..... I just tried again when the camera was +20degc and its looping again.
Going to do some more experiments with some code now....
Derek
7 years 3 months ago #13164

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Replied by Derek on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

After making a small code change to the driver (to default set the bandwidth to auto on connect) it seemed to have really helped this problem when testing in my living room. I could not reproduce the looping no matter how much messing I did, connecting, disconnecting, putting camera in the freezer etc etc....
I was optimistic.

However I setup everything again in the observatory today and I still have a problem. I have narrowed it down though. I can take exposures UNTIL I connect my celestron driver..... This is really strange but the instant click connect on the celestron driver, the continuous exposures fail. As soon as I disconnect the celestron driver, the exposures can be taken again with the ASI....
Its some weird interaction with my specific hardware/PC/environment. Anyone have any ideas?
Last edit: 7 years 3 months ago by Derek.
7 years 3 months ago #13197

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That's exactly the behaviour I faced a few days ago. Check this post .
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7 years 3 months ago #13200

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Replied by Derek on topic ASI 120 Exposure Looping

Could it be something with udev rules? (desperate guessing here :-) )
7 years 3 months ago #13202

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