Hello,

I have invested enough hours in this and have come up empty so it might be beyond my meager capabilites. I having numerous problems in getting CCDAP (latest version) to work.

Biggest Problem appears to be a hideous exception error having anything to do with a target selection. This is pretty much a show stopper. Latest version of CCDAP, .NET 2.0 installed and MaximDL 4.11.

Second Issue is: Having an AP1200GTO (CP03) I selected ASCOM driver (which works quite well with ACP so I would assume it should work) This leaves me feeling stupid regarding The Sky 6. How do I set that up ?!?!?


I have tried this on completely different machines. One Desktop (XP Home) and One Laptop (2000) And the symptom(s) are identical. Can someone please explain what I am doing wrong ?


Thanks!

Bill

Hi Bill,

Are you running CCDAutoPilot2 or CCDAutoPilot3?

CCDAP3


Regards

Bill

Hi Bill,

I was confused as the question got posted to the CCDAP2 forum.

Since you are using CCDAP3 and you indicated you have Ver 3.30.5, based on the problem you are describing, have you setup the Server in TheSky6 per the help file? Also is there an error message that you get? Could you describe the steps that you take up to the occurrence of the problem? As to the second question, John or someone else more familiar with ASCOM will need to help with that one as I don't use ASCOM for anything, except maybe FocusMax.

Hi Frank,

Sorry about getting this in the wrong group. And to be honest I haven't set up The Sky 6 to be aserver. I thought I would at least get it to function without it first before adding that in.

I assumed that setting Sky 6 as POTH should work though.

Regards

Bill

Bill,

See this thread for ASCOM driver connections:
http://ccdware.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1141040351...711021591#4711021591
While it applies to a Temma driver, the general approach is valid for the AP driver.

Frank's suggestion to use plan mode is a good one. Make sure you have an FOVI defined in TheSky. You must have at least one defined and only one turned on.

Also, do you have the Professional version of TheSky? If so, please post the text from the exception window.

Hi Bill:

First, I would suggest that you upgrade to the latest version of MaxIm which is 4.56 I believe. Second, I believe that John is working to fix a small bug that causes an exception error to be put up if you click on the main screen while the program is running. You can click on the Status screen but not the main set-up window. I'm having this issue and it might just be my computer but John is checking to see if it is a small bug.

Steve

Steve and Steve <g>,

I don't believe what Bill is seeing is Maxim related, although as you point out it is always best to keep current with Maxim and other server programs. The best way to avoid the issue, as Frank has suggested, is to run in plan mode.

It is important that Bill be using the Professional edition of TheSky6 as the lesser versions do not support the automation interface.

Hi,

maybe Bill is experiencing the problem with the selection of a GSC star with the colon ( in the name of the star, which CCDAP does not like at all as a target selection. You have to rename the name of the target and remove the colon before you hit the run session.

Just my two cents.

Josch Hambsch

http://www.astronomie.be/hambsch
http://users.pandora.be/hambsch/

Good point, Josch. BTW, that is corrected in the next maintenance release.

Do you know when the next release will be coming out?

I did not want to put the smiley in my message above, it should be the colon.

Josch

Josch,

I need to get some testing done before I release it and my OAG won't be here until Monday so I would expect to release it no later than 1/9, assuming testing goes ok.

I figured that was a ' : ' you were saying.

Gentlemen,

While I appreciate everyone trying to help with this the problem is *not* MaximDL. Otherwise John would be aware of it and then it wouldn't state in the requirements that MaximDL4.10 or later. And yes .. I am using The Sky 6 Professional. But that shouldn't be a problem anyway should it ?!?!? I mean is it not possible for CCDAP to operate the mount and Maxim without The Sky 6 ? FWIW (and I don't wish to fixate on this, I haven't had any success in entering an FOV from The Sky 6 unless it is connected to the Mount. At which point CCDAP cannot be. So it's a problem of sorts. The kiss of death for this is the exception error that is thrown every time I try and actually enter a target. manually, by RA and Dec. (which I get from The Sky in case anyone asks).

John: I sent you via email earlier this week the exact error pop-ups that occur. Something about "Argument Length must be greater or Equal to Zero." And nowhere that I am aware of have I entered any negative values. And as I stated earlierthere is not help in the troubleshooting guide about this error. It happens on two completely different computers (XP and 2000).

So this is way beyond my means to troubleshoot.

So the bottom line question is "Is this fixable or not?"

Best Regards

Bill

Hi Bill,

Just to clarify, CCDAP3 doesn't connect to the mount. It just issues command sequences to the software that does, and manages the data that is returned based on how you set it up. On the settings page, what are the selections you are making for the Software parameters? Are you using TheSky6 or ASCOM for the Telescope parameter? If you will give me your parameters, I will try and recreate the error on my AP1200GTO . I have MaximDL 4.11, TheSky6, ASCOM 4.1, I just don't have PinPoint. So I may be able to help. Can you send me your profile that is failing as well. You can email it to SBarnes AT Skyimager DOT com. Let's see what happens.

Bill,

quote:

I am using The Sky 6 Professional. But that shouldn't be a problem anyway should it ?!?!?

TheSky6 is required for technical reasons - the ActiveX interface. That is the mechanism by which one program, CCDAutoPilot in this case, can access the resources of another, TheSky6. Such resources are only made available by TheSky6 in the Professional version.

quote:

I mean is it not possible for CCDAP to operate the mount and Maxim without The Sky 6 ?

CCDAutoPilot is an automation program that integrates, inter alia, camera and mount control. CCDAutoPilot is target-oriented - it is meaningless to operate CCDAutoPilot without mount interaction as nearly all of its features depend on integration with the mount. For operating a camera control program only, why not merely use the camera control program itself? As Frank has said, CCDAutoPilot does not connect to the mount, it connects to the telescope control program, TheSky6 in this case, to use its target lookup capabilities. By checking Plan only on the settings page, you will connect only to TheSky6 (but not to the mount) to enable target lookup. (The telescope control program is told to connect to the mount only when the Run Session button is hit on the Run Session page.) Since this is where you seem to be having the problem, I suggest starting here first.

As to the error, you provided this in a private email: " Multiple Exceptions Errors were thrown. Something about "zero length" That is nowhere near specific enough to troubleshoot. Here is an example of exception information that helps troubleshooting:
http://ccdware.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1141040351/m/8261030981

quote:

So the bottom line question is "Is this fixable or not?"

Well, with hundreds of users, I submit the answer is probably yes. But your help is needed with specific information and actions:

1. Post your system profile and target list, if any is created. The default location for your system profile is C:\Program Files\CCDWare\CCDAutoPilot3\System Profiles
2. Detail exactly what steps you take from the time you start CCDAP until the error occurs - what buttons, keystrokes, etc. are used.
3. Capture the complete text of any exception per the above example.
4. What is the version number of TheSky6?
5. What is the version number of CCDAutoPilot?

Additionally, please follow the steps outlined in the Troubleshooting section of the help system as follows:

When things don't go as expected

While every effort has been made to trap invalid user entries, some slip by. These are addressed as they are identified but with over 600 controls, there is a lot of opportunity for bad entries or combinations. Here are some techniques to help resolve such a problem.

Task Review: Open Task manager and select the Processes tab. If you click on the Image Name table header, the processes will be sorted in alphabetical order for easy viewing. Verify that one and only one process is running for each server program you have operating. If you see more than one process, then proper automation is not possible. You should either reboot your PC (easiest) or close all programs and use the End Process button to stop any server programs that remain running. This can happen when a run is aborted and the abort process is not allowed to complete. After hitting the Abort button on the status window, remember to wait until the main window restores (re-opens). This minimizes the chance of multiple processes in task manager.

Rename the System Profile: By renaming the system profile, CCDAutoPilot will create a new, default profile. Of course you will need to re-enter all your settings but often this resolves the issue of a bad setting.

Reset CCDAutoPilot: There is a CCDAutoPilot Reset Tool in the CCDAutoPilot3 folder of the start menu. Running this program resets all key data as if CCDAutoPilot were never installed (except for the trial period status of course). The program runs silently with no messages.

Remove and Reinstall CCDAutoPilot: While this should not be necessary. it has been shown to help resolve some unique issues. This should be used in conjunction with the CCDAutoPilot Reset Tool. First remove CCDAutoPilot then run the CCDAutoPilor Reset Tool. If possible, it is a good idea to reboot your PC before reinstalling.

Debugging Facility

While the status window and the attendant log provide event logging during an active run, there are possible occasions when things don't go as expected before starting an actual session. In the CCDAutoPilot3 program directory, there are two registry merge files, TraceOn.reg and TraceOff.reg. Double clicking TraceOn.reg, after allowing the merge to continue, will turn on the debug facility. The next time CCDAutoPilot is started, a debug file will be written in the CCDAutoPilot3 program directory. A new file is written each time CCDAutoPilot is started. The file has a file name of Debug<yyyymmdd>_<HHmmss>.log and will record any error messages. Double-clicking TraceOff.reg, after allowing the merge to continue, will turn off the debug facility.

The debug facility can be used whenever things don't seem to be "working right". Contact support for interpretation of any messages in the debug file.