Unexpected Message

[mhamburg]

Hello,

I am running BYEOS, PHD2 v.2.6.10 with a Canon 6D (modded). Last night I got the message PHD PORT after 5 120s subs. The capture process then seemed to freeze. I aborted that run and restarted the capture. Same thing occurred. Also the capture log in BYEOS indicated that PHD had dithered but the usual indicator never appeared. Nor did the CALM DOWN period period. This has never happened before. Please help!

Michael

[astroman133]

Please, when you ask for help on an issue ALWAYS post your BYE version number along the the camera model.

If BYE does not resume after dithering it is most likely a problem with PHD2. Has PHD2 been updated recently? Did you have any issues calibrating PHD2 before guiding? Was the mount pointing near the zenith at the time that you experienced the issue? Some mounts may ignore movement commands if they have reached their tracking limit.

[mhamburg]

18 hours ago, astroman133 said:

Please, when you ask for help on an issue ALWAYS post your BYE version number along the the camera model.

If BYE does not resume after dithering it is most likely a problem with PHD2. Has PHD2 been updated recently? Did you have any issues calibrating PHD2 before guiding? Was the mount pointing near the zenith at the time that you experienced the issue? Some mounts may ignore movement commands if they have reached their tracking limit.

 

[mhamburg]

Thanks for the reply. You raise an interesting point. Yes, Just updated PHD2 that night. I am running BYEOS v.3.1 Deluxe with a Canon 6D. The mount was pointing to M27 whish was in the vicinity of the zenith but not at it. As  have stated, never got this condition before! 

[astroman133]

Saying that you are running BYEOS v3.1 Deluxe provides insufficient and incorrect information.  There were 18 releases, and perhaps more service packs for 3.1 over a many month period. There is a third component to the version number that needs to be provided. Also there is no Deluxe license. Permanent licenses are Classic and Premium.

Something like "BYE v3.1.18 Premium" would be more complete and correct and eliminate any confusion for a new user who is reading your post.

If you revert PHD2 to a previous version do you have the same behavior? Has anyone else reported the same error on the PHD2 support web site?

Thanks,

[mhamburg]

Okay. Let me be clear. I am running BYE 3.1.5 Premium Edition with my modded Canon 6D and dithering with PHD2 v.2.6.10. I have the server enabled com port 1499. I set dithering for every 5 subs and have never had this problem before. In addition to the original problem, I have experienced sluggish or no response in selecting iso settings and frame settings. Are there any known bugs in this release? Is there an update available? I will attach both the guide log from the M27 session. Any and all help is much appreciated.

Michael

PHD2_GuideLog_2021-09-04_112928.txt

[astroman133]

Michael,

Please understand that this is a community supported forum. I am a BYE user like you and have no relationship with BYE and O'Telescope except as a customer. My comments and suggestions are made only as a long-time user of the software.

BYE 3.1.5 is 6 years old. BYE 3.2.2 was released earlier this year. In between there have been nearly 20 new versions. Each version has new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. There is no charge for you to upgrade to the latest version.

The 3rd party integration settings are not used with PHD2 for dithering. The relevant dither settings are in the Dither settings section in the lower left portion of the BYE Settings dialog. For PHD2 the default setting is port 4300, and it is set in the Port IP setting (with version 3.2.2).

You said that you had the PHD PORT error shortly after you upgraded PHD2. It seems reasonable that some change to PHD2 caused your issue. You should contact them. Perhaps PHD2 made some breaking change to their software that requires you to upgrade BYE. That is just a guess.

When dithering with PHD2, BYE asks PHD to dither and PHD2 tells BYE when the mount has settled at its new position. So if BYE seems to hang then it is likely that PHD2 is having a problem and that the mount has not settled at the new position. I looked at the PHD2 log that you provided but other than a lost guide star did not see any obvious errors. The PHD2 support channel may be a better place to post that log file and explain your issue. They are the dithering experts.

We are not looking over your shoulder so when you describe a problem like "I have experienced sluggish or no response in selecting iso settings and frame settings", please be as clear as possible about what you are trying to do and what you are seeing.

Are you saying that you are unable to make changes to the Capture Plan settings on the Imaging screen in BYE when you are connected, but not imaging? Is the entire BYE program frozen or reacting sluggishly? What led up to this situation? Does it occur if you reboot the PC, start BYE, and connect to your camera.

Please do not expect us to know if a 6 year old version of BYE had a bug related to dithering or sluggish response that was fixed in a subsequent release. That said, I do not recall any similar issues and I have been helping on this forum since about 2013.

My suggestions are upgrade BYE to version 3.2.2 and see if your issue with dithering repeats. If it does you should post your dithering issue with PHD2. If you have issues with the operation of BYE to post them here with this group. Please remember to never post your license key on any public forum, including this forum, and when you create a new post to ask a question or report an issue to tell us which version of BYE and which camera model you are using.

Thanks!

[admin]

You port issue could be related to your computer firewall.  When you first started/enabled server in PHD, did accept all firewall warnings?  If not that could be your root cause.  

As for sluggish ISO, nothing has changed there in years. If you've been using 3.1.5 for a long time, and you've never experienced this, and not you do, this would be my first indication that this is not software related.  What about your USB cable, how long is it?  Are you using a USB hub?

[mhamburg]

Thank you one and all. I have installed the latest version of BYE and will follow your suggestions as soon as the sky allows it.

Michael

[astroman133]

Waiting until the sky allows it is a mistake that many people make. You reported 2 issues one with PHD and one with having changing capture settings in BYE.

I understand that you need an actual nighttime session to test guiding, but you can test BYE's response and you can test that it at least is able to connect with PHD2 with your laptop and camera set up during the day at your kitchen table. One of the new capabilities is the Test button in the Dithering section of the Setup screen.

[mhamburg]

22 hours ago, astroman133 said:

Waiting until the sky allows it is a mistake that many people make. You reported 2 issues one with PHD and one with having changing capture settings in BYE.

I understand that you need an actual nighttime session to test guiding, but you can test BYE's response and you can test that it at least is able to connect with PHD2 with your laptop and camera set up during the day at your kitchen table. One of the new capabilities is the Test button in the Dithering section of the Setup screen.

Thanks for the response. Guiding has been spot on! The connection is good. I use a powered usb hub and a repeater cable between the laptop and the hub. The main glitch has been the hang-up advertised by the PHD PORT message after the 5th exposure. I just installed the latest iteration of BYE and perhaps this will solve the problem.

Michael