1. Tigra Astronomy Avatar Tigra Astronomy
  2. NexDome
  3. NexDome ASCOM Driver
  4. Issues

COM port will not stay connected

Issue #44 closed
Tony Benjamin created an issue

I'm running the BETA ver 9 but the rotator will not stay connected. The only way I can get a temporary connection is by hitting the reset button on the adruino board. When I do that I can see (in device manager) that the adruino bootloader is active on COM 6 and then the board connects on COM 4 - but then always disconnects after about 5 seconds?

Comments (11)

  2. Tim Long

    @Tony Benjamin Also, you could try clearing your EEPROM (saved settings) in case that's corrupted. I’m attaching a file to the issue called EEClear.hex - download this file and drop it into C:\NexDome-Firmware and then use the built-in firmware updater to upload to your board. It will clear the EEPROM then halt. It only takes a brief moment. Then re-upload the Rotator/Shutter firmware image and you’ll have factory default settings.

  4. Tony Benjamin reporter

    Hi Tim,

    I was using Adruino IDE 1.8.5. I upgraded to 1.8.9 and the COM port is now steady (COM 6 for the Rotator and COM 7 for the Shutter. I can move the dome with the manual button and open/close the shutter manually….- but I still cannot connect to the dome or shutter via a program? I have maxim DL…it just freezes when trying to connect. I’ve tried using ASCOM POTH Scope-Dome Hub and can’t connect. I’ve tried using Voyageur and can’t connect and I’ve tried SGP with no luck as well? Can you tell me which program should I stick to to try and atleast get the dome to connect?

  5. Tim Long

    I’ve used MaxIm DL and that works for me. I generally use PowerShell (command line) for testing. I think there may be an issue with POTH but that’s a separate issue.

    Try this for me.

    1. Go to C:\Users\{your-user-name}\Logs and clear out (delete) any existing log files related to the driver.
    2. Open Windows Powershell and enter the following commands, in sequence, until you get an error message or the driver fails to connect.
    $dome=New-Object -ComObject ASCOM.NexDome.Dome
$dome.Connected=1
$dome.Dispose()

    Immediately copy the fresh log file that will have been created and upload it as a file attachment to this issue.

  6. Tim Long

    @Tony Benjamin From the log file you already uploaded, I can see that your wireless link is not connecting. In fact, the rotator seems to be unable to put the XBee into command mode in order to configure it. I would suggest the following actions:

    1. Power-cycle both the rotator and shutter units (sometimes that’s enough to unwedge the XBees). Make sure you remove all sources of power, including battery, power supply and USB cable. Pressing the reset button is not sufficient.
    2. If that doesn’t work, upload the XBeeFactoryReset firmware to both modules. Attach a terminal emulator (Arduino IDE’s Serial Monitor will do, if you have that, or use something like PuTTY) and observe the sketch running. Make sure it reports success. If in doubt copy and paste the output here.
    3. Once you are certain that step (2) has worked, re-upload the normal Rotator or Shutter firmware images to the respective boards and try the PowerShell commands from my previous comment again. Does it connect now?
  8. Tony Benjamin reporter

    I got as far as the second command ($dome.Connected=1) and that's it. Log attached above.

  9. Tony Benjamin reporter

    I tried the XBEE factory reset on both the rotator and the shutter:

    For the rotator Putty says:

    XB->Wait for AT Command Mode

    Attempting to put XBee into AT Command Mode

    XBee did not enter command mode, try again

    ‌

    Just keeps repeating - mind you I am pretty unfamiliar with putty - I just selected “Serial” and the COM port?

    ‌

    Different story for the Shutter - which is on COM7 - it all seems to work (see pic)

    I have one of the very early Rotators that Nexdome produced…maybe the Adruino board is not up to date for the current configs??

  10. Tony Benjamin reporter

    I sent Babak some pictures of my rotator Adruino boards and apparently I don’t have an XBee on them! So hes going to send me one - guess that explains all the issues :). Appreciate your help in trying to solve my issue. Should be able to move forward soon!!

  11. Tim Long

    Ahhhhh, yes that would do it! I'm glad we got to the bottom of it. Closing this issue as it is external to the software, much to my relief.

  12. Log in to comment
Assignee
–
Type
bug
Priority
major
Status
closed
Component
–
Milestone
–
Version
–
Votes
0
Watchers
1