Hi
I am seeing 2 issues happening what seems to be at random.
Earlier this week I moved the dome to a position of 345 degrees. The encoder showed 135 steps.
A couple of days later, where there has been absolutely no activity in the observatory, the encoder shows 0 steps. I don’t see anything in the logs – and the dome is still pointing at 345 degrees, but obviously reports as pointing north (encoder = 0).
Today, after yet a couple of days also without activity, the dome has physically rotated itself and now points at approx. 205 degrees. The encoder still shows 0. The logs show no sign of a „move” command.
The only suspicious thing I see in the log is an „Arduino command error” entry, which I don’t know exactly what means.
What can cause this, and how do I troubleshoot it further? It is bad enough that the encoder resets itself, but I really don’t like that it physically rotates the dome without any command to do so.
Thanks,
Christian
Most likely, the card has frozen or reset for some reason.
Please reset the card’s power supply and then perform Find Home.
The most common cause is an unstable power supply to the card or electromagnetic interference on the cables connecting the card to the computer.
If this was a one-time thing I would certainly just reset the power, find home, and move on. My concern is because this is something that keeps happening, and it has the potential to ruin imaging nights, if the dome is not pointing where the software reports it to be.
Mains power here in DK is really stable, and I have no other devices that show any signs of power issues. The card is not connected directly to the computer (I only connect the USB cable when required, and remove it again after use), but to an ethernet switch.
Is there anywhere to see when the card has booted, which could indicate a reset?
Even a card reset should not move the dome – is there any low-level logging available where I can look for what triggered the dome move?
There is nothing in the dome except what is required for it to operate (the computer, common astro equipment) so if electromagnetic interference is the problem, do you have any suggestions for how to deal with it?
Thanks,
Christian
After changing the encoder value, the dome driver will show a different angle. Did you see the dome physically rotate, or did the driver just display a new angle?
The only way to check if the card has been reset is to turn on one of the relays, e.g., PWM2. After the reset, the relay will turn off.
ps. I use this card in two of my observatory – and I never see (by 4 years) – that card start to rotate dome without command.
On the first event this week the dome did not physically move, the encoder was just reset to zero.
On the second event this week the dome physically moved from a position of 345 degrees to 205 degrees.
Here is the log showing that the only „move” command given is the initial „goto 345” from the 23rd. After that there is nothing before I reset power this morning and did a „find home”.
2025/08/23 14.15.59; Info Get Card Type ; ScopeDome Arduino Dome v10 f13 ; Shutter:Stopped ; ShutterLink: 0%; Encoder=0
2025/08/23 14.16.00; Do Nothing ; Program Start ; Shutter:IsClose ; ShutterLink: 100%; Encoder=0
2025/08/23 14.16.48; GoToAzPosition ; Driver Window ; Shutter:IsClose ; ShutterLink: 100%; Encoder=0
2025/08/23 14.16.48; GoToAzPosition ; GoTo Az: 345.00 ; Shutter:IsClose ; ShutterLink: 100%; Encoder=0
2025/08/29 07.17.12; Relay Power Reset Main On ; Card Cold Restart ; Shutter:IsClose ; ShutterLink: 0%; Encoder=-14940
2025/08/29 09.45.43; FindHome ; Driver Window ; Shutter:IsClose ; ShutterLink: 100%; Encoder=0
2025/08/29 09.45.43; FindHome ; Find Home ; Shutter:IsClose ; ShutterLink: 100%; Encoder=0
Looking at the Arduino error log I wonder what the ” Bad status format | board: master – section: complex” mean ?
27/08/2025 00.35.46 | getStatus | IP_command_error | IP_command_error
27/08/2025 23.30.02 | getStatus | IP_command_error | IP_command_error
28/08/2025 02.20.24 | getStatus | IP_command_error | IP_command_error
28/08/2025 04.20.58 | getStatus | IP_command_error | IP_command_error
28/08/2025 06.18.17 | getStatus | IP_command_error | IP_command_error
28/08/2025 21.11.34 | Bad status format | board: master – section: complex
28/08/2025 21.11.34 | Bad status format | board: master – section: complex
29/08/2025 07.17.08 | getStatus | IP_command_error | IP_command_error
Such fragments from the dome logs are not very helpful. The only thing that can be concluded from them is that your encoder is probably not working.
Please schedule a remote service session with me.
More information in this topic:
How to schedule a online (internet) service session? – Q&A – Scopedome forum
I am just updating the current status here, in case others encounter the same issue and find this thread.
Right now the dome controller has not encountered a reset since Saturday, i.e. 3 days ago, which is the most stable it has been in a long time. The one thing the has finally seemed to make a difference is this:
On the dome controller box there is a wire labeled „4” attached. It connects to the 230V detector, and is intended to be used to detect loss of 230V mains power in conjunction with a UPS, to signal that the shutter should be closed while there is battery power. I do not have a UPS, so did not see any use in connecting anything to this detector. However, now that I have connected 230V to this, the controller is, at least for now, stable. I will keep monitoring the dome controller, and report back in a while.
Following up on this: The dome controller did a reset today (conclusion based both on encoder value not being correct any more and the relays that were turned on are now turned off) so 4 days went by before a reset. Much better than before, but still not great I think.
Please send card to Poland for tests and service.