Feature Requirements of SynLink

Yin-UMa

mklosterman1 Noted, we'll consider these.

Luxo

Moontanner
Re the USB-C antenna idea - they exist. Since SL supports tcp over USB this would probably be worth testing.

Moontanner

Yin-UMa Local Time Tracking Limit: For example, if you set the limit to 06:00, the mount will stop tracking at 6:00 AM and won't resume tracking after that time.

Many thanks for the clarification. The clue is in the description then. 😆 That's on me for not taking it at face value.
I wasn't sure if it was referring to how many hours the mount would track for, the HA limit for tracking on the mount, or a bunch of other things... So I left it alone for the most part to avoid damaging equipment.

Coming from the AA ecosystem I'm used to just setting the plan to end at dawn if needed. Being a morning person means I've never really used that setting and I'll often self terminate shooting as the stats start show the sky getting too bright. Not dissimilar to manually deciding when the moon gets too bright as it rises.
Living very close to a border that has AEDT vs AEST where I'm living now, I do wonder if a sensible option would be to have Astronomical Dawn as an option in that tab? Is that an option that I've missed?

Moontanner

Luxo
If you have a look on the Umart website and find something suitable feel free to suggest a recommendation to test. There's an outlet I drive past on the regular.

I do have a couple of reasonable travel routers floating around to try, but I found they often came with their own set of problems when used with the AA's. The thought of buying an ethernet adapter to try them out is too much when I can just throw the AA back on.

Luxo

Ok here’s the questing for UMa:

The communications between SynLink and the app via the wireless antenna must be using IP protocols (probably TCP, maybe UDP and so-on). Which would also work over a wired connection.

In a future version, could SynLink support this connection over the USB-C port instead of the antenna ? This way it could connect to any TCP LAN (wired) or wirelessly with a USB dongle, or an antenna, or a travel router such as those from Vonets etc - this would open up the networking possibilities.

Right now the answer is obviously no, but it looks to me to be a software comms issue that could be done without requiring hardware modifications.

Moontanner

Luxo
I've taken some liberty and updated the cover page for review. Apparently kids don't pop Poppas at school anymore and the term Alpha Male is lame.

Thanks for translating my word salad into your post above.
I did look into various options that would possibly work with the SL software. I'm looking forward to hearing suggestions from UMa as to what would work best and possibly solve the terrible stubby fixed antenna issue?

My issue is that I can too easily buy a USB ethernet adapter and run a custom made data cable to the pier in my yard. The fun bit comes when I want to take that same equipment out to a dark site.
My personal experience is that nothing sucks as hard as getting somewhere and realising that all the settings need to be adjusted in the dark. A good analogy would be showing up to a campsite after dark with a new tent. Fun times.

Yin-UMa

Moontanner That's a good point, we will consider adding this.

Luxo

Moontanner

LOL…

Yin-UMa

moonchild617

Thank you so much for your suggestions; we noted and will consider adding them.

Yin-UMa

Luxo SynLink already supports wired network connections via a USB-to-Ethernet adapter connected to its USB ports.
This should also make it possible to connect SynLink through a travel router or Wi-Fi extender, provided the device supports the appropriate Ethernet bridging or LAN connection mode. But we haven't tested that.

Moontanner

Yin-UMa
Some of the AA users were doing this sort of thing https://bbs.zwoastro.com/d/19561-wi-fi-boost
I tried it with a different type of travel router and it worked well enough plugged straight into the ethernet port. I guess you mean do that with an USB ethernet adapter hanging out of the SL as well?

I was hoping for something simple (and available locally) that plugs straight into the SL as a possible solution, although I have to say that simply including a better antenna would solve many connection problems.

Yin-UMa

Moontanner

Moontanner started showing a white screen for each exposure
Could you let us know the model of your imaging camera?

Also, could you please enable debug record under More Tools > System Log? If the issue happens again, please share the log with us. This will help us identify the cause and work on a fix.

Thanks for your help!

Yin-UMa

Moontanner Yes, that's what I was referring to. We understand the need for a simpler and more reliable connection. We'll keep exploring better solutions to improve the connectivity experience.

Moontanner

Yin-UMa
All good. I was expecting a newly released product to need some tweaking.
I'll order another antenna similar to the one that came on the ASIAIR Plus 32GB as that one works well enough for now. For clarity could you confirm the exact type of connector on the Synlink so I don't order the wrong type please?
Thanks.

Moontanner

Yin-UMa Also, could you please enable debug record under More Tools > System Log? If the issue happens again, please share the log with us. This will help us identify the cause and work on a fix.

As soon as I get a break in the weather I'll try things out again and send something across.

Yin-UMa

Moontanner Thanks for your understanding! SynLink uses an SMA antenna connector. Just make sure the replacement antenna has the matching connector type.

Whenever you get a chance to test again, feel free to send the debug log to chat@umainf.com. We really appreciate your help!

Moontanner

Yin-UMa SMA antenna connector

Thanks for confirming. I'm used to seeing the RP-SMA style for wifi applications, so wanted to make sure I'm ordering the right thing.
I guess I saw the StellaVita come with an included wireless USB adapter to help with common connection issues and figured there might be a cheap option that could work on the Synlink with the right driver. The dual antenna wifi6 type that plug in via a usb cable can be picked up for very little these days and would allow for optimal positioning of the antennas on larger scope tubes.

One other thing that I forgot to ask about earlier was the USB bandwidth settings in the configuration page. Do you have any recommendations for setting these up and then tweaking them to suit?
I'm yet to catch up with the latest chatter in regards to the tutorials. My apologies if I've missed something that's already been covered.
CS.

PS. The camera that kept showing a white screen was an ASI2600MM Duo. I'll do the debug record thing next time.

Yin-UMa

Moontanner It SMA version, I attached a pic.
We recommend starting with the default USB bandwidth settings. If everything is working smoothly, there's usually no need to change them.

The USB bandwidth setting determines how much USB transfer capacity the camera can use.. Generally, higher bandwidth can improve transfer speeds and frame rates, while lower bandwidth may help improve stability.

For ZWO cameras, we generally recommend keeping the USB bandwidth below 80% when using one camera, or around 40–50% per camera when using two. This can help maintain stable image transfers, especially when both cameras are operating simultaneously.

You can fine-tune the settings based on your setup to find the best balance between performance and stability.

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