Hey Ollie, very useful video mate👍 I’ve been trying to watch this for the last 2 days! (Busy life!) Only got a notification after the vid had been out for 10 days🤔 Strange! Hope you get some clear skies soon mate👍
An often overlooked, but ESSENTIAL part of astrophotography! Great info, Ollie and good on you for covering this important topic...have a great weekend, mate! :)
I need longer distances than active USB can handle so I use a mini-pc and ethernet and have Nina save to a mounted network share on the good PC. You could alternatively use the robocopy plugin. RDP works like local over ethernet from the good PC. With a mini-pc no hub is needed. Simple celeron and 8GB is enough for capture, all the grunt work is done on the good PC. I also run 2 rigs and just flick between the two RDP windows.
Cable woes 🤦♂️ I had similar issues olly to you my problem I think is dew on the hub so I tend to bring in if I not imaging or put a dew band around it , I kept getting the connection to hub dropping in and out which I can only assume is moisture in the electronics drying out seems to solve it , good thick cables is a must though not cheap though 👍
Ollie, The compatibility issues the Pegasus mentioned are known as 'Standards'. USB3 communication do not have a true fixed standard, and is why one can have communication issues. As for the intermittent image download error, I'm not sure if this is related to cable connections; as I have the same problem with my Risingcam and ASI1600mono camera. The cable between the NUC and the Pegasus Hub, is only 250mm for the Risingcam camera. As for the ASI1600mono it is about 8m from the hub on the telescope to my laptop and it is only USB2. One thing I have noticed but can't really confirm at this stage, is it only appears to have errors on the native drivers and not the Ascom drivers.
Thanks Robin, in my case I'm pretty much positive it's caused when using the Pegasus with my Active cable as it happens predictably and instantly. I have a friend who gets the identical issue when using an active extension with the Pegasus Powerbox. There is obviously something which causes an issue when using the two together, maybe with the combination is causing a communication failure to be interpreted by NINA. For now I'm avoiding it using a standard USB 3 hub but it would be nice to be able to use the Pegasus down the road. Thanks for your thoughts on this and ideas, the more the merrier:)
Hey & G'day Ollie, really cool video. This entire (active)cable thing was really connected (🙃) to some testing and experience in my case. From my experience it was also necessary to use a short active USB cable. (15m didn't work, 7,5m did the job.) Here I would also not choose the cheapest cable available (again, from personal exp. and conversation with an electrical engineer in the family). With my simple (4-fold, 26eur) powered hub I never had issues fortunately. But..holly cow...didn't know those PA hubs are SO expensive..! - Very helpful video for beginners I'm sure! Clear skies pal
Hey Michael Gday pal. That's good info mate. It does seem like half of this Astrophotography hobby is testing. For ages I thought I had dodgy ZWO cables. I know my cable has a some sort of a housing half way thru the cable which would be 7.5m which is curious. Yes the Pegasus hub is very expensive and to be honest may as well get the power box at that price. I got mine second hand less than half price. I also noticed Chuck uses 20m active cables too. Thanks as always for watching and comments ! :) CS
Thanks Danny. The handles are made by Farpoint astro. I bought mine from Bintel here in Australia. farpointastro.com/products/carrying-handle-and-farpoint-dovetail-accessory-adapter 👍
Hi Ollie, it may be possible that the Pegasus Powerbox doesn't have Power out on the usb port. that pigtail on the active cable is the alternative power for the cable which may resolve the problem.
I have exactly the same connection issues pretty much only when using those powered repeater usb cables. I had 2 which I could never get to work reliably even thought they were powered. Would initially work for a bit and then I'd get the dreaded "cannot download image" issue. Although I had issues even if I went directly to the camera, they definitely did not like to play nicely with my Pegasus Astro Power Advance so those cables (which aren't cheap) now languish in a box somewhere in the garage. Hope you do manage to find a solution because that Pegasus USB hub looks cool.
It's a shame that it seems to be something related to the hub in these Pegasus astro boxes. I guess for now I'll just have to use the basic hubs but will be sure to let you know if I get anything working. Less than ideal but I do wonder if it would work with a hub between the cable and the Pegasus box. So basically went Active cable > cheap powered hub > pegasus box. No point for me but as you're using the Pegasus box for more than just a hub. I might test just to test.
FWIW I have that very same Pegasus Astro USB 3 hub - by far the worst purchase I have made. Ground loops, loose power connector, transfer issues even indoors during testing with short known good passive cables, corrupted packets on the USB 2 driving my mounts, the whole sh** show.
My advice is to stay well away from Pegasus. I bought one of their first generation Flatmaster 250's which I've now shelved as it takes well over 90 seconds to take one Sii flat! When I complained about the length of time it takes to take narrowband flats they came back with some crap about modern cameras only need to take 5x flats for each NB filter. Within 4 months of me complaining they brought out a new version of the Flatmaster 250 with a brighter panel... The fact that they tried to brush me off with some petty crap excuse has soured my experience with Pegasus .
Hey Simon - I must admit I did find the reply to me a little surprising as I thought they'd have some suggestions about changes I could try. It's a pity as their prices are usually premium so I'd expect a bit more engagement. Sounds a very weird issue with your flat master, what a shame.
I also do this upgrade but i only able to connect camera :(
Hey Ollie, very useful video mate👍 I’ve been trying to watch this for the last 2 days! (Busy life!) Only got a notification after the vid had been out for 10 days🤔
Strange! Hope you get some clear skies soon mate👍
Hey Cheers Simon no worries pal there's so much content out there it's hard to keep track of it all !! Clear skies
An often overlooked, but ESSENTIAL part of astrophotography! Great info, Ollie and good on you for covering this important topic...have a great weekend, mate! :)
Thanks pal, yes I think it's good to sometimes look at these more obscure issues. Cheers !! :)
I need longer distances than active USB can handle so I use a mini-pc and ethernet and have Nina save to a mounted network share on the good PC. You could alternatively use the robocopy plugin. RDP works like local over ethernet from the good PC. With a mini-pc no hub is needed. Simple celeron and 8GB is enough for capture, all the grunt work is done on the good PC. I also run 2 rigs and just flick between the two RDP windows.
Cable woes 🤦♂️ I had similar issues olly to you my problem I think is dew on the hub so I tend to bring in if I not imaging or put a dew band around it , I kept getting the connection to hub dropping in and out which I can only assume is moisture in the electronics drying out seems to solve it , good thick cables is a must though not cheap though 👍
Yes it seems to be a theme having cable issues. I can understand the Dew causing issues I think this is what finally killed my MBeat hub !!!
Ollie,
The compatibility issues the Pegasus mentioned are known as 'Standards'. USB3 communication do not have a true fixed standard, and is why one can have communication issues.
As for the intermittent image download error, I'm not sure if this is related to cable connections; as I have the same problem with my Risingcam and ASI1600mono camera.
The cable between the NUC and the Pegasus Hub, is only 250mm for the Risingcam camera. As for the ASI1600mono it is about 8m from the hub on the telescope to my laptop and it is only USB2.
One thing I have noticed but can't really confirm at this stage, is it only appears to have errors on the native drivers and not the Ascom drivers.
Thanks Robin, in my case I'm pretty much positive it's caused when using the Pegasus with my Active cable as it happens predictably and instantly. I have a friend who gets the identical issue when using an active extension with the Pegasus Powerbox. There is obviously something which causes an issue when using the two together, maybe with the combination is causing a communication failure to be interpreted by NINA. For now I'm avoiding it using a standard USB 3 hub but it would be nice to be able to use the Pegasus down the road. Thanks for your thoughts on this and ideas, the more the merrier:)
Hey & G'day Ollie, really cool video. This entire (active)cable thing was really connected (🙃) to some testing and experience in my case. From my experience it was also necessary to use a short active USB cable. (15m didn't work, 7,5m did the job.) Here I would also not choose the cheapest cable available (again, from personal exp. and conversation with an electrical engineer in the family). With my simple (4-fold, 26eur) powered hub I never had issues fortunately. But..holly cow...didn't know those PA hubs are SO expensive..! - Very helpful video for beginners I'm sure! Clear skies pal
Hey Michael Gday pal. That's good info mate. It does seem like half of this Astrophotography hobby is testing. For ages I thought I had dodgy ZWO cables. I know my cable has a some sort of a housing half way thru the cable which would be 7.5m which is curious. Yes the Pegasus hub is very expensive and to be honest may as well get the power box at that price. I got mine second hand less than half price. I also noticed Chuck uses 20m active cables too. Thanks as always for watching and comments ! :) CS
Awesome video a lot of good info here. Unrelated a bit can you tell me where you get the handles I see on your OTA's for carrying them?
Thanks Danny. The handles are made by Farpoint astro. I bought mine from Bintel here in Australia. farpointastro.com/products/carrying-handle-and-farpoint-dovetail-accessory-adapter 👍
@@OlliesSpace Thanks for the info!
Hi Ollie, it may be possible that the Pegasus Powerbox doesn't have Power out on the usb port. that pigtail on the active cable is the alternative power for the cable which may resolve the problem.
Thanks for suggestion but I do have power into both the cable and the Pegasus box so shouldn't be this.
I have exactly the same connection issues pretty much only when using those powered repeater usb cables. I had 2 which I could never get to work reliably even thought they were powered. Would initially work for a bit and then I'd get the dreaded "cannot download image" issue. Although I had issues even if I went directly to the camera, they definitely did not like to play nicely with my Pegasus Astro Power Advance so those cables (which aren't cheap) now languish in a box somewhere in the garage. Hope you do manage to find a solution because that Pegasus USB hub looks cool.
It's a shame that it seems to be something related to the hub in these Pegasus astro boxes. I guess for now I'll just have to use the basic hubs but will be sure to let you know if I get anything working. Less than ideal but I do wonder if it would work with a hub between the cable and the Pegasus box. So basically went Active cable > cheap powered hub > pegasus box. No point for me but as you're using the Pegasus box for more than just a hub. I might test just to test.
FWIW I have that very same Pegasus Astro USB 3 hub - by far the worst purchase I have made. Ground loops, loose power connector, transfer issues even indoors during testing with short known good passive cables, corrupted packets on the USB 2 driving my mounts, the whole sh** show.
Such a shame as I expected it to be a killer premium piece of kit 🫤
My advice is to stay well away from Pegasus. I bought one of their first generation Flatmaster 250's which I've now shelved as it takes well over 90 seconds to take one Sii flat! When I complained about the length of time it takes to take narrowband flats they came back with some crap about modern cameras only need to take 5x flats for each NB filter. Within 4 months of me complaining they brought out a new version of the Flatmaster 250 with a brighter panel... The fact that they tried to brush me off with some petty crap excuse has soured my experience with Pegasus .
Hey Simon - I must admit I did find the reply to me a little surprising as I thought they'd have some suggestions about changes I could try. It's a pity as their prices are usually premium so I'd expect a bit more engagement. Sounds a very weird issue with your flat master, what a shame.