David's Astronomy Pages Notes - Session 1151 (2023-09-29)

Notes (S1150)

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Notes (S1152)

	Session Aims & Highlights
	- Observing Result  - Night Summary Plot  - Session Event Log
	Operational Issues
	- Critical Issues (0),  Major Issues (1),  Minor Issues (12),  Small Defects (3),  Continuous Improvement (6)
	Images from 2023-09-29 >>
	2023-09-30
	Investigation - Drift in Best Focus Position (Primary Mirror Focus Slipping / Mirror Lock Not Working)

Session Aims & Highlights (2023-09-29)

Main aims

1. Targets.  Acquire images of a selection of variable stars, nearby stars, comets & deep sky targets as allowed by sky conditions (especially wind)
2. LX200 Re-Focusing.  Refocus LX200 Telescope system (adjusting primary mirror to achieve so that is at focus at around the 3500 DRO midpoint position on the TCF-S focusser)

 Equipment & Software

• 12" LX200 and ST-10XME
• 80mm APO and ZWO ASI 178MC
• CCDApp2, TheSky6, CCDSoft5, DeviceHub 6.6.1.1,  MeadeGeneric 1.3.5.414, UPB 1.5, ASCOM 6.6
• Pegasus UPB & Motor Focus, TCF-S
• SharpCap 3.2, PHD2  2.6.11dev4, Siril 1.0.6, deCONZ 1.18.2, ASCOM 6.6 SP1
   
• AstroMain 3.62.12, AstroPlan 1.38.3,   AstroShCap 1.3.15, AstroGuard 1.10.2
  AstroVOE 1.13  AstroSN 1.10,  AstroProtect 1.7,  AstroMove 1.12.4
  (AstroWeather 1.21.2, AstroAllSky 3.19.2,  AstroObsCam 1.11.4, AstroLaunch 1.10.9 (1.11.1 on Dev Computer)

Highlights

• Targets. 10/13 planned targets were completed, with 2 other targets partially completed. Images from 3 targets (144P/Kushida, DX Cnc,  LEDA 4201363 w/SN2022vik) were later rejected due to poor guiding/cloud or bright, moonlit sky background.  Images from most targets were of fairly poor quality.
• Image quality. Image quality through session was generally fairly poor due to bright sky background that was associated with a full moon and thin cloud/haze.
• LX200 Re-Focusing. Primary mirror position on main 12" LX200 scope from refocussed to address developing focusing issues.  This was achieved but took somewhat longer than hoped and appears not to have solved the issue with slipping primary mirror position. However it has bought additional time.  Problem seemed that the knob that locks/unlocks the primary mirror seems stuck and no longer allows the mirror to be fully locked.
•  Dome Slews. No dome slews were affected by any significant hold-up  (Hold Up Stats: 0/29 slews affected, 0%, 0.1 minutes total hold-up time). 

Notes:

Summary Plots & Logs

Observing Plan

Observing Result

Dome & Scope Slewing Performance

Slew/Centering Performance

Guiding Performance

Sky Conditions (Locate Frames)

Night Sky Summary Plot Top axis: Sky Brightness at Zenith (in ADU/s) Lefthand axis: Local Time (hh LT). Righthand axis: Sun Altitude (degs)

Actual Weather vs Pre-Session Weather Forecast

Session Event Log

Time     Event Detail 21:41:29   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (to set AutoSave No.) 21:41:42 Session Created Session Created (Live, 2023-09-29 S01151, ImageSaveNum: 1151001) 21:42:08   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -10°C) 21:42:09 Foc1FieldsUpdater Frozen Foc1FieldsUpdater appears to be frozen at around 21:42 in section 'Update Foc1Fields' 21:43:54   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (user action) 21:44:01   SBIG Camera Reset SBIG Camera being power-cycled 21:45:15   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (user action) 21:45:22   SBIG Camera Reset SBIG Camera being power-cycled 21:46:38   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -10°C) 22:55:13   Services Started Observatory Services started 22:59:04   Services Started Observatory Services started 23:01:36   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 23:03:06     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 0, HIP 106) 23:03:20       Dome Unparked Dome unparked 23:04:09       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - unable to find a star (TCF-S) 23:04:13       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 23:04:29     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 0, HIP 106) 23:06:20   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 44s) 23:08:07     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 0, HIP 106) 23:08:57       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 23:10:55       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1, wide) 23:13:17   SBIG Camera Take Image failed (Command timed-out) 23:13:27   SBIG Camera Take Image failed (Command in progress. Error code = 219 (0xdb).) 23:13:37       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing check failed 23:13:39       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 1) 23:13:41       Focusing Started-Foc2 Foc2 Focusing Started (Secondary Scope, using ShCap) 23:17:12       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2, wide) 23:22:48       Focusing Completed Foc2 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 2) 23:23:56     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 0, HIP 106) 23:25:46   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (user action) 23:25:53   SBIG Camera Reset SBIG Camera being power-cycled 23:26:35   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -10°C) 23:27:04   SBIG Camera Take Image command accepted (bSbigDriverException flag is reset) 23:42:27   Observatory Door Observatory Door has opened 23:42:31   Observatory Door Observatory Door has closed (open time 4 sec) 23:42:33   Observatory Door Observatory Door has opened 23:42:35   Observatory Door Observatory Door has closed (open time 0 sec) 23:44:24       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 23:48:30       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 23:48:52       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is lost (TCF-S) 23:50:06       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 00:01:45       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:03:38       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 00:04:07       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:04:31   Observatory Door Observatory Door has opened 00:04:39   Observatory Door Observatory Door has closed (open time 7 sec) 00:10:43       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4, wide) 00:12:59       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 4) 00:13:42     Target Started (NrZen) Target started (Focus Field 0, HIP 106) 00:15:11       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 00:17:08       Focusing Completed Foc1 AutoFocus Completed (Profile No 5) 00:17:10     Target Completed (NrZen) Target completed (Focus Field 0, HIP 106) 00:21:08 Foc1FieldsUpdater Frozen Foc1FieldsUpdater appears to be frozen at around 00:21 in section 'Update Foc1Fields' 00:23:47   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (user action) 00:33:46 Program Opened Program Opened (AstroMain 3.62.12) 00:33:48 Session Resumed Session Resumed (Live, 2023-09-29 S01151, ImageSaveNum: 1151019) 00:34:00   Obs.Overseer Started Obs.Overseer started 00:34:15   Obs.Manager Started Obs.Manager started 00:34:24   Services Started Observatory Services started 00:35:43   Services Started Observatory Services started 00:36:16   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 00:36:36   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -10°C) 00:41:32   Automapping Started Automapping started (12 points planned) 00:41:57   Automapping Aborted Automapping aborted (0 points mapped out of 12 points) 00:43:44   Automapping Started Automapping started (12 points planned) 00:53:03   SBIG Camera Take Image failed (Command timed-out) 00:53:43   CCDSoft Issue CCDSoft has encountered an image save issue [0000] 00:53:45   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (attempt to fix unsaved file issue) 00:53:50   SBIG Camera Reset SBIG Camera being power-cycled 00:54:32   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -15°C) 00:54:35   SBIG Camera Take Image command accepted (bSbigDriverException flag is reset) 00:55:28 Foc1FieldsUpdater Frozen Foc1FieldsUpdater appears to be frozen at around 00:55 in section 'Update Foc1Fields' 00:56:00 TempMonitor Frozen TempMonitor appears to be frozen at around 00:56 in section 'Get CcdTemp Data' 00:59:26   CCDSoft Restarting CCDSoft being restarted (user action) 00:59:33   SBIG Camera Reset SBIG Camera being power-cycled 01:00:16   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -15°C) 01:05:40   Automapping Completed Automapping completed (9 points mapped out of 12 points) 01:08:51   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 70s) 01:09:06   Telescope State Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.' 01:09:47   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 01:10:27   Scope Switched On Telescope Power has been switched on via UPB Powerbox. 01:12:49 Session Monitoring AutoStart monitoring for Live Session opportunity between 01:12 & 05:05 01:12:51 Observatory (AutoStart) Observatory placed in Auto-Start Mode 01:12:53 Session AutoStarting Session autostarting (01:12) 01:13:55   Services Started Observatory Services started 01:14:02 Observatory (Auto) Observatory placed in Fully-Automated Mode 01:14:05 Session Pending Session pending (2023-09-29) 01:14:07 Session Initiating Session initiating (2023-09-29) 01:14:09   Plan Requested Observing Plan requested from AstroPlan (1.38.3) 01:15:18   Plan Loaded Observing Plan loaded to queue (Plan ID: 925) 01:15:31   Camera1 Connected SBIG Camera connected (set point -15°C) 01:15:37   Telescope Connected Telescope connected (TheSky6) 01:16:13 Session Running Session running 01:16:15   Queue Started Observing Queue started (13 targets selected) 01:16:22     Target Started (1/13) Target started (1/13, M31 w/AT2023ttu) 01:20:33   PHD2 Communication Restarting PHD2 service (11 incomplete data stream reads) 01:21:06   PHD2 Restarted PHD2 service restarted 01:38:17     Target Completed Target completed (1/13, M31 w/AT2023ttu) 01:38:21     Target Started (2/13) Target started (2/13, M31 w/Nova M31 2023-03a?) 01:40:23       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 01:42:07       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 01:46:46       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 01:51:07       SoftSuspend Cancelled Soft Suspend is cancelled due to improved conditions 01:58:54     Target Completed Target completed (2/13, M31 w/Nova M31 2023-03a?) 01:58:58     Target Started (3/13) Target started (3/13, GCVS BL Lac) 02:01:52       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:03:35       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 02:07:26     Target Completed Target completed (3/13, GCVS BL Lac) 02:08:11     Target Started (4/13) Target started (4/13, M31 w/Nova M31 AT2023trk) 02:10:31       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 02:12:15       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 02:27:11       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 02:27:41       SoftSuspend Cancelled Soft Suspend is cancelled due to improved conditions 02:28:16     Target Completed Target completed (4/13, M31 w/Nova M31 AT2023trk) 02:30:12       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 02:30:14   Queue Paused Observing Queue pausing for Session Suspension 02:30:17 Session Suspending Session suspending 02:31:07   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 50s) 02:31:09 Session Suspended Session suspended 02:49:47     Target Cancelled Target cancelled (5/13, M33 w/AT2023nou) due to too few stars 02:55:25 Session Resuming Session resuming 02:56:10   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 02:56:12 Session Running Session running 02:56:14   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 02:56:17     Target Started (6/13) Target started (6/13, 126P/IRAS) 02:59:48       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:01:31       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 03:11:51     Target Completed Target completed (6/13, 126P/IRAS) 03:11:55     Target Started (7/13) Target started (7/13, 144P/Kushida) 03:15:51       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:17:47       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 03:19:38       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (too few stars) 03:28:07     Target Completed Target completed (7/13, 144P/Kushida) 03:28:09   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 03:28:11 Session Suspending Session suspending 03:28:59   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 50s) 03:29:01 Session Suspended Session suspended 03:34:35 Session Resuming Session resuming 03:35:20   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 03:35:22 Session Running Session running 03:35:24   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 03:35:27     Target Started (8/13) Target started (8/13, LEDA 1488100 w/SN2023olz) 03:50:35     Target Completed Target partially completed (8/13, LEDA 1488100 w/SN2023olz) 03:50:39     Target Started (9/13) Target started (9/13, AT2023tjq) 03:53:29       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 03:55:26       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 04:11:35     Target Completed Target completed (9/13, AT2023tjq) 04:11:39     Target Started (10/13) Target started (10/13, NGC 2326 w/SN2023pgb) 04:14:32       Focusing Started-Foc1 Foc1 Focusing Started (TCF-S) 04:16:28       Focusing Failed Foc1 focusing failed (failed QC check - Ambiguous) 04:32:26     Target Completed Target completed (10/13, NGC 2326 w/SN2023pgb) 04:32:39     Target Started (11/13) Target started (11/13, GCVS DX Cnc) 04:35:24       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - star is too dim (TCF-S) 04:40:09     Target Completed Target completed (11/13, GCVS DX Cnc) 04:43:52     Target Started (12/13) Target started (12/13, LEDA 4201363 w/SN2022vik) 04:50:13       Focusing Skipped Foc1 focusing skipped - unable to find a star (TCF-S) 05:03:00       SoftSuspend Called Soft Suspend is called due to Deteriorating Conditions (reducing clarity) 05:04:40   Critical Cloud Alert Critical Cloud Alert (Obs.Manager will close the Dome) 05:04:43   HardSuspend Called Hard Suspend is called due to Critical Conditions (cloud) 05:04:44     Target Aborted (12/13) Target aborted (12/13, LEDA 4201363 w/SN2022vik) due to cloud 05:04:46   Queue Paused Queue paused for Session Suspension 05:04:48 Session Suspending Session suspending 05:05:36   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 50s) 05:05:38 Session Suspended Session suspended 05:15:22 Session Resuming Session resuming 05:16:07   Dome Opened Dome opened (opening time 45s) 05:16:09 Session Running Session running 05:16:11   Queue Resumed Observing Queue resumed 05:16:13     Target Started (13/13) Target started (13/13, AT2023tdi) 05:36:32     Target Completed Target completed (13/13, AT2023tdi) 05:36:35   Queue Completed Job Queue completed 05:36:37 Session Closing Session closing 05:37:29   Dome Closed Dome closed (closing time 50s) 05:37:57   Dome Parked Dome parked (parking time 20s), Az: 90.1 deg 05:39:19   Telescope Parked Telescope parked (parking time 78s) 05:39:34   Telescope State Handbox reads 'Scope parked Turn scope off.' 05:39:56   Telescope Switched Off Telescope Power has been switched off via UPB Switch. 05:41:22   Services Stopped Night Services stopped 05:41:25 Session Housekeeping Session Housekeeping started (Create Fits Summary, Transfer Files) 05:41:40 Session Finished Session Finished

Session Alerts & Alarms

Time     Type       Name Detail 21:43:51 Red Alert Foc1Fields Updater Foc1FieldsUpdater appears to be frozen (last cycle at 21:42:09) in section 'Update Foc1Fields' 21:43:56 Green Clear Foc1Fields Updater Foc1FieldsUpdater has resumed again (21:43) after 1.8 mins 23:13:17 Red Alert SBIG Camera Alert Take Image failed (Command timed-out) 23:13:27 Red Alert SBIG Camera Alert Take Image failed (Command in progress. Error code = 219 (0xdb).) 23:27:04 Green Clear SBIG Camera Take Image command accepted (bSbigDriverException flag is reset) 23:35:29 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:35 23:35:39 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 20s 23:44:15 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:44 23:44:30 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 20s 23:45:00 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:44 23:45:10 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 19s 23:46:25 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:46 23:46:35 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 18s 23:47:10 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:47 23:47:20 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 18s 23:48:25 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:48 23:48:35 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 19s 23:48:45 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:48 23:48:55 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 17s 23:49:45 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:49 23:50:10 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 32s 23:50:35 Red Alert Program Hung AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:50 23:50:45 Green Clear Program Resumed AstroMain UI has resumed again after 16s 00:22:49 Red Alert Foc1Fields Updater Foc1FieldsUpdater appears to be frozen (last cycle at 00:21:08) in section 'Update Foc1Fields' 00:53:03 Red Alert SBIG Camera Alert Take Image failed (Command timed-out) 00:53:43 Red Alert CCDSoft Image file [0000] hasn't been saved to disk, possible CCDSoft issue 00:54:33 Green Clear SBIG Camera Take Image command accepted (bSbigDriverException flag is reset) 00:57:12 Red Alert Foc1Fields Updater Foc1FieldsUpdater appears to be frozen (last cycle at 00:55:28) in section 'Update Foc1Fields' 00:58:32 Red Alert TempMonitor TempMonitor appears to be frozen (last cycle at 00:56:00) in section 'Get CcdTemp Data' 00:59:27 Green Clear Foc1Fields Updater Foc1FieldsUpdater has resumed again (00:59) after 4.0 mins 00:59:29 Green Clear TempMonitor TempMonitor has resumed again (00:59) after 3.4 mins 01:00:45 Green Clear CCDSoft Image file has been saved to disk following CCDSoft Restart 01:13:50 Yellow Alert PHD2 Alert No. of incomplete PHD2 stream reads has exceeded 5 01:14:05 Yellow Alert Disk Space Free Space on C:\ Drive (45.08 GB) is less than 50 GB 01:39:25 Green Clear PHD2 Alert PHD2 stream reading has stablised again 05:41:38 Yellow Alert Disk Space Free Space on C:\ Drive (43.85 GB) is less than 50 GB

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Operational Issues (2023-09-29, S1151)

• Critical Issues (0)
• Major Issues (1)
• Minor Issues (12)
• Small Defects (3)
• Continuous Improvement (6)
  

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Critical Issues

• None

Major Issues

• AstroMain crashed after taking Restart CCDSoft backdoor facility (00:24) .  Open VS2022 in Just-Intime debugging shows unhanled exception at code line
  'Camera.ReductionGroupName = ReductionGroupName' in subroutine globals.SetReductionGroup().   Exception details :
  System.NullReferenceException
Message=Object variable or With block variable not set.
at CCDApp2.globals.SetReductionGroup, line 28055
at CCDApp2.globals.TakeSnapImage_Detail, line 32810
at CCDApp2.globals.RunTakeSnapImage(), line 32740[External Code]
  Try, Catch, End Try block added to SetReductionGroup() in AstroMain 3.62.14 in order to handle any exception when setting Camera.ReductionGroupName which should prevent AstroMain from crashing.
  Fixed 2023-10-01 (AstroMain 3.62.14)

Minor Issues

• Night Summary Plot is missing information from sunset until 03:02 LT (03:02).  See NightSummary Plot above. A blank black region occupies space that information is normally present. Other AstroAllSky products are also missing data for same time interval.  It is recalled that initial Summary Plot viewed 30 mins after sunset showed expected information. Logs show that AstroAllSky encountered a situation were imaging unexpectedly stopped. Following information was captured:
  Imaging has unexpectedly stopped. Exception encountered TakeAllSkyFrameJobs (master Try block) :
System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x80040458): Undescribed error. Error code = 112 (70). at Microsoft.VisualBasic.CompilerServices.LateBinding.InternalLateCall(Object o, Type objType, String name, Object[] args, String[] paramnames, Boolean[] CopyBack, Boolean IgnoreReturn) at Microsoft.VisualBasic.CompilerServices.NewLateBinding.LateCall(Object Instance, Type Type, String MemberName, Object[] Arguments, String[] ArgumentNames, Type[] TypeArguments, Boolean[] CopyBack, Boolean IgnoreReturn) at AstroAllSky.globals.CreateAllSkyDiffImage() in C:\Users\david\Documents\Visual Studio 2022\Projects\AstroAllSky\globals.vb:line 17444 at AstroAllSky.globals.AllSkyTakeFrames() in C:\Users\david\Documents\Visual Studio 2022\Projects\AstroAllSky\globals.vb:line 15838
Exception caught in 'OutputStatusFile' routine
Error : There is not enough space on the disk.
  AstroAllSky automatically restarted itself after which imaging operations proceeded ok.  The blank section is a consequence of the failure and restart. A separate 'Continuous Improvement' ticket is raised to try to make the program automatically recover the information contained in the summary plot prior to the restart.
  Closed after review 2023-09-30 (Session, AstroAllSky, AllSky/Weather Computer)
   
• AllSky/Weather Computer nearly ran out of disk space (03:02). AstroAllSky imaging stopped at 03:02 due to "..not enough space on the disk" error. Imaging and other programs ok after the AllSky program restart. Morning check shows only 4 GB free space on computer C drive. Resolved by deleting unwanted files the following day releasing around 50 GB.
  Fixed 2023-09-30 (AllSky/Weather Computer)
   
• AstroMain's UI locking up (stops responding) for periods of 16 to 31s (23:35 to 23:50).  Nine red alerts with messages like "AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding at 23:35" were recorded between 23:35 and 23:50. In each case the alerts were followed 16 to 31s later by green alerts with messages like "AstroMain UI has resumed again after 20s". This appears to be associated with user operations involved in checking the focus changes associated with moving the LX200's primary mirror.  Most likely associated with the "Autopick Focus Star" button facility.  Probably due the task not being run as a threaded operation, but is instead being run on program's main thread causing the UI to lock-up until the task completes.  Review of logs show that each time 'Autopick Focus Star' was started, the GuiChecker posts an Alert reporting that "AstroMain UI appears to have stopped responding".  Fixed in AstroMain 3.62.14 with addition of new routine 'RunAutoPickFocusStarAsThread()' which is initiated from btnAutoPickFocusStar_Click() by code lines  aThread = New Thread(AddressOf RunAutoPickFocusStarAsThread) ,   aThread.Start()
  Fixed 2023-10-01 (AstroMain 3.62.14)
   
• Report lines are 'interlaced' during 'New Live Session' setup when Connecting Camera after Restarting CCDSoft to set Autosave No. (21:41). During 'New Live Session' creation/setup for S1151 session, the normal call to 'Restart CCDSoft' routine to set Autosave Number was made. Towards the end of this task a connection to the SBIG Camera was started (presumably because the camera was connected before the call to 'Restart CCDSoft'. The report file shows a 'Connect Camera' report header and a 'Connecting Camera' add comment.   The report then gives the result of 'CCDSoft Restart' to set Autosave No. operation and show the 'AutoSave Starting Number' and 'AutoSave Folder', which is then followed by the reporting of 'Program Versions'. After this the result of the Camera Connection is reported beginning with an 'out of place' report comment  "Ok    Connected" and usual lines regading 'Temperature Regulation', 'CCD Temperature' etc.  Examining AssignObservatorySession,   'RestartCCDSoftByThread' is called with RestartMode = RestartCCDSoftMode.SetAutosaveNo after which a wait loop is entered that waits for bRestartingCCDSoft flag to change from True to False. The code then proceeds to report 'Autosave Starting No.' and AutoSave Folder before reporting 'Program Versions' (ReportProgramVersions()) followed by 'Com Ports in Use' (ListComPorts()).  RestartCCDSoft establishes the 'PriorConnectionState' before restarting CCDSoft, and if PriorConnectionState=True it calls ConnectCamera() after CCDSoft has been restarted. Only after this is the bRestartingCCDSoft flag lowered.  This code review clearly show that the interlaced reporting can not be associated with a bug in automated operations.  Instead the session's Log file show that the Connect Camera operation and its apparent interlaced report messages were result of a user action requesting Connect Camera :
  21:41:56.80 | Session (UserAction) Request Camera1.Connect Info | User request to connect Camera1 to CCDSoft
  The issue is deemed closed following review.  Separate Continuous Improvement tickets have been raised to i) report when a particular Connect Camera operation is at bequest of user, ii) prevent user from using 'Connect Camera' whilst 'AssignObservatorySession' is still running.  
    Closed after review 2023-10-02 (Session, AstroMain)
   
• Automated attempt to Connect Camera following a user initated 'Restart CCDSoft' operation noted to have failed with "SBIG driver: Device not found." (21:43) .  In response to this failure to reconnect camera, a further attempt was made which this time was successful. Closed after review but monitor future sessions for any new instances of this problem.
  Closed 2023-10-02 (CCDSoft, SBIG Camera, AstroMain), but continue to monitor.
   
• Telescope Power couldn't be turned on using AstroMain (22:56).  Attempt to start the Telescope Service as part of 'Start Services' use at 22:54 failed. The 'Telescope Power' item was flagged as a 'Fail' with the message "Telescope Power is off". A user action was taken at 22:56 to 'Switch On Telescope' from the Observatory/More Tab but this was reported a 'Fail' with the message "Telescope power can not be switched on at this time". It is unclear why the telescope power could not be switched on.  To get around the problem an in-session workaround was used whereby the LX200 Power was turned on using the Pegasus UPB Software.  Reviewing the Scope.SetPowerOn() routine shows that the message "..can not be switched on at this time" is produced if ObservatoryMamager.bRunning = True And ObservatoryManager.SessionState <> SessionState.Manual AND gObservatoryMode <> omAutoStart.  It can therefore be seen that with the states at the time (gObservatoryMode = omManual  and SessionState = SessionState.Finished) the current rules do not allow the Telescope Power to be switched on. The 'Finished' State is a hang-over from the previous session. Separately, a recent fix to a Small Defect ('Session state is still shows as 'Finished' after starting a new live session',  see below) now sets SessionState to 'Manual' when a new session is created.
  Closed after investigation & review (Session, Telescope, AstroMain 3.62.14)
   
• Foc1 Autofocusing encountered multiple cases where QC Focus Result was 'Rejected' due to 'ambiguous result' (01:40 to 04:14).  Following refocusing of the main Scope using the primary mirror at start of session, the first 2 focus profiles generated Focus Results (Profiles 4, 5). However the next 7 completed profiles (Profiles 10 - 16) were all rejected with the message  "Rejected (ambiguous result)".  Example of 2 of the 7 rejected Focus Profiles (Profile 10 & Profile 12) are shown in Fig 1 & Fig 2 below. in both these cases the selected Best Focus used a 'Modified Best Focus' (which is an average of Curve Fitted Best Focus and an alternate Best Focus).  This Modified Best Focus is chosen over the regular Curve Fitted Best Focus because the curve fitted best focus differs by more than 150 DRO steps from the alternate best focus.  For Profile 10 the difference is 195 whilst for Profile 12 the difference is 240 (both clearly more than 150). For Profile 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 the differences are 297, 217, 277,  316,  369 (again these are clearly more than 150. Since the Curve Fitted Best Focus isn't used alone in all these focusing attempts, the focus result is rejected because the Curve Fitted Best Focus value is not used (ie CurveUsed = false), which means anytime the difference between the two best focus estimates is more than 150 the focus result is rejected. Visually examining Profiles 10-14 either the Curve Fitted Best Focus or the Modified Best Focus seem to be acceptable Focus Results. Only for Profile 15 and 16 does the quality of selected Best Focus tail off and the Rejected Result doesn't seem unreasonable.  There was an earlier case of Focus Profile rejection with ambiguous result in Session S1092 which is still to be investigated. But looking at it now the difference between Curve Fitted Best Focus and Alternate Best Focus is noted to have been 172. It is proposed to use Curve Fitted Best Focus when the difference from Alternate Best Focus is <175, but otherwise use the Modified Best Focus , and to only totally reject Focus Result with Ambiguous Result when the difference between the 2 best focus estimates is more than 300. Profiles 10-16 were replayed using AstroMain 3.66.6 are it was verified that that profiles 10-14 Pass Qc checks (RmsE 0.28 -0.38) but the last two profiles (15 & 16) still both fail.   There's a valid case for saying that both profiles should be passed given the reasonable RmsE scores (0.40' - 0.45').  AstroMain 3.66.6 modified to include extra logic in CalculateBestFocusPosition() to use modified focus position that restricts to bf0 to the lowside-highside range and uses it when RmsE<0.5 and nCheckPoints (no valid points) is > 6
  Fixed 2023-10-08 (AstroMain 3.62.17)
   
• AstroMain's 'Foc1FieldsUpdater' became frozen (21:43).  Foc1FieldsUpdater reported to be frozen shortly after creating/setting up 'New Live Session' and reconnecting Camera with the report line message "Foc1FieldsUpdater is frozen (21:43) in section 'Update Foc1Fields".  Issue may or may not be related to interlacing of report lines and thus threads noted in above issue. Resolved by an in-session user intervention to "Restart CCDSoft" using 'backdoor' button facility at 21:43 & 21:45. Second attempt made as first attempt failed to successfully reconnect to SBIG Camera. Considered to be resolved by AstroMain 3.64 by changes to CCDMonitor, TempMonitor and Foc1FieldsUpdater and the introduction on new CCDCamera object & thread.
  Considered resolved 2023-11-05  (AstroMain 3.64)
   
• AstroMain's 'Foc1FieldsUpdater' and 'Temperture Monitor' became frozen (00:57).  During MapPoint 10/12  'Foc1FieldsUpdater' and 'Temperture Monitor' became frozen. Resolved by an in-session user intervention to "Restart CCDSoft" using 'backdoor' button facility at 00:59.  Fixed by AstroMain 3.64 through changes to CCDMonitor, TempMonitor and Foc1FieldsUpdater and the introduction on a new CCDCamera object & thread.
  Fixed 2023-11-05  (AstroMain 3.64)
   
• CCDSoft/SBIG Camera stopped responding (23:24 & 00:23). CCDSoft stopped responding when a 'Snap Image was attempted and a message showed 'Image failed (Command in progress. Error code = 219 (0xdb).)  Problem resolved by an in-session user intervention to "Restart CCDSoft" using 'backdoor' button facility at 23:25.   A similar issue occurred at 00:23 when a Snap Image (5s) was attempted.  Process to automatically restart SBIG Camera & CCDSoft in the event of an issue are generally working now (2024-03-20).  Ticket closed.  Any further issues will be raised under new tickets if/when they occur.
  Closed 2024-03-20 (CCDSoft, SBIG Camera, AstroMain)
   
• Taking a 10s Locate Frame failed with 'CCD Image [0000] has not saved to disk' (00:53) . Whilst taking MapPoint 9/12 a Locate Frame attempt failed with 'not saved to disk' error. CCDSoft was automatically restarted (to fix unsaved file issue) and a fresh Locate Frame was successfully acquired.  Process to automatically restart SBIG Camera & CCDSoft in the event of an issue are generally working now (2024-03-20).  Ticket closed.  Any further issues will be raised under new tickets if/when they occur.
  Closed 2024-03-20 (CCDSoft, SBIG Camera, AstroMain)
   
• Knob on 12" LX200 that locks/unlocks the primary mirror appears to be stuck in an unlocked position, meaning that primary mirror position can't be reliably locked.  This appears to be the cause of the issue seen in recent sessions whereby the telescope's focus seems to be slipping in a way that is taking the telescope focus to the end of the range focusable using the TCF-S focuser.  See  Investigation - Drift in Best Focus Position, LX200 Primary Mirror Focus Slipping / Mirror Lock Not Working (2023-09-30) and  LX200 - Mirror Lock Fix (2023-10-08) ). A fix for the Mirror Focus Lock has been researched (see LX200 - Mirror Lock Fix (2023-10-08) ), but an attempt to to make the fix on 2023-11-11 unfortunately failed (see Mirror Lock - Update (2023-11-11) ).
  To be fixed 2023-10-08+ (LX200 Telescope)

Small Defects

• Slight error in date formatting in Job Executor "Alert    2023-09-30 00: 53 " (00:53) During reporting of alert  "CCDImage [0000] not saved to disk" the reported time '00: 53" contains a unwanted space between hours and minutes terms. 
   > Job Executor Alert 2023-09-30 00: 53 (Local, BST)
 > Job Executor Alert CCD Image [0000] has not saved to disk. Restarting CCDSoft...
Fixed 2023-10-01 (AstroMain 3.62.14)
   
• Dialog in Near Zenith Focus routine (in user mode) asking whether to include secondary scope focusing or not should be a 'Yes/No' dialog rather than a 'Ok/Cancel' dialog.
  Fixed 2023-10-01 (AstroMain 3.62.14)
   
• After starting a new live session under user control (as opposed to autostart), the session state is shown as 'Finished'  When starting a new session, the session state at end of last live session (typically 'Finished') is carried over to both a general session or a new live session.  Whilst it is userful to show session state is Finshed on the Current/Latest Session, it becomes inappropriate for a general session or when commencing a new live session. Fixed in AstroMain 3.62.14 (2023-10-01). This fix happens to also fix an issue whereby Telescope Power can't be switched on (SD S1151)
  Fixed 2023-10-01 (AstroMain 3.62.14)

Continuous Improvement

• Modify reporting to show that a Connect Camera operation is in response to a user request.
    Done 2023-10-02 (AstroMain 3.62.15)
   
• Add button & associated routine that restarts the 'Best Focus Chart (Foc1)'.  The S1151 Session's BestFocus Chart was commenced with a Y Scale range 0 - 1400 following an initial Focus Profile which determined a Best Focus position for TCF-S focuser at 732 (664 from wide profile). However following planned adjustment of telescope's primary mirror, the Best Focus position was re-measured at 3892 (3739 from wide profile).   This Best Focus (3892) and the Best Focus measurements through the live session (3664 to 3289) lies beyond the Y Scale range on the Best Focus Chart and thus can not be seen.   Having the ability to restart the Best Focus Chart would allow the user to get a session chart that shows the focus data from the main session.  The button facility needs to be used before taking the Focus Profile at the adjusted focus position.  A 'Restart Best Focus Chart' button was added to AstroMain's More/Cam1 tab which after user confirmation calls a new BestFocusChart.RestartChart() routine.
  Done 2023-10-02 (AstroMain 3.62.15)
   
• Modify AstroMain to prevent user from using 'Connect Camera' whilst 'AssignObservatorySession' is still running (21:41) . This item is intended to prevent a situation where Connect Camera occurs at a time that Restart CCDSoft may be executing and/or prevent confusing interlacing of report messages.  A check can make use of the existing bAssigningObservatorySession flag to check if AssignObservatorySession() routine is currently or not.
  Done 2023-10-30 (AstroMain 3.63.4)
   
• Review the inclusion of ULens? Types Transients in Targets Database. Transients (including ULens? Type) are added in the Targets Database when AstroSN runs according to certain criteria. All too often the first time that ULens? Type Transients are observed is many days after their discovery (sometimes T+100d) and/or the frequency at which they are observed is too long to graph any useful brightness decline back to a 'historic' level. Prehaps they shouldn't be included in database (and any existing active ones should be made inactive/completed) or prehaps ones within say 2 days of discovery and above a certain brightness should be marked a Tier 1 Must-Include target.  AstroSN 1.10 updated to explicity exclude tarnsients of type 'ulens?'.
  Done 2023-11-08 (AstroSN 1.10.1)
   
• Complete backlog of image building and web page documentation from Sep 2023.  7 sessions still incomplete as of 2023-10-14 (S1139-42, S1145, S1148-49).
  Done 2024-01-10 (Website)
   
• Ensure information from AllSky Products such as Night Summary Plot is not lost due to a major exception/program restart. Night Summary Plot and other AllSky products were missing information from sunset until 03:03 LT (session S1151 2023-09-29).  See NightSummary Plot above. A blank black region occupies space that information is normally present. Logs show that AstroAllSky encountered a situation were imaging unexpectedly stopped. Whilst AstroAllSky automatically restarted itself after which imaging operations proceeded ok, and the number of plot lines has 'known' (hence the blank space) the program hasn't automatically recovered the information contained in the summary plot prior to the restart. The program should do this (or at least take a copy of the NightSummary Plot before recommencing the imaging/plotting process allowing plots to be at least manually spliced).
  To do  2023-09-30 (AstroAllSky 3.19.3)

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2023-09-30

Investigation - Drift in Best Focus Position, LX200 Primary Mirror Focus Slipping / Mirror Lock Not Working (2023-09-30)

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