What is the voltage on AstroLink’s outputs?
Voltages on DC and PWM outputs of AstroLink devices are the same as in the input. There is no built-in voltage regulator for 12V inside the AstroLink, so if AstroLink is powered with 13V, then there will also be 13V available on DC outputs. The voltage range available for AstroLink is noted in the user manual.
Fixing USB-connected devices remotely
When a USB device (AstroLink or any other) freezes, stops responding, or behaves erratically, usually, it is enough to restart the computer. But if one wants to avoid restarting, then the USB port can be restarted programmatically. There are several tools that can be used for it, one that seems to work in most cases is USB Device Tree Viewer available here https://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtreeview_e.html
INDI driver crashes after system upgrade
Usually, it is enough to remove the astrolink4 installation folder fetched from GitHub, download it, and install the driver again.
If that does not work you need to:
1. remove “AstroLink…” files in /.indi folder
2. remove indi_astrolink4… file in /bin
3. remove indi_astrolink4… files in /usr/share/indi
And then reinstall the INDI driver again.
Problems with connecting or no COM port
Make sure you have installed virtual COM port drivers. AstroLink devices manufactured before 2023 were equipped with FTDI controllers, recent AstroLink devices are using SiliconLab virtual COM port controllers.
Also, make sure that the option “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” is disabled in the Windows Device Manager for the virtual com ports.
Troubleshooting blog entry: https://astrojolo.com/gears/astrophotography-setup-communication-problems/
FTDI VCP drivers https://ftdichip.com/drivers/vcp-drivers/
Silicon Labs VCP drivers https://www.silabs.com/developers/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers?tab=downloads
AstroLink panel software does not start
Do a clean install of the AstroLink software (see below)
Access denied to COM port when using ASCOM driver
Do a clean install of the AstroLink software (see below)
Clean install of AstroLink software
ASCOM driver:
1) restart the computer
2) uninstall AstroLink ASCOM driver from the Windows Control Panel
3) open ASCOM Profile Explorer and look for “astrolink” or “astrojolo” related entries in the Focuser, Observing Conditions, Switch and Safety Monitor nodes. Remove them manually if found
4) install the AstroLink ASCOM driver back
AstroLink control panel software:
1) restart the computer
2) uninstall the AstroLink panel software from the Windows Control Panel
3) look in the folder C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft for subfolders that names starts with AstroLink4… and remove them manually
4) look in the folder C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Local\ASTROJOLO for subfolders that names starts with AstroLink4… and remove them manually
5) install the AstroLink control panel software back
