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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Lacerta MGEN support?

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Replied by Pepe on topic Lacerta MGEN support?

Dear Eric,

thanks for all the effort you put into this! It would be great to be able to use the MGEN in the ekos environment. Let me know if I can help with my setup.

Best wishes
Stephan
7 years 2 weeks ago #15057

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Replied by Eric on topic Lacerta MGEN support?

Hello,

I pushed my proposal as github.com/indilib/indi/pull/187

To build this driver, set 3rd party driver option "WITH_MGEN" to On and run a cmake build.
Check documentation in the pull request, this driver requires libftdi1 to work. An example of udev rule to unbind a device is provided in source folder.
In case of issue, raise the log to level "debug", reproduce the problem and open a ticket with the log attached on github.com/TallFurryMan/indi/issues if the driver is not merged in master yet, or discuss it here.

I'll happily answer any question you have. I certainly didn't get everything right in this first attempt.
-Eric
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7 years 5 days ago #15589

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Replied by Pepe on topic Lacerta MGEN support?

Hi Eric,

this is great news, thank you! I'll try to install the driver and see how it works with my MGEN.

Cheers
Stephan
7 years 1 day ago #15743

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Replied by Pepe on topic Lacerta MGEN support?

Hi,

I have only now realized that the INDI 1.5 library comes with a "New Lacerta MGen driver". Is that the one refereced to in this thread? Has anyone tried it yet?

Best regards
Stephan
6 years 5 months ago #20405

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Replied by Eric on topic Re:Lacerta MGEN support?

Hello,

I certainly do :)

Right now it functions as a remote control, with which you can navigate and configure your guiding. What is missing dearly is a how-to, but to summarize:
- Connect the MGen controller to the computer running indiserver with a USB cable.
- Use/adapt the provided udev rules to make sure the device is properly named in /dev. As the device is using a FTDI chip, there might be mismatches and mixups.
- Add 'indi_mgen_autoguider' to the list of drivers started by your indiserver.
- I don't remember if Ekos is providing an entry in the profile drop-down, but when INDI is started there, the MGen driver should appear in its own tab.
- Don't connect the MGen driver, but change the default device path and save your configuration.
- Start the MGen driver, the device should turn on automatically, and a few logs should appear in the MGen tab.
- Go to tab "Remote UI", and enable the remote view. Frames will pop up in the FITS viewer, and you may navigate in the interface using the buttons in the same panel.

Depending on the speed of your network connection, you may raise the frame rate, but be aware that too many frames will kill something, either Ekos or the connection (though it's been a while since I tested the robustness). With wifi I keep this to 1/2 frame per second.

Once configured, calibrated, started, you disable the remote ui, your scope is now guiding. Also always check which CCD Ekos is trying to request frames for. You do not want the MGen frames to show up instead of your light frames :)

Because this is so nice but also so frustrating (you will probably have this feeling too while using the driver), I'm currently implementing the PHD2 protocol in the driver. This will allow the user to start and stop guiding via Ekos instead of manually.


-Eric
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6 years 5 months ago #20406

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Replied by Pepe on topic Re:Lacerta MGEN support?

DearEric,
this is great news! Thank you for all the effort you put into this project! I hope IÄll soon find the time to try the driver. How do I "use/adapt the provided udev rules"?

Please let me know if I can help beta testing the new driver (with PHD2 protocol).

Cheers
Stephan
6 years 5 months ago #20418

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Replied by Eric on topic Re:Lacerta MGEN support?

When connected, the device will appear as /dev/ttyUSB1 for instance. The number at the end of the device name marks the order in which the device was connected/detected amongst others. Thus if you have only one device which connects this way, or if you always connect your different devices in the same order, you can configure the INDI driver to use /dev/ttyUSB1 once for all.

Problems appear when you boot a system with all devices already connected. In that situation you don't know which name will be used for which device.

Udev sort of solves this issue, by giving specific names to devices identified by specific properties: manufacturer/product ID, or serial number, etc. Definitions are written in "rules files".

For MGen, I provide one such file in the source tree (3rdparty/indi-mgen/80-LacertaMgen.rules). If you happen to have multiple USB devices working as serial adapters, check this out, it's easy to read (but difficult to write). If you only have one such device, don't bother, check the name of the connected /dev device and try the connection out directly.

-Eric
6 years 5 months ago #20421

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Replied by Eric on topic Re:Lacerta MGEN support?

Sorry, I made a mistake in my previous post: because the device requires libftdi1, you NEED the kernel to unbind it first before you may access it with INDI.

Therefore the udev rules are required to be present in /etc/udev/rules.d to be able to connect the device.

I'll fix the driver config so that the file is copied there when the installation proceeds. In the meantime, you will need to copy 88-LacertaMGen.rules to /etc/udev/rules.d manually (with root privileges).

-Eric
Last edit: 6 years 5 months ago by Eric.
6 years 5 months ago #20432

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Hi!

I am searching for hours about information on how to get the mgen running under kstars AND how to download, install and use it on my kde Linux Distro-Astro distribution laptop.I have absolutely no idea about linux and installed this special "distro-astro" linux system on an old laptop to learn bout kstars, ekos and linux as well.
It would be very kind of you to tell me in short steps how to download and install your driver.

cheers
TCM
Skywatcher EQ6-R | Lacerta 10" Carbon-Newton | Lacerta MFoc Motorfocus | Moravian G2 8300 Color | Canon EOS 5DMarkIIIa | Lodestar X2 guiding cam | KSTARS 3.4.3. on my outdoor-Laptop with KDE-Neon/Plasma | KSTARS 3.4.3. on Remote-IMac with Catalina | KSTARS 3.4.3 on Remote-Macbook Air with Catalina
6 years 2 months ago #22331

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Replied by Eric on topic Re:Lacerta MGEN support?

Hello,

Thanks for your interest in this driver. In its current state, the driver "only" provides a remote user interface to the MGen LCD pad. Is this what you are looking for?

-Eric
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6 years 2 months ago #22362

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Hi!

Yes for now it would be Ok for me, since i have to go out to my setup for focusing anyway, and i am in „Testing conditions“



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Skywatcher EQ6-R | Lacerta 10" Carbon-Newton | Lacerta MFoc Motorfocus | Moravian G2 8300 Color | Canon EOS 5DMarkIIIa | Lodestar X2 guiding cam | KSTARS 3.4.3. on my outdoor-Laptop with KDE-Neon/Plasma | KSTARS 3.4.3. on Remote-IMac with Catalina | KSTARS 3.4.3 on Remote-Macbook Air with Catalina
6 years 2 months ago #22364

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Replied by Eric on topic Re:Lacerta MGEN support?

OK. You need two things: a USB connection to the MGen pad, and an INDI server with driver indi_mgenauotoguider compiled in installed to your local setup.

I could give you high-level directions, but as no one except me did actually test the driver, I'd recommend you understand each step :)

When you connect your MGen via USB, it should be recognized automatically by your OS. You can use the terminal command "dmesg" before and after connecting to check what the system detected, or just check the changes in folder "/dev".

The difficult step is to have the MGen recognized by your local setup *as a FTDI unbound device*, and I don't expect it to be by default. To achieve this you need a special "udev rules" file on the computer the MGen is connected to, that I made available at "github.com/indilib/indi/blob/master/3rdp...80-LacertaMgen.rules". You need to download and store this file at "/etc/udev/rules.d", then reboot that computer.

As this is a privileged location, you will probably need to use the terminal command "sudo cp" to copy the rules file there. Tell me if you need help at that point.

The next step is to start the driver with your indiserver. Do this as you would for other devices. Even if no device is recognized, you should have the driver panel available when you start Ekos/Kstars.

From then on, check under which name your MGen is recognized when you connect it, and provide this device name in the driver panel. This should be "/dev/usb.mgen", as can be read from the rules file. You can then connect the driver.

At this point, in the panel "Remote UI", you should be able to start a remote session with your MGen device.

Tell me how it goes, so that I may fix things or improve the configuration (which needs it!).

-Eric
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Last edit: 6 years 2 months ago by Eric.
6 years 2 months ago #22379

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