According to a litle research and the SBIG forum, the SBIG INDI driver is based on the SBIG universal driver, which doesn't support the parallel port anymore.

Thank you,
Tamás

FWIW I do have the sbig parallel port driver working over here:

github.com/garlick/sbig-parport

Modern sbigudrv (for example the indi packaged one) seems to still include support for it.

Jim

Thank you Jim for the parport driver though, this raised a question / wish list item for the older SBIG cameras. SBIG made a serial adapter for these cameras which has long been discontinued, however, today USB to Parallel adapters are available and affordable.

So, this daunts the wish for a modification of the driver to allow it to take advantage of such an adapter. I suspect this is possible and even SBIG might provide the serial code for such. Just an idea.

Dan

Dan,

I was thinking the same thing, and I did change the driver so that it does its I/O through the "parport" driver stack rather than directly accessing the x86 legacy register addresses. However, I was disappointed to discover most USB parallel port adapters don't plug into the parport stack. Instead they look like a USB printer to the OS.

I went another way and designed a parallel port "HAT" for the raspberry pi. I have a prototype that works with PHD + indi + sbigudrv reliably as long as the cable is really short. I'm working on a second revision of the hardware that hopefully will have better electrical characteristics.

This project is over here (with driver and board layout):

github.com/garlick/pi-parport

Jim

Thank you Jim, I will take a look at it sometime soon, I hope. I use a ST7, actually modified into an ST8, as a sky camera. And while, it was always rather slow, it was very reliable and does a nice job.
Not knowing your application of the ST7, let me just say, it is possible to install a KAF1600 ccd into that camera. It requires a slight modification of a 'cover' which holds the off axis prism for the guider ccd. Truthfully, I forget just what software I changed, but, I remember it was not too difficult. Openskyimager is able to loop it with a delay between images.
Dan

Cool!!! I do have an ST7 here doing nothing and would love to give that a try. I think I'll open up the CCD compartment and see what's in there!

Any tips? KAF0400 and KAF1600 have different pinouts, and how'd you trick the SBIG micro into recognizing it?

Jim

Jim,
The 2 ccds are essentially the same pins out. I have attached the data sheets which I have. As for software, I searched my archives, but, you might find it easier by contacting SBIG. They used to offer a ccd upgrade in the past, so, they might share this now since the cameras are so very old.

Hopefully, the file I will attach will contain what you need. If I can help more, let me know.

Dan

Oh, I wanted to ask, which cable you have which is really short? I see 2 methods: 1 USB to parallel adapter attached at the computer with a long parallel cable. Or, 1 USB to parallel adapter attached to the camera with a long USB cable. In the first case, noise and signals of a parallel cable come into play. In the second, its vital the 5V be transmitted to the remote adapter circuit.

Dan,

I was referring to a parallel cable between the parallel port board I added to the Pi and the camera. Sorry if I wasn't clear - I gave up trying to find a USB to parallel converter that works with the Linux kernel "parport" driver stack. That is what "sbiglpt" (SBIG parallel port Linux kernel driver) wants..

Even if we could find a USB converter, I think it's likely not to work. The sbiglpt "bit bangs" its protocol, polls bits on the parallel port in busy-loops, etc.. If access to those bits becomes a USB hop away, there may be issues meeting the camera's timing, busy-waiting too long in the kernel (or timing out), etc..

There are all manner of fun projects possible here though, such as replacing the raspberry pi in my solution with a microprocessor that speaks SBIG's USB or ethernet protocol on one side, and the camera parallel port protocol on the other. However that involves some reverse engineering of the USB/ethernet protocol and so would be pretty labor intensive. I went with the Pi because it allows the old sbiglpt driver to be reused with minimal effort, and the Pi can serve as an adapter that provides an INDI camera device.

p.s. thanks for the CCD info. I actually bought some class 3 KAF-1600 chips on ebay and took my camera apart. There's a fixed program 8052 clone in there (Philips SB7C752-1N28), a PLD, and a Lattice ispLSI 1016 CPLD. Looks like only the CPLD is programmable so I wonder if chips have to be replaced to upgrade the CCD, or if maybe it's just a matter of updating some EEPROM in the CPLD?

JIm,
The answer to the question of replacing ICs within the SBIG camera is definitely, no. I never had to replace or rewire any circuitry going from KAF400 to KAF1600. Its only a software and rules thing.

As for the interface to usb, I must search again, but when I built my Audine camera, there was a usb interface which a guy made called the Quick Audine. It used a factory made FTDI based usb interface coupled with a PIC18F252. At the time when I built them, I did not think it was too difficult. Such an interface might give you some ideas, but, as you say, it is a singular hardware solution.

Here is a link to some of that ancient code:

www.astrosurf.com/buil/quicka/quickaus.htm

Dan

On chip upgrade: Ah that is good to know! I did just find "Application Note: Using the Advanced Menu to set the Camera Configuration" with a google search. Apparently CCDOps has an "/advanced" command line option which causes a new "advanced" menu to appear. This menu has a "camera configuration" command which can update the camera EEPROM (camera type, anti-blooming flag, tracking chip type, power-on cooling mode). Maybe the camera type could simply be changed from ST-7 to ST-8. Does that sound familiar?

Audine: so cool! So you built one huh? But trying to stay on topic, I agree a thing like the pic+FTDI (or modern equivalent) would be perfect here. The missing piece is IMHO the SBIG USB/ethernet message format/protocol, so this device could plug right in to SBIGUDRV and all the software built to use it. (I did ask DL if they might consider releasing the network protocol specification a few months ago and they politely declined).

Jim

Jim,
Answer to the question on just changing from ST7 to ST8, yes. But there actually was a file which does this flash. I know I have it some place, but wow, its going to take some hunting to find it. Sounds like you might have the answer with the CCDops program.

Sorry to read about the decline to release the old code, its a shame since SBIG was literally the first camera I can remember which supported Linux. And you are definitely on the approach which I am looking at. I thought the code in the link might get us there, but if not, I will dig a bit more.