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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

What would you like to see in Ekos in 2017?


I once had to do something similar, and needed to manually adjust focus for the guide camera. So I installed TeamViewer on my tablet, and then logged in to see the live Ekos feed, then went and adjusted it while looking at the tablet.
7 years 2 months ago #13573
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I'll look into Astroberry PiFace but I already own a generic board with relays, not a PIFace board unfortunatly.

I looked for a "PiFace Relay Plus" but from the PIFace webpage it says that: "Our previous distributor is currently having issues with their supply chain. We are currently working on an alternative solution and hope to have something in place by the end of the year."

I'll have to do some ressearch to find one. So far no luck with amazon or ebay and a couple of other supplier...
"Some people are so poor, all they have is money"
SW Black Diamond 80ED | SW150MAK | Newton SW 200/1000 | Orion 50mm Guider with Helical Focuser |Sirius EQ-G Rowan Belt Mode
Canon 1000D moded | ZWO ASI185MC | Baader Mark III Zoom
INDI | Stellarmate on RPI3B+ | Stellarium | Pixinsight
7 years 2 months ago #13584
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I don't know whether this would be part of Ekos or rather the specific driver but focus backlash compensation with switchable prefered driving direction would be great to have. I guess it would be beneficial to implement this in Ekos so it is available to all focusers.
Anyway, thanks to Jasem and all other developers for the great work you did so far and may 2017 be as successful as the last year!
7 years 2 months ago #13618
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Thank you for such as great project. Using Kstars and Ekos on RPI3 is improving. Some thoughts:

1. A stable release label and bleeding edge label to help control when to update (supporting already mentioned idea)
2. Imaging camera view with telescope control to help frame shots, without a focuser; helps to capture two objects when not just centring with plate-solving
3. No slewing option with scheduler - Celestron precise goto often can frame shot nicely, and would be good to just start sequences when it is a newly frame sequence.
4. Separate build of Ekos from Kstars (supporting already mentioned idea)
5. Ability to use another planetarium, like SkySafari. Currently can use both Kstars and Skysafari at same time as long as INDIserver is not stopped/restarted or such.

Cheers!
7 years 2 months ago #13626
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1: Polar alignment
I would like to see a quick polar alignment as in EQMOD/ASCOM in Ekos.
The use of the astrometry helps a bit for polar alignment but just to make an accurate alignment.
The polar alignment with astrometry would be more accurate if it could exists a graphical representation, like a target, of corrections done with the adjustement knobs like a target and points for each exposure done for the process.

2: Indigo
I had an overview of indigo and this looks to be a real improvement of INDI.
Hotplug of the devices become possible. This is really nice.

3: More stable versions
With possibility to go back to a previous version.
Last edit: 7 years 2 months ago by Patrick.
7 years 2 months ago #13629
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I definitely second this. It seems to be easily implementable in main telescope driver.
I have had a discussion with a friend of mine using EQMOD/ASCOM and he convinced me that polar alignment with this approach is 10-15 minutes exercise. Plate-solving technique currently implemented in Ekos takes ages to achieve the same goal. What we have now is great for home observatory (so I use it) but does not meet road warriors' needs.
7 years 2 months ago #13633
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Jasem I would love to see Ekos isolated from Kstars. as a separate executable :)
Last edit: 7 years 2 months ago by rumen.
7 years 2 months ago #13637
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I usually use my polar alignment scope for the polar alignment and then I use plate solving for the alignment and then I am good to go. This whole process takes me less than 10 minutes. My alignment is probably not perfect, but it is good enough. I Are you referring to this tool at the lower right corner of the Align Module? I have never used that.



7 years 2 months ago #13642
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That's it. And by the way, polar alignment scope is designed for... polar alignment BUT how do you know exact Polaris hour angle? How do you set it up on your scope by rotating RA axis to Polaris hour angle?
The requested alignment tool is all about these two issues. Instead of using any external tool to find our Polaris HA (e.g. Polar Finder) and relaying on your RA axis rings and markers: (1) you can just click a button and your mount will slew (in RA only) to exact position of Polaris, track it and all of these for your specific location and time. (2) Take a look through your polar alignment scope and set the Polaris in the properly identified position.
7 years 2 months ago #13644
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The possibility to save a video.
7 years 2 months ago #13645
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Yes this is it. And I don't agree with the fact that an approximative polar alignment is enough. The better the polar alignment is the more efficient the autoguiding is.
And the less exposures you have to throw.
I don't use EQMOD polar alignment with my setup. But I use it with the setup of my astro club. And it is really terribly effective and so simple and accurate and so fast too.
Sure the plate solve is effective on a fixed station when you do it twice a year. But when you have to install your hardware at each session it is not so easy.
Furthermore on AZEQ6 the big knob that rules the altitude is so imprecise that a blind adjustment with the plate solving make me loose a lot of time.
How I proceed:
- first I align at polar scope whith the setting circles. It takes less than 5 mn to do it.
if I am lucky and if I do a good job I can obtain around a minute of accuracy on each axe. Generally I get few minutes.
- twice I use plate solving align. It takes at least 20mn to improve the alignment.

EQmod alignment need less than 5mn for a really good alignment for less than a minute on each axe. So plate-solving alignment can be optional.

What I hope to find in EKOS is the equivalent of EQMOD alignment and a more visual approach of the best alignment with plate solving.
7 years 2 months ago #13646
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I don't really know how ASCOM is proceeding, but I was never able to use the SynScan polar realign feature properly (firmware perhaps?).
I second your proposal, and I'd be interested in a method that DOESN'T rely on seeing Polaris to adjust (that would improve the available mount locations in my garden by 70% :) ). I'd start with a rough north alignment, and let the algorithm repeatedly tell me how I should adjust Az/Alt on a portable device. I'd say nearly-automated Bigourdan method, in which coordinates are plate-solved, and star trails are detected, but there may be easier methods.

As a side note, asking the mount to point to the "exact" Polaris position cannot be "exact" as the mount isn't synced yet. Depends on where the user locked the knobs ; that's why the polar scope must remain manual, isn't it?

-Eric
7 years 2 months ago #13647
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