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

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Eqmod alignment

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Eqmod alignment was created by Eric

This night's test with KStars 2.8.7 was under the sign of Alignment :)

I had a hell of a time aligning my HEQ5 properly. By "hell" I mean I would have thrown away the setup weren't I a bit stubborn :)

I'm using KStars 2.8.7, and a relatively old INDI setup (say August '17) built from github, with my own mods (unrelated to eqmod).

I experienced once again the solve-then-sync-to-the-exact-same-place syndrome. In the attached log (which contains much more), this is line 477 for instance, but there are other occurrences.

I made quite a few manipulations during that test, and observed weird things:
- I add a weird issue where the eqmod coordinates would change as if they were AltAz coordinates in Ekos.
- I add a weird issue where the eqmod symbol, the capture symbol and the actual position would be offset away.
- I add a weird issue where the mount would be ordered to run a meridian flip and relocate under the horizon. Freaking!
- I tried to add a few more align points by slewing here and there and solving, trying to help to algorithm, but it is now clear that this method deteriorates the situation even more.
- I cleaned the alignment points in the Ekos list, but somehow while it improved the situation, it didn't help to solve it.
- Finally I add to go to the INDI panel and manually remove the alignment point list from the mount itself to somehow reset the procedure.

After that, it worked properly. In the end it also appeared that my park position was offset away from the north celestial pole. This may be a hint, I'll try to reset it first thing in the next test.

I'll continue examining the log, but I wanted to share this first.
-Eric
6 years 4 months ago #20961
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Replied by Eric on topic Eqmod alignment

While working this out, I also experienced the very disorienting effect where every single line of the log is displayed as an alert box on the screen. No idea which log configuration combination causes this, but my opinion is that it is a no-no feature: with a verbose driver-level eqmod, this kills the virtual machine with hundreds of windows in approximately 20 seconds :) The only way to restore functionality is to disable the debug button in the INDI driver panel as quickly as possible while those alerts are popping. Now I feel like the log configuration has teeth.

At the same time, with KStars crashing because of this situation, I could also observe that many user settings in KStars are not saved to disk when the configuration pop-ups are closed, but only when the application is closed. This is a bit annoying, but doesn't apply to Ekos apparently.

-Eric
6 years 4 months ago #20963

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Replied by Greg on topic Eqmod alignment

I use Kstars/Ekos to control my HEQ5. Kstars has some irritating behaviour but controlling the HEQ5 is not one of them. I'm using built-in INDI lib, etc. The only time I had a issue was when the park position was not initialized. Once it has this saved in its configuration, everything works smoothly.

Edit: I meant to say, I use the hand controller interface in direct PC mode. (I really don't see why people are so determined to remove the hand controller. Its a solid bit of hardware and software from the vendor that you can depend on.)
Last edit: 6 years 4 months ago by Greg.
6 years 4 months ago #20970

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Replied by Eric on topic Eqmod alignment

I hope my original post doesn't seem too harsh :) It is not intended! Perhaps that's because it was done at the end of the night. Look, I can barely read myself with all these strange "add"s used instead of "had"s! :blush:

Actually I own two SynScan hand controllers with different versions. I switched from the hand controller to a home-made usb interface because I was frequently hit by frustrating issues with 3-star alignment and polar align adjustment. These were just not working properly for me, with no hint of what was wrong. Plus I was using a DSLR whose viewfinder could not see stars over magnitude 2, and I had no way of updating software at the time. New setup, new issues, but far less with Ekos in that regard. But agreed, nowadays, perhaps I should look into connecting the setup back into the hand controller instead of using the direct connection. I still use those hand controllers when going mobile. Ah, the list of named stars :)

-Eric
6 years 4 months ago #20972

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Replied by Rob Lancaster on topic Eqmod alignment

I tried KStars/INDI with an HDX 110 EQ mount through the Synscan connection using the Synscan driver and it had some strange problems. The biggest seemed to be an issue with time zones and UTC offset. Since that was off the mount was a bit lost. Then I tried the Synscan "direct pc connection" using the eqmod driver. It also had some issues. The biggest one is that the connection would drop intermittently and when that happened sometimes the mount would try to slew to the horizon. When I reported that to Jasem and a couple of other people, they all recommended that I get the direct connection cable and use the Eqmod indi driver instead. I took their advice and tried that. It worked perfectly.

I think the problem with the Synscan driver could be that they made some changes to the software so the synscan INDI driver could be out of date. The problem with the direct pc connection through the synscan hand controller is probably that you aren't supposed to control the mount with that connection, it is not reliable.

I would highly recommend getting the direct pc connection cable and using the eqmod driver if you have an EQ mount. It worked so much better.
6 years 4 months ago #20980

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Replied by Rob Lancaster on topic Eqmod alignment

Here is where I got my cable. Depending on your mount you would want one of the two I list below.

www.store.shoestringastronomy.com/products_eq.htm

USB2EQ6 Interface Cable (5.9 feet)
(DB-9 connector)

USB2EQ5 Interface Cable (5.9 feet)
(RJ45 connector)
6 years 4 months ago #20981

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Replied by pauledd on topic Eqmod alignment

:side:
Ok, but why should I add an extra piece of hardware in the chain that can be removed without any loss of functionality to ekos? Or in other words, in the worst case the hand controller introduces another error source, in the best case it does ... nothing, sits there on your tripod and you can commemorate about the vendor and its solidness ;)
--= human, without Windows™ =--
pls excuse my bad english! :)
6 years 4 months ago #20994

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Replied by Rob Lancaster on topic Eqmod alignment

Yes, but I found with the EQ mount I was using, that when I tried it with the hand controller attached using the Synscan driver, it mostly worked, but had less functionality and a time zone problem. And I found that when I tried it with the hand controller attached using the EQMod driver, it did not have a time problem, and of course could use the more advanced functions of the eqmod driver, but frequently dropped the connection and when it did so sometimes caused scary results when the mount slewed to the horizon. When I did it with the interface cable instead of the hand controller, everything worked, it was reliable, and had no issues that I could find.

I'm not against hand controllers, on my Gemini mount, which is what I mostly use for astrophotography, I always leave it attached. But it seems to me that with the EQ mount, this seems to work the best based on my experiments with it last summer. As for the other methods I tested: I don't think the direct PC connection through the Synscan controller is meant to be used with EQMod. The Synscan driver method was reliable, but it did have less functionality. So for this mount, I would probably suggest the cable instead.
6 years 4 months ago #20995

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Replied by Greg on topic Eqmod alignment

I just lost my longer answer so the sort answer is that if you remove the HC you have to replace it with some motor driver electronics. I’d rather keep the manufactures stuff.
6 years 4 months ago #21016

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Replied by Jasem Mutlaq on topic Eqmod alignment

No you just need a cable, no drive electronics.
6 years 4 months ago #21020

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Replied by Jim on topic Eqmod alignment

Once I got the cable, I safely packed away the hand controller in a box and put it on a shelf as a backup if my cable were to ever go bad. I did use it before the cable arrived, so I know I can use the synscan interface as well, but there is nothing to be scared of with replacing it with a good quality cable. In complex setups, one less piece of electronics and cable connections is not a bad thing.
6 years 4 months ago #21023

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Replied by Greg on topic Eqmod alignment


Yes, you need this "EQDIRECT" electronics box inline with the mount - part of the "cable" people speak of. You have to make it yourself or buy custom - I forget where.

eq-mod.sourceforge.net/introindex.html
Last edit: 6 years 4 months ago by Greg.
6 years 4 months ago #21025

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