×

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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Lost star when dithering causes capture module to hang

  • Posts: 421
  • Thank you received: 102
Never mind, I figured out the logging. It's the Logs button next to the Start INDI button. :)
5 years 9 months ago #26581

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 421
  • Thank you received: 102
Here's the log file. The problem happened right away.
5 years 9 months ago #26583
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Thanks for the log, so I know the issue.. but not sure about the solution. Check this section of the log with dithering begins:
[2018-06-15T00:04:52.932 Eastern Daylight Time INFO ][   org.kde.kstars.ekos.capture] - Dithering...
[2018-06-15T00:04:52.932 Eastern Daylight Time INFO ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - "Dithering in progress."
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.055 Eastern Daylight Time INFO ][           org.kde.kstars.fits] - Loading FITS file  "C:/Users/Kevin/AppData/Local/Temp/fitsc12980"
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.065 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Received guide frame.
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.065 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Dithering process started.. Reticle Target Pos X  64.2566  Y  337.383
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.065 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Tracking Square  QRect(43,312 32x32)
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.065 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## BEGIN PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.065 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    X :  59.3008  Y  :  328.722
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle X :  64.2566  Y  : 337.383
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    RA:  163.817  DEC:  908.086
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle RA:  177.507  DEC:  932.012
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> BEFORE ROTATION Diff RA:  -13.6903  DEC:  23.9262
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> AFTER ROTATION  Diff RA:  -27.5556  DEC:  0.760876
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - RA channel ticks:  37  DEC channel ticks:  37
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Processing Axes
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 37 drift[ 0 ][ 37 ] =  -27.5556  , t_delta:  -27.5556
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 0 ]=  -27.5556
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 0 ]=  -0.893619
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 0 ]=  5000
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase RA
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 37 drift[ 1 ][ 37 ] =  0.760876  , t_delta:  0.760876
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 1 ]=  0.760876
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 1 ]=  -0.241818
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 1 ]=  115
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase DEC
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## FINISH PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Capturing frame...
[2018-06-15T00:04:54.070 Eastern Daylight Time WARN ][        org.kde.knotifications] - Audio notification requested, but sound file from notifyrc file was not found, aborting audio notification
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.805 Eastern Daylight Time INFO ][           org.kde.kstars.fits] - Loading FITS file  "C:/Users/Kevin/AppData/Local/Temp/fitsi12980"
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.835 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Received guide frame.
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Dithering in progress. Diff star X: -9.97496 Y: 0.275433
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Tracking Square  QRect(43,312 32x32)
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## BEGIN PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    X :  59.7398  Y  :  328.517
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle X :  64.2566  Y  : 337.383
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    RA:  165.03  DEC:  907.519
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle RA:  177.507  DEC:  932.012
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> BEFORE ROTATION Diff RA:  -12.4776  DEC:  24.4934
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> AFTER ROTATION  Diff RA:  -27.4088  DEC:  2.09153
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.840 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - RA channel ticks:  38  DEC channel ticks:  38
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Processing Axes
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 38 drift[ 0 ][ 38 ] =  -27.4088  , t_delta:  -27.4088
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 0 ]=  -27.4088
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 0 ]=  -1.41354
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 0 ]=  5000
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase RA
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 38 drift[ 1 ][ 38 ] =  2.09153  , t_delta:  2.09153
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 1 ]=  2.09153
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 1 ]=  -0.193416
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 1 ]=  389
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.845 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase DEC
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.850 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## FINISH PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.850 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Capturing frame...
[2018-06-15T00:04:56.880 Eastern Daylight Time WARN ][        org.kde.knotifications] - Audio notification requested, but sound file from notifyrc file was not found, aborting audio notification
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.636 Eastern Daylight Time INFO ][           org.kde.kstars.fits] - Loading FITS file  "C:/Users/Kevin/AppData/Local/Temp/fitsP12980"
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Received guide frame.
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Dithering in progress. Diff star X: -9.92183 Y: 0.757122
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Tracking Square  QRect(43,312 32x32)
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## BEGIN PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    X :  59.3559  Y  :  328.445
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle X :  64.2566  Y  : 337.383
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    RA:  163.969  DEC:  907.32
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle RA:  177.507  DEC:  932.012
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> BEFORE ROTATION Diff RA:  -13.5382  DEC:  24.6921
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> AFTER ROTATION  Diff RA:  -28.1304  DEC:  1.28926
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - RA channel ticks:  39  DEC channel ticks:  39
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Processing Axes
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 39 drift[ 0 ][ 39 ] =  -28.1304  , t_delta:  -28.1304
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 0 ]=  -28.1304
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 0 ]=  -1.93726
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 0 ]=  5000
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase RA
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 39 drift[ 1 ][ 39 ] =  1.28926  , t_delta:  1.28926
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 1 ]=  1.28926
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 1 ]=  -0.148631
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 1 ]=  235
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase DEC
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## FINISH PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.651 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Capturing frame...
[2018-06-15T00:04:58.656 Eastern Daylight Time WARN ][        org.kde.knotifications] - Audio notification requested, but sound file from notifyrc file was not found, aborting audio notification
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.276 Eastern Daylight Time INFO ][           org.kde.kstars.fits] - Loading FITS file  "C:/Users/Kevin/AppData/Local/Temp/fitsw12980"
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Received guide frame.
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Dithering in progress. Diff star X: -10.1831 Y: 0.466704
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Tracking Square  QRect(43,312 32x32)
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## BEGIN PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    X :  59.44  Y  :  328.353
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle X :  64.2566  Y  : 337.383
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    RA:  164.201  DEC:  907.067
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle RA:  177.507  DEC:  932.012
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> BEFORE ROTATION Diff RA:  -13.3059  DEC:  24.9451
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> AFTER ROTATION  Diff RA:  -28.2256  DEC:  1.61931
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - RA channel ticks:  40  DEC channel ticks:  40
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Processing Axes
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 40 drift[ 0 ][ 40 ] =  -28.2256  , t_delta:  -28.2256
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 0 ]=  -28.2256
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 0 ]=  -2.51274
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 0 ]=  5000
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase RA
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.296 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 40 drift[ 1 ][ 40 ] =  1.61931  , t_delta:  1.61931
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.301 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 1 ]=  1.61931
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.301 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 1 ]=  -0.112771
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.301 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 1 ]=  306
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.301 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase DEC
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.301 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## FINISH PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-15T00:05:02.301 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - m_starLostCounter 0 m_highPulseCounter 4

So this works by moving until current position (i.e. Star) matches target position (i.e. Reticle). You can see even with maximum 5000 pulse, it's not moving much. From the rotation matrix, the DEC diff is actually not that big which explains the relatively small corrections in DEC. I think this is somewhat related to the dither pixel being as large as they are now (10 pixels). I'm going to have to investigate this further now.
Last edit: 5 years 9 months ago by Jasem Mutlaq.
5 years 9 months ago #26585

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 421
  • Thank you received: 102
If you come up with something, I won't be able to test for a few days, I'm going out of town for the weekend. And who knows what the weather will be like when I get back. They can barely predict what the weather will be tomorrow, let alone 4 days from now!
5 years 9 months ago #26586

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 421
  • Thank you received: 102
Is it possible the eqmod driver rejects large guide pulses? Is there an internal limit or anything like that? Would explain why smaller dithers seem to move the mount just fine, but larger ones and the scope doesn't move.

I could probably also try guiding via ST4 instead of via eqmod, if you think that would make a difference. But as I said, it will have to wait for a few days.

Thanks!
-- Kevin
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq
5 years 9 months ago #26587

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

That's a smart suggestion! But I checked and there are limits on the minimum pulse, but not maximum. However, I found another issue which is likely the cause of this problem: Ekos does not wait enough before it requests another frame capture. For 5000ms pulse, it should wait 5s before it requests, but it requests immediately after the pulses are sent. I recall that I had this coded in the sendPulse() function itself sometime before, then it was removed, and I guess it was forgotten.

At any rate, I will test tonight with 10 pixel dither in my observatory and see how it goes. Thank you for your patience!
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jerry Black, Kevin Ross
5 years 9 months ago #26589

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 421
  • Thank you received: 102
Even though you didn't respond to this post, I saw in Git you committed a change that addresses this. I pulled the latest and built it. Long story short, I had success. But not at first. :)

Setting the dithering to 10 pixels works fine the first time through, then the second time it starts dithering, then fails immediately saying it lost track of the guide star. Watching the window, I see the star didn't move hardly at all. Snooping though the code, I believe I ran up against this limit in the processGuiding() function:

// If within 90% of max pulse repeatedly, let's abort
if (out->pulse_length[GUIDE_RA] >= (0.95 * Options::rAMaximumPulse()) ||
out->pulse_length[GUIDE_DEC] >= (0.95 * Options::dECMaximumPulse()))
{
sendPulses = false;
m_highPulseCounter++;
}
else
m_highPulseCounter=0;

So that gave me the idea to adjust the maximum pulse to the maximum allowed by law, 9999. That, plus your fixes, seems to have done the trick. I'm writing this now while it is happily imaging and dithering.

Thanks!
-- Kevin
The following user(s) said Thank You: Alfred
5 years 9 months ago #26707

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

You've got the log for this? I can't imagine it needs 15 seconds of pulses to move 10 pixels (default max pulse being 5000ms)
5 years 9 months ago #26709

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 421
  • Thank you received: 102
Sure do. But I suspect the counter wasn't getting set back to 0 after a successful dither, since the first one succeeded, then the second one immediately failed.

Attached is the log.
5 years 9 months ago #26710
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

So the problem is that in the 2nd dither and for some reason, it is not waiting enough time before it requests the capture. This is the first dither:
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Dithering process started.. Reticle Target Pos X  55.9713  Y  59.3415
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Tracking Square  QRect(48,48 32x32)
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## BEGIN PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    X :  64.4963  Y  :  64.6565
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle X :  55.9713  Y  : 59.3415
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    RA:  178.169  DEC:  178.612
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle RA:  154.619  DEC:  163.929
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> BEFORE ROTATION Diff RA:  23.5501  DEC:  -14.6826
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> AFTER ROTATION  Diff RA:  -15.676  DEC:  -22.9009
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - RA channel ticks:  27  DEC channel ticks:  27
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Processing Axes
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 27 drift[ 0 ][ 27 ] =  -15.676  , t_delta:  -15.676
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.199 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 0 ]=  -15.676
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 0 ]=  -0.305027
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 0 ]=  3949
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase RA
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 27 drift[ 1 ][ 27 ] =  -22.9009  , t_delta:  -22.9009
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 1 ]=  -22.9009
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 1 ]=  -0.482537
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 1 ]=  4628
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Decrease DEC
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.200 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## FINISH PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-22T00:13:47.201 Eastern Daylight Time WARN ][        org.kde.knotifications] - Audio notification requested, but sound file from notifyrc file was not found, aborting audio notification
[2018-06-22T00:13:51.767 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Capturing frame...

Here you see it waited ~4 seconds before it started capturing the next frame. However, then the next dither was started, this happened:
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Dithering process started.. Reticle Target Pos X  52.9669  Y  50.2402
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Tracking Square  QRect(40,43 32x32)
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## BEGIN PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    X :  56.6057  Y  :  59.2494
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle X :  52.9669  Y  : 50.2402
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Star    RA:  156.372  DEC:  163.675
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Reticle RA:  146.32  DEC:  138.787
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> BEFORE ROTATION Diff RA:  10.052  DEC:  -24.8877
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - -------> AFTER ROTATION  Diff RA:  -25.2947  DEC:  -8.97887
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - RA channel ticks:  16  DEC channel ticks:  16
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Processing Axes
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.789 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 16 drift[ 0 ][ 16 ] =  -25.2947  , t_delta:  -25.2947
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 0 ]=  -25.2947
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 0 ]=  -0.630896
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 0 ]=  5000
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Increase RA
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - At # 16 drift[ 1 ][ 16 ] =  -8.97887  , t_delta:  -8.97887
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - delta         [ 1 ]=  -8.97887
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - drift_integral[ 1 ]=  -0.153814
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - pulse_length  [ 1 ]=  1811
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Direction     :  Decrease DEC
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - ################## FINISH PROCESSING ##################
[2018-06-22T00:18:33.790 Eastern Daylight Time DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.guide] - Capturing frame...

So the next frame was captured immediately, even though it was supposed to wait for 5000ms. I'm dumbfounded because both in simulations and when I tested a few days ago in my observatory, 10 pixel dithering went without a hitch for 20 consecutive runs. Let me see if using KStars on Windows has something to do with this... or you can debug the code and try to find out why this fails. It's at line #888 in internalguider.cpp
5 years 9 months ago #26711

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 421
  • Thank you received: 102
So reading the code a little more carefully...
    bool sendPulses = true;
 
    // If within 90% of max pulse repeatedly, let's abort
    if (out->pulse_length[GUIDE_RA] >= (0.95 * Options::rAMaximumPulse()) ||
        out->pulse_length[GUIDE_DEC] >= (0.95 * Options::dECMaximumPulse()))
    {
        sendPulses = false;
        m_highPulseCounter++;
    }
    else
        m_highPulseCounter=0;
 
    if (m_starLostCounter+m_highPulseCounter > 3)
    {
        qCDebug(KSTARS_EKOS_GUIDE) << "m_starLostCounter" << m_starLostCounter
                                   << "m_highPulseCounter" << m_highPulseCounter;
        emit newLog(i18n("Lost track of the guide star. Searching for guide stars..."));
 
        reacquireTimer.start();
        rememberState = state;
        state = GUIDE_REACQUIRE;
        emit newStatus(state);
        return true;
    }
 
    if (sendPulses)
    {
        emit newPulse(out->pulse_dir[GUIDE_RA] , out->pulse_length[GUIDE_RA],
                      out->pulse_dir[GUIDE_DEC], out->pulse_length[GUIDE_DEC]);
 
        // Wait until pulse is over before capturing an image
        const int waitMS = qMax(out->pulse_length[GUIDE_RA], out->pulse_length[GUIDE_DEC]);
        // If less than 250ms, then capture immediately
        if (waitMS > 250)
            // Issue frame requests 50ms before timeout to account for
            // propogation delays
            QTimer::singleShot(waitMS - 50, [&]() {emit frameCaptureRequested();});
        else
            emit frameCaptureRequested();
    }
    else
        emit frameCaptureRequested();

It looks to me that the very first time it tries to move more than the max pulse limit, it sets sendPulses = false. Later down, if sendPulses is false, it will request a frame immediately, without sending a guide pulse. Then the next time it comes through here, it will do the same, try to move 5000ms, hit that limit, sendPulses=false again, immediately request a new frame, etc. Until the m_highPulse counter hits its limit, and it finally aborts. Looks like the reason it worked the first time is because it only tried to move 4628ms out of 5000, so it didn't hit that limit.

So it looks like the error is the sendPulses boolean itself. Looks like it isn't needed at all. Just increment the counter. Then in the next if statement, when it checks the counter, if it's over, then try to reacquire. Otherwise, fall through and send the guide pulse. Get rid if the if(sendPulses) check altogether.

But this is just a laypersons view, of course. I'm not intimately familiar with this like you are. :)
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq, Alfred
5 years 9 months ago #26712

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

You're absolutely right, that's the reason it failed. I think the original reason was to reject any pulses at near maximum, since it is most likely that something is very wrong at this point. However, this is not the case with dithering, and not just any dithering, but a whopping 10 pixel dither which puts it to the limit.

Another reason for this "kill-switch" here is that you probably do not want to stray off your target while you're guiding, so it protects against wild swings that might ruin your session. So I think I'll limit the sendPulses = false to regular guiding and not while dithering.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Alfred, Kevin Ross
5 years 9 months ago #26715

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Time to create page: 0.796 seconds