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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

How to use smartphone GPS with INDI-GPSD

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I'm pretty impressed by how quickly this has progressed.
T-Studio, yes the Pi 3 WiFi can work in adhock mode. I've been using it this way for some time and for gps over network just fine with gpsd.
Last edit: 6 years 5 months ago by Andrew.
6 years 5 months ago #20427

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Do it need a different router?
For example, if you use RaspberryPi outdoors, use Wifi of RaspberryPi 3 as AP and apply it to all servers.
I am using VNC by connecting my smartphone to RaspberryPi.
Can I use it in such an environment?
Last edit: 6 years 5 months ago by T-Studio.
6 years 5 months ago #20428

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Ihoujin

I'm sorry I posted back and forth.

It is amazing!
6 years 5 months ago #20429

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So I was playing around a little more with this driver and I discovered one issue. It's not Jasem's mistake either. The program NMEA GPS is giving the wrong UTC time. It reports the current time as the UTC which is incorrect. So I tried a couple of other iPhone apps. This one is not too expensive, doesn't have the annoying ads, actually gives the correct UTC, and it even has the IP address, port, and an on/off switch all on the same screen. I don't know if it is the best iPhone app for this purpose, and unfortunately it does cost money, but I think it is better than NMEA GPS. See if this works for you guys (when the driver makes it to the PPA):

itunes.apple.com/us/app/gps-2-ip/id408625926?mt=8
6 years 5 months ago #20430

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itunes.apple.com/us/app/gps-2-ip/id408625926?mt=8
itunes.apple.com/jp/app/nmea-gps/id590868529?mt=8

Both are applications you tried before.
(It did not connect in AP mode ..)
It would be great if I could connect with a new driver!
6 years 5 months ago #20431

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The driver is in beta. Please test. I added GPS NEMA driver documentation
The following user(s) said Thank You: T-Studio
6 years 5 months ago #20433

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I read the documentation you provided and I have 2 questions:

(1) Will kstar time be also set from the GPS device or will it use the OS system time ?

In the doc you say: "After a GPS fix is captured, the driver shall update the Location & Time properties [...]. For KStars/Ekos, no additional action is necessary."

but in Kstar setting there are 2 check boxes and I am wondering which one would needs to be set or are they just ignored when using this new module ?



(2) will this new module work if the RPI is configured as a WIFI access point ? (I read in the previous comments conflicting answers)

Thanks! this is a super cool feature and I appreciate the time spent on this by all of you. Another win for the project :)
"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
Last edit: 6 years 5 months ago by Yannic Delisle.
6 years 5 months ago #20435
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So if you are connected to INDI and you use any GPS driver, it will change both the time and the geographic coordinates in KStars. This is also true if you use the advanced KStars setting to update time and location from the "device" instead of "computer when you connect your mount.

I know this because just the other day, we accidentally had that setting backwards when we connected a mount and the KStars sky shifted dramatically because the location in the device was way off. I also know this is true of the GPS indi driver because when I had a NMEA server incorrectly report the time, the KStars time changed by 4 hours and the sky rotated. (On that note, watch out for the NMEA GPS app on the iPhone, they report the UTC time incorrectly)

It should be noted however that the change is temporary, if you look at the Geographic setting in the menu in KStars, it does not change your location for good. What the GPS driver does, is update your location in KStars while INDI is connected so that you have more accurate information for your observing session.
6 years 5 months ago #20436

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I think I was posting at the same time as you. For the advanced setting, I believe that Computer vs. device option is really for getting the location and time from the mount, not for the gps driver. I have that setting set to "computer" and I am using the NMEA driver and it still works.
6 years 5 months ago #20437

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I fear that there could be some conflicts here. I read on another thread on Astroberry that "if you don't have Internet connection NTP gets time from GPSD" and I read here that Jasem did not want to use GPSD.

Hopefully Kaczorek and Jasem are talking to each other ;) or there is no chance that this could cause issue if I use the new module on Astroberry ? I have a hard time connecting all the dots between all this GPSD/NMEA and all, but I it would be nice to clarify this either as a non-issue or address both scenrios in the documentation if it is not already there ...
"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
Last edit: 6 years 5 months ago by Yannic Delisle.
6 years 5 months ago #20438

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This is a separate driver for those who do not have a GPS dongle and want to use their mobile phone as the GPS. If you have GPS dongle, use GPSD.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Yannic Delisle
6 years 5 months ago #20439

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We talk to each other sometimes ;) But seriously... Kudos to Jasem for indi-gpsnmea driver. It fills the gap for people who use mobile phone's gps for setting location and time in KStars/Ekos. indi-gpsd does pretty much the same, however it is based on different approach. Both of the drivers set time and location (over INDI server) to other INDI drivers (e.g. mount) and clients (e.g. KStars), but:

indi-gpsnmea:
  • reads gps data stream from mobile phone's gps
  • requires network connection of the source of gps data stream i.e. phone running app, which enables gps sharing
  • does not set operating system time/date based on gps source
  • it is operating system independent

indi-gpsd:
  • reads gps data stream from gpsd service
  • requires gpsd service is running and properly configured as a systemwide service
  • ntpd service can read from gpsd service to synchronize operating system time/date to gps source
  • it is operating system dependent and can be used only on linux

There's no conflict between the two - NTP gets time from GPSD to set operating system time/date, not INDI drivers' and clients' time/date.
We can consider merging these drivers at some point in time, but for now you should run either indi-gpsnmea or indi-gpsd. Using both drivers at the same time makes no sense.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq, Yannic Delisle
6 years 5 months ago #20442

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