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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

IPARCOS - An INDI client for Android

  • Posts: 18
  • Thank you received: 14
Hi,
I worked on my INDI client for android and I am happy to announce the first release of IPARCOS.









IPARCOS
IPARCOS (Indi Protocol Android Remote COntrol Software) is an INDI client for Android. It features a generic control panel and others specialized tools to easily control your devices.

The project main site is github.com/farom57/IPARCOS/

Features
  • Generic control panel compatible with every devices (BLOB not yet supported)
  • Control of the telescope motion by means of a directional pad and speed buttons
  • Languages: English, French

Download and install
  • From Google Play:
    • Not yet available
  • From the .apk file:
    • Check the release page on the github project to get the .apk: github.com/farom57/IPARCOS/releases
    • You need to allow app installs from unknown sources in Android settings (Settings > Security > Unknown sources)
Usage
1. Prerequisite
  • Minimum Android version: 4.0.3
  • An INDI server must be running on the remote computer.
  • You must have a network access to this computer.
    • To achieve this, the Android device and the remote computer can be placed on your home network.
    • Alternatively, you can create a wireless network with your Android device and connect the remote computer to this network (the PC address is likely to be 192.168.43.71)
2. Connection
  • Choose the server address in the list or touch "Add server" to add a new server in the list
  • Optionally, you can change the port number if you do not use the default value for the INDI protocol (7624)
  • Click on "Connect"
3. Use the generic control panel
  • Click on the gear icon in the action bar to display the generic control panel
  • Use the tabs to switch between the devices
  • The properties of the device are displayed in a list. Click on a property to edit it or show the details.
4. Control the telescope motion
  • Click on the icon with four arrows in the action bar to display the telescope motion control panel
  • The buttons will be enabled (red) or disabled (grey) depending on the devices features.
    • The arrows are enabled if one device provide the TELESCOPE_ABORT_MOTION, TELESCOPE_MOTION_NS and/or TELESCOPE_MOTION_WE properties
    • The + and - buttons are enabled if one device provide the standard property to control the speed (TELESCOPE_MOTION_RATE) or the LX200 style property (Slew Rate) or the EQMod style property (SLEWMODE)
    • If the device is not connected, the properties may not appears and the buttons will be disabled

Developed by
License
The code is released under the GNU General Public License and is available at github.com/farom57/IPARCOS/
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq, Christian, ADAM
Last edit: 9 years 6 months ago by Romain Fafet.
9 years 6 months ago #1847
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Awesome work Romain! If it's OK, I'll post this on the front page! Will try to test this ASAP.
9 years 6 months ago #1863

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Tested with RaspberryPi directly connected to HEQ 5 and Samsung galaxy S4 mini - works like a charm!
Exactly what I was looking for, thanks for the great work, keep it up!
9 years 6 months ago #1881

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Looks interesting, will test it after my vacation :)
9 years 6 months ago #1882

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Hey farom,

thanks again for your great work. I have some questions and maybe suggestions to make.
I would love to use your app together with my pi as my standard interface for working with my HEQ5.
So far everything works great, motion control by joystick-buttons, park, etc.
Now I have some trouble in understanding how you implemented Alignment.
I entered my location and started from park postion (Polaris).
If I enter then the coordinates of a given star, say Vega, telescope slews to this. Now I correct
difference manually via joystick-buttons. Then once centered Vega in eyepiece, I don't understand how to
tell telescope to sync actual coordinates with the ones I entered for vega. (sync with kstars works and
alignment points are shown in the app, but I would find it really cool just to be out there with my mobile
without any laptop needed.)

Also I think it would be better if you would categorize the options tabwise, like
- actual coordinates
- telescope information (position, driver etc.)
- driver information
- alignment module
- etc.
right now scrolling down the whole list is kind of annoying.

thanks in advance for your help.
9 years 6 months ago #1954

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In fact I did not implement the alignment. It only displays the generic properties. However you can still perform the alignment.
  1. Center the star in the eyepiece
  2. Set the "On set" property to "Sync"
  3. Set the star coordinates in "Eq. Coordinates"
It's not very practical with the app. Ekos performs the two last operations when you click on sync. I will try to add an interface to sync and goto.

About the categories, they are defined by the driver but I can change the way they are displayed. The tabs are already used to switch between the devices. An alternative is to display only the categories names in the current interface and to open a new screen with the properties when you click on the category name.
9 years 6 months ago #1958

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thanks for your advice, farom. Works how you described it, although as you said not very practical.
Looking forward to a sync / goto interface.

I think only displaying the categories names and then open a new screen by clicking would
greatly improve overview of the functions and settings of one device.
9 years 5 months ago #1992

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