×

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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Very strange issue with iOptron iEQ45 and INDI

  • Posts: 94
  • Thank you received: 8
Hi,

I've had the iEQ45 for many years now and am now trying to get set up with INDI and EKOS. I'm connecting to it through a RPi and Raspbian. All the rest of my equipment connects and is controllable - Moonlite focuser, QHY5 guide camera, Atiik 383L+ and filter wheel.

Anyway, connecting to the iEQ45 seems to go well, except that after some time it looks like the site configuration info gets corrupted. I discovered this when I tried pointing the mount during a shakedown session under the stars and the telescope crashed into the mount (!!!). It took a while to realize this, but I determined that the date, time and location were incorrect in the hand controller. *Everything* was wrong. The date was in the year 2127! The "minutes behind UT" was "H04" What???

Anyway, I thought this was a mount problem at first so I reset the hand controller and reconfigured it to the correct information. After reconnecting to INDI, after about an hour I noticed the config info was again scrambled. Again, it took resetting the controller (open it up and pull the battery).

My configuration: Raspberry Pi, recent INDI driver builds (a few weeks ago), most recent Ekos VM with updates. The iEQ45 hand controller is the 8407 version.

I had a problem with the VM and have to reinstall it, but once I do, I'll post some logs here. In the meantime, any other recommendations?

Thanks,

Charles
Ubuntu 18.04 and Raspbian Jessie; INDI 1.7.4
Mounts: CEM-60 chiefly; iEQ45
Cameras: Atik 383L+, QHY5-II-M
Focuser: Moonlite
6 years 8 months ago #17620

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

  • Posts: 94
  • Thank you received: 8
Hi,

I may have found the problem - 3V lithium hand controller battery is reading at 2.5V. Memo to self: always bring DMM with me when I work in remote areas. I'll try again tonight and update with results.

Charles
Ubuntu 18.04 and Raspbian Jessie; INDI 1.7.4
Mounts: CEM-60 chiefly; iEQ45
Cameras: Atik 383L+, QHY5-II-M
Focuser: Moonlite
6 years 8 months ago #17633

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

  • Posts: 94
  • Thank you received: 8
Hi folks,

It's not the battery. I've turned on logging etc. and will post the logs tomorrow. Now it's too late; I need to sleep. The issue occurs when I connect Ekos to the mount. I can watch the time get set to a new time far into the future. I recall seeing messages about setting the time and location in the debug log. BTW, how can I set Ekos to use the GPS time/location in the mount? Can't find where to set that.

More later,

Charles
Ubuntu 18.04 and Raspbian Jessie; INDI 1.7.4
Mounts: CEM-60 chiefly; iEQ45
Cameras: Atik 383L+, QHY5-II-M
Focuser: Moonlite
6 years 8 months ago #17648

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

Sorry about that, with logs the problem can probably be traced down.
6 years 8 months ago #17654

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

  • Posts: 94
  • Thank you received: 8
Hi Jasem,

Here is a log file. I found it on the Rpi. It seems kind of short, but I have all the switches turned on for logging/debug. Let me know what else I can provide.

Thanks for looking at this,

Charles
Ubuntu 18.04 and Raspbian Jessie; INDI 1.7.4
Mounts: CEM-60 chiefly; iEQ45
Cameras: Atik 383L+, QHY5-II-M
Focuser: Moonlite
6 years 8 months ago #17676
Attachments:

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

I think the problem is that you're using the driver meant for iEQ45 PRO while you have the regular version. Try using the version compatible with your mount. If you use Ekos/KStars, it should be called "iEQ45". If you start from command line, it should be indi_lx200zeq25
6 years 8 months ago #17683

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

  • Posts: 94
  • Thank you received: 8
Thanks. It looks like I am using the PRO version of the driver, which I start from the command line from indi_server on the RPi.

I must say, that's a really deceptive name for the two drivers. indi_ieq_telescope seemed like the right one, and indi_lx200zeq25 is pretty far from "iEQ45" - especially because of the "lx200" part...

Does the mount identify itself? If so, there should be a failsafe in the driver to prevent it from attempting to control the wrong kind of mount.

I'll try the correct driver tonight. On a similar subject, should I also be using the "lx200gotonova" driver? That's the hand controller for the iEQ45, but perhaps this is redundant.

Thanks for all your help,

Charles
Ubuntu 18.04 and Raspbian Jessie; INDI 1.7.4
Mounts: CEM-60 chiefly; iEQ45
Cameras: Atik 383L+, QHY5-II-M
Focuser: Moonlite
6 years 8 months ago #17684

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

If you use the GUI, you'd see IEQ 45 which runs the lx200zeq25 driver. Unfortunately, IOptron has many models with different command sets so it's not as straight forward as other manufacturers.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Charles Wright
6 years 8 months ago #17685

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

  • Posts: 94
  • Thank you received: 8
Thanks, Jasem,

So I tried the other driver and it generally works. It's definitely less featureful than the iEQ45 Pro - no GPS support, for instance. Too bad since the non-pro version has had GPS from the very start. Now to get another clear night to try it now in full.

One problem is in the time configuration, although I don't know if this is a driver issue or Ekos issue. I try to set the UTC Time and UTC Offset in the Site Management tab in INDI control panel, but I can't figure out a way to enter the correct information. I enter the time and the offset (-4 hours from UTC), and a popup appears, insisting I set the UTC time and date. Clicking OK closes the popup and puts the INDI control panel behind everything else. When I bring it to the front again, the UTC offset is either "1" or "2". This is reflected on the hand controller. Why can't Ekos just retrieve the time and location info from the mount?

By the way, you keep saying "if you use the GUI"... I assume that means I should have INDI Web Manager running on the RPi in order to use the wizard GUI? I guess I'll figure that out eventually. Now, I use the command line to start indiserver.

Charles
Ubuntu 18.04 and Raspbian Jessie; INDI 1.7.4
Mounts: CEM-60 chiefly; iEQ45
Cameras: Atik 383L+, QHY5-II-M
Focuser: Moonlite
6 years 8 months ago #17720

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

Time to create page: 0.164 seconds