×

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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Driver OnStep (LX200 like) for INDI

  • Posts: 161
  • Thank you received: 39
Since I haven't updated in a bit. I fixed a bug yesterday not allowing to set the slew rate, should be in the next release.

Port 9998 has worked for quite a while.

As far as the focuser, I haven't implmented it yet. I did get into the habit of using 1 micron = 1 step in Config.h. I'd like to not break it for anyone potentially using it, but I need to refresh myself on the focuser. I'll probably let it toggle.

Couple of things on my todo list (numbered for convenience, not priority):

1. Changing the MaxRate replacement (degrees per sec)
Question on this: Would people prefer a settable 50-200%, as Degrees per sec, or the 50,75, 100, 150, 200%?
2. Intervolometer support
(Might be a priority, simply because I have some D5100s, and if I could trigger them as well as the main one in Ekos, that'd be handy until the Ekos/Kstars Imaging train gets done.)
3. Focuser Changes
4. Dew heater
5. Weather support. (Read BME280/etc)
6. Tangent arm support (Plate solve then adjust?)
7. Check backlash values (Changed to allowed to 3600)
8. DC Focuser support (Not sure if that works already or not?) Might need someone who has one to help with this.
9. TMC_SPI reporting support. (I got one for testing, and finally went to put it in on this cloudy night. I unfortunately missed the: You have to have both axis be SPI if one is, so this will be working at some point, but when is a big question. Oops.)
10. Equivalent of MoveAxis support to allow for following satellites. (Kstars issue more likely than OnStep directly, as the custom rates are added in, but Kstars doesn't have a way to send the rates/information, AFAIK)

Anything anyone else wants?
The following user(s) said Thank You: Rafa Barberá
3 years 11 months ago #51548

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

  • Posts: 16
  • Thank you received: 0
Would love the weather support :)

Thanks in any case!

Joachim
3 years 11 months ago #51778

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

  • Posts: 219
  • Thank you received: 41
I've entered this thread to report a problem with the Slew rate... and I see that is fixed right now (but not available yet for macOS users) :). Any way, very happy to see that the driver is not dead :)

I've another question. I'm still building my OnStep system (soldering, waiting for some components to arrive, etc). Mean while I've built a prototype with a Mega board and one small 28BYJ-48 motor to see movement. Gotos speeds are reasonable, change slew rata didn't work, and I don't know if this is related, changing the speed at witch the polar assistant rotates the mount neither work. If you go to the polar assistant and star it, the 30deg slew is performed at very low speed, aside of the one that you have chosen in the combo.

Regards
3 years 11 months ago #52186

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

  • Posts: 161
  • Thank you received: 39
Added to the latest master. It's read only though, and I need to look into the dew heaters, and for the BMP280 I have, add support for changing the values (and useful for a heater for anyone who doesn't have a weather sensor, or maybe I can pull that from others.)

Please let me know if anything is broken. (I don't think so, but well it can happen.)

rbarberac: That should be fixed with OnStep unless I misread conversations?
The following user(s) said Thank You: Joachim
3 years 10 months ago #53652

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

  • Posts: 219
  • Thank you received: 41
Yes it's fixed on OnStep 4.X versions
3 years 10 months ago #53662

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

  • Posts: 16
  • Thank you received: 0
Awesome, I will check it out.

And what you say about also making it possible to set the Onstep weather data from INDI or some other connected device makes perfect sense to me!
3 years 10 months ago #53666

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

  • Posts: 60
  • Thank you received: 1
Hello,

Some suggestions:
- Adding 3 or 4 presets for the focuser.
- Perhaps; full support for the 2nd focuser (selectable in for example kstars (Focuser1, Focuser2))
- For the dew heater: backup of the previous state in the Indi configuration. For example Heater1 On when Indi starts.
For the question, I prefer a settable 50-200%

And thank you again for this work.
3 years 10 months ago #53670

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

  • Posts: 161
  • Thank you received: 39
The problem is that INDI::Weather (Well, WeatherInterface more specifically) handles things as if it's a read-only value (which is usually not an unreasonable assumption). So I'll probably implement a 'setT/P/H' control above and on the same tab as a workaround, and see about sniffing weather values from other drivers as an option. To allow for dew heater operation without having the sensor on OnStep. Also probably grab OnStep's dew temp calculation, and for the heck of it, the MCU Temperature (if available on the processor).
3 years 10 months ago #53695

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

  • Posts: 38
  • Thank you received: 1
Hey Ian

Thanks for all the effort you put into the driver!

I face an issue after upgrading to the lastest master. I was on tag v1.8.4 which worked fine for me.
Yesterday I pulled in the lastest master and Kstars crashed with an allocation error as as soon as I 'unpack' the mount. However, the command is send before the crash. The next time I connect, I can see the mount is tracking. When I issue a park command, bam, crash :(

I rolled back to 'd7ac975d0fac3171af62c28a298b15d2e2d4caa7'. Anything later isn't working for me.

tested with 'kstars-bleeding' on Mint Linux and 3.4.1 on macOS.
Any ideas?

best
Niko
3 years 10 months ago #54049

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

  • Posts: 161
  • Thank you received: 39
Apologies if this is essentially a duplicate, I thought I'd responded already, but don't see it.

There shouldn't be anything causing that, but I have in the past had issues that sound similar with a build from non-clean. I'd make a new build folder and see if it keeps happening. I haven't touched any of the park code. It mostly comes from @azwing and/or the lx200 base. However, I don't see any changes there. Can you turn on verbose debugging and post a log? (It should show :hR# and/or :hP# being the unpark/park commands)
3 years 10 months ago #54531

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

  • Posts: 155
  • Thank you received: 10
Hello to the group,
I am in the process of setting up a CGE mount with OnStep using KStars remotely through Stellarmate on a Pi4. To be honest, I am lost on getting the meridian flip to work. The mount is a GEM, has limit switches and PEC installed, but for now, I just need it to slew and flip when it should. Can someone post their settings for both the OnStep and KStars to accomplish this? i.e. Does KStars setting for meridian flip control the OnStep, or, Does OnStep flip independently of KStars? Does one turn off meridian flip in, say, KStars and use just the OnStep?

Thanks in advance,
Dan
3 years 9 months ago #55365

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

  • Posts: 161
  • Thank you received: 39
For better or worse, there's not really a good way to do it. Kstars/Ekos/INDI doesn't really trigger a meridian flip specifically , it just does a goto. The good news is we can replicate that.

(From memory, so apologies if any of this is off.)

What is done internally for OnStep is things are compared in location to preferred pier side. Which can be best, west, or east.

What the 'command' for meridian flip does is set the perferred to be east (or west, I've turned myself around I think) then a goto. Best from my recollection prefers to keep it on pointing east if already there (think re-centering target), but if not and it's in the overlap, but close it'll move to pointing west.) So if you set it to pointing west (which should be east) it does the same thing if you issued the meridian flip command. Assuming it's within the limits. (Otherwise neither does anything.)

The limits that you set on things are the auto meridian flip limits in OnStep, and it should be set to ON for the auto meridian flip, with home pause set to off. The Ekos setting is the HA to set it before is Mount/Meridian Flip, and that needs to be set lower than your auto flip limit, if you want kstars to know about/initiate the flip.



Hope that helps. Apologies for it being from memory as I seem to have misplaced the cable for my test board (a mega without anything on it) (Tiny hopefully amusing rant: I can find micro, usb-c, and mini cables, along with nikon camera cables, but not old usb1/2 full size cables. Anyone remember when this was promised as a single universal standard so we wouldn't need serial port converters? Ha! /rant)
The following user(s) said Thank You: Dan Holler
3 years 9 months ago #55489

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

Time to create page: 4.968 seconds