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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

TeenAstro driver for INDI

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Hello this is my first post here,

I have some experience in ASCOM driver development, and I wish to extend my knowledge to INDI. The goal of this topic is to find some people willing to developp/test a TeenAstro INDI driver.
The TeenAstro protocol overlap to 90% with the ONStep driver, and has TeenAstro has less function than OnStep it is significantly less effort.

I think it is easier to maintain 2 drivers: one for OnStep and one for TeenAstro then every body has the freedom to developp.

Most of the TeenAstro user are in Germany and are former user of the Little Foot or the excellent FS2.
If there are some users in germany that has INDI background I will be happy to support them.
TeenAstro user Grouphttps://groups.io/g/TeenAstro

Charles
4 years 10 months ago #38856

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Hello Charles,

Welcome to INDI! Let me know if you need any help with the driver. Some of the developers of the OnStep driver might be interested in this as well.
4 years 10 months ago #38862

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Hello ! nice start !

here is my fork of indi :

github.com/dragonlost/indi

i have copy OnStep driver and remove PEC and Focuser part. I write new line in other file : CMaleLists.txt, drivers.xml, lx200driver.h, lx200generic.cpp

Following Kbahey's suggestion, it would be nice to put a symbolic link to the onstep functions that are identical and common to teenastro so as not to duplicate code.

It should remove all the part alignment to N star that is not supported by teenastro.
At first, no need to coded the part that allows you to change the mount settings on the fly.

Charles, will you be able to list the differences between teenastro and onstep so that everyone can clearly identify what he will need to do ?
Last edit: 4 years 10 months ago by durand Sébastien.
4 years 10 months ago #38942

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Replied by Alfred on topic TeenAstro driver for INDI

Will the Teenastro driver support the onboard focuser?
4 years 10 months ago #38952

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The focuser will not be supported by this driver because in teenastro the focuser is on another card (another teensy and usb). But nothing prevents to develop another driver for the focuser.
4 years 10 months ago #38954

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Replied by Alfred on topic TeenAstro driver for INDI

Many thanks for the clarification. Am I correct in assuming it currently doesn't make sense to build my own Teenastro if I want to continue on an "INDI only" basis?
4 years 10 months ago #38957

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Replied by Khalid on topic TeenAstro driver for INDI

I think it is better if the INDI driver for TeenAstro and OnStep share the same code base (i.e. they are one .cpp/.h file).

The reasoning behind this is that TeenAstro is merely a subset of OnStep. So it will only be missing some features. The code can check the executable name and set a flag, and if it is TeenAstro then just skip the features that TeenAstro lacks. Everything else remains the same.

That way, bug fixes are quicker, and maintenance is generally easier.
4 years 10 months ago #38965

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actually this seems like a good solution. On the other hand, the coding in C and C ++ exceeds me. I only code in python. I am coding an interface to program the teensy with pyqt.
4 years 10 months ago #38966

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Replied by Lemaire on topic TeenAstro driver for INDI

Developing a driver is no rocket science and it is easy to maintain. For Ascom I have release Cycle that are aligned with the firmware update and I have to do the same with INDI.
What do I need to compile all that stuff? is it possible to crosscompile INDI with visual Studio?
Thanks.
Charles
4 years 10 months ago #38967

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Replied by Ray Wells on topic TeenAstro driver for INDI

@Charles: Following this. :) I like the simple scope of this teensy only version of onstep. Try to keep that KISS attitude as you guys go forward.
I was reminded recently that keeping units separate has the benefit of making troubleshooting easier and processor redundancy, as in the case of using a standalone focuser or filter wheel, allows you to continue to operate the others if any one unit goes down. This just seemed like a good place to share that bit of wisdom.

@Kbhaley: Good idea! Maybe you can give them a short example of how the linking works?
I mean, if they still need it?

@Herrhausen I'd continue to use the version that's working for you. I think the idea here is to make the project more approachable for people just starting out.

just my 2c. :-*
4 years 10 months ago #38969

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Replied by Khalid on topic TeenAstro driver for INDI


There is an example of how INDI checks the name of the executable (which is actually a symbolic link), in this code .

In the above case, the code instantiates a new driver depending on the name. But I am suggesting that the codebase for OnStep and TeenAstro be a single code base, with the parts that the latter does not support being conditional in the code. This is much better in the long run.

There is always the temptation to write new code, but what people often forget is the technical debt carried forward with maintenance (bug fixes, new features, ...etc.).
The following user(s) said Thank You: Ray Wells
4 years 10 months ago #38970

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I am testing communications through EKOS and a TeenAstro mount controller. TeenAstro does not have a serial port, it communicates through TCP instead.
I used the LX200 Basic driver, because I was not able to configure OnStep for TCP (it seems to connect through serial only).

The communication starts fine, I can read the initial coordinates of the mount,

[2019-10-04T22:37:17.134 CEST INFO ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[INFO] Connecting to 192.168.0.12@9999 ... "
[2019-10-04T22:37:17.434 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[DEBUG] Connection successful, attempting handshake... "
[2019-10-04T22:37:17.442 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[SCOPE] CMD <:GR#> "
[2019-10-04T22:37:17.446 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[SCOPE] RES <09:53:28> "
[2019-10-04T22:37:17.446 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[SCOPE] VAL [9.89111] "
[2019-10-04T22:37:17.447 CEST INFO ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[INFO] LX200 Basic is online. "

but immediately after, the log shows communication errors

[2019-10-04T22:37:19.474 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[SCOPE] CMD <:GR#> "
[2019-10-04T22:37:19.498 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "Error reading RA/DEC. "
[2019-10-04T22:37:21.484 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[SCOPE] CMD <:GR#> "
[2019-10-04T22:37:21.491 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "Error reading RA/DEC. "
[2019-10-04T22:37:23.486 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[SCOPE] CMD <:GR#> "
[2019-10-04T22:37:23.488 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "Error reading RA/DEC. "
[2019-10-04T22:37:25.488 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - LX200 Basic : "[SCOPE] CMD <:GR#> "

I started investigating, and found out this is due to tty_write() returning an error: first TTY_WRITE_ERROR then TTY_OVERFLOW.

Before continuing, I would like to ask if anyone recognizes this, and ask for suggestions on how to fix it. Thank you!

** updated **
I found out the problem was in the board which would close the connection after 2 seconds.
Last edit: 4 years 5 months ago by François Desvallées. Reason: Updated - problem was in the board
4 years 5 months ago #44269

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