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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Polar alignment - mount does not slew

  • Posts: 65
  • Thank you received: 7
After updating EKOS and the FW of the mount, I am still having the issue with the PAA. When set to automatically slewing.. its slews a couple of degrees and then stops. Trying different speeds does not help. Using the slew commands in EKOS works. This is is actually what I am doing now.

It mighty by a communication problem with the mount drivers… How could I check this? Is there any advanced logging?
1 year 11 months ago #82394

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It might be going the wrong way, this is why. You can enable logging (check my signature). What mount is this? Add your equipment to the signature.
1 year 11 months ago #82395

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Hi Jasem,

Thank you for the quick feedback. My mount controller is the StarGO2 Pro from Avalon Instruments (see details earlier in this thread). The mount is the M-UNO. The StarGO2 has its own Raspberry Pi4 computer with KStars/EKOS/INDI preinstalled and its own INDI driver for the mount.

What do you mean by it is “going the wrong way”? I can use the KStars arrows/mount control directional buttons to slew and move the mount.
Last edit: 1 year 11 months ago by Willi.
1 year 11 months ago #82404

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If you click "East" in Motion Control tab, does the RA of the mount increases or decreases?
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1 year 11 months ago #82407

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Ahhh, I see what you mean. I will check this the next time the mount is set up. Might take a couple of weeks. Thanks for the hint. I will also enable the verbose logging. Maybe that will give us a hint, too.
1 year 11 months ago #82410

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Hello, I have the same problem as Willi. I use a Mdue StarGo2 Avalon mount. Any solution with polar alignment? I see that when rotating manually the mount using the Avalon interface my polar alignment is not consistent from consecutive run to run and then the mount is not well synced. Could it be just mixing up west and east movements? Any workaround?
Thank you.
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1 year 8 months ago #84412

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Hi, interesting! Looks like an implementation error by Avalalon Instruments. Please, let Stefano know.

My workaround:
- Polar alignment assistent (PAA) with manual slewing
- Opening the small telescope control panel in EKOS/KStars
- Using increments of 30°, West or East.
- Slewing to a fixed RA/DEC value, these days e.g. to 22h, 0°
- Starting the PAA in EKOS
- The PAA starts taking the first picture and does the the plate solving
- Slewing the mount with the telescope control by 30°, e.g. 20h, 0° in the telescope control
- Click on DONE, PAA takes image & plate solves
- Slewing to 18h/0°
- PAA takes the last image & plate solves
- PAA showed misalignment and correction vector.

The RA/Dec values depend on your horizon and the time of the year/day, obviously.

I hope this helps.
Last edit: 1 year 8 months ago by Willi.
1 year 8 months ago #84417

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Hi Jasem, thank you for the hint!

Now here is something interesting :-)

When I click on the left arrow in “Mount control”, the mount is physically moving to the left, i.e. the RA is increasing, but it says at the bottom in the live status “Moving W”, which is not the case! Right arrow button > RA decreases > mount/telescope is going to the right > Status “Moving E”.

The same happens, when I go into the INDI Control Panel / Motion Control tab. Pressing on the [West] button moves the mount East…

North / South is correct!

This seems to be the issue !!! Thank you!

I will check this with Avalon directly.
The following user(s) said Thank You: David Serquera
Last edit: 1 year 8 months ago by Willi.
1 year 8 months ago #84419

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Hello David, after running more tests last night, I can confirm now, in the INDI drivers for the StarGO2, East and West motion has been mixed up. Please, check with Avalon for an update!

To be more exact, in the INDI driver it says for the DIRECTION_WEST parameter “slew negative steps”, and if it is not WEST, slew positive steps. This is wrong. It has to be the opposite.

Thank you, Jasem, for this perfect hint!
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1 year 8 months ago #84423

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Thak you Willi,
I sent to Avalon a couple of emails but I did not get any reply yet. I have also noticed that the Stargo2 driver crashes when moving the telescope with ekos munt control passing the meridian around polaris and you can only recover it after rebooting it.
One question, do you get reproducible polar aligment manually? i.e, if you PA manually with your workaround and then move your telescope and then you do PA again are you still close or minutes away? I do not why I cannot keep a stable PA.
1 year 8 months ago #84497

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Hello David,

I contacted Avalon and they replied to me today saying they are in the process of looking for a solution. They will be replying to this following post in their own forum, once they have found a solution:

www.avalon-instruments.com/forum/stargo2...ascom-motion-control
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1 year 8 months ago #84498

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Slewing through the meridian due North… I have not tried that one yet. I will check it out.

There is a setting in the Indi controller about going through the meridian. Please, check to what it is set.

As for reproducible results with the manual PAA… good question. It usually varies by ±3 to 5 arcmin. It is never the same value.
1 year 8 months ago #84499

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