Hello,

I am running Ubuntu Mate 16.04 on a RPI 3B with a 128GB micro SD card. I have the latest bleeding version of Indi installed on the RPI and use a profile in Indi Web Manager for my hardware: iOpron iEQ45 PRo, Canon DSLR and QHY CCD. I connect via WiFi from a Windows 10 PC from which I run Kstars/Ekos. Ekos connects to my mount and QHY guide camera 100% of the time, no problem. However, Ekos only connects to my Canon T3i about 1 out of 20 attempts or ~ 5% of the time. I find to get it to connect to the Canon at all, I need to boot everything first while keeping the Canon turned off. Then once everything is running, turn the Canon on, wait 20 seconds, and THEN and ONLY then, press the "start" button in Ekos. Most of the time Ekos does not make the connection, in which case I have to turn off the Canon, disconnect and "stop" Ekos, then turn the Canon back on, and start Ekos again - HOPING this time it'll connect. Like a mentioned above, about 1 in 20 attempts it connects and then all is well, but that's the exception. Obviously, this is no good and renders the RPI system useless as I can spend an hour or more just trying to get the Canon to connect.

I get the following error message in Ekos:
2018-12-31T18:35:35: [ERROR] Can not open camera: Power OK? If camera is auto-mounted as external disk storage, please unmount it and disable auto-mount.
2018-12-31T18:35:35: [ERROR] Camera_get_config failed (-2): Bad parameters

I have turned of auto-mounting in Ubuntu via the dconf Editor, by following these instructions I found, which did not help:
www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/projects/pr...tars-indi-linux.html

I've researched this problem at GREAT length and see it's a fairly common problem for Canon DSLRs. Unless I can find a consistently reliable solution, this problem is a complete deal-breaker and will force me to go back to using my laptop along with Sequence Generator Pro and PHD, or Backyard EOS, or Astrophotography Tool. I have a background in Network Administration and am VERY computer literate, but am a total noob with Linux.

ANY and ALL help is GREATLY appreciated!! I really like the idea of using a RPI-based system and Kstars/Ekos look outstanding!! I firmly believe this is the way astrophotography is headed and I'm SO close to making this a viable system/solution for my rig, so I'm not about to give up trying.

Thank you for your time and any help you can give - I know there's many others out who have the exact same problem using this system with their Canon DSLR. If we can put this bug to bed once and for all, many others besides myself will become successful RPI - Indi - Kstars/Ekos users and evangelists!

Don't give up!
I also use a Canon T3i reliably. Have you tried:
Different USB cable
Connect camera directly to Pi, not through a usb hub
Turn off in camera power saving, auto sleep
INDI Gphoto driver over INDI Canon DSLR driver
Disabling Auto-mounting as explained on this forum: www.indilib.org/forum/ccds-dslrs/783-indi-dslrs-faq.html#5371

And/Or Disable Gnome auto-mounting feature with:

I've tried several different USB cables.
The Canon is connected directly to the RPI and I've tried all four USB ports.
I'll look for the Canon power saving feature and turn it off.
I tried the Indi Gphoto driver - no luck - same error message. I also tried upgrading Gphoto for the latest drivers - also no luck.
While I'm sure auto mounting is off, I'll take a look at the instructions in your link and see if there's a difference to what I already did, and try it too.
I will try disabling Gnome auto mounting using the command you provided.

I have no intention of giving up. I LOVE a good challenge and firmly believe this system has GREAT potential!

Thank you for your help!! You've given me a couple new things to try, I'll let you know what happens.

Tom Bardenwerper

Well today I re-built my RPI installation from scratch and changed the SD card to a 32GB card since that's all a RPI can use anyway. After it was running again i tested it - same problem. Then I ran the software updater and tested it again - same problem. Then I turned off Gnome's auto-mounting and tested again - same problem. Then I went through the tips you provded and tested again - same problem.

I have however come up with what appears to be a viable work-around. If I simply re-boot the RPI, the Canon connects just fine afterwards. If however, for some reason I disconnect and stop Ekos and turn the Canon off, then tur the Canon back on and start Ekos again, it cannot make the connection. I have to re-boot the RPI for the Canon to connect. It does "seem" to reconnect consistently after a re-boot. This is the same work-around I had discovered a few days ago, but when I took my full astro rig outside for a first run with the RPI, NOTHING I did could get it to connect to the Canon again, not even a full re-boot. The next clear night we have (I live near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA) I'm going to set-up my full rig again and give it another try. I'll post the results afterwards. Meanwhile, now I'm working with the software to learn how to create sequences - and, well, it's not exactly intuitive, but I'm making progress...

New Problem: My Canon is connected and I can preview live video, but I can't preview a still image. When I click on image preview, it says image capture failed, check Indi Control Panel for details. I've checked the Indi control panel and can't find anything unusual.

Logs? did you install also the latest libgphoto2 from the PPA? launchpad.net/~mutlaqja/+archive/ubuntu/libgphoto2

Yes, I just tried that, nothing changed, still getting the error. Sorry, but if the drivers for cameras don't work, it renders the entire Ekos system useless. I think this system has GREAT potential and I understand and really do appreciate the (litteraly) years of work you've put into it. Thank you!!

However, I've been in IT for over 30 years. I've built and configured hundreds of complex systems with countless pieces of software, going back to CPM and DOS. I've used literally thousands of pieces of software over the years on dozens of OS's and I know solid, stable software from not so much. In this project, getting a RPI set up for wireless use with Indi Web Manager was the easy part - REALLY easy. Unfortunately, Ekos is a different matter entirely. I'm coming to the conclusion Ekos has a long ways to go before it's ready mass adoption. Heck, if with all my years of computer experience, I can't even get it to take a simple snap shot, how can I possibly trust it to align, guide and capture complex sequences?

I'm sorry to say, but it's my opinion Ekos is currently too buggy and and, well, unintuitive. Things like separating the camera sequence in the Camera module, having to save the sequence and then load it in the planner are VERY unintuitive IMHO. So many features simply don't work (yet?) I don't know where to begin. In-depth documentation that goes into EVERY feature is also non-existent at this time. I know this all takes time, and I DO hope you get there! This system IS groundbreaking and WILL BE a genuine breakthrough and REVOLUTIONARY when it's ready. I FIRMLY believe that. Currently, I see it as at the Alpha development stage though.

I do FIRMLY believe you're on the right path however, and believe what you're creating IS the future of astrophotography. PLEASE take my criticism for how it's intended - as constructive. Like many others I've read about who've tried Indi/Kstars/Ekos, I will continue to follow this project closely and periodically give it another try - I can't wait for it to be the success I know it can and will be once it's fully developed and mature!!! ...And yes, I'll be MORE than happy to pay for that product.

Again, thank you for all your hard work - you're very close to being onto something BIG!! Keep up the good work!!

Wouldn't you know it. Just as I'm about to bail and move on, I stumble on the solution! All it took was "Resetting" the CCD frame and size values to default settings, usng the "reset" button in the camera modual. Once I re-entered the info and saved it, I can now shoot images.

This is why detailed, in-dept documentation is so crucial for new users. While I have studied at-length, the (somewhat scattered) online info here and watched all the videos, there are so many un-documented features, I suspect many people are, like me, learning the system through a frustrating process of trial and error.

Anyway, since I got it working now, I'm going to continue to experiment, test, learn, and hope for the best. It's possible this week we'll have clear sky's here. If so, I plan to give the system a full run-down. I'll keep you posted...

Thank you again!!

Glad to keep you on board. There is certainly a lot of work ongoing, as an open source project, it is remarkable how far it has progressed from when I first adopted it. But as you've experienced it can be a bumpy road down the development path. There do exist stable releases to rely on, as the nightly builds often introduce as many new bugs as features until they are worked out. Documentation is an ongoing activity members make contributions towards.
I recommend keeping a backup image of your setup once you are happy with it and monitor feedback from any updates before adopting it into your workflow with said backup immediately on hand if need be.