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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Autostart imaging session

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My computer that runs Ekos has a habit of hanging a few hours in the imaging session. It is unpredictable, so I haven't figured out what is going on yet. Meanwhile, I configured watchdog so it just restarts the whole thing on its own. It automatically launches KStars and runs a script that pokes at KStars/Ekos DBus and INDI interfaces. I leave a simple config file for it with a few parameters. I was able to get the following:
  1. Select configured Ekos profile and start it.
  2. Select configured telescope config slot.
  3. Load configured schedule and start it.
These are all the major steps needed, it mostly works. It even did its job a couple of times already when the computer hung in the middle of night.
Some random ideas:
  1. Some settings are not saved between sessions, like: guiding camera bin level and gain, align capture target accuracy and dark subtraction. There may be more; those I noticed and keep flipping every time I start new Ekos. Unless Ekos saves its settings immediately when changed, I would like to have a button to force sync when I'm done tweaking it, so that I am sure in case of a restart I get where I left it.
  2. Once in a while my INDI drivers fail to start. Mostly it is the SX drivers fails to find its camera, but it can be anything. There should be an easy way to tell if starting INDI was successful. Otherwise I would opt to restart the machine and try again. 
  3. Maybe have that startup sequence built into Ekos? Like a single DBus message to start with last state, optionally giving the schedule file.
3 years 1 week ago #68780

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Replied by nou on topic Autostart imaging session

I looked at DBus interface of Ekos through d-feet tool and it look like you can do almost anything through d-bus. So if you manage program something is python it should be possible to write script that can restart session. But if it is HW problem I would replace that computer if it is unstable.
www.indilib.org/support/tutorials/148-db...h-kstars-python.html
Last edit: 3 years 1 week ago by nou.
3 years 1 week ago #68796

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Right, as I said, I am able to script an autostart mostly. There are a few quirks that I listed. They may or may not be bugs. Devs may want to add the whole autostart scenario as a feature and make it working nicely, or just keep the bag of little features that one can use to script an autostart as needed.
The HW problem was just a nudge to think about autostart. Of course I should solve that problem somehow, but there will always be something. Every version of Ekos has a new kind of bug that may throw it off guard in a tricky circumstances, for example. I am thinking about setting up a watchdog that would restart like if no new images came out in last N minutes. External watchdog and recovery protocol is a good practice for any system that is supposed to run on its own for a long time.
3 years 1 week ago #68816

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Replied by nou on topic Autostart imaging session

Did you clicked save button in INDI device control panel? Unless you do that it will not save default configuration.
Also there is option "remember job progress" in options->ekos->sheduler. That should make that sheduler will look into capture folder and if there are 5 files already and job specify 10 then it will do another 5 so there 10 total.
Also if you mean accurancy that is in align tab above settle field that does retain value that I set there. I think Kstars save at least some settings on shutdown but if your computer crash it doesn't. So try set up everything properly then do clean shutdown and try start again.
3 years 1 week ago #68817

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