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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Meridian flip not working consistently

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Just some more info for you all. I had it at 0.1 hours and it worked great for months. I still had it at 0.1 hours and it stopped working hence why I decreased it to 0.01 hours. I did that yesterday in my initial daylight test at which point it worked fine so kept it like that for the night run.
However I will increase it back to 0.1 hours. 
Last edit: 2 years 11 months ago by Terry McKnight.
2 years 11 months ago #69678

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Reducing the grace time if something doesn't work is likely a bad choice in case of MF.  

However, I'm just looking at the log file.  What puzzles me is
[2021-04-04T00:30:57.849 BST INFO ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - "Meridian flip waiting."
[2021-04-04T00:35:48.519 BST DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - meridianFlipStatusChanged  "FLIP_ACCEPTED"
[2021-04-04T00:35:48.849 BST INFO ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - No Meridian flip: HA= "00h 48m 22s"
So the mount thinks it is already almost an hour past the meridian.  Either there's a time clash (DST), or the mount model is somehow messed up.
Do you use the hand controller in any way?  Is there a use/don't use DST setting for the mount?
 
2 years 11 months ago #69680

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No I don't use the hand controller. Not used it for years.
2 years 11 months ago #69682

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I hadn’t either until recently when I performed a factory reset of my HEQ5. That solved some issues for me (admittedly issues with using the hand controller for a change) so perhaps you can try that and see if it helps?
2 years 11 months ago #69684

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OK it is worth a shot :) thanks. Now where is that hand controller?   
2 years 11 months ago #69685

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Terry?,
I have found that attempting to have an automatic meridian flip while tracking the Sun does not work since the pop up dialogue was added to confirm that you want to go to the Sun.
As far as Meridian flips are concerned it is the mount that needs to do the flip and you need to have Ekos configured to match what the mount requires. On my Losmandy G11 with gemini 2 you need to configure it to ensure nothing collides and there is point after which a go to produces a flip but if you leave it too late it will not do it but will beep. So, you need to make sure Ekos performs the request between those two points.

Paul
Last edit: 2 years 11 months ago by Paul. Reason: spelling
2 years 11 months ago #69707

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Not sure if this helps, but I just found that the recent DST time change was not configured properly in KStars.  It's under the geography/location setting.  If Kstars time doesn't match the mount then it calls for the meridian flip slew too early and the mount never changes sides.  Just a shot in the dark 
2 years 11 months ago #69711

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Thanks for all the replies everybody. It has given me a lot of food for thought. I do suspect the DST issue but will also try to issue a factory reset to the mount. I’m not sure if the HEQ5 Pro remembers much as I recall when operating it via the hand controller after it initialised you had to enter some more basic parameters. Years since I used the handset.
2 years 11 months ago #69749

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When you connect the handset to an HEQ5-Pro you always need to set the date, time, timezone and DST and confirm the location. But other items, like meridian flip behavior and the pointing model are remembered (at least partially) because when I used the handset with my HEQ5-Pro pointing was completely off despite setting all those initial parameters correctly.
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2 years 11 months ago #69752

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I have been unable to fix this issue. I have reset the mount to factory defaults. It has auto-meridian flip set as a default.
I rebuilt my Linux machine and installed the latest version of KStars 3.5.2 2021-03-01 and tested. Meridian flip worked, once, then would not work again. When it reaches the meridian + 0.1 it states "Meridian Flip Planned". No further captures take place and it just sits there and does nothing.
However I have found that if I uncheck the Meridian Flip if HA>0.1 before a run and then check it again then it will meridian flip during the run - hence the title of my topic.

I see from the changelog that there were a number of changes made around the meridian flip part. Is it possible that something has gone awry?

 
Last edit: 2 years 11 months ago by Terry McKnight.
2 years 11 months ago #70260

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My iOptron mount, failed to do a MF last night, because my mount stops dead at the meriddean. (Not sure if this is Firmware?)
My ask is that we have the capability to say Flip Early (-ve) or Flip Late (+ve).

Thus I can say 10 minutes before the meridean schedule the flip, then it will wait for the last image to come in and do the flip.
Currently what happens is that if the image is still being taken on the meridean, then the mount aborts and stops on the meridean and just hangs there till the morning and my last image has star trails.

This should be pretty easy change as all we need is to unlock the setting to allow a negitive number?
Or have i missed something here, as i am pretty new to scheduler.
Christopher | Sussex England | n2042.blogspot.com
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Last edit: 2 years 11 months ago by christopher.
2 years 11 months ago #70364

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No. The problem is most mounts do not even have a 'flip' command, so EKOS only sends a 'slew to target' after it has crossed the meridian. The mount firmware then sees that it's in the other hemisphere, and performs the flip.

In your case, you have to set the mount (via the hand controller) what to do. You can usually set the acition (stop or flip), and the limit when to perform this.
Standard is to set the mount to a 'safety setting', i.e., set it to flip (or stop) quite late (like 5 degrees past meridian), and then set EKOS to flip, say, 2 degrees after meridian.

What happened in your case most likely was that the mount stopped by itself before EKOS could initiate an action. The above settings will prevent that situation.
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2 years 11 months ago #70365

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