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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

OK, so what am I doing wrong?

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Great that you managed to solve the B/W issue. Sorry, I have no experience with Nikon cameras.
2 years 9 months ago #72814

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I could take a guess, but also not experienced with DSLRs on Ekos.

DSLR drivers used by Ekos are almost always the gphoto library.
If we look at the cameras supported by gphoto: www.gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php
you can see that the D600 is listed. The D5100 is listed as "PTP mode" and there is a Nikon J4 listed, but is that the same as Nikon 1 J4?

As far as PTP (which apparently is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture_Transfer_Protocol), I'm not familiar with that. Is there something you need to set in your camera to make it respond to the PTP protocol?

Probably the simplest way you can debug this, if you were interested in pursuing it, and you were comfortable with running linux command-line programs, would be to run the gphoto client as a stand-along program outside of Ekos. If that can't manipulate your cameras, then for sure Ekos won't either.

See
www.gphoto.org/
www.gphoto.org/doc/manual/ref-gphoto2-cli.html

Hope that points you in the right direction.
Hy
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2 years 9 months ago #72815

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Replied by Phil on topic OK, so what am I doing wrong?

Well, someone posted a link to a video that went over GPHOTO2, and I went through the motions, and got both my Nikon D5100 and Nikon1 J4 to take a picture and download it to the Astroberry. So GPHOTO2 can access the cameras, but Ekos cannot.

Which brings me back to what could I possibly be doing wrong in the setup for these cameras in Ekos, if I can get them to work in GPHOTO2?
Last edit: 2 years 8 months ago by Phil. Reason: Some additional information
2 years 8 months ago #73053

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Replied by Phil on topic OK, so what am I doing wrong?

To add additionally, I downloaded a program called ENTANGLE, which is a tethering capture GUI interface that works on top of GPHOTO2 and it also works like a charm.

Which once again brings me to what could I possibly be doing wrong in Ekos that it can't capture? This is frustrating, because it's holding up my use of the Astroberry system.
2 years 8 months ago #73069

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I don't own any of those cameras but I did use my DSLR with Ekos before. So somethings you might want to check on each of the camera that aren't working.
* Are you in BULB mode on the camera?
* Do you have Mirror Lock on or off?
These values need to match with what you have in Ekos, otherwise its just going to be a nightmare. Ekos and Gphoto can't control these, so you need to make sure the values match manually.

I can't remember what happens if the camera isn't in BULB mode but Ekos is, but I do know what happens if you have a mismatch in mirror lock up as the camera will thinks it should put the mirror up waiting for another command but it doesn't receive it, then the camera's mirror lock up will time out.

Basically if you can get gphoto2 to work, you should be able to get Ekos to use the indi_gphoto driver to work, there are aliases for this different type of cameras and since you're getting camera details while it connects that says the driver is working.
2 years 8 months ago #73074

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Replied by Phil on topic OK, so what am I doing wrong?

Yeah, the camera is in manual mode. There is no mirror lockup option on the D5100, and the J4 is mirrorless. All I keep getting is the error message you see below, which is of absolutely zero help. However GPHOTO2 has no problems controlling the D5100 or the J4.

I think may be done with Astroberry. I've already lost half of the season trying to get this damned thing to work. The only camera it works with is the camera that I DON'T want to use, my full frame D600, and even that has it's problems. I'd hate to have to set up a wired Windows setup, but at least that will work, as opposed to this.

Thanks for your replies.

 
Last edit: 2 years 8 months ago by Phil.
2 years 8 months ago #73097
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There is the possibility that GPhoto2 shipped with AstroBerry is older than the one used by Entangle which may explain why your cameras are not working with AstroBerry. Did you run Entangle on AstroBerry and did you verify that they are using the same version of GPhoto2?

It is possible to start the INDI server and camera driver manually on the command line. Doing that may reveal the error that happens. I agree of course that the error message isn't helpful at all.

Device support on Windows is more extensive but this is not because Linux is not mature but simply lack of support of the device vendors. Almost all work on GPhoto2, INDI and AstroBerry is done by volunteers without support from the vendors which explains the issues. This of course doesn't help you but perhaps you could redirect your frustration to the vendors instead of the volunteers :)
2 years 8 months ago #73098

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Replied by Phil on topic OK, so what am I doing wrong?

I'm not dissing the volunteers, I just frustrated Ekos can't see my cameras and GPHOTO2 can. However I have to say if you didn't have to use the damned terminal at gunpoint to get anything done in Linux, it would probably far more acceptance and support. The terminal is what holds Linux back. Linux is still stuck in 1991. The insistence on using the terminal to get anything done is the reason Linux has gone nowhere in 30 years. It may be the backbone of the internet, but the internet is run by people with computer science degrees. ;-) I don't want to go and get a computer science degree to try and figure out why I can't get my cameras to work in Ekos. I just want to set up, and shoot astrophotography, not SUDO and GREP. Windows and Macs have terminals too, but no one needs to use them to get anything done.

There was no GPHOTO2 at all in the Astroberry ISO. When I started typing the commands in this video in the terminal, I got an some error message that essentially alluded that there was no GPHOTO2. I had to install it using the add/remove software panel. After I did that, the commands listed in that video worked in the terminal. Same with Entangle, I installed that as well at someone's recommendation using the add/remove software panel.. I believe Entangle is merely a shell that accesses GPHOTO2, not sure if it has it embedded or not.

The only way I can use Astroberry right now is to use PHD2 to guide. That's it. I can only plate solve through the guide cam, but parallax means I still have to guess where my target is in my main camera, and when you're manually aiming with a single axis tracker at a small target, especially with a high mag scope, that consumes time. I have to use an external intervalometer to control the shutter while PHD2 tracks. I put the Pi right on the rig to avoid having excess cables, as you can see below, but I need to run the extra cable for the intervalometer. If I could control everything from the Pi, I would only have one cable leading into the rig, the power cable.

For the time being I'll continue to shoot this way with the Astroberry, because that's all I can do. If I can't get it to control my cameras I'll have to switch back to a Windows setup. Somebody set up a similar arrangement to the Astroberry using a Windows mini PC with a hot spot, and I may go that route if Astroberry never gets up to speed.

 
2 years 8 months ago #73108
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I feel like we're close. The fact that INDI can see the camera, and properly identifies it, and that gphoto2 has no problems taking images, suggests to me that there is a setting in the INDI control panel that is incorrect. The DSLR drivers in INDI are very picky about those kinds of things. For example, I see in the log message "forcing BULB mode". That might be a problem (or maybe not). Does your camera have a separate mode on the dial for BULB mode, or do you have to put the dial in manual mode, and adjust the exposure duration to get to bulb mode?

Would you mind posting screenshots of each config screen in the Nikon INDI control panel?
2 years 8 months ago #73115

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Replied by Phil on topic OK, so what am I doing wrong?

"Does your camera have a separate mode on the dial for BULB mode, or do you have to put the dial in manual mode, and adjust the exposure duration to get to bulb mode?"
The latter. Once in manual mode, I just turn the shutter speed dial until it hits BULB, which is right after the 30 second maximum dial-able exposure time, This is the same for the DSLR D5100, and the mirrorless J4.

"Would you mind posting screenshots of each config screen in the Nikon INDI control panel?"
Sure. Hopefully some of them will be readable here, as they're quite long. Because I had to composite some of the screens, I only did it for the D5100, but being as they both react the same way, then perhaps (hopefully) the same issue(s) affect both. As best as I can remember, these are the default Ekos settings.

I will start with a view of the rear screen of my D5100 as I have it set to be connected to Ekos, as well as the profile settings for it in Ekos. The D5100 has a non-electronic manual lens on it to emulate a telescope attached. These will be followed by the data from each tab for the camera in the INDI Control Panel. There is an 8 image maximum per post here, so I will break it up between two posts. Hopefully this is of help:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Last edit: 2 years 8 months ago by Phil.
2 years 8 months ago #73130
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Replied by Phil on topic OK, so what am I doing wrong?

...and here are the rest of them...
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
2 years 8 months ago #73131
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Replied by Paul on topic OK, so what am I doing wrong?

Phil,

I have no experience using a DSLR with INDI, however, are you using a camera lens or a telescope?

Paul
2 years 8 months ago #73132

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