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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

INDI focuser driver for Waveshare Stepper Motor HAT for Raspberry Pi / Rock Pi

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Excellent, glad to hear it!

You can adjust the delay per step to something smaller, but if you go too small, you will start losing steps, causing inaccurate autofocus. So I would tend to err on the side of slow, but reliable.
3 years 3 weeks ago #68245

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I will follow your advice.
Ettore
3 years 3 weeks ago #68246

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Regarding this. I personally found it to be a problematic trait of the Waveshare HAT as it will default to powering the motor when plugged in. This will cause the motors to heat up and consume power. Per the documentation setting eNABL prins on GPIO 12 and 4 to HIGH will disable the H-bridge for Motor 1 and 2 respectively. But this is problematic as once the Pi is shutdown, the pins will revert back to Low, powering the motor. My workaround is to apply a low external voltage to the eNABL pin with a current limiting resistor. add a 1K resistor from GPIO 1 (3.3V rail) to the desired eNABL pin. It seems to work when the Pi shuts down and it didn't blow up, but it may not be the best solution this is the best solution.
 
The following user(s) said Thank You: Kevin Ross
Last edit: 3 years 2 weeks ago by Andrew.
3 years 2 weeks ago #68503

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I mounted the engine, wait for the toothed belt and try. Does anyone have the 3d of the Raspberry Pi4 case with waveshare?


 
3 years 2 weeks ago #68539
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Finally the APO 70 ED F 6.0 refractor arrived, I connected everything and I wait for the good weather.

 
3 years 1 week ago #68843
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BTW Kevin I almost had to beg you for help -- my working Beverly Hillbillies focuser suddenly began to act bizarrely. The motor would buzz but not move, or move a little bit slowly and then back the other way, or refuse to do anything at all. I thought it was a loose pulley, then maybe a wrecked gearbox in the motor, then a software problem. I even ordered a second motor to check (I needed one anyway). Then I thought to eliminate all the intermediate cabling and connectors and wire the motor straight onto the HAT terminals. Worked like a charm. Must've been a loose connection, I have an RJ-11 breakout board with screw-clamp terminals at either end and a phone cord between them. One of the wires in the clamps must have come a bit loose.

Noting here just in case somebody else runs into a similar problem.
3 years 1 week ago #68845

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Nice solution! Thanks for sharing!
3 years 1 week ago #68850

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Nice looking setup (both of them)!

I do have an STL file that I designed. It may or may not be perfect for you. It has a cutout where I mount a DB-9 connector for attaching the motor. The lid also doesn't attach, it just rests on there, because I strap the whole thing down with Velcro straps anyway, and this makes it easy to get inside when I want to.

Anyway, attached are my STL files. I include the Fusion 360 file, as well as a STEP file, in case you want to modify the design for your liking.

 

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File Name: RaspberryPi4Case.zip
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3 years 1 week ago #68852
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3 years 1 week ago #68861

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KevinI am also trying to get a NEMA 14 stepper motor spinning via the Waveshare stepper motor hat. So far without success, here is my observation:1. The wiring is correct (see 4. below)2. I start INDI and go to the wave share options tab and set delay per step to a number > 0, let’s say 400. When I set relative position to 1000 and click set, nothing happens, I only notice a very short bucking (1 ms or so) as if the motor starts spinning but then immediately stops.3. When I go to the focus module, I can’t get the motor spinning regardless if I click focus out or focus in.4. I disconnect and stop INDI services and repeat steps 2 & 3. Once I click the INDI start button, the motor starts spinning. In the focus module however, clicking on focus out or in the motor does not react as expected, only a very short bucking again.I tried this several times with different delays per step and subsequently after next start of INDI the motor spins according to the delay per step set in the cycle before, e.g. it looks like the system „remembers“ what delay was set in the cycle before.After a few minutes the motor heats up so much that I need to switch off the whole system.A few questions:Is this the expected behavior of the driver, I guess not?
Could the behavior be different under StellarMate?
How can I avoid the heat production of the motor?
What is the meaning of „Sync steps“ (Main Control tab) and „Polling Period“ (Options tab)?I was using the driver on my Astroberry disti under Buster on a Raspi 4B 4GB. Any hint is welcome.Thanks
Kurt
3 years 1 week ago #68983

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Today i have same problems.
3 years 6 days ago #69002

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Today i have same problems.
3 years 6 days ago #69003

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