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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Synscan coordinates differ from those of the solver

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I tried it both ways, with and without that extra bit, with no difference. I made a video showing the behavior.



Sorry, the equatorial grid lines in KStars don't show up unless you watch it in 4K mode. But trust me, the lines are there. :)
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq, Csaba Kertesz, Franck
5 years 10 months ago #26092

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I checked the video and did some math with the results there, but I have no idea why RA update does not work. To be more weird, the results there do not make any sense. The RA jumps like random offset after syncing, but its update is identical to Dec in the protocol. I think this is a bug in the handset firmware, but strangely enough it works with my AltAz mount with V3 handset.

@Frank: KStars 2.9.6 was released a few days ago. Can you download to your Mac give a try? edu.kde.org/kstars/#download
I am the most curious what are your results now?
- Syncing works.
- RA does not sync, Dec syncs properly.
- None of them syncs properly.

If Frank is lucky, it is possible that this RA-sync bug is present only in V4 handsets (kross has this version), but not in V3. I and Frank have this version. Anyway if we discover these problems we can notify Skywatcher about the problem and hope if they will release a fixed firmware.

Frank, let us now your experiences.
Last edit: 5 years 9 months ago by Csaba Kertesz.
5 years 9 months ago #26260

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Yes, I was informed about the new release and I already downloaded it.
Unfortunately I had no time to try it, but possibly I am going to try the new release just this night.
However, as I said previously in the discussion, my firmware version is the 4.39.05. Of course I will inform you on the results of my tests. ;)
5 years 9 months ago #26263

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Frank has V4, I have V3. My V3 has been recently updated. My mount is put away right now, bad weather for a while (plus full moon), so I can't really check the exact version right now. But as of two months ago, it was the most recent V3 firmware.

Maybe, just maybe, it'll work for Frank and not me...
Last edit: 5 years 9 months ago by Kevin Ross.
5 years 9 months ago #26266

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BTW Frank,

If you wanted to, you could put your handset into "PC Direct" mode (it's in the utility menu) and use the EQMod INDI driver instead of the SynScan driver. That will work with the same cable, no new cable required. The EQmod people don't recommend that for long term use, only short term testing. They recommend a proper cable that plugs directly into the mount (not handset) for long term use.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Franck
5 years 9 months ago #26268

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This is the result of my test:
I tried to use both the SynScan driver and the EqMount driver, as suggested by Kross.

In the first case (SynScan) some problems occur. The problem should be in the A.R. coordinate. Every time I start to synchronize an object starting from the position of the celestial pole (more or less) the Dec coordinate seems approximately the same, whist this is not the case of the A.R coordinate.
If I synchronize an object once I've already synchronized a previous one, then the error propagates and the position showed by the SynScan marker results completely wrong.
On the other hand, if I run the session using the EqMount driver, the manual synchronization works very well and the marker points at the correct position every time I synchronize an object with the mount.

In order to have a direct view of this test I acquired a video. Apologizes if I am not enough clear.
Thank you again for your efforts! :)

Here the movie...


Last edit: 5 years 9 months ago by Franck.
5 years 9 months ago #26271

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I'm glad you found a working solution!
The following user(s) said Thank You: Franck
5 years 9 months ago #26272

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Other than my specific problem, I think that Kstars is a considerably useful and complete software for astrophotography and also for professional astronomy. It really worths to have also this problem fixed in future ;)
5 years 9 months ago #26274

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Agreed! It's a complete all-in-one solution, that even works in a distributed environment over the network. I have a Raspberry Pi on my scope talking directly to the hardware, while I'm in the house with KStars/Ekos/Stellarium connected to INDI on the Pi over the network. Very nice!

Being free software (free as in freedom, open source) is what attracted me to it in the first place. That it's so feature rich is what keeps me!
5 years 9 months ago #26275

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I've been corresponding with Skywatcher support, and they said we should only be sending the sync command to the mount, and not the reset position command. We're supposed to have clear skies tonight, so I will make the change locally, and try it out tonight. If it works well, I'll get that checked in.
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5 years 9 months ago #26440

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So did some testing. Things are improved, for sure, but not perfect. Plate solving and syncing actually works, mostly! :) The "solve and slew to target" option to re-center a target on screen sorta works. It solves and syncs properly, then slews to the new location properly. But then it takes another image while the mount is still slewing, causing a blurry captured image, which of course fails the plate solve. But it actually got us close enough on the first try I don't mind.

Polar alignment assistant still doesn't work with Synscan driver. The mount has a tendency to go crazy.

But this is a definite improvement. I put in a pull request with the change.
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5 years 9 months ago #26446

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So ...it sounds as a greeeeeat new!!! :D
This improvement is a considerable step forward to solve this problem. :)
Actually, I prefer to use the synscan driver to use kstars ekos around. For this reason I am very interested in your work and I prefer to wait for a new release in which this issue has been fixed. :)
Thank you for your efforts!!!
5 years 9 months ago #26448

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