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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

For New Users: What is INDI, Kstars/Ekos and Why Do You Want or Need This?

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Great stuff here. Worth reading a few times. I run everything on my Raspberry and use 'noVNC' to access it on everything else (PC, tablets, phone). I never thought of breaking up the processes and letting my Pc do the heavy processing.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Tom Bardenwerper
Last edit: 4 years 5 months ago by David Tate. Reason: Correcting my English ;)
4 years 5 months ago #44417

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I never thought of breaking up the processes
3 years 7 months ago #58297

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Werper,

I really don't see this as "experimental", I rely on it so I can get some sleep when the clouds cooperate.

Paul
3 years 7 months ago #58305

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Thanks werper. Nice Summary !
It would not make sense for me to argue about the points on which I agree, so I want to comment on a couple or three things, that I do not see clear, in case you find it useful if planning an update or correction of the main text.
I am not sure of which is the best setup for indi and clients.
Myself I use everything on the raspi.
It would be really interesting to do a survey among forum users to ascertain which is the most common or the most efficient setup.
Maybe forum administrators/moderators can indicate if they also find this survey interesting and feasible ?
You may want to add a reference to the place where you found it is strongly recommended one setup over the other.
I would say people with zero experience on Linux is going to have a few difficult days...
Even with the commodity of internet search, they are to have a though time trying to catch the correct answer among the noise of a bunch of outdated (sometimes wrong) pages.
I agree in that one of the aims of Ekos is to be user-friendly, but as suggested in the second part of the above sentence, it is not so intuitive for the new user.
I would like to be available
* a central, extense, updated (user) documentation manual.
[Update] Just today the stellarmate manual was updated and is available here :)
* a Help button in each EKOS tab bringing updated documentation on the meaning, characteristics and best use of the different parameters and their interactions.
Tool-tips are necessary and of great help, but probably not enough for a non veteran user.
As I see in the forum there is many people still using raspi3, but many others, and those starting from zero, they use raspi4, often with 4 GB and a few with 8 GB. In fact, stellarmate gadget has been superseded by stellarmate plus gadget.
Also It is not rare for raspi 4 to use a fan or an efficient heat-dissipator box.
And you need a sdcard, etc, etc.
Overall the cost of a working raspi SBC is a 'bit' higher than $35.

Hope you find my comments of value

joaquin
Last edit: 3 years 7 months ago by Joaquin. Reason: add link to new user manual
3 years 7 months ago #58315

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You might want to excuse him not mentioning the Raspberry Pi 4, as he wrote that article before the Pi 4 was released.
3 years 7 months ago #58316

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Oh! yes, I didnt see it was from 1 year ago.
A good reason to update it !
Still the point stands: Commercial advertising for raspi is always selling that it is a 30-40€ computer.
In practice, a usable raspi 3, already considering you have another PC to connect with, is probably not less than 70-80 Euros
Joaquin
3 years 7 months ago #58318

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Yes, true I think a reasonable estimate for a Pi setup is probably around that 70-80 euro, once you factor in SD card and whatever power supply method you need.

Although, if you are going to seriously get into astrophotography and seriously use all the Ekos features then the difference between 35 euro and 80 euro is very small compared to the rest of the costs associated with the hobby (I'm beginning to think that the word 'hobby' is inappropriate, given the total cost - if you were to construct a full dome to operate remotely then I would estimate the initial build and equipment cost to really be in the region of 20,000 euros).

I think the OP was just trying to be helpful and contribute to what essentially has been written here: indilib.org/what-is-indi/discover-indi.html
3 years 7 months ago #58321

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Well, I am not really serious in astrophotography yet and I cannot tell here how much I spent in the last two years. I think it is wise not to leave traces of the expending because my wife sometimes looks at the browser history. :whistle:

I am a veteran Stack Overflow contributor. There, there is a continuous edition of the questions and answers by the users (not necessarily the OP) in order to maintain accurate and updated information for those who visit the page. This is the basis for the high quality and reliability of the site (there is a version control system to trace the history of the questions / answers).
It is because of this 'professional' deformation that I couldn't help but contribute my ideas to the OP's post.

Joaquin
3 years 7 months ago #58323

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At the time I wrote this (16 months ago in 2018!) Jasem himself clearly stated on the Stellarmate website that Stellarmate is (I'm paraphrasing here) a work in progress and those who do not like to experiment should probably choose other software. My interpretatioan of that idea is it's experimental - or AS IS and Buyer Be Ware. I'm OK with that.
3 years 7 months ago #58344

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Thank you, I did indeed write this well before the Rpi4 was released.

Running Kstars/Ekos on a client machine (pc or Mac) is the preferred, best performance way. INDI server is pretty light weight, an Rpi 4 can easily handle it, in fact the Rpi4 can run Kstar/Ekos "decently" at the same time too, but running Kstar/Ekos on a client PC GREATLY improves performance. Personally, for best reliability and performance, I've found the best is to run only iINDI server on the Rpi and network Rpi4 via Gigabit Ethernet to a WiFi router at the scope, then go WiFi to the router from a laptop. I've had ZERO drops doing this and 18MB image downloads (from an ASI533MC Pro) consistently in under two seconds.

I had ZERO Linux experience and I found it easy. But I am a PC geek and very computer literate. YMMV.

Ekos IS VERY full-featured and therefore rather complex - a lot to learn. There's just no getting around that.
3 years 7 months ago #58345

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Jabian, this is NOT a professional forum. Please lower your standards accordingly. If one is expected to "maintain" a post - and a typical person online posts hundreds and even thousands of posts per year - no one would ever post anything. I am NOT a contributor to Stellarmate in ANY way, just a user and sometimes (when it works) fan, I thought that was obvious. That said, I'm am once again experimenting with Stellarmate (on an RPi4) after leaving for nearly a year while experimenting with N.I.N.A. - I've yet to find the perfect piece of software - surely the Achilles heal of this hobby!! SM has many features I prefer over other systems, yet in the end, stability was always a major problem for me. I'm hoping the latest version is improved in that department. Time permitting, I will see if I can update the post a bit with my latest observations using Stellarmate 1.5.3.
Last edit: 3 years 7 months ago by Tom Bardenwerper.
3 years 7 months ago #58346

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For anyone interested, I just updated the article, hopefully clarifying several things, adding my most recent experiences/observations and tips - especially with networking and reliability. I hope some will find it helpful!
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq, DaveDurant
3 years 7 months ago #58947

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