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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Indiserver WiFi option for Synscan Goto?

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This is the same as mine. I will tell you the exact pinout. Just confirm me one more thing:
The cable between tha hand unit and the motor unit has an RJ45 (8 pin) connector on the hand unit side, and an RJ12 (6 pin) connector on the motor controller side, right?
Meanwhile here is a link for the hand controller manual (the link is from here www.skywatcherusa.com/pages/support-center ):
cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0080/7095/5123...-EN.pdf?v=1587159582
On page 47 you can find the pinout of the ports of the hand controller.
The one you have found is the "multi-purpose port". That is meant for connecting the hand unit to a PC. You are right, that is the same as connecting to the synscan app. And yes, it is useless since you have USB on the hand controller.
The other one is the one connecting to the motor board. You can deduce the pinout on the motor controller by carefully looking the wire colors on the cable used to connect the hand controller to the motor board.
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Last edit: 3 years 10 months ago by Zoltán Belső.
3 years 10 months ago #54250

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Yes, the curly cord going from the HandUnit to the ALT motor is RJ45 (8-pin) at the HandUnit and RJ12 (6-pin) at the ALT motor. There is a standard CAT6 RJ45 (8-pin) cable from the ALT motor to the AZ motor.

...and yes, I see the Telescope Mount Port pin-out. It shows TTL level for the TX->RX communications, as suspected. So if one were to talk to the mount via wiring without the HandUnit, one would require at minimum, a USB->TTL hardware component.

So, it is looking more like WiFi UDP is the way to go. I have started a WireShark capture of packets to get an idea of what SynScan APP is sending and receiving in mount communications. Tomorrow I'll look at the indi_skywatcherAltAzMount code. C/C++ was never my strongest language...but at least I can get an idea. Most of my networking code was originally written in Spark/Solaris assembler, and then Java some Perl after about 1992.
3 years 10 months ago #54252

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Here is the pinout of the cable:

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What you need is a so called "eqmod cable" which is just a fancy name for an USB-TTLUART cable with an RJ12 connector at the end with the right pinout.
I have made mine myself from a cable like that:
www.ftdichip.com/Products/Cables/USBTTLSerial.htm

The RX and the TX pin is connected together on some mounts (like the Virtuoso mount). Otherwise the RX pin of the FTDI cable should be connected to the TX pin on the mount and vica versa.
3 years 10 months ago #54253
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The protocol is published by Skywatcher, no need to reverse engineer.
The protocol for the Synscan app:

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And the protocol for the motor controller:

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Source: skywatcher.com/download/manual/application-development/
Last edit: 3 years 10 months ago by Zoltán Belső.
3 years 10 months ago #54254
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I'm sorry to tell you, that it is heavy duty C++ strongly utilizing object inheritance.
3 years 10 months ago #54255

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Silly question but have you tried the AZ-GTI device which has Wifi support built in and as its based on the EQMOD which will talk to MOST SW mount motors directly so is using the corrent "SW protocol" already. If nothing else its not a bad place to start looking at the coding :-)

Forgive me in saying SW aren't going to create new boards/motor protocols for the newer GoTo Dobs as it doesn't make commercial sense - IMHO.

If nothing else no wiring (get it wrong and its bye bye board - e.g. 12v onto 3.3v = bang) - and do not trust wiring colours (color) - I have found that they dont match across the same cables - the pins do so follow the pin outs IMO.

But if you love "fiddling" thats great and good luck :-)
RPI3 Ubuntu 16.04 / AMD desktop Kstars under Ubuntu 16.04 Mounts :azeq6 ,SWAZGoTo

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3 years 10 months ago #54274

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deleted wrong
RPI3 Ubuntu 16.04 / AMD desktop Kstars under Ubuntu 16.04 Mounts :azeq6 ,SWAZGoTo

RPI3 Fedora testing out on AMD desktop Fedpra 28 - running kstars 2.9.4 , Indilib 1.7.4 ?????
Last edit: 3 years 10 months ago by Clive Stachon.
3 years 10 months ago #54276

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The AZ-GTI driver was already mentioned in this thread.
I would be happy if someone could tell me how to teach the eqmod driver that the mount is not in eqatorial but alt/az setup.
The eqmod driver can talk to an alt/az mount through UDP, I've tested it with my Virtuoso mount. That is good so far. But a big dobsonian mount cannot be tilted into equatorial configuration. Even the small Virtuoso mount does not work (seriously unbalanced) this way.
3 years 10 months ago #54279

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I've posted the pinout "fiddling" information for anyone who wants to make their own "eqmod cable".
If you are living in the USA surely you can just buy a ready made eqmod cable, and no fiddling is needed. You are right SW does not seems to change the motor board protocol/pinout, the old hand controllers seems to work with newer mounts too.
But I liv in estern Europe, for me ordering an eqmod cable would mean 20-30 USD shipping cost for a less than 10 USD cable. That's why I made one for myself.

I tend to agree with those who prefer cable connection over WiFi. Your Raspberry is on the mount anyways, right? No need for unreliable WiFi connection here. Especially problematic when the software on the RPI is responsible for tracking.
3 years 10 months ago #54280

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Gubi:
Thank you! That documentation is priceless. What a time-saver! As to C/C++, I'm not totally useless in that discipline, and both Object-oriented Perl and Java do the inheritance thing. It was just never my platform of choice.

Recently, there was a call for COBOL programmers to update some "my generation" software. I have written a lot of COBOL software, but always hated it. Each time I finished a COBOL project, I hoped it would be the last one I ever saw. Right now, it would be easier for me to get up to speed in C/C++ than COBOL, despite my previous experience, because I do, at least, respect C/C++ rather than loathe it as I do COBOL.

I'll order one of those FTDI cables today and see about the code while it is on the way. The FTDI cable should work well with the Pi4 I have mounted on the scope.
3 years 10 months ago #54303

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I understand very well what you are speaking about.
The low level protocol handler has pretty much already written in indi/drivers/telescope/skywatcherAPI.cpp so you do not need to have much headache about that. All the usability problems are deep in the details.

Yes, the FTDI cables are supported out of the box on linux. The RPI also has an onboard serial port (so called serial console, /dev/ttyS0) which is also TTL level. I have not tried to use it, but in theory it should also work.
Be careful ordering, there are a lots of type of FTDI cables. Be sure to choose the TTLUART ones. It doesn't really matter if you buy the +3.3V or the +5V one, since these only differ on the voltage the cabble supply on the power pin, which is not used here (Be careful, not to connect it to the mount's power pin, both are output! Connect only GND , RX, TX. Nothing else). But there is a type that has a 6 pin 100 mil block connector at the end, and there is a type with separate wires. Some has extra wires for SPI. These also works, you just don't use those extra wires.
FTDI is not the cheapest solution, but works. There are cheaper Chines ones, which maybe work, maybe not.
3 years 10 months ago #54307

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"The AZ-GTI driver was already mentioned in this thread." - yes I know (KNRO * 2,me once) ) but your answer was unclear if you had tried it or not :-) Yes you did say about some annoying bits of Alt-GTI which seems to imply you have but I wasn't clear.

Plus the AZ-GTI is going to be nearer what you are looking for than Synscan or EQMOD especially if you are going to write a "new" Indi driver .

Just saying :-) Last time promise :-)
RPI3 Ubuntu 16.04 / AMD desktop Kstars under Ubuntu 16.04 Mounts :azeq6 ,SWAZGoTo

RPI3 Fedora testing out on AMD desktop Fedpra 28 - running kstars 2.9.4 , Indilib 1.7.4 ?????
3 years 10 months ago #54310

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