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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Getting the ASI120MC clone to work as a total linux noob

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Hi,
Recently got my hands on a T7 astrocam for free, so I reckon it's worth some effort to get this sorted out on my astroberry.

I've been scouring the forums and it seems it should work, provided I update the drivers/firmware. I downloaded a driver/firmware zip, but that only contains ARMv7 drivers and not ARMv8, which my RPi4 runs, is that a problem?
Besides, I don't have the faintest idea how I would go about updating the firmware on Astroberry? Do i have to enter a few commands in the terminal? My camera shows up as 120b in lsusb, so that's fine, but the exposures loop...

Any help appreciated,

Emile
3 years 10 months ago #54157

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If you're trying to run the basic USB2.0 ASI120M* or its clones on a Raspberry Pi device, I've got bad news for you:

ASI120 Flakiness on Astroberry

There's some indication from another user that they work better with RPi4 devices than RPi3 devices such as mine, but I've also corresponded with someone who owns a T7 and both Pi4 and Pi3 devices who experiences much the same issues on both. A powered hub seems to help a bit, but the ASI120 is not always detected in all hubs, either.

With respect to updating firmware, it's not your Pi that's getting a firmware update: it's the T7 itself. The architecture-specific "drivers" to which you refer are actually compiled programs for that architecture to enable you to update it from that architecture. Unfortunately the non-Windows versions don't seem to work properly (yes, I tried already). To actually update the T7's firmware, the recommended course of action is to do it from a Windows machine. So from the ZWO Software & Drivers page, you'll need the following:

Windows tab: Native Drivers
FW Update tab: USB 2.0 Camera Firmware (there's two things to grab here)

First install the Native Drivers on a Windows machine, then plug in your T7, then install the VS2008 pkg and then the firmware. The firmware file itself for the T7 is ASI120MC-compatible.iic and is found in the FWTool zip.

This should get your T7 to a nominally operational state for most but not necessarily all Linux workstations. I have been able to use it successfully from KStars/Ekos on Linux laptops. If you are doing actual photography with it on a Pi (say of the planets), it will probably work, but if your intent is to use it for guiding... expect flakiness of the sort I posted earlier.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Paul Foreman
3 years 10 months ago #54172

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Thanks Aurneth.

Did exactly what you posted, it seems to work now, although every 10s I do seem to experience a small jump. This does cause some flakiness like you said, but in general, the guiding seems to work decent to ok-ish.

Thanks for the tips, I'll keep a holdout for it to get better.
The following user(s) said Thank You: David James
3 years 10 months ago #54203

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Hi. Here is the Linux version FWTool. I downloaded a copy as no one seems to be able to find it. It works fine with both our t7m cameras in both USB2 and USB3 ports, but always use a USB2 cable to connect no matter which you choose.
drive.google.com/open?id=1eXBCN06Uz6pGdf-TDd_8ETVW5QRw9zSO

HTH
3 years 10 months ago #54207

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That is the same FWTool I used on my ASI120MM (with the -compatible firmware). I checked the md5sum against what I already had. When I used that to update my ASI120 it resulted in a device that would get stuck capturing an image but never actually succeed. Not only did I use the -compatible firmware variant, I also tried the one without a hash suffix. No luck on either.

Maybe ZWO's own Linux tool works better on non-ZWO products.
3 years 10 months ago #54340

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