×

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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

  • Posts: 59
  • Thank you received: 9
There is a very old thread on support for the Orion Starshoot G3 camera which has not progressed. indilib.org/forum/general/878-support-fo...tarshoot-g3-ccd.html
I looked at it at some time back but didn't make any useful progress. I've decided to give it another shot try as I've swung my imaging control over to an Astroberry setup and would like to be able to have this camera available.
I'm starting a new thread here because almost all of this is new to me so I'm hoping others with experience may be able to provide guidance and in case it prompts others with one of these camera's to give it a go as well and pool knowlege.

I've started working through some suggestions from the prior thread . My G3 is a Colour one , it's not clear what will be different for the Black and White variant.
I've not explored trying a memory dump or poking around with the fx2 interface yet (both are potentially big learning curves)

File Attachment:

File Name: Orion_G3_C...hark.zip
File Size:3,834 KB


My progress so far
- Windows 10 client running on VirtualBox on Ubuntu (18.04.0)
- G3 drivers and the Orion Camera Studio installed on the Windows 10 Client (took a while to work through getting USB to play nicely)
- Wireshark (2.6.10) installed on the Ubuntu host and the Linux instructions from wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB worked through to get setup for capturing USB traffic.
- A number of captures run using different scenario's (most with a connect, some operation and a disconnect as well as isolated connects and disconnects). Output zipped and attached.
- I've not at this stage got power handy to run the cooler so tests have been run without it functional . One test included turning the cooler control on and off but without cooler power.
I didn't see any change in the description of the camera in lsusb surrounding the driver setup. The Device number increments each time the camera is plugged in again.

Currently lsusb reports
Bus 002 Device 021: ID 0722:0502 Torex Retail (formerly Logware)
I've been running the wireshark captures on usbmon02 (I took a guess that would map to Bus 002 and traffic appears to match my test activities)
For most captures the offset was 127 and gain 185. Unspecified exposures were 1 second duration. Mostly with the camera reporting around the 31Degree C
The following user(s) said Thank You: Ben Gilsrud
3 years 8 months ago #56317
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 153
  • Thank you received: 29

Replied by Ben Gilsrud on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Hi Bob,
This is really great! Could you also provide the output of "lsusb -vv -d 0722:0502"?

Thanks,
Ben
3 years 8 months ago #56324

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 153
  • Thank you received: 29

Replied by Ben Gilsrud on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Hi Bob,
The captures that you provided are excellent. I think I understand enough to write a simple INDI driver for the camera...though I can't make any promises about a timeline since the next 2 weeks will be brutally busy for me (we're getting ready to sell our house).

I do have a couple of additional requests, if you would be so kind...
1. Could you provide the dimensions of an image that you capture via Orion Camera Studio?
2. Could you provide a packet capture or a 1s image (light, but I don't think it matters) with binning set to 2x2?
3. Could you provide a packet capture of setting the gain to 80 and then 0? What is the gain range that OCS allows?
4. Does OCS show you the temperature of the camera anywhere? Could you note this for the number 2 request above?
5. Could you provide a packet capture of a 100s image?

I've started a project on github at github.com/bgilsrud/indi-orion_ssg3. I've put some notes from the packet captures in a file called analysis if you're interested.

Thanks,
Ben
Last edit: 3 years 8 months ago by Ben Gilsrud. Reason: Added additional request
3 years 8 months ago #56330

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 59
  • Thank you received: 9

Replied by Bob Stephens on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Thanks Ben. I don't think time is at all an issue (I'd put this aside for a couple of years ).
I'll try and gather the extra info you have requested in the next day or two and upload it. I'm not trying to pass the work onto someone else but acknowledge how much I have to learn to do this so anything you can do is very much appreciated.

Cheers Bob
3 years 8 months ago #56340

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 59
  • Thank you received: 9

Replied by Bob Stephens on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Hi Ben, I think I've gathered the requested info.
1. Could you provide the dimensions of an image that you capture via Orion Camera Studio?
- Gimp is reporting the 1x1 size as 752 x 582 pixels, Resolution 72 x 72 ppi, Precision 32-bit linear floating point, 437664 pixels
2. Could you provide a packet capture or a 1s image (light, but I don't think it matters) with binning set to 2x2?
- Both are attached although the 2x2 image and it's wireshark captures were the cause of as number of issues getting the files off a USB drive so I'm a little nervous about them
3. Could you provide a packet capture of setting the gain to 80 and then 0? What is the gain range that OCS allows?
- The gain range is 0-255, the default appears to be 185. Capture attached.
4. Does OCS show you the temperature of the camera anywhere? Could you note this for the number 2 request above?
- Camera temp is shown on one camera control tab
- Camera temp was sitting at 24.8C as the 2x2 binning image was taken but jumped to 25.1C as the image was displayed
-The camera temp on the 100sec image finished at 23.8C
5. Could you provide a packet capture of a 100s image?
- Attached

I'm going to upload the captures as a series of zip files to manage size limits. I did hit a series of issues with reported corrupt files transfering them from the test machine to my main PC (test machine is not setup with credntials for external sites such as this) so there is a possibility that the 2x2 wireshark capture may not be the one associated with the attached image, I think it is though. If you spot anything that does not make sense I can do a clean out and try again.

File Attachment:

File Name: G3_response1a.zip
File Size:899 KB

File Attachment:

File Name: G3_response1b.zip
File Size:2,811 KB

File Attachment:

File Name: G3_response1c.zip
File Size:150 KB

File Attachment:

File Name: G3_response1d.zip
File Size:2,316 KB

I'm impressed by what you pulled out of those traces and how quickly that was done. Is that down to prior hard work and experince or is there a useful tool or getting started guide to help do the analyis?
The following user(s) said Thank You: Ben Gilsrud
3 years 8 months ago #56345
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 153
  • Thank you received: 29

Replied by Ben Gilsrud on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Hi Bob,
Thanks, these additional captures were really helpful. Could I trouble you for one more capture of taking an image with an offset of something other than 127? Any value will do. Is the range of allowable offsets 0-255 in OCS?

Thanks,
Ben
3 years 8 months ago #56370

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 59
  • Thank you received: 9

Replied by Bob Stephens on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Hi Ben, no trouble at all. I'm one of those who would like to have a driver available for this (keen to help where I can regardless of that though)

The offset range is 0-255

File Attachment:

File Name: wireshark_...reen.zip
File Size:1,319 KB

File Attachment:

File Name: Exp-1sec-2....fit.zip
File Size:4,148 KB

File Attachment:

File Name: Exp-1sec-0....fit.zip
File Size:4,189 KB


I've added in a screen capture of the main control panels from the Orion Camera Studio program in case that helps.
In particular I'm wondering if the Colour options will make a difference to the driver. Options are Raw, YcbCr and RGB

Bob
3 years 8 months ago #56377
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 59
  • Thank you received: 9

Replied by Bob Stephens on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Sorry Ben, I'd missed this request yesterday. I'm assuming the 0722 in the request was an error (it didn't produce any output)

bob@bob-Toshiba-GIS:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 07ee:0502 Torex Retail (formerly Logware)
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0020 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0cf3:3005 Atheros Communications, Inc. AR3011 Bluetooth
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 04f2:b1d6 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd CNF9055 Toshiba Webcam
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0020 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
bob@bob-Toshiba-GIS:~$ lsusb -vv -d 07ee:0502

Bus 002 Device 005: ID 07ee:0502 Torex Retail (formerly Logware)
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 64
idVendor 0x07ee Torex Retail (formerly Logware)
idProduct 0x0502
bcdDevice 11.02
iManufacturer 1
iProduct 2
iSerial 3
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 32
bNumInterfaces 1
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 0
bmAttributes 0xc0
Self Powered
MaxPower 100mA
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 2
bInterfaceClass 255 Vendor Specific Class
bInterfaceSubClass 0
bInterfaceProtocol 0
iInterface 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x82 EP 2 IN
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0040 1x 64 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x06 EP 6 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0040 1x 64 bytes
bInterval 100
3 years 8 months ago #56382

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 153
  • Thank you received: 29

Replied by Ben Gilsrud on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Hi Bob,
The good news is that our house sold fast so now I have time to work on this (and look for a house to move into to...preferably one where I can build and observatory!). Also, since I've had some time to let this stew, I think I understand almost all of the packets that you have captured. The only thing that I don't yet fully understand is the temperature reporting...and that's not critical to make a functional driver. Still, hopefully this will make sense eventually.

I should have something to try out in a couple of days. It would be really helpful if you have a setup that can be used to capture a recognizable image. That's usually a little trickier than it sounds, but maybe you can point your telescope out the window at a far away tree or something?

Thanks,
Ben
3 years 8 months ago #56819

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 59
  • Thank you received: 9

Replied by Bob Stephens on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

GlHi Ben, glad to hear you did well with the house sale (and good luck with that next stage). I should be able to get an image with the G3. I'll have a think about how to manage that without messing up my setup too much and get it done as soon as I can.


Bob
3 years 8 months ago #56822

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 59
  • Thank you received: 9

Replied by Bob Stephens on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

I've found the adapters to connect the camera to a small telescope but have not yet managed to capture an image which makes any sense. I probably will run out of light for that experimenting today but I think the next step will be trying you use it from a straight windows laptop with ASCOM correctly setup rather than via Virtual Box and see if I can get the basics working.

Bob
3 years 8 months ago #56823

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 153
  • Thank you received: 29

Replied by Ben Gilsrud on topic Orion StarShoot G3 CCD

Hi Bob,
No rush on getting that setup. I'm just thinking ahead that, once the driver is ready to test, it will be the simplest to capture a known image to verify that it's working correctly. Testing it out under the stars would be extremely difficult and probably annoying.

Thanks,
Ben
3 years 8 months ago #56846

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Time to create page: 0.858 seconds