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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

NexStar Evolution/AUX driver updates

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  • Thank you received: 57
There is an updated version of the NexStar Evolution / Celestron AUX driver in the repository.
It is not compiled in the standard packaging due to the early stage of the driver.
It is ready for careful testing. But please do not use it unattended.
It is not ready for remote autonomous operation.

The new version sports multiple bugfixes and some enhancements:
  • Better communication with support for different scope addresses
  • Config save/load
  • Par/Unpark/Abort support
  • GPS support
  • GPS emulator. If the host running the driver has gps driver running the NS Evo driver will respond
    to the hand controller requests for position and time. It works nice with RaspberryPi + GPS module.
    Even if you are not using the driver for scope control the HC gets position and time from the GPS.
    There is no UI for that functionality yet - but it just works if you connect the driver to the scope with HC connected.
    It works like replacement for the Celestron GPS module

Right now I am working on the implementation of two main features:
  • Movement limits / safety features
  • custom tracking rates in the driver. Particularly satellite tracking mode.
Watch this space.

At this moment I can really use some external testing. Be warned - this is beta level code.
Particularly it does not have movement limiting code implemented. Have your power switch ready.
Although there was no unexpected movements in my tests so far.
If you need help compiling the driver contact me.
It works on PC linux and Raspbian (RPi 2).

Comments/criticism/patches will be appreciated!
8 years 1 month ago #6922

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Small addition. I have added small example script to activate GPS emulation on the headless system (like raspberry pi) without any indi client running. This way you can use RPi + GPS module (like adafruit ultimate GPS hat = $45) as a cheaper replacement for the Celestron GPS module (>$170 - $300 list price). It works quite nicely over WiFi - you can have the RasPi just laying around - no need to add any additional cables.
8 years 1 month ago #6930

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How can users test it since it's not in the PPA now? Maybe include instructions to compile it? or it can be added to PPA as well.
8 years 1 month ago #6984

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Sure! You are right.
The packaging files are ready and already in the repository.
I am not too sure about adding it to ppa. Some users may think it is fully production ready. I am not that confident yet, it is close though - I need to implement manual axis movement and/or joystick control. But I will add the detailed instructions into the README which is already in the indi-nexstarevo directory. I'll do it shortly.
8 years 1 month ago #6987

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Here are compilation instructions for the NexStar Evolution driver.
They are also present in the README.md file in the driver directory.
The driver is not included in the PPA distribution yet - due to its alpha/beta
state. So to use it you need to compile it from the source yourself.
You can make a stand-alone compilation or build the debian packages for your
system. It should be fairly easy. Let me know if something in the following
guide is wrong or if you have problem with compiling the driver.

Get the source

You can get the source from the SVN repository of the system on sourceforge
maintained by the INDI project (see the website of the project) or get it
from the github mirror of the sourceforge repository maintained by the author
of this driver. Both will do fine. The github repository lets you track the
development of the driver more closely in the nse branch of the repository,
since only master branch is uploaded back to the upstream SVN repository.
  • Make some working directory and change into it.
  • Get the source from the SVN or from github master branch - it takes a while
    the repo is 64MB in size. These should at least compile and are kept
    consistent - in the nse branch you may encounter WIP state with inconsistent
    state of the driver. From github you get it like this:
      git clone https://github.com/jochym/indilib.git
  • Create build directory at the same level as indilib directory created above.

Compiling on any linux system

The compilation is simple. You will need indi libraries installed. The best way
is to install libindi-dev package from the PPA. You may also want to have
indi-gpsd and gpsd packages installed (not strictly required). If you cannot use
the PPA you need to install libindi-dev from your distribution or compile the
indi libraries yourself using instructions from the INDI website. I have not
tested the backward compatibility but the driver should compile and work at
least with the 1.1 version of the library. My recommendation: use PPA if you
can. To compile the driver you will need also: cmake, cdbs, libindi-dev,
libnova-dev, zlib1g-dev. Run following commands (you can select other install
prefix):
cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local . ../indilib/3rdparty/indi-nexstarevo/
make
You can run 'make install' optionally at the end if you like to have the driver
properly installed.


Building debian/ubuntu packages

To build the debian package you will need the debian packaging tools:
build-essential, devscripts, debhelper, fakeroot

Create 'package' directory at the same level as indilib directory with the
cloned source. Then execute:
cd package
ln -s ../indilib/cmake_modules .
cp -r ../indilib/debian/indi-nexstarevo debian
cp -r ../indilib/3rdparty/indi-nexstarevo/* .
fakeroot debian/rules binary
fakeroot debian/rules clean
this should produce two packages in the main build directory (above `package`),
which you can install with:
sudo dpkg -i indi-nexstarevo_*.deb
.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq
8 years 1 month ago #6991

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