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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

How well do the iOptron mounts play with Ekos?

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Pete,
when reading your logs it looks like you have the typical problem with meridian flips that EKOS calculates your mount being very close behind the meridian, but your mount firmware assumes being before the meridian. This is typically a problem that location or time do not 100% match between your mount and EKOS.

As a resolution I would recommend that you a value of 0.5 degrees and not to 0.0 as it is currently.

Btw, I cannot confirm that the INDI shows the wrong pier side. INDI reports Pier Side: West (pointing East), which should be correct.

HTH
Wolfgang
The following user(s) said Thank You: Pete Kockritz
10 months 3 weeks ago #92671

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Wolfgang,

Thanks for looking at the log. I thought that I had the flip set to occur after the meridian had occurred, but I was playing with settings in that run. Is the value you're talking about 'meridian diff' ? Is that value in hours?

I'm attaching another log that has a MF failure, this one has:
[2023-05-03T11:12:11.530 CDT DEBG ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - Meridian flip planned with LST= "00h 29m 54s"  scope RA= "12h 17m 54s"  ha= 0.199836 , meridian diff= 0.1 , hrstoFlip= -0.0998358 , flipDelayHrs= 0 ,  "Pier Side: East (pointing West)"
...
[2023-05-03T11:12:16.461 CDT WARN ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - Meridian flip failed, pier side not changed

I have a GPS dongle connected to the RPi, it appears that Ekos sends the time & location to the mount since I've configured KStars to use GPS for location and time. I see this in the log:
[2023-05-03T10:52:02.173 CDT INFO ][     org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - "GPS driver detected. KStars and mount time and location settings are now synced to the GPS driver."
But I'll double check that when I start KStars.

Thanks again for your help. We have clouds for the next few days, so I"ll be doing indoor testing to see if I can reproduce this again.

Pete

File Attachment:

File Name: log_10-51-48.zip
File Size:60 KB
10 months 3 weeks ago #92690
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Hi Pete!

Based on your comments it looks like you know this but if it helps in any way, here is the language from the INDI driver page for iOptron mounts. I've generally set the EKOS MF at 2 degrees past and the mount's MF at 5 degrees - that difference more than covers the longest exposure I might expect to take.

FROM THE INDI DRIVER PAGE:
You have to let the mount track some time AFTER CROSSING MERIDIAN, otherwise MF is not going to happen. In iOptron driver, the Meridian Behaviour setting Flip or Stop does not matter here, since Meridian Flip will be triggered by the client (e.g. Ekos); but the Limit you set does matter. Basic rule is:

0 < Client Limit < Mount Limit

Example: set Client (e.g. Ekos) to trigger MF 3° after crossing the meridian, and set mount limit to 6° after crossing meridian. You must set the 6° in the iOptron INDI driver.
Ekos limit should be greater than 0, because Ekos and mount must exactly agree on which side on the meridian we are: allowing to track some degree after crossing it, relaxes the precision needed and accounts for small difference in models and approximations between Ekos and mount firmware.
Mount limit should be greater then Ekos limit, because some time is usually needed to complete the running capture when filp time occurs (should be: MOUNT LIMIT - EKOS LIMIT > LONGEST EXPOSURE PLANNED). And MOUNT LIMIT should be small enough to avoid the mount smashing your equipment on a tripod leg.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Wolfgang Reissenberger, Pete Kockritz
10 months 3 weeks ago #92691

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Pete, there is something strange in your log. The last slew went to 12h 36m 57s, but the meridian flip starts from the position 12h 17m 54s. Do you have an explanation why the mount position has changed?
- Wolfgang
10 months 3 weeks ago #92692

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This was while I was doing some testing inside. What might have happened was that I picked an object to track on and saw how long it would be until the MF happened. I didn't want to wait that long so I picked an object that would cause the MF to occur sooner. (I'm very impatient :) ).

--
iOptron GEM28, Redcat 51, Nikon D7500, WO Uniguide 32/120MM, ZWO ASI120MM Mini
10 months 3 weeks ago #92693

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I have had good success with the iOptron CEm25P and iOptron CEM120EC2. The only problem I still have with the CEM120 is that when I send the mount to the home position it stops sending “pier side” data so my dome gets confused and rotates to 090.

I’m not sure if this is a CEM120 problem or a Nexdome driver problem.
Last edit: 1 month 1 week ago by Peter Kennett.
9 months 3 weeks ago #93253

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is that link updated? what about the hem27/armonic mount? is it compatible?
1 month 1 week ago #99120

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