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Astro-Physics Experimental driver not working properly in KStars 3.4.2

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Hi Mike,

Thanks for the instructions.

When following your procedure I still run into problems that block me from using the driver.

All goes well until the step where I need to write the park information.
There is no red light next to the part position field and when I try to write the park data, I get an error message that I cannot write parking information while slewing or parking. I also, after a cold start and unparking, seem to be able to park again.

I attach the log file.
Hope somebody can help.

Best regards,

Marcel 

 

File Attachment:

File Name: log_22-55-58.txt
File Size:315 KB
Last edit: 2 years 9 months ago by Marcel Noordman.
2 years 9 months ago #72426
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Removed: message was copy of previous one.
Struggling a bit with using the forum.

M
Last edit: 2 years 9 months ago by Marcel Noordman.
2 years 9 months ago #72428
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Hi Marcel,

The log file did not attach. As there are many steps to getting the procedure working right could you write down your step by step process. It was not clear whether the issues with being unable to write park data relate to a cold or a warm start. Which version KStars are you using?
Unfortunately I am not able to test this currently, although we did use the AP driver in the field recently (last weekend) (latest stable KStars version 3.5.3) and everything seemed to work OK.
If you can attach the log and itemise your work flow hopefully we can help.

Clear skies,

Mike
2 years 9 months ago #72440

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Hi Mike,

I attached the log file to my original message.

I also found out that I am using an old firmware version on my AP1200 GTOCP3 board: version L.
So maybe (probably?) that is the problem. I will upgrade the ROM Chip to version V2 and test again.

Clear Skies!

Marcel
2 years 9 months ago #72450

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Hi Marcel,

Apologies for missing the attachment. Not sure how I missed it.
I will have a look through the log tomorrow. Our mount is a GTO1100 and uses the GTOCP4 controller. I know that the controller version can have a bearing on how the experimental driver interacts however from memory I think that the CP3 should work OK. Definitely worth updating to latest firmware etc.
My experience is only with the GTOCP4 and all the detailed instructions relate to the interaction of the experimental driver with the GTOCP4 controller. Hopefully someone on line running the GTOCP3 will be able to advise if I can't find anything obvious in your log.
I will check the log tomorrow.

Regards

Mike
2 years 9 months ago #72457

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I took a quick look and apparently the driver does not support custom parking positions, so I removed this functionality altogether now in GIT. Please try the next nightly release to see if it behaves any better.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Spartacus
2 years 9 months ago #72464

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Hi Marcel,
Since I wrote the instructions several weeks ago we have found that using warm start does not always work consistently so our work flow is to always do a cold start. So just ensure that you have a "park from" position set that reflects the set up position of the mount before you unpark (as Jasem says custom positions are not advised - I always use park 3 but have tested all positions 1-4 and they all work. Once you are up and running set your "park to" and write the data and save configs.
If you ever get a KStars crash I would always start from scratch, depower the mount and do a cold start as per the instructions. Often after a crash and a simple disconnect/reconnect the mount seems to lose it's position although this may not be apparent on the planetarium and this risks a pier collision. I suppose what I am saying is, until you are really clear and comfortable how the driver works in your set up, do not use it unattended, especially during meridian flips etc. This is still an experimental driver and the warnings are there for a reason. Having said that we have found it works well with the caveats above. Wildi did heaps of work on the driver several months ago and for users in the Southern Hemisphere these changes sorted out the parking behaviour that made the driver unusable for us in Australia. Many thanks to him for the work he did!

I could not find anything obvious in the log but at least the mount is being recognised and does connect OK. If it helps, I spent many weeks testing the driver indoors until I had established a consistent workflow. So don't give up.
If your updates do not help, just keep the information coming on the forum and someone using your controller should be able to assist. The more detail the better as everyone's set up is different.

Mike
2 years 9 months ago #72537

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Installed the nightly and get a much improved initial setup. No longer losing the Park To attribute each time, the write fields appear to have been removed from the Site Management tab. Assume the save under the Options tab is serving all the needs but did not need to use it each startup. Started up a few times and just needed to use the cold start button to get the Parked status.
2 years 9 months ago #72591

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Hi Tom,

Now that sounds interesting. I have not done a nightly build recently as I had a working set up but it sounds worth a look and do some testing.

The weather looks set in for clouds and rain here in Brisbane for the next few days so plenty of opportunities for some indoor testing.

Mike
2 years 9 months ago #72592

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Hi Marcel,

I tested out the revised driver with our set up (AP GTO1100) and it worked flawlessly. Jasem's changes that are available in the current nightly build, mean that you only do a cold start and the site management tab not longer needs any input. Just save your config (in the options tab) after putting your "park from" and "park to" positions. I would specify these rather than use "last parked" as I am not sure this works as consistently and using the "Position 1, 2, 3 or 4" etc.

You need to update your Pi with the nightly build in order to take advantage of the enhanced functionality.

I am writing another workflow and will send you a copy when its done.

Mike
2 years 9 months ago #72690

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Ready to test....

Rookie question: how do I install nightly build on my pi4?
And how do I check that I have the right version of the driver before I start testing?

Marcel
2 years 9 months ago #72720

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Hi Marcel,

Here is the link to instructions for ubuntu and other Linux platforms-
indilib.org/download.html
I was unclear what platform you are using but if you look here
edu.kde.org/kstars/
there are general instructions too.

I'm not sure that you need the gsc any more and the last time I used this command it did not work so if you have this problem omit gsc from the commands (see below). Just type these into terminal.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/indinightly
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indi-full kstars-bleeding gsc

This will lock in the ppa repository to be updated when you do a software update. The latest nightly build should show as Version 3.5.4 beta (find this in the "help" menu in "about KStars").
As the nightly build can introduce instabilities, once you find the setup works I would go into the "software update" settings in the Administration dropdowns and uncheck the indinightly updates and any stable updates in regard to KStars/indi. This is in the "other software tab." This will lock in the working version and avoid updating for a while until you gain confidence in the system.
I will send you my workflow that I tested a couple of days ago which worked well, I will have to send this from another computer.
Mike
2 years 9 months ago #72735

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