Ah - my guess was right: In the file libindi/libs/webcam/v4l2_base.cpp there is a commented out part, whos purpose seems to be targeting also the intmenu controls when getting the "normal" menu controls. Function V4L2_Base::enumerate_ctrl(), line 1722:

if ((queryctrl.type == V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU))//|| (queryctrl.type == V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER_MENU)) // not in < 3.5

What does "// not in < 3.5" mean and is this being curently developed or an artefact of a dead end try? (There are several commented out lines regarding the intmenu stuff in this file...)

Just asking - as I saw, that you (Jasem) wrote that file and comitted in January the last edit. My C/C++ coding skills are quite rusty (like 20+ years ago rusty), but I could give it a try, if you don't have the time for it?

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(Upon trying to view the how-to-turn-on-logging video I just got the massage "unknown mime type")

Anyhow - when I start indiserver with debugoption, in the beginning is a list which seems to me like the capabilities-list you spoke of.
Actually I've looked at it before and thats where I got the idea from, that not all driver capabilities are exposed to the GUI. Because here is not only the ISO-Automode listed, but also the ISO setting as well:



But without menu items.

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Ah - I thought that window is the EKOS detailed panel. I just didn't read the windows' title. Sorry for the mixup. I meant in the KStars Settings -> INDI section I can only enter local indiserver.

Ok, that there is no ISO setting in the panel I posted, I know. There is only the switch for "ISO Setting Auto" [Auto | Manual]. Changing that gets reflected in the iso_sensitivity_auto value of v4l2-ctl.
v4l2-ctl --all |grep iso

So somehow the command gets piped from the settings page through indi to the v4l2 driver.

But this should also be possible for changing the actual ISO value, as this is just another v4l2-ctl call. It just doesn't seem to be exposed to the frontend...

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@knro:

I have no way to access the INDI Control Panel in EKOS. In the settings there seems to be only options for a local INDI instance.
As my INDI server runs on a headless RasPi and EKOS/KStars on my laptop, I'll have to enter a remote connection, as I do in the EKOS-Settings.

For ISO capability of the v4l2 driver:
You can change the ISO from the RasPi commandline:

v4l2-ctl --set-ctrl=iso_sensitivity_auto=0,iso_sensitivity=XX

with XX being a valid value for the device. check valid values with:
v4l2-ctl --all |grep iso
(each increase in value doubles the ISO)

I changed mine to 4 (which should be 800 or 1600, documentation is unclear about if 0 or 1 is ISO100) and took daytime images.
The higher ISO resulted in a grainier picture (so far so good), but overall it didn't seem to be any brighter (As it is with a "normal" digital camera, when you increase the ISO). Maybe some internal driver foo reduced exposure time or such.

I have no clue about the internals of the indi_v4l2_ccd driver, if or how requests like "change iso" or "change exposure time" are handled. If there is an API documentation, I haven't found it yet.

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Hi,

first of all a great thanks for making life much easier with indilib and EKOS! It's amazing how quickly one can set up telescope automation with it.

I connected an old Meade ETX90 w/ Autostar to a Raspbery Pi 2 with built in PiCamera v2 and soldered on alt/IMU chip - and everything got recognized nearly without any trouble.

Now for the testing I used a distant clocktower @daylight and everything went well, video-wise. (grayscale, full chip, but with 2x2 binning)

But at the first night test I saw that the light collection of the chip is too low, even with 10s exposure - the max value for the PiCamera.

So I tried to increase binning to the max value of 4x4, but that didn't seem to change anything.

Next step was to increase the ISO value. But - the ISO pulldown in EKOS is greyed out / disabled. (see screenshot)



In the "V4L2 Options" tab there is a "ISO Setting" [ Manual | Auto ], which was set default to "Auto". I tried "Manual" as well (with restart of indiserver inbetween). But the problem remains: The ISO-dropdown in the Capture tab is always disabled.

Does anyone has a suggestion / idea / solution, how to change the ISO setting?
(Or how to get more image signal any other way - software-/driver-wise)


Thanx in advance!

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