Paul Nixon replied to the topic 'Has gphoto changed?' in the forum. 3 weeks ago

Okay, I can confirm that something has changed. Whether it's gphoto or something else I don't have the knowledge to determine, but I just issued some relay ops from the command line and have no trouble commanding the shutter on the D5100.

So, what do I do now?

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Paul Nixon created a new topic ' Has gphoto changed?' in the forum. 3 weeks ago

I have two Nikon D5100's that some time ago I used successfully with a KMTronic usb relay for >30s exposures. I tried to use both the past couple of nights and am having trouble even with 30s exposures.

Problem1 - the relay is not firing for >30s exposures. I have verified the relay is working using the KMTronic relay test program and sending FF 01 01, FF 01 00, and FF 01 03 and both visually checking the LED's and the onscreen responses.

The relay shows up as /dev/ttyUSB0 and that's what's set in shutter release port.
This is astroberry 2.0.4 with Kstars 3.6.0 stable
Is there a particular log file I could provide and, if so, where is it?

Problem2 - even when doing 30s exposures, something is amiss - I either get loads of retries or, if I'm imaging a target, it takes some pics then aborts.

Doing a search, I game across this command: gphoto2 --debug --debug-logfile=gphoto.txt --summary which returns:

Camera summary:
Manufacturer: Nikon Corporation
Model: D5100
Version: V1.01
Serial Number: 90774560000000000000000000000000
Vendor Extension ID: 0xa (1.0)
Vendor Extension Description: microsoft.com: 1.0

Capture Formats: JPEG Undefined Type
Display Formats: JPEG, Undefined Type, Association/Directory, DPOF, Script, Apple Quicktime

Device Capabilities:
File Download, File Deletion, File Upload
Generic Image Capture, No Open Capture, Nikon Capture 1, Nikon Capture 2, Nikon Capture 3

Storage Devices Summary:
store_00010001:
StorageDescription:
VolumeLabel:
Storage Type: Removable RAM (memory card)
Filesystemtype: Digital Camera Layout (DCIM)
Access Capability: Read Only with Object deletion
Maximum Capability: 3987267584 (3802 MB)
Free Space (Bytes): 370720768 (353 MB)
Free Space (Images): 15

Device Property Summary:
Battery Level(0x5001):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 100, step 1] value: 100% (100)
Image Size(0x5003):(readwrite) (type=0xffff) Enumeration [
'4928x3264',
'3696x2448',
'2464x1632'
] value: '4928x3264'
Compression Setting(0x5004):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Enumeration [0,1,2,4,5,6,7] value: RAW (4)
White Balance(0x5005):(readwrite) (type=0x4) Enumeration [2,4,5,6,7,32784,32785,32787] value: Preset (32787)
F-Number(0x5007):(read only) (type=0x4) Enumeration [0] value: f/0 (0)
Focal Length(0x5008):(read only) (type=0x6) Range [0 - 0, step 1] value: 0 mm (0)
Focus Mode(0x500a):(read only) (type=0x4) Enumeration [1,32784,32785,32786,32787] value: Manual Focus (1)
Exposure Metering Mode(0x500b):(readwrite) (type=0x4) Enumeration [2,3,4] value: Center Weighted Average (2)
Flash Mode(0x500c):(readwrite) (type=0x4) Enumeration [4,32784,32786] value: Auto (32784)
Exposure Time(0x500d):(readwrite) (type=0x6) Enumeration [2,3,4,5,6,8,10,12,15,20,25,31,40,50,62,80,100,125,166,200,250,333,400,500,666,769,1000,1250,1666,2000,2500,3333,4000,5000,6250,7692,10000,13000,16000,20000,25000,30000,40000,50000,60000,80000,100000,130000,150000,200000,250000,300000,4294967295] value: 4.3e+04 sec (4294967295)
Exposure Program Mode(0x500e):(read only) (type=0x4) Enumeration [1,2,3,4,32784,32785,32786,32787,32788,32790,32791,32792,32793] value: M (1)
Exposure Index (film speed ISO)(0x500f):(readwrite) (type=0x4) Enumeration [100,125,160,200,250,320,400,500,640,800,1000,1250,1600,2000,2500,3200,4000,5000,6400,8000,10000,12800,25600] value: ISO 800 (800)
Exposure Bias Compensation(0x5010):(readwrite) (type=0x3) Enumeration [-5000,-4666,-4333,-4000,-3666,-3333,-3000,-2666,-2333,-2000,-1666,-1333,-1000,-666,-333,0,333,666,1000,1333,1666,2000,2333,2666,3000,3333,3666,4000,4333,4666,5000] value: 2.0 stops (2000)
Date & Time(0x5011):(readwrite) (type=0xffff) '20240303T115547'
Still Capture Mode(0x5013):(readwrite) (type=0x4) Enumeration [1,2,32785,32788,32789,32790] value: Single Shot (1)
Burst Number(0x5018):(readwrite) (type=0x4) Range [1 - 100, step 1] value: 1
Focus Metering Mode(0x501c):(readwrite) (type=0x4) Enumeration [2,32784,32785,32786] value: Single Area (32784)
Reset Bank 0(0xd015):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 0
Auto White Balance Bias(0xd017):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 168, step 1] value: 84
UseDeviceStageFlag(0xd303):(read only) (type=0x2) 1
Property 0xd406:(readwrite) (type=0xffff) 'Windows/6.0.5330.0 MTPClassDriver/6.0.5330.0'
Property 0xd407:(read only) (type=0x6) 1
Tungsten White Balance Bias(0xd018):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 168, step 1] value: 84
Fluorescent White Balance Bias(0xd019):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 168, step 1] value: 84
Daylight White Balance Bias(0xd01a):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 168, step 1] value: 84
Flash White Balance Bias(0xd01b):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 168, step 1] value: 84
Cloudy White Balance Bias(0xd01c):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 168, step 1] value: 84
Shady White Balance Bias(0xd01d):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 168, step 1] value: 84
White Balance Preset Number(0xd01f):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 0
White Balance Preset Value 0(0xd025):(read only) (type=0x6) 18612648
White Balance Preset Value 1(0xd026):(read only) (type=0x6) 30212431
Color Space(0xd032):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 0
Video Mode(0xd036):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 0
Effect Mode(0xd037):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 6, step 1] value: 1
Auto ISO(0xd054):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: Off (0)
Exposure Step(0xd056):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 1/3 (0)
Live View AF Area(0xd05d):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: 1
Live View AF Focus(0xd061):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Enumeration [0,2,3,4] value: 3
Auto Off Timers(0xd066):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: 1
Long Exposure Noise Reduction(0xd06b):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: Off (0)
High ISO noise reduction(0xd070):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: 2
Bracket Set(0xd078):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 4, step 1] value: AE only (1)
No CF Card Release(0xd08a):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: Off (1)
Clean Image Sensor(0xd08f):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: 1
Image Comment String(0xd090):(readwrite) (type=0xffff) ' '
Image Comment Enable(0xd091):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: Off (0)
Image Rotation(0xd092):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: On (0)
Movie Screen Size(0xd0a0):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 9, step 1] value: 9
Movie Microphone(0xd0a2):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 4, step 1] value: 0
MovRecProhibitCondition(0xd0a4):(read only) (type=0x6) 8
Bracketing Enable(0xd0c0):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: Off (0)
Exposure Bracketing Step(0xd0c1):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 7, step 1] value: 0
Exposure Bracketing Program(0xd0c2):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [2 - 2, step 1] value: 2
Auto Exposure Bracket Count(0xd0c3):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [1 - 3, step 1] value: 1
White Balance Bracket Step(0xd0c4):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 2, step 1] value: 0
White Balance Bracket Program(0xd0c5):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [2 - 2, step 1] value: 2
ADLBracketingPattern(0xd0c6):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 0, step 1] value: 0
Lens ID(0xd0e0):(read only) (type=0x2) Unknown (0)
Lens Sort(0xd0e1):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 0
Lens Type(0xd0e2):(read only) (type=0x2) 0
Min. Focal Length(0xd0e3):(read only) (type=0x6) 0 mm (0)
Max. Focal Length(0xd0e4):(read only) (type=0x6) 0 mm (0)
Max. Aperture at Min. Focal Length(0xd0e5):(read only) (type=0x4) f/0 (0)
Max. Aperture at Max. Focal Length(0xd0e6):(read only) (type=0x4) f/0 (0)
Auto Distortion Control(0xd0f8):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 0
Scene Mode(0xd0f9):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 18, step 1] value: 18
Nikon Exposure Time(0xd100):(readwrite) (type=0x6) Enumeration [69536,68736,68036,67536,67136,66786,66536,66336,66176,66036,65936,65856,65786,65736,65696,65661,65636,65616,65596,65586,65576,65566,65561,65556,65551,65549,65546,65544,65542,65541,65540,65539,655385,65538,655376,655373,65537,851978,1048586,131073,1638410,196609,262145,327681,393217,524289,655361,851969,983041,1310721,1638401,1966081,4294967295] value: 4294967295
AC Power(0xd101):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
Warning Status(0xd102):(read only) (type=0x2) 0
Maximum Shots(0xd103):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 99, step 1] value: 9
AF Locked(0xd104):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
AE Locked(0xd105):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
FV Locked(0xd106):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
Active AF Sensor(0xd108):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 11, step 1] value: 11
Flexible Program(0xd109):(readwrite) (type=0x1) Range [-30 - 30, step 2] value: 0
Recording Media(0xd10b):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 2, step 1] value: Card (0)
Camera Orientation(0xd10e):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: 0' (0)
External Flash Attached(0xd120):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
External Flash Status(0xd121):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
External Flash Sort(0xd122):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: 0
External Flash Compensation(0xd124):(read only) (type=0x1) Range [-18 - 18, step 1] value: 0 (0)
External Flash Mode(0xd125):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 7, step 1] value: 0
Flash Exposure Compensation(0xd126):(readwrite) (type=0x1) Range [-18 - 6, step 2] value: 0.0 stops (0)
HDR Mode(0xd130):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 0
HDR High Dynamic(0xd131):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: 0
HDR Smoothing(0xd132):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 2, step 1] value: 1
Active D-Lighting(0xd14e):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 5, step 1] value: 5
Fluorescent Type(0xd14f):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 6, step 1] value: 3
Autofocus Mode(0xd161):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 4, step 1] value: MF (fixed) (3)
Auto ISO P/A/DVP Setting(0xd164):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 23, step 1] value: 18
ISO Auto(0xd16a):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 1
Remote Timeout(0xd16b):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: 1 min (0)
Flash Mode Manual Power(0xd16d):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 5, step 1] value: Full (0)
ISO Auto High Limit(0xd183):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 7, step 1] value: Hi 2 (5)
Live View Status(0xd1a2):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
Live View Image Zoom Ratio(0xd1a3):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 5, step 1] value: 0
Live View Prohibit Condition(0xd1a4):(read only) (type=0x6) 64
Exposure Display Status(0xd1b0):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 3, step 1] value: No (0)
Exposure Indicate Status(0xd1b1):(read only) (type=0x1) Range [-60 - 60, step 1] value: 0.0 stops (0)
Info Display Error Status(0xd1b2):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
Exposure Indicate Lightup(0xd1b3):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: Yes (1)
ContinousShootingCount(0xd1b4):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 99, step 1] value: 11
Property 0xd1b5:(read only) (type=0x4) Enumeration [0,32784,32785,32786,32787,32800] value: 0
Flash Open(0xd1c0):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
Flash Charged(0xd1c1):(read only) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: No (0)
ApplicationMode(0xd1f0):(readwrite) (type=0x2) Range [0 - 1, step 1] value: 0
ExposureRemaining(0xd1f1):(read only) (type=0x4) Range [0 - 65535, step 1] value: 15
Active Pic Ctrl Item(0xd200):(readwrite) (type=0x4) Enumeration [1,2,3,4,5,6,101,102,103,104,201,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209] value: 1
Change Pic Ctrl Item(0xd201):(read only) (type=0x4) Enumeration [] value: 0

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Paul Nixon created a new topic ' Exos2-GT PMC-Eight autopark?' in the forum. 3 weeks ago

We're running Astroberry 2.0.4 with Kstars 3.6.0 Stable on a 4GB RPi4 connected to an Exos2-GT PMC-Eight. We have one small issue - at the end of the night, the mount does not appear to autopark despite having that checked for everyday at 3:00AM. The next morning, the mount is still tracking. We can click "Park" and the mount simply moves to its park position and turns off tracking.

Any idea why autopark not working?

I'd provide logs but I don't think I have any, or if I do, where are they? I don't see anything under /var/log/astroberry or .local/share/kstars/logs

Cheers!

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Much appreciated Kevin! I started mucking with the settings (I had clicked the first check box for grins) without success. Oddly enough, following your lead, with just the other check box checked I still get the same large window ugliness at 150%. So, I've set it back to 149%.

I will try my other laptop. It will probably work just fine - at this point, nothing would surprise me. ;)

Cheers,
Paul

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Finally found the solution - Windows desktop scaling *MUST* be less than 150%. Mine was set to 150% and I had the issues. I set it to 149% and it looks good and Ekos modules window looks good, too. Set it to 151% and it looks ugly again and Ekos modules window collapses as soon as I try to resize.

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Okay, so I'm trying running Kstars on Windows and connecting to Indi server on the Potato - so far it's going okay. I'm running simulators for now, but I've run into a small issue. When I click the "Play" button, I get the usual window for the different modules - guide, focus, mount, etc. It's huge and rather ugly, like it's set to a lower resolution, and the lower half is off the screen. However, when I grab the top edge to resize, it collapses never to be seen again.

What am I missing?

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Hi Kevin and thanks! I like your idea of using the laptop for some of the heavy lifting. I hadn't thought of that!

My current RP's have 4GB. Not blazingly fast but not too bad. I think Aaron might have hit on one potential area of performance savings for the Potato - kill the GUI at boot.

Cheers!
Paul

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Thank you! I take when you say 16-bit instead of 32-bit, you're talking about the color depth? And you're suggestion about the disabling the default GUI - currently, it does boot into XFCE, so it's using a bunch of resources for that. If I disable this at boot will the RDP kick off its own? Or is it doing that anyway, so as currently configured it's running 2 instances of XCFE or whatever?

As for Kstars, I can enable low resource mode for the FITS viewer, but Kevin's idea is likely the way I'll go. I'll be using my laptop anyway - that's how I use the Pi - so yeah, why not, right?

Cheers,
Paul

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I have Astoberry on 2 Raspberry Pi 4's and it is fantastic. But I've had three Pi4's die on me in the past, and given the high cost of pi these days, I decided to try an alternative - Libre Le Potato (2GB, 4 ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.512GHz, 64-bit)

I got Armbian/Ubuntu 22.04 installed, and I got Indi and Kstars installed. I've tested it out over RDP and it does work. However, it is noticeably slower than the Pi4 (to be expected since this is advertised as more of a Pi3 replacement). But I would like to streamline this gadget as much as possible to squeeze out all possible performance. This means getting rid of bloat and unnecessary startup apps and tasks.

I've read Jerry Black's Odroid writeup (my inspiration for attempting this), but that device seems to have enough horsepower to overcome any shortcomings.

I use VNC on the RP4's, but I read RDP is faster, so that's what I'm using on this Le Potato. I'm also using xfce and lightdm.

Further suggestions?

Cheers!

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ugh - turns out I was using an older version of Ubuntu (16.04). I've now updated to 20.04 or 22.04 and the command worked.

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I had my Astroberry die.

So, I am experimenting with trying to install Indi/Ekos/Kstars on an Orange Pi PC+. I have Ubuntu installed, but when I attempt to:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/ppa

I get the following error:
Cannot add PPA: 'ppa:~mutlaqja/ubuntu/ppa'.
ERROR: '~mutlaqja' user or team does not exist.

What did I do wrong?

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