INDI Library - Recently Added Listings - SkyWatcher https://indilib.org/ Fri, 29 Mar 2024 02:43:07 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 SkyWatcher Alt/Az https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/skywatcher-alt-az-dobsonian.html

Installation:

INDI Skywatcher Alt-Az Driver is installed by default with INDI. To install under Ubuntu:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install indi-bin

 Features

The driver uses SkyWatcher protocol to directly control Alt-Az mounts without the need for the Synscan hand controller. In addition to general Park/Unpark and GOTO (SLEW) capability, it supports SYNC, TRACK and pulse guiding. It is designed to work with KStars, Ekos and other INDI-compatible planetarium automation platforms.

 INDI Main Contro Panel

Current features are:

  • GoTo Coordinates
  • Slew & Sync
  • Slew Rates
  • Sidereal Tracking rate
  • Full joystick support
  • Pulse Guiding

Mount should be in the Park Position (scope horizontal, pointing North) prior to driver connection for best results.

 

Connectivity

There are basically two way to connect your mount to your computer (PC or Raspberry PI/StellarMate):  Direct serial cable or Network. In either case you are directly connecting to the motor controller of the mount and the driver does not utilize the services of the Synscan Hand Controller or Synscan app.

1. USB

 SkyWatcherAltAzMount INDI Connection USB Panel

Connect a USB cable from the mount directly to a USB port on your PC or StellarMate. Depending on your specific mount, you might need to change the default baudrate of 9600 to whichever rate supported by your mount. You can select the USB serial port from the available port detected on the system.

For AZ-GTi mounts in Alt-Az configuration, connect from the RJ12 port to PC/StellarMate using a proper cable.

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2. Network (WiFi)

SkyWatcherAltAzMount indi ConnectionTCP2

Network WiFi connectivity to current SkyWatcher models is available via a built-in WiFi device. Previous models require a WiFi dongle attached to the motor controller. Both WiFi devices operate in much the same way.

The default mode for both the internal and dongle WiFi is HOTSPOT/ADHOC mode and the default address of the motor controller is 192.168.4.1 and the default password is not set. This is important to note, as if no device connects to the motor controller within a given time period (15 minutes to 24 hours, depending on firmware version), the HOTSPOT resets to this default configuration. The default configuration uses DHCP to assign an address when connecting from your computer.  The AZ-GTi driver shows a typical network diagram image here.

SkyWatcherAltAzMount indi ConnectionTCP

It is important to note the router in the SkyWatcher HOTSPOT is not robust, and while it will suffice for telescope control and visual astronomy, connecting multiple devices to the internal HOTSPOT router and porting images through it between devices may be beyond its capability. In this case, it may be advantageous to switch to Station Mode and configuring the Wifi as a client to connect to your local WiFi network. With the current model motor controllers that have internal WiFi, this is done using a computer, phone or tablet running the Synscan program or app, and as private netorks vary, is beyond the scope of this tutorial. The image above, however, shows a typical configuration for a home network (192.168.5.0/24) where the telescope address has been set via DCHP to permanently be 192.168.5.111. It is recommended that a static IP be used if setting up on a home WiFi network.

Note that the protocol is UDP and will not work if set to TCP. Presently, all SkyWatcher WiFi motor controllers communicate via UDP.

3. First Time Connecting

SkyWatcherAltAzMount INDI Options Panel

Enter the appropriate information into the Connection tab when running the driver for the first time, then select the Options tab and press SAVE to save the settings. You may also wish to enter telescope or accessory information in this tab. KStars, Ekos and other programs may make use of these data if provided. If you change settings in future, always remember to return to the Options tab to save your settings again.

 Operation

Main Control

 SkyWatcherAltAzMount indi Main Control

It is most practical to use Ekos or some other INDI client to control the mount, however some basic functions may be performed in the INDI Control Panel.  The Main Control tab shows the current connection and park status.  The "Connection" indicator must be green and the mount listed as UnParked for the driver to execute any motion commands.  While it may not seem necessary for parking/unparking to be implemented on what is typically a portable mount, parking the scope at the end of the session and unparking it at the beginning of a session may improve initial slew accuracy and may be required for more permanent installations in a domed or automated roof environment. UnPark does not move the mount, however Park will slew the mount and return it to its parked position (horizontal, pointing North).

The "On Set" buttons govern the action to be taken after new "Eq. Coordinates" are set.  They may be use to Slew or Sync the mount or simply begin tracking once the "Set" butten is pressed.

"Abort Motion" will command the mount motor system to stop all motion.  It may be used to avoid a scope collision with an unexpected obstacle or to halt a slew started by a client or the Motion Control tab.

Alignment

The Alignment tab in the default configuration show show one green indicator at startup for "Alignment Subsystem Active."  Other settings on this tab are for specialty applications and advanced use beyond the scope of this tutorial.  No adjustment for these parameters is required for general use.

Motion Control

SkyWatcherAltAzMount INDI Motion Control

The "Motion N/S,"  (North/South) and "Motion W/E" "West/East" may be used to start the scope slewing at the listed "Slew Rate."  If you are not using a Joystick or INDI Client with a mount simulator, it may be necessary to press the "Abort Motion" Abort button on the Main Control tab to stop the slew.  It is not intended for fine adjustments.

The "Slew Rate" may be adjusted at any time.  It is suggested that a low to moderate slew rate be selected initially, whether in the Motion Control tab or an INDI compatible Client.  Remember to return to the Options tab and save your settings once you have found a setting you like.

"Slew Mode" defaults to "Normal."  "Silent" mode is not as loud, but may not allow some of the faster "Slew Rates" on some mounts.

Mounts without SoftPEC may enable "SoftPEC Mode" for tracking.  Otherwise, the default setting is "Disabled."  It is best to begin with the default SoftPEC value if you Enable SoftPEC.

"Guide Rates" are set to a default of 120.000 arcsec/second for both RA and DEC.  Most guiding software will override these values and the current recommendation is to leave them at the default value.

Site Management

 SkyWatcherAltAzMount INDI Site Management Tab

It is critical that the information in the Site Management tab is accurate.  KStars-Ekos, GPS add-on devices and some clients will populate these fields if properly configured, however some clients will not.  If the startup time/date and Lat/Lon values are incorrect or missing, accurate pointing will not be possible.

Detailed Mount Information

SkyWatcherAltAzMount INDI Detailed Mount Information Tab

The Detailed Mount Information tab is primarily detail for troubleshooting.  It shows real-time process during mount operations.  The data elements displayed are polled from the mount by the indi driver upon startup.

Guide

SkyWatcherAltAzMount indi Guide

The Guide tab is for entries of minor adjustments to the pulse guiding system.  In most cases, these adjustments are best made within the guiding software.  Use with care.

 

]]>
JonCarleton Tue, 29 Dec 2020 15:02:45 +0100 https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/skywatcher-alt-az-dobsonian.html
Skywatcher Virtuoso (Alt/Az) https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/skywatcher-virtuoso-alt-az.html

Installation

Included with libindi v1.4.1 or later. To install it under Ubuntu:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install indi-full

Note: the old name of the driver is Skywatcher API Mount (executable: indi_skywatcherAPIMount).

Features

This driver supports Alt-Az mounts, but it was tested with Skywatcher Virtuoso.

Basic functions such as Track, Sync, and Park/Unpark are supported.

General Considerations

How to start with a Virtuoso mount:

1. Before connecting, the telescope or the DSLR on the Virtuoso mount should roughly point to Polaris (use the Sync method later to finetune the position). In practice, align the mount to true North-South and point a pin to the local latitude. The manual latitude setting of the mount with buttons 2+3 are NOT needed, INDI works independently from the manual mount settings.
2. The driver assumes by default that the telescope/DSLR is parked. Set the desired unpark position in the settings and click on Unpark button (Main Control tab) to move the telescope to a starting (unparked) position. The telescope motion control will be fully operational after unparking.
3. There are two slewing modes for the telescope: Silent (slower-and-silent) and Normal (quick-and-loud). It is configurable, the Silent mode is the default.

On connection, the mount sets the controller time and location.

Before syncing the mount make sure that the correct side of the pier is selected in the Main Control tab.

When using the driver for the first time, ensure to set the telescope's aperture and focal length in the Options tab. 

Software PEC

The Skywatcher Virtuoso mount does not have PEC implementation to learn and correct the mechanical errors, but the mount has a constant drift on the Alt axis downwards in tracking mode. This error makes impossible to keep the target in smaller FOVs (e.g. 40x30 arcmin with the shipped Heritage 114p telescope+CCD camera). The drift was checked and was found about 0.009 degree/minute. Support was added to the driver for this static compensation and it was named SoftPEC (software PEC). This feature is enabled by default for Virtuoso mounts in the driver.

How does it work?

- It should just work transparently out-of-the-box.

- The software PEC is enabled only if the mount is in Track mode. Over time, the mount driver correct the vertical drift with the SoftPEC value. The software correction does not change the position of the red mount cross-hairs in KStars during Track mode.

- When the Track mode is stopped, the SoftPEC is switched off and drift correction is reset. The red mount cross-hairs will jump position according to the real position of the axis encoders in KStars while the mount will not really move anywhere.

- If you have a small FOV (<= 1°-2°) because a DSLR or CCD camera is attached to a main telescope: the Virtuoso mount will be misaligned too much just by moving to a new not-near position. Do an "Capture & Align" with Sync "Solver Action" all the time before start a target tracking. When the target is locked well in the FOV by the beginning, the standard tracking with SoftPEC enabled in INDI will do a great job.

How to calculate custom SoftPEC value?

1. Start the mount according to the General Considerations.

2. Disable the SoftPEC in the mount configuration.

3. To calculate the vertical drift repeated alignment calculation will be done in the following steps.

4. Start track a target for alignment where the vertical Azimuth axis is mostly parallel with RA axis on the sky. You can check this in Stellarium, by switching on both with keys E and Z. Check where the vertical blue and orange lines are mosly parallel and start to track a target there. This is needed because the mount drifts on the vertical axis and we need to get this vertical (Alt) component during tracking for the SoftPEC.

5. Run an alignment on the Alignment tab with Capture & Solve. The first dRA and dDE will be quite high.

6. Wait until the mount syncs and goes back to the original target. Select Nothing for Solver Action and run a Capture & Solve again immediately. The dRA and dDE values should be minimal (a few arcsecs).

7. Wait 5 or 10 minutes and run a Capture & Solve again. Inspect the dRA and dDE values. dRA should be quite minimal, but dDE will be _negative_ and several arcmins (<= -5 arcmin). Get the absolute value of dDE, convert to degrees and divide by the minutes how much you waited to run "Capture & Solve". For example, if you waited 5 minutes and dDE was -03' arcmin: |-3'| = 3' -> 0.05°, 0.05° / 5 min => SoftPEC Value = 0.01.

8. Just set your custom SoftPEC Value in the mount driver configuration page, enable SoftPEC and test it. It can be finetuned if it was a bit over- or underestimated.

Issues

There are no known bugs for this driver. If you found a bug, please report it at INDI's github page:
https://github.com/indilib/indi

]]>
kecsap Wed, 15 Mar 2017 23:25:41 +0100 https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/skywatcher-virtuoso-alt-az.html
AZ-GTi Equatorial Wedge WiFi Only https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/az-gti.html

Installation

INDI AZ-GTi Driver based on EQMod driver and is released as a 3rd party driver and requires INDI Library >= v1.7.5. To Install the driver under Ubuntu:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install indi-eqmod

Features

This INDI driver interacts with a mount controller using the Skywatcher Protocol through WiFi 

  • Goto/Slew at maximum microstep resolution
  • Independent slew speeds for both axes variable between x0.05 to x800 of the sidereal rate (step x0.05)
  • Sidereal, lunar, solar and custom trackrates
  • Custom horizon limits
  • PEC training
  • Configurable custom parking positions
  • Pulse-guiding
  • ST4 Guiding
  • Full joystick support

Connectivity

The device running the EQMod driver (StellarMate/PC) should be connected to the mount WiFi HotSpot. There is no need to use the Synscan App. In the Connection tab, select Ethernet.

The mount supports two connection modes:

HotSpot Mode

This is the default mode. When the mount is powered, it is put into HotSpot Mode where it creates its own HotSpot wireless network (IP address 192.168.4.1). In this mode, the mount acts as the router all other devices must connect to it. 

If the mount is started in HotSpot Mode, then connect the PC/StellarMate to the mount open WiFi network. Then enter the IP address as 192.168.4.1 and port 11880. Go to options and click Save configuration. Now you can connect directly to the mount. The machine running the client (Ekos, PixInsight, SkyCharts..etc) should also be connected to the Mount WiFi HotSpot as well so that the mount, driver, and client are ALL on the same network which is in this case the Mount WiFi HotSpot network.

AZ GTi HotSpot

The IP address in the image above for the devices connected to the mount WiFi are just examples. Usually, the first device that connects to the Mount HotSpot gets IP address 192.168.4.2 and so on.

Station Mode

With this mode, the mount can join an existing WiFi network. This method is recommended since the controlling PC/StellarMate can connect to the mount and also to other devices on the network; whereas in the HotSpot mode, they must exclusively connect the mount' own internal network.

To use Station Mode instead, please follow these steps

  • Connect to AZ-GTi "SynScan_xxxx" wifi hotspot
  • Start/connect SynScan app
  • Go to Settings/Wi-Fi settings
  • There are two sections - Modify Access Point and Modify Station
  • Click Modify Station. There you can enable it (it's disabled by default)
    • If StellarMate HotSpot is active, then put Stellarmate SSID and password.
    • If StellarMate is connected to existing WiFi network, then select the desired SSID and password.
  • The IP address reported by the IP is the IP address you need to put in the Connections tab of the driver in INDI Control Panel.
  • Both modes can be enabled at the same time.

Station Mode to StellarMate

The follow image illustrates the connection topology for connect the mount in Station Mode to StellarMate WiFi HotSpot. All other devices must be connected to StellarMate WiFi HotSpot as well.

AZ GTi Station Mode

Station Mode to Home WiFi

In this mode, all the devices are connected to the home WiFi router. When setting the mount to Station Mode via the Synscan App, select the home wifi SSID and put the password to connect to it.

AZ GTi Station WiFi

Operation

Once AZ-GTi is online, it loads mount, alignment, parking, and horizontal limits settings if they exist. Its location defaults to the celestial pole unless a custom parking position is set previously.

Main Control

The main control tab is where the primary control of EQMod takes place. To track an object, enter the equatorial of date (JNow) coordinates and press Set. The mount shall then slew to an object and once it arrives at the target location, it should engage tracking at the selected tracking rate which default to Sidereal tracking. Slew mode is different from track mode in that it does not engage tracking when slew is complete. To sync, the mount must be already tracking. First change mode to Sync, then enter the desired coordinates then press Set. Users will seldom use this interface directly since many clients (e.g. KStars) can slew and sync the mount directly from the sky map without having to enter any coordinates manually.

Four tracking modes are supported: Sidereal, Lunar, Solar, and Custom. When using Custom mode, the rates defined in Track Rates shall be used. Tracking can be enganged and disenganged by toggling the Tracking property.

Options

 Under the options tab, you can configure many parameters before and after you connect to the mount.

  • Snoop Devices: Indicate which devices EQMod should communicate with:
    • GPS: If using a GPS driver (e.g. INDI GPSD) then enter its name here. EQMod shall sync its time and location settings from the GPS driver.
    • Dome: If using a Dome driver, put its name here so that Dome Parking Policy can be applied.
  • Configuration: Load or Save the driver settings to a file. Click default to restore default settings that were shipped with the driver.
  • Simulation: Enable to disable simulation mode for testing purposes.
  • Debug: Enable debug logging where verbose messaged can be logged either directly in the client or a file. If Debug is enabled, advanced properties are created to select how to direct debug output. Watch a video on how to submit logs.
  • Dome Parking Policy

    If a dome is used in conjunction with the mount, a policy can be set if parking the mount or dome can interfere with the safety of either. For example, you might want to always park the mount before parking the dome, or vice versa. The default policy is to ignore the dome.

    • Ignore dome: Take no action when dome parks or unparks.
    • Dome locksPrevent the mount from unparking when dome is parked.
    • Dome parks: Park the mount if dome starts parking. This will disable the locking for dome parking, EVEN IF MOUNT PARKING FAILS.
    • Both: Dome locks & Dome parks policies are applied.

    eqmod options
  • Scope Properties: Enter the Primary and Seconday scope information. Up to six different configurations for Primary and Secondary Guider telescopes can be saved separately, each with an optional unique label in Scope Name property.
  • Scope Config: Select the active scope configuration.
  • Joystick: Enable or Disable joystick support. An INDI Joystick driver must be running for this function to work. For more details, check the INDI Telescope Joystick tutorial.
  • Backlash: Set RA & DEC backlash in microsteps.

Motion Control

eqmod motion

Under motion control, manual motion controls along with speed and guide controls are configured.

  • Motion N/S/W/E: Directional manual motion control. Press the button to start the movement and release the button to stop.
  • Slew Rate: Rate of manual motion control above when 1x equals sidereal rate.
  • Guide N/S/W/E: Guiding pulses durations in milliseconds. This property is meant for guider application (e.g. PHD2) and not intended to be used directly.
  • Guiding Rate: Guiding Rate for RA & DE. 0.3 means the mount shall move at 30% of the sidereal rate when the pulse is active. The sideral rate is ~15.04 arcseconds per second. So at 0.3x, the mount shall move 0.3*15.04 = 4.5 arcsecond per second. When receving a pulse for 1000ms, the total theoritical motion 4.5 arcseconds.
  • Custom Speeds: Customs speeds in RA & DEC axis when performing slew motion.
  • Track Default: Default tracking rate to be used on startup.
  • ST4 N/S/W/E: If the mount is receiving guiding pulses via ST4, apply this rate.

Site Management

Time, Locaiton, and Park settings are configured in the Site Management tab.

eqmod site

  • UTC: UTC time and offsets must be set for proper operation of the driver upon connection. The UTC offset is in hours. East is positive and west is negative.
  • Location: Latitude and Longitude must be set for proper operation of the driver upon connection. The longitude range is 0 to 360 degrees increasing eastward from Greenwich.
  • Parking Position: Upon connection to the mount, Ekos loads these values into the mount's motor controller to initialize the (stepper) motor step values. The default values represent the home position where the mount points to the celestial pole - i.e. 0 deg RA, 90 deg DEC.
  • Parking: To set the parking position of the mount to the home position, click “Default”, then "Write Data" - this saves the home values as the parking values. To set the parking position of the mount to a custom position, slew the mount to the desired position and click “Current”, then "Write Data" - this saves the current motor step values as the parking values.
    • IMPORTANT: For the first time Ekos connects to the mount, or if for any reason the parking position has become incorrect. Make sure the mount is in the home position, power up the mount, connect Ekos and set the parking position to home by clicking “Default”, then "Write Data".

Firmware

Firmware tab displays information on the detected mount type and firmware version. Furthermore, the RA/DE steps, frequencies, and gear ratios are displayed.

eqmod firmware

Motor Status

The stepper motors positions and work periods are displayed in addition to the status of each motor. If the mount is equipment with auxiliary encoders, then their position shall be displayed

eqmod motor status

Alignment 

By default the alignment mode is set to N-Star, every time you perform a sync, a new sync point is added to the model. You need to save the alignment points file if you want the driver to utilize them on the next startup. You can perform all these operations in the Align tab. The EQMod driver is currently transition to the INDI Alignment Subsystem and this section shall be updated when the transition is over to avoid duplicate information.

Under Options, you can select to utilize INDI's Alignment Subsystem instead of EQMod's own alignment system. However, the Alignment Subsystem is currently not stable so it is recommended to use EQMod alignment system which is on by default.

PEC

PEC training works the same way as with the handcontroller. Guide on a star, engage PEC training and the firmware will wait for the mount pass the worm indexer and then records the resulting speeds in the EEPROM of the motor microcontroller. When it has finished (worm indexer) it toggles a status bit and you can see in the INDI Control panel the status of PEC training becoming green (whereas it remains busy/yellow while training).

PEC/PEC training is enabled in INDI EQMod for mounts which supports it, EQ8, AZEQ5/6, EQ6R too apparently. It is a motor controller firmware feature, the INDI driver just sends the corresponding commands to start/stop PEC/PEC training and do not then bother about it. Please note that the firmware PEC+guiding may not be a good idea as the firmware changes the motor speed unconditionnally, so some guide commands may be lost.

Horizon Limits

For horizon limit just slew to the points along the horizon you want to set and hit the Add current button. The order of points is significant as Horizon uses a linear approximation between them. When you have finished hit the Write File button (saved in ~/.indi/HorizonData.txt which you can manually edit also).

Issues

There are no known bugs for this driver. If you find a bug, please report it at INDI's Github issues page

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knro Tue, 04 Feb 2014 17:05:31 +0100 https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/az-gti.html
EQMod https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/eqmod.html

Installation

The EQMod Mount driver is available for download as a 3rd party driver from INDI's download page. Under Ubuntu, you can install it via::

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install indi-eqmod

Features

This INDI EQMod Mount driver interacts with a mount controller using the Skywatcher Protocol through a serial link. It can directly drive SkyWatcher and similar mounts through a serial port (see EQDIRECT interface for more details), or any other mount hardware which uses this protocol. The EQMod Mount driver can also be used with the Synscan controller if PC Direct Mode is enabled in the handset. However, this approach can be problematic and generally not recommended. For wired connections, using EQDirect cable is recommeneded.

The INDI control panel exposes data associated with the device and permits parameters to be set. In normal operation, higher level software, such as EKOS, will control the mount, but this document will utilise the INDI control panel GUI to explain the available features.

Current features supported:

  • Accurate gotos
  • Multiple alignment point and alignment algorithm support
  • Independent slew speeds for both axes variable between x0.05 to x800 of the sidereal rate (step x0.05)
  • Sidereal, lunar, solar and custom trackrates
  • Maintainance of pier-side
  • Custom horizon limits
  • Configurable custom parking positions
  • Both pulse and ST4 guiding support
  • Dome integration support
  • PPEC mount support
  • Joystick support

If you plan to use EQMod driver with AstroEQ, make sure to use the latest firmware v8.11+ as prior AstroEQ versions will fail to work with EQMod.

Connectivity

1. Cable (EQ Direct or USB)

To connect to the EQMod mount from a PC, Mac or a device like Raspberry PI, use a USB cable (if this is supported by the mount) or a EQDirect USB cable (such as those offered by Shoestring Astronomy).

Many vendors sell USB to RJ45/DB9 EQDirect-compatible cables and adapters. You connect the USB to your computer or embedded device running INDI and then use the driver to control the mount.

For direct USB connections to AZEQ5 or EQ6R Mounts, make sure to set the baud rate to 115200

2. Network

If EQMod is available over the network via an RS232-to-Ethernet adapter for example, use Ethernet connection mode and enter the corresponding IP address and port where the remote server is located.

3. Bluetooth

For bluetooth adapters, several adapters are avaiable from, for example, Shoestring Astronomy. When using Bluetooth adapter, it is highly recommended to remove modemmanager as it interfers with connection with EQMod driver. To remove it, use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove modemmanager

Then you can either use your OS built-in Bluetooth manager to pair with the EQMod Bluetooth adapeter, or you can permenantly bind it by adding the following line to your /etc/rc.local

rfcomm bind hci0 XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX 1 &

Replace XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX with your Bluetooth adapter MAC Address. To get the MAC address, use the hciconfig command to list bluetooth devices and their correspnding information.

Operation

Before starting the driver, make sure the mount is in the Park position and then power it up. The Park position can be set in the Site Management tab. By default, it is set to the Home position is which the telescope is pointing to the celestial pole with the weights down.

Then start the EQMod Mount driver. Once the driver is online, it will load the mount configuration.

First Time Use

When running the driver for the first time, go to the Connection tab and select the port to connect to. You can also try connecting directly and the driver will automatically scan the system for candidate ports. If EQMod is connected the network via a Serial-TCP (Ethernet or WiFi) adapter, then you can select Ethernet mode and enter the IP address and port for the adapter connected to the mount. After making changes in the Connections tab, go to Options tab and save the settings.

Main Control Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.08.12.png

The Main Control tab is where the primary control of EQMod takes place. Users will seldom use this interface directly since most people will use powerful software such as Kstars/Ekos above the EQMod Mount driver to slew and sync the mount directly from the sky map without having to enter any coordinates manually. However, if necessary, control of the mount can be done from here:

  • Connection: Displays and sets whether the driver is connected or not.
  • On set: Describes the action to take when coordinates are set:
    • Track: In this mode, when coordinates have been entered and set, the mount will slew to the coordinates entered and when it arrives there, it will engage tracking.
    • Slew: In this mode, when coordinates have been set, the mount will slew to the new coordinates only.
    • Sync: In this mode, when coordinates have been set, the mount will not move, but synchronise itself to the coordinates that have been entered. Note that the mount must be tracking in order for Sync to work.
  • Eq Coordinates: The RA / Dec coordinates that the mount is currently pointing to.
  • Abort Motion: Can be activated to stop the mount if it is slewing.
  • Track Mode:
    • Sidereal: This is used for DSO photography and often for Planetary photography. It compensates for the rotational spin movement of the Earth about its axis. This rotational movement is what makes objects appear to move across the sky. By compensating for it, from the perspective of the telescope (and camera) the object being viewed appears to be stationery and thus long exposures can be taken without star trails.
    • Solar: This is used for Solar imaging. The mode combines Sidereal with the movement necessary to compensate for the Earth's rotation around the Sun.
    • Lunar: This is used for Lunar imaging. The mode combines Sidereal with the movement necessary to compensate for the Moon's rotation around the Earth.
    • Custom: Custom track rates can be defined in Track Rates.
  • Tracking: Can be set On / Off.
  • Track Rates: Displays the RA / Dec track rates associated with Track Mode. If Custom Track Mode is set, allows values to be set.
  • Parking: Allows the mount to be parked or unparked:
    • Parking: The mount slews to the Park position and Tracking is turned off. Once Parked, the mount cannot be moved, i.e. it cannot slew or track.
    • Unparking: The mount position remains in the Park position, but it is now available to slew and track.
  • Pier Side. Which side of the Meridian the mount is on (either East or West).
  • Hor. Coordinates. This is a translation of Eq. Coordinates into the Alt / Az coordinate system.
  • Reverse DEC. Reverse the Dec axis.
  • Target Pier Side:
    • Auto: The EQMod Mount driver calculates the pier side based on where the telescope is pointing and data in the Site Management tab. This is displayed in Pier Side. This is the recommended setting.
    • West (pointing east): Force the mount to use the West side of the pier. Generally it is better to let the driver manage Pier Side and allow higher level software such as Ekos to perform a Meridian Flip as the telescope crosses the Meridian. However, there could be situations where, for example, an object is being viewed a short period of time before it crosses the Meridian and it is more efficient to start on the "wrong" side of the Meridian and continue viewing uninterrupted rather than use Auto, start observing and immediately have a Meridian Flip. Please note, however, that care needs to be taken to avoid the telescope hitting the mount if this option is selected.
    • East (pointing west): Force the mount to use the East side of the pier.

Connection Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.09.55.png

The Connection tab shows information related to the connection of the Eqmod Mount driver to the mount.

  • Driver Info: Displays information about the driver.
  • Connection Mode:
    • Serial: Use this if connecting using USB either directly or through an EQDir cable.
    • Ethernet: Uase this if connecting using ethernet.
  • Ports: Displays the attached port and allows it to be changed.
  • Baud Rate: The baud rate of the connection. Use 9,600 with an EQDir cable and 115,200 for a direct USB connection.
  • Auto Search: If enabled, the driver automatically scans the system for candidate ports on startup or when Refresh is activated.
  • Refresh: If Auto Search is enabled, when Scan Ports is pressed, the system scans for candidate ports.
  • System Ports: The list of candidate ports to connect to.

Options Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.11.18.png

The Options tab, allows configuration of many parameters before and after you connect to the mount.

  • Polling: Displays the mount polling period in milliseconds.
  • Debug: Displays the debug status. Note that debug options are set in Ekos as described here.
  • Simulation: Enable / disable simulation mode for testing purposes. In Simulation mode, parameters can be changed but not sent to the device.
  • Configuration: Manage the driver configuration.
    • Load: Load the last saved settings.
    • Save: Save the driver settings.
    • Default: Restore default settings that were shipped with the driver.
    • Purge: Delete the configuration file.
  • Snoop Devices: The driver supports the ability to listen to, or snoop on, parameters of other drivers.
    • GPS: If using a GPS driver (e.g. INDI GPSD) then enter its name here. EQMod will sync its time and location settings from the GPS driver.
    • Dome: If using a Dome driver, put its name here so that Dome Parking Policy can be applied.
  • Dome Policy: If a dome is used in conjunction with the mount, a policy can be set if parking the mount or dome can interfere with each other. For example, you might want to always park the mount before parking the dome, or vice versa.
    • Dome ignored: Take no action when dome parks or unparks.
    • Dome locks: Prevent the mount from unparking when dome is parked.
  • Scope Properties: Enter the scope details for the primary scope and, if appropriate, the guide scope. If using an Off Axis Guider (OAG) repeat the primary scope details for the guide scope. Up to six different configurations for Primary and Guider scopes can be saved separately, each with an optional unique label of Scope Name.
  • Scope Name: Optional name of scope. Useful if you use several setups; be they different scopes or different setups on a single scope, e.g. with / without a focal reducer.
  • Scope Config: Select the active scope configuration.
  • Joystick: Enable or Disable joystick support. An INDI Joystick driver must be running for this function to work. For more details, check the INDI Telescope Joystick tutorial.
  • Backlash: Set RA & DEC backlash in microsteps.
  • Use Backlash: Control whether or not Backlash is used for RA and / or Dec.
  • Align Method: Set the alignment method to use, either EQMod Align or Alignment Subsystem.
  • LED Brightness. Set the level of brightness of the Polar Alignment LED on the scope.
  • Snap Port 1. The Snap port is a mechanism to control the shutter on a DSLR camera through the mount. Activate it here. 

Alignment Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.12.23.png

The Alignment tab displays information about alignment points. As this repeats data on the Align tab, please see the Align tab section for more details.

Motion Control Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.12.53.png

The Motion Control tab allows motion control parameters to be displayed and set:

  • Motion N/S/W/E: Directional manual motion control. Press the button to start the movement and release the button to stop.
  • Slew Rate: Rate of manual motion control above where 1x equals one sidereal rate. A range of options are offered. If Custom is selected, slew rates can be entered in Custom Speeds.
  • Slew Target: The RA / Dec coordinates of a requested slew. 
  • Guide N/S/W/E: Guiding pulses durations in milliseconds. This property would normally be used by a guider application (e.g. PHD2) and not used directly.
  • Custom Speeds: Customs speeds in RA & DEC axis when slewing.
  • Guiding Rate: Guiding Rate for RA & DE in units of sidereal motion. For exmple, at 0.3x, the mount moves 0.3*15.04 = 4.5 arcsecond per second. So a guide pulse for 1 second (or 1000ms) would move 4.5 arcseconds.
  • Pulse Limits:
    • Minimum Pulse. ** guessing this is the ST4 equivalent of Minimum Pulse Timer?
    • Minimum Pulse Timer. This is for pulse (as opposed to ST4) guiding. Only send the guide pulse to the mount if it exceeds the minimum value. Usually a value is set to stop the mount oscillating with continual small values that results in "chasing the seeing" without any guiding benefit.
  • Track Default: Default tracking rate to be used on startup. See Track Mode on the Main Control tab for more details.
  • ST4 N/S/W/E: The guide rate to use in units of sidereal motion for ST4 guiding.

Site Management Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.14.29.png

The Site Management tab displays and sets information about the telescope's location.

  • UTC: UTC time and offset must be set correctly. The UTC offset is in hours.
  • Scope Location: Latitude, Longitude and elevation above sea level must be set correctly. The longitude range is 0 to 360 degrees increasing eastward from Greenwich.
  • Park Position: Upon connection to the mount, Ekos loads these values into the mount's motor controller to initialize the (stepper) motor step values. The default values represent the Home position of the mount.
  • Park Options:
    • Current: Set the parking position of the mount to current position.
    • Write Data: This saves the current park position.
    • Default: Sets the Park position to the Home position.
    • Purge Data: Removes the current Park position data.
  • JD: The current Julian Datetime calculated from UTC.
  • LST: The current Local Sidereal Time calculated from UTC.
  • Hemisphere: North or South. Which hemisphere the mount is located in, calculated from Scope Location.

IMPORTANT: It is important to understand the difference between the Home position and the Park position:

  • Home position. This is where the mount (telescope) is pointed at the celestial pole (either North or South depending on which hemisphere the mount is located in) with the counter weights down (below the telescope). There is just one Home position. There are online resources that describe how to set this up.
  • Park position. The Park position is user defined and can be anywhere. By default the Home and Park positions are the same and remain that way until the user decides to define a different Park position. For example, if the mount is in a low roof observatory, the Park position may be set with both the counterweight bar and scope horizontal to minimise the height of the scope and allow the observatory roof to close.

The first time Ekos connects to the mount, or if for any reason the parking position has become incorrect, make sure the mount is in the Home position, power up the mount, connect Ekos and set the parking position to home by clicking Default, then Write Data.

Firmware Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.15.22.png

The Firmware tab displays information on the mount and firmware controller:

  • Mount Information:
    • Mount Type: The type of the mount.
    • Firmware Version: Firmware version.
  • Stepper/Gear: Displays information about the RA / Dec stepper motors and gearing.

Motor Status Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.15.59.png

The Motor Status tab displays information about the mount stepper motors in RA and Dec:

  • Stepper Position: Displays the position of the stepper motors.
  • Worm Period: Displays the worm gear periods.
  • Motor Status: Displays the status of the motors.
  • Aux. Encoders: If the mount has auxilliary encoders then their position is displayed.

Sync Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.16.40.png

The Sync tab displays information about alignment points. As this repeats data on the Align tab, please see the Align tab section for more details.

Permanent PEC Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.17.02.png

The Permanent PEC tab exposes the Permanent PEC (PPEC) functionality if it is supported by the mount:

  • RA/DE PPEC training: Training can be enabled and disabled. PPEC training works the same way as with the mount handcontroller: guide on a star, engage PPEC training and the firmware will wait for the mount to pass the worm indexer and then record the resulting speeds in the EEPROM of the motor microcontroller as the worm travels through its cycle. The status is busy/yellow during training. When the worm has completed its cycle, the status of PPEC training becoming green.
  • Turn RA/DE PPEC:  PPEC can be turned on or off.

PPEC is normally only used on the RA worm.

PPEC is a complicated subject. INDI exposes the above mount functions but note that to effectively use PPEC requires many more steps and an understanding of how it works with your specific mount and what the constraints are (for example, to keep the stepper motor synchronised to the PPEC data). A good resource for more details on this topic can be found at The EQMOD Project.

Align Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.18.56.png

The Align tab displays information about the alignment of the mount:

  • Data File: The file use for alignment data.
  • Align Data: Set the alignment data on INDI DATA STREAM.
  • Alignment Point: Holds data for the alignment point:
    • Sync Date: The date the point was taken.
    • Sync LST: Local Sidereal Time the point was taken.
    • Celestial RA/DE: The celestial RA/Dec coordinates of the point.
    • Telescope RA/DE: The telescope RA/Dec coordinates of the point.
  • Manage List: Perform actions on the list of points:
    • Add Point: Add a point to the list.
    • Clear List: Remove all points from the list.
    • Write File: Write the list of points to a file.
    • Load File: Load a previously saved file of points.
  • Telescope Coords: Current telescope RA/Dec coordinates.
  • Number Of:
    • Points: The number of alignment points in the list.
    • Triangles: The number of triangles created from alignment Points.
  • Alignment Mode:
    • No Alignment: Do not use an alignment model.
    • Nearest Point: Use the Nearest Point alignment model. When the mount is asked to perform a goto, the nearest alignment point to the requested goto position is used to calculate how to move the mount.
    • N-Star: Use the N-Star alignment model. This is a more complicated alignment model that utilises all the alignment points in the list as effectively as it can calculate how to move the mount.

For background information on alignment models the EQMOD project has a useful document here.

N-Star alignment is the most accurate method of performing "gotos" standalone. When using plate solving, however, a very accurate goto is not required as plate solving refines every slew position iteratively to home in on the target. In this case it is better to use Nearest Point.

Horizon Tab

Screenshot_2021-09-07_at_12.19.40.png

The Horizon tab displays and sets data associated with defining an artificial horizon for your observing location. To use, slew to the points along the horizon you want to set and hit the Add Current Scope Az/Alt button. The order of points is significant as Horizon uses a linear approximation between them. When you have finished hit the Write File button. The data is saved in a text file that can also be manually edited.

  • Horizon File: The file used to store the data for the horizon being defined.
  • Display: Put the horizon data on INDI DATA STREAM.
  • Horizon Point: The Alt/Az coordinates of a point to define in the horizon file.
  • Traversal: Allows display of previously defined horizon points:
    • First: Displays the first point.
    • Next. Displays the next point.
    • Prev: Displays the previous point.
    • Last: Displays the last point.
  • Manage: Allows management of the list of horizon points:
    • Add Current Scope Az/Alt: Add the current scope's position as a new horizon point.
    • Delete Point. Delete the currently selected horizon point from the list.
    • Clear List. Delete all points from the list.
  • Operation: Manage the horizon points file.
    • Write File: Write the file of horizon points.
    • Load File: Load up a previously stored file of horizon points.
  • On Limit: Actions to take during observing when the telescope reaches the horizon perimeter defined by the current list of horizon points.
    • Abort Tracking: Stop tracking.
    • Abort Slewing: Stop slewing.
    • Abort Goto: Stop goto.
  • Limit Goto: If enabled, limit the goto to the boundary of the horizon.

Issues

The current list of outstanding issues can be viewed at INDI's Github issues page. If you find an issue please report it on the Indilib forum and remember to include the logs (details on how to do this here).

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knro Tue, 04 Feb 2014 17:05:31 +0100 https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/eqmod.html
SkyWatcher Synscan https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/synscan-telescope.html

Installation

INDI Synscan Driver is installed by default with INDI. To Install the driver under Ubuntu:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install indi-bin

Features

The driver can control any mount controllable by Synscan hand controller, it offers basic GoTo capability and parking.

Main Control

Current features are:

  • Slew & Sync
  • Slew Rates
  • Sidereal, lunar, solar and custom trackrates
  • Full joystick support

Synscan Mount should already be aligned and ready before you connect to it.

Connectivity

1. USB

To connect to Syncan from a PC or a device like Raspberry PI, you need an RS232 Serial To USB adapter. After you connect to the USB port, a device port will be created (e.g. /dev/ttyUSBX) that you can connect to in order control the mount.

2. Network (Synscan App)

You can connect wirelessly using Synscan App on iOS/Android devices.

    1. Power on the mount , you should see red light blinking and wifi signal with synscan_XXXX)
    2. Connect the iOS/Android device to mount wifi.
    3. Open the app ; connect in EQ mode.
    4. Do 1 star alignment or press up/down/left/right buttons on the app to see if the mount responds to App commands.
    5. Your device should most likely get 192.168.4.2 as the IP Address.
    6. SynScan recommends to keep the app open all times, so turn off display going to sleep on this device.
    7. Connect your Laptop/Desktop/RPI to Mount wifi (SynScan).
    8. Configure the connection options as below. Connection mode as Ethernet IP address to 192.168.4.2 ( IP address of the device having synscan app) Port 11882 Connection Type to TCP

Synscan Wireless Connection

4. First Time Connection

Connection

When running the driver for the first time, go to the Connection tab and select the port to connect to. You can also try connecting directly and the driver shall automatically scan the system for candidate ports. If connecting wireless, set the IP address and Port of the Synscan App. After making changes in the Connections tab, go to Options tab and save the settings.

Operation

Main Control

The main control tab is where the primary control of Synscan takes place. To track an object, enter the equatorial of date (JNow) coordinates and press Set. The mount shall then slew to an object and once it arrives at the target location, it should engage tracking at the selected tracking rate which default to Sidereal tracking. Slew mode is different from track mode in that it does not engage tracking when slew is complete. To sync, the mount must be already tracking. First change mode to Sync, then enter the desired coordinates then press Set. Users will seldom use this interface directly since many clients (e.g. KStars) can slew and sync the mount directly from the sky map without having to enter any coordinates manually.

Options

 Under the options tab, you can configure many parameters before and after you connect to the mount.

    • Snoop Devices: Indicate which devices Synscan should communicate with:
      • GPS: If using a GPS driver (e.g. INDI GPSD) then enter its name here. Synscan shall sync its time and location settings from the GPS driver.
      • Dome: If using a Dome driver, put its name here so that Dome Parking Policy can be applied.
    • Configuration: Load or Save the driver settings to a file. Click default to restore default settings that were shipped with the driver.
    • Simulation: Enable to disable simulation mode for testing purposes.
    • Debug: Enable debug logging where verbose messaged can be logged either directly in the client or a file. If Debug is enabled, advanced properties are created to select how to direct debug output. Watch a video on how to submit logs.
    • Dome Parking Policy

      If a dome is used in conjunction with the mount, a policy can be set if parking the mount or dome can interfere with the safety of either. For example, you might want to always park the mount before parking the dome, or vice versa. The default policy is to ignore the dome.

      • Ignore dome: Take no action when dome parks or unparks.
      • Dome locksPrevent the mount from unparking when dome is parked.
      • Dome parks: Park the mount if dome starts parking. This will disable the locking for dome parking, EVEN IF MOUNT PARKING FAILS.
      • Both: Dome locks & Dome parks policies are applied.

      Options
    • Scope Properties: Enter the Primary and Seconday scope information. Up to six different configurations for Primary and Secondary Guider telescopes can be saved separately, each with an optional unique label in Scope Name property.
    • Scope Config: Select the active scope configuration.
    • Joystick: Enable or Disable joystick support. An INDI Joystick driver must be running for this function to work. For more details, check the INDI Telescope Joystick tutorial.

Motion Control

Motion Control

Under motion control, manual motion controls along with slew rate controls are configured.

        • Motion N/S/W/E: Directional manual motion control. Press the button to start the movement and release the button to stop.
        • Slew Rate: Rate of manual motion control above when 1x equals sidereal rate.

Site Management

Time and Locaiton settings are configured in the Site Management tab. These settings are usually set automatically by the client and do not need to be set manually by the user.

Site Management

        • UTC: UTC time and offsets must be set for proper operation of the driver upon connection. The UTC offset is in hours. East is positive and west is negative.
        • Location: Latitude and Longitude must be set for proper operation of the driver upon connection. The longitude range is 0 to 360 degrees increasing eastward from Greenwich.

You can park the telescope by clicking on Park. If the telescope is already parked, click the park button to unpark it. You cannot perform any motion unless the telescope is first unparked!

Issues

There are no known bugs for this driver. If you find a bug, please report it at INDI's Github issues page

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knro Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:37:17 +0100 https://indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/skywatcher/synscan-telescope.html