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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

MoonLite NiteCrawler & Ekos/INDI

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  • Thank you received: 32
Hello all,

Recently bought a MoonLite NiteCrawler to use on my FSQ106 and TOA130. I have used it with success in Sequence Generator Pro, and I am finally coming back around to getting my Raspberry Pi 3 up and working again (OS got corrupted on it; so I didn't have time to work on it) and of course getting rolling on INDI 1.5 and the latest Ekos client for Windows.

I wanted to check what the workflow is in Ekos to get the NiteCrawler working correctly. What I mean by this, is that I know how to get the driver running, and Ekos can see and manipulate the NiteCrawler fine, but I am curious how to get the current camera angle and rotator position in sync, and how to ensure the rotational direction is accurate. Also, how are people determining the proper rotation angle? In SGP, this is done with the Framing and Mosaic Wizard. You frame up a target, change the angle to suit how you want it with a slider, then it stores the new rotated angle. Then when the sequence starts, it will center and rotate the object to the correct angle on its own (provided you set the directional flag correctly).

Since I lost a few nights of imaging troubleshooting this in SGP, I figured I would come here to figure out the best practices for using a NiteCrawler on INDI and Ekos.
6 years 6 months ago #19165

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So far Ekos/INDI only support basic operations of the rotater. There is no yet integration done with Alignment module. What you can do now is specify desired Rotation Angle in the Capture module, and it will command the rotator to this angle before capturing an image. But you have to specify the angle yourself. I guess you can solve an image, then find the astrometry rotation, compare it with nightcrawler rotation angle, then do the math to end up in the desired angle. I guess that's one way but I really haven't tried it, and I'm waiting for some equipment before I can start using my observatory again.
6 years 6 months ago #19171

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I am just learning and why you describe is effectively what I do - frame the shot, rotate, another shot to confirm, note the angle and then save the angle in the CCD module.
6 years 6 months ago #19205

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@rockstarbill,

I think I just clued in to what you meant: astrometry provides a rotation angle.

Using the Windows non-ASCOM software it is possible to set the numerical value for the angle of rotator. I hope to do a plate solve on an image and then set the angle using this software to see if it makes sense to have the rotator angle and astrometry angle match.
6 years 6 months ago #19263

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