I have it plugged directly into rpi and still does not work with Astroberry and ekos...., not sure why

Hello,

I went to the QHYCCD site and pulled down the PoleMaster_QT. For AstroBerry 2.0, the install is dated. But, it gives a non-INDI status of PoleMaster. After installation, go get the latest RPI SDK kit from QHYCCD. Install the Kit.

Yes, done all that...still no joy, I got the software installed and running, but it will not recognise the camera....either in the polemaster software or in Ekos...

Hello,

Using LSUSB, do you see 0940 or 0941?

No, it’s not showing there either...

Ok, so ot is showing now under lsusb, but won’t work in ekos or in the Polemaster software....I read something g about editing the bashes file but not sure on that...

Hello,

QHYCCD gives many ASCOM tools to work with their hardware. Use the tools and Windows to verify the operation of the PoleMaster.

I had a bad QHY5LII under warranty that never worked. Fortunately, the Vendor I bought it from RMA’d the device to QHYCCD. It took a long while, two months. My goal was to use it for guiding. I bought the ZWO because of the dead QHYCCD device. When the new one arrived, I now have two CCD devices.

My polar alignment tool that came with my OTA is nearly 40 years old. It disintegrated. The PoleMaster was the claimed ticket to Polar Alignment. INDI and KSTARS is an alternative solution to ASCOM. Now, I have three CCD cameras.

AstroBerry 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, and 2.01 are the multiple tries to get PolarAlign to work in KSTARS. Part of these tries are learning the process of introducing hardware to INDI.

I now have rules to manage the limited resources of the RPI3B+. The RPI3B+ is the small footprint consigned to manage hardware. AstroEQ is the driver for the motors. EQMOD works well under all versions of AstroBerry.

The last hurdle was GPSD. Anything RPI is personal. Who ever builds it is where the OS lives. Why is this important? KSTARS operations are dependent on where it is geographically. KSTARS does not contain every location on this planet. Nor should it. GPSD works well under AstroBerry 2.01.

Hubs and environment are the last hurdles. Everything works as expected in a controlled environment. Taking it outside is the proverbial rubber meeting the road. Here, heat and cold make INDI look like it has lost its marbles. Cables get brittle under cold. Motors and Drivers overheat when it’s warm.

Using Multiple USB devices under INDI requires a hub. RPI3B+ has 4 ports. Power is required to run USB. What I am finding out, anything more than 4 is a guess. A rule of communication is 70/30. 30% is overhead. Too many talkers and the line is saturated. Some vendors of hubs may even have a narrower split, like 50/50.

But, Astrophotography is a minimal dance of a few items, motors and CCD cameras. Duration is required for long exposures. Long exposures requires precision at the start. Where in the world is Waldo game is played.

PolarAlign is that start. At the present, EKOS and QHYCCD are not talking with each other. I have a Theory that I need to separate the EQMOUNT and GPSD from the Cameras. Network saturation maybe occurring during the PolarAlign process.

If not, then EKOS and QHY5LII are a problem. PoleMaster uses the QHY5 to process anything it does. Instead of ERRORLEVEL==0, QHY5 sends ERRORLEVEL==-1. EKOS does not know what to do with a negative answer. EKOS aborts the camera capture process repeatedly.

Sometimes, an image capture works. Solver aborts. The picture looks pretty. Most times, I never get an image. I get Camera try #1, #2, and then I pack up. I seek help. I have both ASTAP and Astrometry database/zones installed. Solver aborting is a mystery without logging somewhere happening. The picture is beautiful when it occurs .

I can never capture when it does to confirm why it works. Currently, INDI drivers are denied access to the DEBUG option under the Options with AstroBerry 2.0. Debug includes Alignment. Although, I think alignment is PD2 related. Watching EKOS flounder with the PoleMaster never finding Polaris, is not fun.

The ZWO does not have this problem. PoleMaster_QT works beautifully outside of INDI. These two confirmations verify the problem above. Since this is USB 2.0 and low end hardware, QHYCCD says not my problem. Buy a new USB 3.0 device. INDI says all other CCD work.

PHD2 and EKOs were not talking with each other. INDI classification of devices used in the platform must be explicitly defined as Scope or Camera. This solves the PHD issue of not seeing any EKOS equipment and limiting itself to its stock drivers.

Ok, got it working via terminal in the polemaster software, but still not in ekos, had to edit the bashrc file to allow it to open as admin

Hello,

The .bashrc step is to allow PoleMaster_QT to run. PoleMaster_QT requires sudo rights. I usually take that step out and leave the path statement there. Sending the output of sudo to NULL has other challenges.

So how do you get it to run....the polemaster software will run from the icon on the programme ,list but will not connect to the camera, the only way to get it to connect to camera is by starting from terminal, and to do that I have to edit the bashrc file....or have you another way...?

Why do you think it will not work with a regular update & upgrade for PHD2? The last version per github when you were writing this was 2.6.6dev2 and now it is 2.6.6dev2. This is exactly version available in the repository, isn't it?
You are always free to compile any component of the system from sources. Actually that's exactly how every single piece of it has been created

For those of you reporting that QHY PoleMaster does not work on Astroberry 2.0.0
To the best of my knowledge the only version of PoleMaster available on QHY site is for Ubuntu Mate. You can tell that even from the file's name: PoleMaster_Qt-for-RPI-Ubuntu-1.3.5.0.deb
Astroberry 2.0.0 is Raspbian Buster based system. Please do not expect programs from other distributions to run on others. There is lots of library dependencies for every program and every distribution has it's own naming and versioning for libraries required.

In case of QHY PoleMaster version of libraries is not compatible with Raspbian Buster. So there is no easy and reliable way to make it work.

However, I did some testing and was successful in running QHY PoleMaster on Astroberry 2.0.0. I do not own QHY camera so cannot confirm that it really works, but this is a challenge for you guys. No guarantee whatsoever, it's a dirty hack.

The procedure is as follows:
1. Download QHY PoleMaster package, currently it is PoleMaster_Qt-for-RPI-Ubuntu-1.3.5.0.deb.zip available here
2. Unzip the file
3. Install it with:4. Install required library:5. Create links to libraries required by PoleMaster to libraries available on Astroberry / Raspbian Buster:6. Run PoleMaster from terminal:
Running from menu will not work. If you want to have a click and go solution, create a laucher icon on your desktop or taskbar.

PS. Let's call a spade a spade. If program designed for one system does not work on the other is not an issue.