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

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ASI120MM on RPi3

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ASI120MM on RPi3 was created by Sergio

Hi everyone, I'm new on this forum and Ekos/INDI, need your help with this one.

I saw in other thread that Jasem, maybe others, has indiserver hosted on a RPi3, as I do, and did some testing with an ASI120MC.

I'm struggling with an ASI120MM and wonder which specific configuration you have on your RPi3. Would you point me the exact version of these? (in parenthesis is what I have)
  • distro (Raspbian Jessie; last apt-get update on Feb 28th)
  • kernel (4.9.13-v7+)
  • indilib (1.4.1, compiled from git sources as of Feb 28th)
  • indi-asi (0.5, compiled from git sources as of Feb 28th, but I manually replaced LibASICamera2.lib (SDK v0.6.0110) with the one I extracted from SDK V0.4.0929 --downloaded directly from ZWO--)
The reason I replaced the SDK embedded in indi-asi is because this driver got stuck (but didn't crash) at "StartExposure->setexp : ..." after some exposures, and I saw these messages on dmesg:
[27070.448662] usb 1-1.4: new high-speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
[27070.699494] usb 1-1.4: New USB device found, idVendor=03c3, idProduct=120a
[27070.699506] usb 1-1.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[27070.699514] usb 1-1.4: Product: ASI120MM
[27070.699522] usb 1-1.4: Manufacturer: ZWOptical company 
[27070.699529] usb 1-1.4: SerialNumber: 00000
[48180.056128] usb 1-1.4: reset high-speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
[48181.566120] usb 1-1.4: reset high-speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
[48183.306141] usb 1-1.4: reset high-speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
... ("reset" message repeats on each exposure)

Don't you see these messages on your RPi3?

With SDK versions 0.6.0103 and 0.5.1215, I get this very same results as with 0.6.0110, so I kept rolling back to V0.4.0929, when things improved, as the "reset" messages no longer showed, and testing with Focus->Framing kept running for a higher number of exposures. But eventually it fails again at "StartExposure", sometimes after 45 minutes, sometimes after five hours. Not good for guiding.

I want to thank everyone involved in Ekos/Kstars/INDI for their amazing work.

Thanks in advance,
Sergio
7 years 3 weeks ago #14939

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Replied by Jasem Mutlaq on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

I guided with ASI120 just a couple of days ago in Pi3. It guided for ~5 hours without any issues using the INDI driver. I have Ubuntu Mate on my RPI3, not sure if that makes any difference. It is also attached to the PI3 via an external powered hub. A lot of the camera issues can be traced to USB/Power issues.
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7 years 3 weeks ago #14944

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Replied by Sergio on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

Thanks Jasem, I would like to give Ubuntu MATE a second try. I originally discarded it because I wanted to use the GPIO serial port to attach directly my mount (not needing a USB-to-serial converter) but MATE had some issues with that and I switched to Raspbian, which worked ok.

Can you confirm the version you're using of Ubuntu MATE? 16.04.2, 16.10 or 17.04?

My RPi3 is powered with a 8A power supply. In my tests with the ASI, this supply is not shared with any device other than the RPi3. Also, there wasn't any other device sharing USB power (ASI was the only one connected to the RPi3). The maximum combined power output on the USB ports of a RPi3 is 1.2A, so the ASI I think it should work, but I could try also the hub option.

Thanks again.
Sergio
7 years 3 weeks ago #14945

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Replied by Andrew on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

Yes max USB output power on Pi is 1.2A if you have enabled it. Otherwise default is 0.6A. I can assume you already know this, but if not and for others; to enable the Pi to output up to 1.2A over USB, add this line to the /boot/config.txt file.
max_usb_current=1
It is necessary to power the Pi with a good power supply (>2.1A) if you do this. I have not had any problems with my ASI120MM, WiFi antenna, external flash drive and Canon USB interface all connected at once without a powered hub.
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7 years 3 weeks ago #14949

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Replied by Picard on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

Hi,

This option is only available for old rpi (not 3). The rpi 3 provide already 1.2A (and is the max of current you can use).
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7 years 3 weeks ago #14971

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Replied by Sergio on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

Thanks Andrew, very useful to know that your ASI works ok along with other devices, all connected directly to the USB ports of the RPi (begin the combined max current 1.2A). So I think I shouldn't have any power problems with my ASI, in my case.

As Christian has pointed, the 0.6/1.2A option switch of config.txt is for RPi2 and RPi B+: www.raspberrypi.org/help/faqs/#powerReqs

I'm performing a test with a fresh install of Ubuntu MATE 16.04.2 LTS (Jasem, is this is the version you have?). It comes with kernel 4.4.38-v7+ (which is also the one originally packaged in Raspbian Jessie, and was also giving the same problems, that's why I upgraded to 4.9.13-v7+). I compiled everything from source as I did on Jessie and began a Focus->Framing capture almost an hour and a half, for now it seems to work ok (even with the flooding of usb reset messages I'm getting in dmesg). I'll report back later.

Thanks to everyone.
7 years 3 weeks ago #14976

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Replied by Sergio on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

Well, yesterday it kept running until I stopped it, after more than 8 hours without issues. I'm waiting for clear skies to test again along with the other devices (main imager, focuser, mount). Meanwhile, I'll run a test again to see if this result is repeatable.
dmesg is flooded with usb reset messages, but according to Yang from ZWO ( zwoug.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6901 ), they are "normal", as a reset is requested by the SDK on each exposure (but it seems to me some rough workaround).
I'm not sure about the differences between Raspbian Jessie and Ubuntu MATE regarding USB management... maybe different kernel compile options.
All in all, this is not reassuring at all, any update (kernel, sdk, etc) could break it.
7 years 3 weeks ago #15007

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Replied by Sergio on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

A last update, as I've repeated the test (Focus -> Framing) several times. results summarize as follows:

* exposure < 1 second: get frequent ASIGetExposureStatus failed (0) (every other exposure if I set 0.5 seconds) , first retry seems to work. I guess any momentary load on the system could lead to reach max retries and then failure. I guess this is not surprising as long as the SDK is resseting the USB communication on each exposure.
* exposure >= 1 second: no fails whatsoever for 8-9 hours on a freshly booted RPI. But in one test I did without rebooting before starting the Focus->Framing sequence, it "freezed" (no response to StartExposure, as described in the opening post) after 9 hours.

So these results may be considered just enough for guiding, provided that the RPi is booted before each night session. But also may be considered as enough reason to return the camera to the provider.

Unfortunately I didn't have yet the opportunity to perform an actual test guiding and imaging due to bad weather.
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7 years 2 weeks ago #15028

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Replied by Keith Cobby on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

FYI: my two Rpi 3 both default at 600mA so i had to reset the max_current value to 1 to enable 1.2a. Always worth checking.
Skywatcher 190MN - EQ6 Pro (with Belt Mod) - ASI1600MM-Cooled - ASI EFW7 - ASI120MM - WO f4 Guide Scope - Rigel nStep - KStars/Ekos - KDE - PixInsight
7 years 2 weeks ago #15054

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Replied by Sergio on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

It seems that max_usb_current=1 has no effect on RPi3, it is hard-wired to provide 1.2A max.
www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=930695#p930695
www.raspberrypi.org/help/faqs/#powerReqs
Anyway I also ran a test with max_usb_current=1 before finding that information and got the same results as I reported on the opening post.
7 years 2 weeks ago #15056

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Replied by Andrew on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

I replaced the SDK manually to the most recent version 6.0110. See if that helps.
zwoasi.com/software/
7 years 2 weeks ago #15066

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Replied by Sergio on topic ASI120MM on RPi3

I compiled the driver from git, which already has SDK v0.6.0110 as Jasem commented in his commit (also checked by binary comparison).
Thanks.
7 years 2 weeks ago #15094

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