×

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

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Confused about scheduler

  • Posts: 398
  • Thank you received: 117
I'm reasonably well versed in all tabs except scheduler; now trying to migrate over.    Something I don't understand about the scheduler is the "Repeat until" completion constraint.   Intuitively, I would think that if I set up a sequence and then set the "repeat until" completion constraint, the job would run the sequence repetitively until the time is up (and abort if the sequence isn't completely finished with the Nth iteration?).   However, I've tried to set up a series of time constrained observations like this (giving about 5 minutes break in between stop/start times), but when I schedule multiple targets this way, I almost always see a message that says:
    "Warning: job '<target>' has fixed startup time X unachievable due to the completion time of it's previous sibling, marking invalid".  
So, what am I doing wrong?   What I'm trying for is simple time constrained, back-to-back target observations (e.g. 2 hours on target1, then 2 hours on target 2, etc.).   How is this best setup in the scheduler without triggering the Invalid status warnings ?    In the example screen shot (simulator), Polaris is scheduled twice, start time/end times appear ok, but the #2 scheduled item is changed invalid as soon as the next schedule item is added....   ???
Thanks for any advice.

2 years 6 months ago #75821
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 472
  • Thank you received: 165
Scheduler runs the jobs in order (unless you enable sorting by score in which case it reorders those itself) and in this case the second job has start time set before the first job ends. Switching those two around so that the earliest job is at the top should fix it. Having other automatic sorting options might be useful too. I usually use repeat for N repeats myself so that I get full sets of all filters and it's less timing dependent (and easier if I continue with the same schedule over multiple nights), but have used the repeat until condition in some cases to avoid meridian flips as well.
2 years 6 months ago #75824

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 225
  • Thank you received: 16
Doug,

The sequence is invalid because your second jobs start time is before the end time of the first job. If you change the priorities to run the second job first, it should work.

When I sequence two jobs, I don't use the "repeat until". I either specify "sequence completion" or I specify "repeat until terminated" which will stop the jobs when other factors come into play (e.g., alt, twilight, etc.)

I hope I understood your question correctly.

Ron
2 years 6 months ago #75825

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 398
  • Thank you received: 117

Replied by Doug S on topic Confused about scheduler

Thanks all for the comments. I'll note that what appears as the 2nd job in the image was actually the first defined / scheduled job. That's why the start time & end time was earlier. It was only when I added the 2nd job (with later start/stop times) that the *scheduler* reordered them in their currently shown positions (and marked the 2nd one invalid). So that's part of the mystery of why that happened.

I'll play with explicit priority settings to see if I can get different effects, but as was mentioned, part of why I like to schedule in time blocks is to prevent meridian flips. BTW, I did try to reposition the jobs after it marked one invalid, but it wouldn't let me do this (because it's considered invalid?). I also tried resync/refresh, but that didn't change it either. So, I'm still struggling to learn. I did see in the Ekos options for the scheduler that the lead time could be set as desired, but this didn't seem to alter the situation. Still working on it....

Edit:   Ok, found that setting priority explicitly solves the problem entirely.   Not sure why N jobs scheduled with times that are within lead time specs aren't happy, but I guess I don't care.   That particular use case (same priority) could be tickling a minor bug.
Last edit: 2 years 6 months ago by Doug S.
2 years 6 months ago #75828

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 225
  • Thank you received: 16
Doug,

Yeah, it's kind of funky how it all works. When there are multiple jobs... priority becomes important. Also, editing a job once it's in the schedule is difficult/confusing. I usually just delete the job and re-add. In general, I find that "simpler is better". I've pretty much stopped adding multiple jobs... I just make shorter jobs (like 1-2 hours) and tell it to repeat x number of times. That way, if things mess up, it will start the sequence from the start (aligned, guide, etc.).

Good luck!

Ron
2 years 6 months ago #75830

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 398
  • Thank you received: 117

Replied by Doug S on topic Confused about scheduler

Since I typically only image a single target for 2 hours or so before avoiding a meridian flip, it means I do need to schedule multiple targets if I want to squeeze in a reasonable nap. So, now that I've got scheduling priority understood better and can enter N targets, it should go smoother and maybe I'll get that snooze after all! ;-) Thanks again to you and Jarno.
CS Doug
2 years 6 months ago #75833

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Time to create page: 0.619 seconds