I have been using kstars for 4 years now. Just updated my systems to kstars 3.6.1
Sorry guys but the new optical train system may be more flexible but it just seems complete overkill for most users.
I just find it a pain in the ass. I have 4 scopes, 3 mounts, 4 cameras, 2 filter wheels and potentially an optical train list a kilometer long.
Maybe I am just reacting to change ?
So far it is just taking me more time and leading to mistakes and wasted effort, so will stay on 3.5.8 for now.
I think it is another hurdle for new users ?
Any tips how to make life easier, and less error prone welcome.

You can just keep using profiles with 3.6.1+ (I assume you use profiles for your different setups). Each profile then has an optical train list consisting of the main scope and, if not using external guiding, the guide scope (be it a separate scope or OAG, doesn't matter).

Ok thanks Bernd.
I guess this will stop me using my C80 SCT as a guide scope for my 80mm refractor like I just did !
I think I am starting to get the swing of it, but a a bit of pain having to feed in all my focal lengths and apertures again.
A bit of a jar getting used to how it operates. I guess I will get used to it.
I wonder if it will catch on in ASIAIR land ?

Why do you need to feed in this information? you mean select from the scope dropdown ?

Would it be useful and reassuring to have an information box indicating which camera is being used for guiding. alignment and focus like it used to ?

Yes I don't seem to have scopes drop down like I used to , only a train one. You need to select a train and a scope. This seems 2x the
operations. Also see my comment regrading camera information boxes.
I am not always certain which camera I am actually using for align, guide etc (apart from the imaging/sequence window).
Sometimes I use guidescope/camera for Polar align, and other times main scope/camera, so things can easily get confused.

If you hover over the train, it will show you which configuration you're using.

Thanks Jasem, I missed that one.

One thing were I stumbled over when using optical trains the first time: to select another scope you have to double click to get the selection menu:
without double click:


after double click:

Thanks Juergen, I got that one.
I am finding my way around.
More buttons, more combinations, but more scope to select the wrong ones.

Here's something I just learned.

Recently I've not been able to guide with the internal INDI guider. Program would say starting RA drift, lost star, then give the usual admonition about larger box. The internal guider had always worked before so I started asking: what has changed?

The optical train specification was the first thing that came to mind. In the secondary train, I have a Lodestar as my camera to do the guiding. What I finally realized is that, at the end of the optical train row, I have to specify the mount (CGX-L) as the guider! Once I did that it all worked again.

The instruction videos need to include these optical train descriptions.

Hi Robert,

in the last column of the optical train table the device that is receiving the guide pulses has to be specified. So yes, it‘s your mount.

Here is a video from Jasem explaining optical trains:



CS, Bernd