Sorry for the delay in spotting this post. I had the exact same issue when initializing a StellarMate.

The problem is not so much the final location where index files are stored.
The problem is that the transitory folder "~/.local/share/kstars/astrometry", where downloaded index files are stored temporarily, does not exist after kstars is installed, and causes a misnamed "permission error".

Create that folder and you should be good to go.

-Eric

Hi,

I notice that in your 1st attachment image the index files window extends beyond the screen view. Do you have a way of seeing the entire window (e.g. the OK button if there is one)?
I'm certainly not able to scroll that window or view more pixels on the VNC viewer screen, to be able to manage this window,

Thanks

To answer my own naive question... I used sudo raspi-config to alter the screen resolution to 1600 x 1200 so that the entire dialog window is now visible. A newer version of VNC-Viewer also seems to have sped things up a bit.

Thank you so much, Eric! I've been meaning to reply for days but kinda wanted to try solving with the mount out on a clear night and finally had one - what you suggested totally did the trick! How on earth did you figure that out?? Is this a step everyone has to perform after new installation? Thank you very, very much.

On a related note I still get a message (screenshot attached) that "Index files index-4206 to index-4211 are missing" in spite of them having a check mark on the index files list in Ekos. Solving (polar and otherwise) seems to work fine, although I always perform the GOTO solving in the same spot to the west northwest, so maybe the missing files are for a different part of the sky. Or does the full message mean that if I tried solving Online instead of Offline, that for some reason it would fail..? Either way, should I try downloading these "missing" index files and placing them in the new "~/.local/share/kstars/astrometry" folder to stop the error message?

Hi Jerry - I've noticed that one window for me was always a little taller than the rest and it bothered me I couldn't see the bottom of it. I thought I had set the maximum screen resolution via the OS, but I'll try doing it command line like I think you did to see if that changes anything. My first screen shots were with my phone of a tiny 7" field monitor before I'd set up the wi-fi, and it's 16:9 which I guess Linux doesn't like..? Anyway glad you got yours looking good.

The solution is to change location of index files to your home folder e.g. ~/astrometry (/home/username/astrometry):
1. Create the folder2. Copy index files it3. Change astrometry config

Administator with password "smate." - Never put your password on a public web site - hopefully you changed it straight away and its not used anywhere else

I’ve got a StellarMate too, where did you download the latest firmware from? I wouldn’t mind having a more recent version handy just in case.

This PW is openly published on Stellarmate web site...

Radek, thank you, I performed the steps you outlined and will test it out as soon as possible. Step 3, I got an unrecognized command error when I tried the final line, did you mean for me to use "#add_path" in both instances? I did that after the error, hope that was ok. In case it isn't already obvious I'm a unix noob. Does #add_path make one directory automatically point to another? I see too that at least for now (I haven't launched Ekos yet) I have two copies of all the index files, ~640MB of data; once I confirm all is well can I delete the copies from their original directory in /usr/share/astrometry - will it let me..?

Stash if someone wants to steal some of my blurry FITS files from me, I'll let them. And I only use that for the Stellarmate, left everything alone once I got it.

Hi pug916,
The only way I was able to download the Stellarmate OS again was to find the e-mail confirmation of my order for it and use the link in there to get directly to it. I think I first tried logging in and just rooting around on the site but couldn't find it. I'm sure that's not much help, sorry..