I've been imaging with only the capture module for the last few nights. Meridian flip is set to run at .1 past the meridian.

The object i was tracking got to the meridian around 2:11am, and around 3:45am i started to get elongated stars, for all my frames. I'm pretty sure the meridian flip command is not happening, and I'm hitting the slew limits of the CGX. I don't know if I captured enough log data to tell what is going on, but those that can troubleshoot, please take a look at the attached logs. If I don't have enough log data, I'll turn on logging for all drivers tonight when I image again.

Technically speaking there is no meridian flip command. Ekos simply issues a slew command as soon as the 0.1 h limit (in your case) has passed. It is up to the mount whether or not to do a meridian flip. This will only happen if the mount limit is lower than the meridian flip limit in Ekos. So please make sure that the Ekos meridian flip limit is higher than the one of your mount and try again.


HTH, Wouter

Just to confirm that the meridian flip did take place:

log_21-14-45.txt:[2019-07-25T01:13:49.550 CDT DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - Meridian flip planned with LST= "21h 03m 02s" scope RA= "20h 57m 01s" and meridian diff= 0.1
log_21-14-45.txt:[2019-07-25T01:13:49.550 CDT DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - Setting meridian flip status to 1
log_21-14-45.txt:[2019-07-25T01:14:43.697 CDT INFO ][ org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - Meridian flip: slewing to RA= "20h 56m 46s" DEC= " 44° 24' 20\""
log_21-14-45.txt:[2019-07-25T01:14:43.698 CDT DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - Setting meridian flip status to 4
log_21-14-45.txt:[2019-07-25T01:14:52.581 CDT DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - Setting meridian flip status to 5
log_21-14-45.txt:[2019-07-25T01:14:52.582 CDT INFO ][ org.kde.kstars.ekos.capture] - "Telescope completed the meridian flip."
log_21-14-45.txt:[2019-07-25T01:14:53.556 CDT DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.ekos.mount] - Setting meridian flip status to 0
log_21-14-45.txt:[2019-07-25T01:16:42.485 CDT INFO ][ org.kde.kstars.ekos.capture] - "Post meridian flip calibration completed successfully."

Strange, when I look at the subs that were taken, I don't see any evidence that the flip happened. Usually the subs are flipped upside down. The only thing I see is where the frames become elongated, and this happened around 3:45 am. According to the time on the log, the flip occurred at 1:13 am.

They are 3 minute subs though, and you can see the same stars very slightly moving over the 3 minute period. So a speed just slightly in excess of sidereal speed. I thought initially it might be hitting the RA limit of the mount, but now I'm not sure what is going on.

I think my reply wasn't clear. Ekos has COMMANDED the meridian flip as can be seen in the logs. As I explained, whether or not the flip takes place depends on the mount configuration and it looks like the mount has not EXECUTED the meridian flip. Once more, my recommendation would be to check the limits of your mount and set a meridian flip limit in Ekos that is higher then in your mount. Or simply try with 1h and see if the flip gets executed.

You can even test that indoors with the cover on the telescope. Simply "point" the telescope at an object east of but close to the meridian and start shooting. All images will be black but that's OK. Wait until the meridian flip is supposed to take place and verify that your mount executes it.


HTH, Wouter

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

The meridian flip has worked in the past. I’ve never set slew limits or changed the default settings. The default meridian settings for the mount request a pier side change if the object is across the meridian. No matter the distance.

One thing to note about the time, is the request to slew came about an hour before the object actually passed the meridian, so something in EKOD must be wrong. I did make sure the time setting in KStars was correct before starting the session. I’ve been checking it because KStars is not saving the location/site time after quitting the app.

The log shows that a flip was not done beause there are only 9 seconds between the message saying the slew has started and that it has completed. That's not long enough for the 180 degree slew in hour angle that a flip requires.

I’m pretty sure now that it’s because the command to slew was before the object passed the meridian (by almost an hour!). I’m going to change the EKOS preference to obtain the time from the mount. Since I set it with a GPS, it should be accurate. We’ll see if that fixes the problem.

Ok, I made it past the meridian flip. Three things I noticed. The first was that KStars is not remembering the site observing time after a restart of the application. It has to be set every time. The second thing was that the check box to turn on the meridian flip shows time to flip, but only sometimes. And I had to check and uncheck it a few times before it appeared. The last thing I’m not sure what role it played if any, but I told KStars to update the mount time. It was set to the reverse where the mount updates KStars.

I also did move the time back to >.4 instead of >.1 past the meridian. That might have also triggered the slew at the proper time/place.

Good to see that you were able to resolve this, even if still a few issues remain!

Hi Lead_Weight (love your website, btw), I was glad to see your post because I've been experiencing something similar, without making any changes to the way EKOS has been set up for the last two months of operating relatively successfully, it suddenly seems to think the meridian flip needs to happen way too early (in my case maybe 2 hours early.) The time and location look like they're set correctly in EQMod and the Stellarmate OS - EKOS providing that info to the mount. Per the manual I tried purging the related Configurations within INDI settings and rebooting the mount, no change. Attaching a pic of the mount showing how far east it's still pointing when it thinks it's about to perform the flip (which it doesn't actually execute, but suspends my captures indefinitely anyway) and the interface indicating a flip's coming and that the captures are suspended. I run kstars/EKOS from Stellarmate OS on RaspberryPi, logging in via VNC Viewer from MacOS 10.12.6.

So in a nutshell it does plate solve and perform GOTOs just fine, but it thinks it needs to flip at the wrong time.. Have you discovered anything new with your situation in the last week?

Glad you like the site! A few things to check. This is solved for me now. I'm running 3.3.3 Kstars/Ekos. Once installed, make sure your geography setting is correct. In KStars, it's the globe icon towards the left. Previous versions this location was not saving, which meant the clock was not in the right time zone. Then press the update time button right next to the globe icon to update the clock to the current computer time.

After those things, make sure that you set the meridian flip to >.5 past meridian, and not right at the meridian line. Some mounts will not flip if they can operate past the line. Also, make sure that the meridian flip option shows the Time to flip. This is in the newer version of the software. It will show you a count down timer to the flip (after you select the meridian flip checkbox), and it should reflect the exact time the object is passing the meridian. I sometimes don't see the count down timer when I first press it, and have to check and uncheck it until the timer shows up.

With those things set, the flip should happen. I know that EQMod has a meridian flip button in its settings. you might also want to be sure this is activated. Hope it works! You can test it inside your home. Just send your mount to any object that is near the meridian at the time you test it, and set it to take some images until it crosses the line and should execute a flip. (it doesn't matter if your scope cover is on, since you're just testing indoors.