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

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Re:Problems with Focus Module (Images not coming in)

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Wouter,

I have the same camera as in your signature and have been successfully autofocusing on time or filter changes. I'm running KStars/EKOS/INDI on an Intel NUC with 16 GB RAM.
3 years 11 months ago #52352

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What version of KStars are you using???
3 years 11 months ago #52353

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Thanks @RDBeck! That's good to know.

@wcreech19: nightly. I'll revert to stable and see if I get it there as well.
3 years 11 months ago #52356

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I am using nightly. Here are the first few lines of the log from my last imaging session:
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.183 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - Welcome to KStars 3.4.1
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.183 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - Build: 2020-02-23T18:06:10Z
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.183 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - OS: "ubuntu"
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.183 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - API: "x86_64-little_endian-lp64"
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.184 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - Arch: "x86_64"
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.184 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - Kernel Type: "linux"
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.184 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - Kernel Version: "5.3.0-46-generic"
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.184 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - Qt Version: 5.12.4
The following user(s) said Thank You: Wouter van Reeven
3 years 11 months ago #52359

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Thanks @RDBeck. This seems to suggest that it is something in my setup, most likely some software or the config files having gone awry. I will reinstall everything and try again.


Wouter
3 years 11 months ago #52364

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@RDBeck, it seems there is an issue with the nightly builds for Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04, see

indilib.org/forum/development/6815-night...16-04-and-18-04.html

From when is your KStars build? You can check with

<code>dpkg -l \*kstars\*</code>

Mine is from 2020-04-03.


Thanks, Wouter
Last edit: 3 years 11 months ago by Wouter van Reeven.
3 years 11 months ago #52385

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Wouter,

I'm running Ubuntu 19.10 and using the stable channel.

My build is dated 2020-02-03 (see from above)
[2020-04-19T20:52:32.183 CDT INFO ][                org.kde.kstars] - Build: 2020-02-23T18:06:10Z

Looks like there may be other software differences.

Richard
Last edit: 3 years 11 months ago by Richard Beck. Reason: update
3 years 11 months ago #52386

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Thanks Richard. I am switching to Ubuntu 19.10 and KStars stable now.


Wouter
3 years 11 months ago #52389

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OK so I switched to Ubuntu Mate 19.10 and installed KStars stable. The deb package is from today so I guess that Jasem is preparing the next KStars release. Anyway, I tested scheduled refocusing and again it fails for me both with the linear algorithm and the polynomial algorithm. This leads me to believe that this is a general scheduled refocusing issue and not limited to a single algorithm. Unfortunately I forgot to switch on logging when I was testing with the linear algorithm but I restarted with debug logging enabled for the polynomial algorithm.

My test was as followed:
- slew to a target (in this case Lambda Centauri)
- use plate solving to center the target
- do a manual auot- focus -> this goes OK
- start guiding
- plan a capture sequence of 4 images of 30 seconds each and make sure that "refocus every" is set to "1 minutes"
- sit back and watch the show

Since the time lapsed since the manual auto-focus to the start of the sequence is more than 1 minute, auto-focus is immediately performed. Despite the focuser moving in and out, 4 times EXACTLY the same HFR and amount of stars are measured and the auto-focus routine concludes that focus has bee reached after 4 images have been taken. Then it takes two 2 images from my job and then auto-focus kicks in again with exactly the same result and exactly the same HFR and number of stars as before. FYI the HFR and number of stars are the values from the last image taken in the manual auto-focus sequence when ideal focus is reached the first time.

This is with
- EQMod mount
- ZWO imaging cam (ASI1600MM-C Pro)
- ZWO guide cam (ASI120MC-S)
- ZWO EAF
- ZWO EFW

Logs attached. Can someone PLEASE try to make sense of this? Many, many thanks in advance!


Wouter
3 years 11 months ago #52714
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Before I forget: when i switched to Ubuntu Mate 19.10 I completely wiped out any KStars profile and INDI config files that I had. Tonight's test was done with a clean and completely new KStars installation and configuration.


Wouter
3 years 11 months ago #52715

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Wouter,

This is indeed strange. Have you tried using SEP for star detection? I'm trying to compare my last set of logs with yours, and that's one difference I see. Just shooting in the dark here.

I've never seen my HFR values be constant. The log shows the focuser has changed position. Have you verified how much the drawtube moves per step and how many steps are in your critical focus zone?
3 years 11 months ago #52716

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I was under the impression that I used SEP because that's what I always use. Perhaps I failed to select that tonight but honestly I don't think that the star detection algorithm is the problem here. I have seen this behavior time and again over the past two months using KStars nightly. For now I just plan short jobs and manually focus in between them but I'd appreciate not having to do that anymore any time soon if possible.


EDIT: I checked and SEP is selected. Not sure where you saw that it isn't but according to the Ekos focus tab it is. I have put my telescope outside again and am testing now with a scheduled refocus (again every 1 minutes) with 5 jobs of 30 secs without manually focusing first.

EDIT 2: While I was typing the previous sentence the first two images were taken and Ekos refocused. Then KStars crashed, I suspect because there is no previous focus image. I'll restart and will manually focus first. I will also make sure that all focus images get stored so I can inspect them. I will make those available here as well.

Wouter
Last edit: 3 years 11 months ago by Wouter van Reeven.
3 years 11 months ago #52717

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