I guess I'm a bit late, sorry ...

Anyway, as others have pointed out, I use the celestron_sct drivers, which means connecting a usb cable from the focuser directly to the PC, not through the handcontroller. When doing that, I get this INDI configuration window (in any INDI client program, like ccdciel, indistarter, ekos, etc...)



There's a button "Start Calibration" to activate the whole process. The button is still there in the latest INDI version (1.8.4), although I have't clicked it recently, since my focuser is still calibrated. But back when I did, I remember it solved my min-max limits being 0.

Kind regards,
James

Hi James,

No worries, weather is cloudy the coming week. So if I understand it correctly you have to calibrate the focuser via usb direct to the pc first and then connect it to a stellarmate. Then if you open Ekos the calibration can be done but you don’t have to because it has been calibrated beforehand. I asked the question because I got the idea that you could calibrate the focuser via stellarmate and Ekos directly.
Or am I mistaken in my assumptions?

Cheers,

Mark

the latest Celestron focus driver on stellarmate and ekos 3.4.3 on Mac crashes at the end of the calibration step, but it does work and does seem to achieve calibration despite the crash.

I was able to get my Celestron focuser working on a Raspberry Pi 4 with Astroberry by setting up the focuser in Ekos. Everything went well, and Ekos seems to run the focuser just fine. It did crash at the end of calibration but once I restarted it worked just fine. I also have a Losmandy G11 and a ZWO camera and guider with filter wheel, and everything got along ok.

So how can I operate the focuser when I am using the telescope purely visually. Every time I change eyepieces I'll need to re focus, so I'd like to have my eye in the eyepiece but my keyboard and monitor are at a desk. Does anyone know of an INDI client that can run on my iPhone so I can focus at the telescope? Is this something iINDI can do?

Thanks in advance.
Hans

Hi Hans,

I use a XBox 360 controller as a joystick to focus. The SCT focuser driver has joystick support. And to slew, to set slew speed, to park, to unpark, to abort motion („panic button“), as the EQMOD mount driver has joystick support as well. Great when observing visually. The XBox 360 USB receiver works perfectly on the RPi 4.

CS, Bernd

Yes, I use iINDI on my iPhone, exactly as you describe.

Never realized that, I'll try it!

What's the VID:PID of the Celestron SCT focuser?

I have one. If you tell me the command to issue, I will post the output.

I found out (lsusb), it's 15A2:A50F

Is this the same VID:PID for Celestron CGX mount as well?

Why does this matter? Are you planning to base some vital part of the connection on this?

Celestron will probably be thinking of this as a serial interface with a COM port number. It's possible that they have not considered the VID:PID at all, it could easily change without notice.

I am using raspberry pi 4 8gb with ubuntu, kstars/ekos installed.
My mount is a celestron AVX with a celestron focuser attached via ST4 cable to the aux port of the mount.
Ekos will not connect and gives a "port already in use" error.
I think there was an option for the celestron GPS driver in the focuser pulldown I had in astroberry, but does not appear here in ubuntu.
I have updated several times via command line and using the software udpdater GUI app.
If this is indeed the fix, how can i get it? Or, is there another fix? (Using USB is not an option)
Thanks!