Hello-

I'm re-posting this as it didn't seem to post the first time. I am a new comer to kstars and Ekos. I am testing my setup on a Linux PC by creating a dedicated profile that implements a simulated telescope/mount and CCD system. I am using a simulated CCD with resolution of 3326 x 2504 and 5.4um pixel size with a simulated telescope of 900 mm FL giving a FOV of 68.6' x 51.7'.

I am having problems performing the PAA polar alignment routine Specifically, the mount is not performing the 30 deg rotation after the first plate solving (which was performed successfully). In fact, the mount just sits while the earth rotates so eventually, after a couple hours, it does initiate the second image capture and solving. In other words the rotation is just at the rate of the earth's rotation.

The odd thing is I believe the PAA was working initially, so I seem to have messed something up in the settings.

I've attached a log file showing the startup of Kstars, the unparking of the mount, a goto to a star near Polaris, and the initiation of the PAA routine. I grabbed the log file after the first plate solve was completed and the first rotation is commanded.

I noticed in the log file that there is a reference to my Nikon D5300 DSLR which seems to be carried over from a different profile, not sure why that is.

Also- physical hardware consists of an 8" F10 telescope and Nikon D5300 which gives a real FOV of only 39.74' x 26.38'. This is well below the stated 1 deg FOV requirement. Does this mean that in real life any attempt at plate solving for alignment purposes is doomed to fail?

Thanks in advance,
Eric

Have a look at the mount speed. My guess is that it is set to a very low value. Try increasing it to the max and see if that solves the issue.

As for the FOV size: no this isn't too small but you will need to make sure to download the corresponding Astrometry.net FITS files, which will consume several Gb of disk space in order for it to work.


Clear skies, Wouter

Wouter, thanks for your suggestion! Just to be clear, I don't believe that the issue is a slew speed, although I am happy to try that. I believe the simulated mount is not rotating at all. Having said that, can you point me to the location in Ekos where the mount slew rate is specified?

I have downloaded all the index files onto my harddrive so I should be ok from that standpoint. In fact, I did try simulating my hardware exactly and I was able to obtain plate solutions, but wasn't sure if that was a guarantee of success in real life.

I just tested with the simulators and they work as expected. Slew speed is one thing to look for. The mount should not be EXACTLY at NCP then you will not see it rotating, so sync it first to a star 1 degree or so off.

Thank you for your response! So, I maximized the "Guiding rate" in the Guide tab of Ekos from 0.5 to 2.0. This had no effect when attempting to use the PAA module. And it's not that the speed of the mount is slow; the speed is precisely zero.

Steps:
1)Start Kstars, Select Simulator mount and CCD profile in Ekos and start Ekos and connect to devices.
2) Unpark mount
3) GoTo nearby star within approx. 1 deg from polaris.
4) In Align tab, select Polar Alignment sub-tab and click on "Start"
5) Picture is taken and solved using local solver. I then get the messages: "Please wait until mount completes rotating to RA (08h 12m 49s) DE ( 89° 28' 05")". However it never moves.
6) In the main "Setup" tab of Ekos, under the "Status: Moving W" segment I see the RA changing at precisely the rate of the system clock. I believe that means the simulated mount is not moving at all.

This is in Fedora 32 64-bit, Kstars 3.4.3, indilib 1.8.6.

I can send another log file but it's probably going to be the same as the first I sent. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Eric



I still see the same thing. After the first capture, the mount is supposedly rotating, but it is not.

Just to close this out, I solved the non rotation problem by setting the mount speed in the polar alignment section. I think it was just in an undetermined state. Once set to "max", the simulated mount moved correctly. Thanks for all the help from the forum members.