I tried it in the simulator and it worked ok for me. Not sure what's going on.
What if you try polar aligning in the simulator, do you still have that issue?
Also, I noticed from your screenshot that you had multiple KStars instances running.
Can you try with just one instance running?
The message passing inside of KStars/Ekos can certainly be messed up with multiple instances.
(DBus develop.kde.org/docs/features/d-bus/introduction_to_dbus/)
Hy
Read More...
Dave,
I found an issue in 3.6.4 that sounds like what you are experiencing, and Jasem and I added fixes at the end of April to correct it (in the beta software). Hopefully this issue is fixed in the release due at the end of May (3.6.5).
See
invent.kde.org/education/kstars/-/commit...abac3be749fafac161d2
invent.kde.org/education/kstars/-/commit...bba4f8b0e34219ae3ef6
Hy
Read More...
Dan,
I PM'd you my email address, feel free to share it with that.
FWIW, you can easily create a google gmail account and upload a file to google drive and share there too, but your dropbox will also work.
Hy
Read More...
Upload your fits file to google drive, dropbox, or similar and then send a shared link viewable to all.
The title line in the Align Options Profiles Editor (e.g. the words "Extraction Params") are links to doc pages for SEP, which is the library used for star extraction. However, as I said, if you send me a fits I'll try and help with the parameters.
While you're at it, send screenshots all the parameters you're using (e.g. those extraction parameters, the scale & position page, the stellarsolver options page, which index files you have installed, the main align page, etc.
Read More...
There is a lot to play with to improve plate solving success.
First. make sure the field-of-view, focal length, etc look right on the align page.
Next, look in the Options menu on the lower right of the Align page.
Often unchecking Use Position and Use Scale in the "Scale and Position" sub-tab help, if the issue is that scale and/or position are set up wrong.
If the issue is star detection, then changing the preset at the top of Align Options Profile Editor can help, and/or editing some of the preset values.
If you post a fits file captured the same way you're capturing for align (e.g. same exposure, binning, gain/iso, filter, ...) then I can try and see what options work for me and pass them back to you.
Hy
Read More...
Peter,
If there are nightly compiles for the mac (you probably know that better than me) then you can test out John's changes to the Focus tab and Linear1Pass scheme. Those changes are all in the latest software and latest nightly compiles. I've been running them successfully by compiling my own (on Linux). I'm sure John would appreciate any/all feedback.
Hy
Read More...
It seems to me that your screenshot shows a "successful" plate solve (that is, it came up with solution coordinates -- which are not shown in the cropped screenshot).
I think (but am not 100% sure) that it shows that your telescope is reporting coordinates of RA=12h DEC= 0 degrees (which is not near the pole),
and that the plate-solve solution was 90 degrees (~300K arcsec) different from that.
I'm not familiar with your mount, but here's what you might consider doing.
- KStars/Ekos/Indi is turned off.
- Reset your mount, e.g. power cycle and mechanically move it so that it's pointing near the north star (assuming you're in the northern hemisphere). Ideally have it forget any alignment it might have stored if that's possible, but maybe you don't need to.
- Start KStars/Ekos. Make sure your mount is connected in the INDI console. Look at the INDI console at the mount's tab and make sure the reported RA/DEC is roughly the pole (e.g. DEC is roughly 90 degrees for northern hemisphere).
- Create a keyboard shortcut (any convenient keystrokes, I use control-l) for "slew telescope to the mouse pointer position". You can find that under Settings --> Configure Keyboard Shortcuts, then type "slew" in the search bar, then click in the shortcut column, then type control-l, and click ok.
- Unpark your mount in the Ekos Mount tab.
- Using the Skymap, move your mouse to some "interesting" sky position far from the pole, click there, then type control-l (but first read below)
- You mount should start slewing "roughly" to that part of the sky. If it's off by 10 degrees or whatever, fine. If it seems like it's going crazy and about to hit the pier/tripod, or pointing into the ground, obviously power off your mount. This applies here and to all further mount movements until you're confident things are working well.
- Look at the INDI mount tab and see the reported RA/DEC. Hopefully the telescope is thinking that it is pointing roughly where you asked it to point on the skymap.
- Go to the align tab, set the radio button at the top-left to slew-to-target. Set the accuracy to about 30'. Set exposure to, e.g. 5 or 10s. Some reasonable gain and filter. Click CaptureAndSolve. It should try to plate solve, and iterate, moving closer to your position. You can see in the log bar if the plate solving is working.
- If the plate solving is failing, try going to Options in the bottom-right of the Align tab, Scale-And-Positiojn on the left side of the menu, and uncheck "use scale" and uncheck "use position" and try again to click Capture AndSolve. Hopefully it will work now.
- Do this for one or two other targets, perhaps with one of them on the other side of the meridian. If all that works, then you're probably plate solving and slewing decently.
All the above doesn't have much to do with guiding (your original topic), however, it may get you going with slewing and plate solving.
Best of luck and please report back,
Hy
PS If all this works, and you want to also try guiding, take a stab at it like this:
- Make sure on the guide tab, the telescope description looks right.
- Make sure you've set up an Optical Train www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltOFxH_fKnQ (note Guider in your optical train usually means your mount, not your guide camera)
- Go to one of those targets you were playing with above (again not close to the pole):
- Go to the guide tab, choose Options, on the options menu choose Guide and set things to e.g. aggressiveness 0.6, Inegral gain 0, min error 0, max 100, (all both RA and DEC), Algorithm SEP MultiStar, Profile: Guide-Default. Then on Calibration tab: Pulse 1000, Max Iterations 10, Max Move 25, 1st and 3rd checkmarks checked (maybe the 4th too, you'll have to experiment with that, but that only applies to guiding on the other side of the meridian after you've calibrated on one side). Then click OK in the options menu.
- Click Guide. It should start calibrating, then it should start guiding.
- Make sure you've been keeping a debug log, then if you have issues, upload the log.
Read More...
Fabio,
According to git, I introduced it to the nightlies/beta software on June 9, 2022, and was released at part of KStars 3.6.0 around July 29, 2022.
When I introduce a major feature like that, I like to start a forum thread describing it.
Here is the link for that one: indilib.org/forum/general/11816-announci...ignment-changes.html
When Jasem releases a new version of KStars, he often mentions the new features on his blog.
Here's his entry for v3.6.0 knro.blogspot.com/2022/07/kstars-v360-released.html
There are also all sorts of stellarmate videos he does, and it likely got included there (not sure).
Also, there's the KStars Handbook, docs.kde.org/trunk5/en/kstars/kstars/kstars.pdf which describes this starting on page 123.
Don't get me wrong, I do think it's easy to miss changes to KStars/Ekos, but we do try and advertise new features.
Hy
Read More...
Thanks for finding that bug. I'v reproduced and I'll try and patch it in the latest software.
There is no pausing of the refresh. You can just let it run until you're done.
Hy
Read More...
I watched this NINA video on polar alignment www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI1tzoBhkH8 (up to about 7:00) and the NINA scheme shown there is virtually identical to the Ekos polar alignment refresh scheme known as "Plate Solve" (as opposed to one of the "Move Star" schemes). Have you tried the Ekos "Plate Solve" scheme for polar alignment?
Read More...
Personally, I'm not familiar with Celestron AUX, however...Sounds like you're really looking for INDI driver doc, not doc for the mount module. For INDI drivers you can find a top-level page here: www.indilib.org/individuals/devices and if you want to dig into Celestron, you could follow the links and get here: www.indilib.org/individuals/devices/telescopes/celestron.html or for the particular Celestron AUX mount: www.indilib.org/individuals/devices/tele...tron-aux-driver.html
Read More...
Happy to look into it, if you'd like.
Can you easily recreate with the simulator?
If so, please send me instructions on how to re-create and also include your .esq and .esl files
and also a log where you have verbose logging enabled for all the ekos modules e.g. like in the image below.
Read More...
No, it was added starting 3.6.1 according to the video link.
Sorry, I thought you said you updated the software on your RPi.
If you updated the indi server, you'll need to update Ekos.
Read More...