Wade Prunty replied to the topic 'Software Bisque Paramount MX+' in the forum. 4 years ago

xthestreams wrote: This is where it gets interesting. IIUC - tt should still slew to target, but won't attempt to update the model inside your T-Point.

What that relies on/benefits from is you having done the hard yards with the T-Point setup and a cracking good PA.


I totally get that. And that is what I want to happen. TPoint creates such a great pointing model, I would not want Ekos to mess with that at all. My issue is that the Ekos Align tool is not completing a full "closed loop slew." I'll type out how it happens below.

1. I use the mount control panel to slew to a target.
2. In the Align tab I select Capture & Solve with Slew to Target selected. Within the solver options I have "Use differential slewing instead of syncing" selected.
3. An image is taken and Astrometry solves it right away. Now it shows the arc second error in the Solution Coordinates Error box.
4. Ekos reports the mount is slewing to the solved coordinates.
5. When slewing completes Ekos reports that alignment has been completed within my accuracy requirement and ends its alignment process.

Normally the alignment behavior, when not using differential slewing, would be that after step 4 a new image would be taken and solved to confirm that the previous solve and slew did bring it within my accuracy settings. But this is not happening, and actually the mount seems not to have slewed like step 5 reported. It never continues to confirm the alignment.

Is what I'm reporting the expected behavior of the alignment tool when using differential slewing? If Ekos doesn't truly complete the "closed loop slew" then I'll never be able to use it with the Paramount.

If this is not the expected behavior then I will run this process again and upload the logs from it.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me with this! I REALLY REALLY love Ekos and want to continue to be able to utilize it for my acquisition sessions.

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Wade Prunty replied to the topic 'Software Bisque Paramount MX+' in the forum. 4 years ago

Thanks for the info!

So, if I select differential slewing astrometry will solve successfully, but Ekos won't then slew to updated coordinates, or start the capture image over again to confirm it is within the arcsecond margin I've set. Is this normal behavior for differential slewing? If so, I cannot automate my session if I can't center the target properly.

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Han,

I'm using 1x1 binning only with a 20 second exposure.

The mount I use with Ekos is currently being serviced, but as soon as I get it back I will work more with you to see if we can figure out the issues I had with it.

Thanks for taking the time to try to help me get it working.

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Wade Prunty created a new topic ' Software Bisque Paramount MX+' in the forum. 4 years ago

I just recently bought a Paramount MX+ and I want to use is with Ekos. There was a page from this forum that had instructions on setting it up, but is seems to have been taken down. Does anyone know where I can find any other tips for using the MX+ with Ekos? I've made a connection to the mount in Ekos via the TheSkyX server function, but I have not been able to successfully complete the alignment process, nor guide. Before I get to the point where I start uploading logs I want to make sure I have everything configured correctly.


Webpage That No Longer Works:
www.indilib.org/devices/mounts/bisque-paramount.html

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Hello, did you find a solution for this? A friend of mine is having a similar issue with the Starlight Xpress Trius SX-56.

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otti242 wrote: Sounds good, but how much diskspace is needed for all index-files?
I haven't used the platesolving that much so far, because I had some problems with it,maybe I will try your suggestion here.

Thanks and CS
Andreas


The entire index file library is about 32GB. The Mac mini has a 512GB SSD, so it's completely worth it for me to have all of them downloaded. If you are using a RPi device with a small flash drive, downloading all of them might not be an option.

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wvreeven wrote:

otti242 wrote: Sounds good, but how much diskspace is needed for all index-files?


Have a look at the fourth image (the one with the overview of the index files) which also contains the sizes involved. By the way, you only need the ones with the green check marks. The ones with the red crosses and triangles are not needed for successful plate solving.


HTH, Wouter


Yeah, I have multiple scopes, all with different focal lengths. I'd rather download and have all of them now then find out I need another one when I'm out in the field without internet access.

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First off, I want to give a big shout out to anyone who has had a hand in creating Kstars/Ekos. I absolutely love imaging with this application. I have run into a few bugs, but the forum users have been a big help getting each one resolved.

As a macOS user who had issues getting astrometry.net working offline, once I finally did, I wanted to share the steps that worked for me. I did this with a fresh wipe and reinstall of macOS Catalina 10.15.5 . The following steps begin after I installed Kstars. This method utilizes Sextractor, not python.

***A side note: ASTAP works for me like 50% of the time, and that is why I kept working on getting astrometry.net to work offline. Sometimes ASTAP simply times out while solving without logging any specific reason.

1. Install homebrew using terminal
⁃ /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh )"
⁃ You can also confirm this installation command from the homebrew website.
brew.sh

2. Install astrometry.net via homebrew using terminal
⁃ brew install astrometry-net

3. Set index folder location in Ekos solver options
⁃ You can choose any location you want

4. Download index files
⁃ In the Index Files tab set the index file location to the the folder you selected in step 3.
⁃ Check the index files you want to download. I downloaded all of them

***Important: It confused me my first time around, but this time I did not follow any of the instruction in the README link within index files tab. There are links withing that page that will take you to instructions that no longer function in the latest versions of macOS. I simply just download all of the index files available. I believe the more index files you have can cause the solving process to run a little longer, but the entire process is so quick once you get it working offline that it’s really not a problem.

5. Confirm the location of the newly installed astrometry.cfg file.
⁃ Mine matches the locations below.
⁃ /usr/local/Cellar/astrometry-net/0.80_3/etc/

6. Make sure the following boxes are checked in solver options/astrometry.net.
⁃ Use Sextractor not python
⁃ Sextractor
⁃ Make sure python remains UNchecked.

7. Change the following three settings in solver options/astrometry.net
⁃ You’ll need to UNcheck these three boxes, but still fill them in. This is a little confusing too, but Unchecking them simply means you are providing the locations instead of using the default locations.
⁃ Solver:
⁃ /usr/local/Cellar/astrometry-net/0.80_3/bin/solve-field
⁃ WCSINFO:
⁃ /usr/local/Cellar/astrometry-net/0.80_3/bin/wcsinfo
⁃ Config:
⁃ /usr/local/Cellar/astrometry-net/0.80_3/etc/astrometry.cfg

8. Using a tool like BBedit, open the astrometry.cfg file and change the index file path to the location you chose to download them too in step 3. Don’t forget to save the file.

Now you should be able to change the Solver to Astro.net, Offline and solve almost instantaneously.



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I’ve read that error so many times, I cannot believe I was confusing the two! Sorry about that. Thanks for your help so far. Will Rob see this thread, or am I supposed to reach out to him?

Thanks again!

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