I'd like to be able to run KStars with Ekos simulator for camera on my work Windows PC to try framing for saving night time.
Work PC, of course, no Indi server connected and I'm just setting the CCD Simulator as Camera 1 as in below image:

Thank you both! I'll try the timestamp trick to see if it works...

It's only strange that it's not a consistent issue but happens quite randomly...

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I've found a couple of time a very odd behaviour: while taking picture, at about the 7th - 8th picture Ekos does not write new image files but continues overwriting the 8th file with the last image taken. The counter of taken images goes on on the screen but the files stays at 8. Other than that no other issues can be found. This is the log from the CCD tab in Ekos:

2022-08-03T23:55:51 Capturing 300.000-second image...
2022-08-03T23:55:51 Dither complete.
2022-08-03T23:55:51 Dithering succeeded.
2022-08-03T23:55:35 Dithering...
2022-08-03T23:55:35 Captured /home/astroberry/Light/Pickering_Light_008.fits
2022-08-03T23:55:35 Received image 12 out of 30.
2022-08-03T23:55:35 Download Time: 1.18 s, New Download Time Estimate: 1.27 s.
2022-08-03T23:50:33 Capturing 300.000-second image...
2022-08-03T23:50:32 Captured /home/astroberry/Light/Pickering_Light_008.fits
2022-08-03T23:50:32 Received image 11 out of 30.
2022-08-03T23:50:32 Download Time: 1.31 s, New Download Time Estimate: 1.28 s.
2022-08-03T23:45:30 Capturing 300.000-second image...
2022-08-03T23:45:28 Captured /home/astroberry/Light/Pickering_Light_008.fits
2022-08-03T23:45:28 Received image 10 out of 30.
2022-08-03T23:45:28 Download Time: 1.21 s, New Download Time Estimate: 1.28 s.
2022-08-03T23:40:27 Capturing 300.000-second image...
2022-08-03T23:40:26 Dither complete.
2022-08-03T23:40:26 Dithering succeeded.
2022-08-03T23:40:12 Dithering...
2022-08-03T23:40:12 Captured /home/astroberry/Light/Pickering_Light_007.fits
2022-08-03T23:40:12 Received image 9 out of 30.
2022-08-03T23:40:12 Download Time: 1.26 s, New Download Time Estimate: 1.29 s.
2022-08-03T23:35:11 Capturing 300.000-second image...
2022-08-03T23:35:09 Captured /home/astroberry/Light/Pickering_Light_007.fits
2022-08-03T23:35:09 Received image 8 out of 30.
2022-08-03T23:35:09 Download Time: 1.27 s, New Download Time Estimate: 1.29 s.
2022-08-03T23:30:07 Capturing 300.000-second image...
2022-08-03T23:30:06 Captured /home/astroberry/Light/Pickering_Light_007.fits
2022-08-03T23:30:06 Received image 7 out of 30.
2022-08-03T23:30:06 Download Time: 1.25 s, New Download Time Estimate: 1.30 s.

As you can see, it first wrote twice image 8 and 9 on 007 file and then after it wrote image 11 and 12 on 008 file.

Anyone any idea? At the moment I tried to manually change the file name after the download, but when it happened on the first time a month or two ago it worked and numbering resumed correctly, yesterday it led to a "write file error" and crash of the program...

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Ok, let me know, I'm curious! It also happens that if I use the automatic dark flat generator after the flat shooting the dark flat shooting fails after the 5th retry, so I have to delete the dark flat sequence and manually add a dark sequence with leght determined by flat: does this happen only to me?

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I have a 294MC and so far I had the automatic debayering disabled and I could make flats with automated flat function in Ekos setting 31000 ADU and 4 second automatic duration with a dimmable led panel.

Yesterday I enabled the automatic debayering for seeing color images in preview but when I started making flats, with always 31000 ADU as target, the exposure time ramped up to over 15 seconds and whas yet to 15000 and I stopped it.

Now my question: what is the correct way of taking flats? I suppose to have debayer disabled and have 4 sec flats

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When I use the Polar Alignment in the Alignment module, after Ekos takes the 3 pictures and shows the error triangle on the picture and values in "Measured err" fields, even if I check the "Update PA Error" and click on "Refresh" the triangle stays the same and the error is not updated, even if I make adjustment to Alt and Az. Is there any way to get this working?

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I don't know what can be the advantage for ST4 or pulse guiding but for me there are real problems on slewing. Anyway there are people that suggests that ST4 is better but so the contrary...

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You're right Jim, that's it! If the mount is tracking, there's actually no real problem or consequences, except that you're forced to use the ST4 cable instead of pulse guiding, but if the jump happens during the slewing that's a real problem becase the mount movement goes out of control! It happened a lot of times during plate solving, and that's a problem because instead of micromovements done for correcting very small arcsec the mount starts slewing on larger distances, or also if it happens during near the meridian flip it can trigger it. What can be done?

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Things you don't expect to happen: I had a good opportunity to upgrade the mount and got a wonderful HEQ5 with Rowan kit that came with a brand new EQMod cable and guess what? Still jumping!!! As I just tried to take some pictures, I didn't turn on the debugging log and decided to have a full reinstallation that I'm running right now, etching the SD for a lot of unexpected problems that still happen, such as the ASI 120 mini switching to 8 bit for no apparent reason.
As said, I'll try with a brand new install, anyway any suggestion on how to tackle the issue that is still here?

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Little update: I received the new EQMod cable. At first it seemed it solved the problem, as in the cold run there were no errors in the log, but I'm trying it right now on actual shoooting and I still see jumps... so cable is innocent!

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Ok, so at least what is wrong on Ekos is wrong on Ascom too. I'll wait for the new cable on monday and will try again!

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