I've had this issue several times and wondering what I can do to solve it.
I'm having two issues.
1. The meridian flip fails for some unknown reason, it retries the filp 4 minutes later successfully.
2. After the second attempt (flip is successful), it does a focus as planned, but never restarts guiding. It just goes back to capturing with guiding turned off.
Would love to solve both issues. But solving just one of them may provide great benefit as well. (If the first flip succeeds, perhaps guiding will restart successfully?)
Setup is as follows:
Astroberry Running on raspberry pi 4.
Connected directly to Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro mount with USB cable (no hand controller is connected at all).
Using EQMod driver.
Mount tab has the following logs for the first flip that fails:
2022-08-31T23:18:21 Meridian flip completed.
2022-08-31T23:18:21 meridian flip failed, retrying in 4 minutes
2022-08-31T23:18:20 Meridian flip slew started...
2022-08-31T23:18:20 Meridian flip started.
Indi EQMod Control Panel (GMT time) logs, that begin before or at the first flip attempt:
2022-09-01T06:23:59: [INFO] Telescope slew is complete. Tracking TRACK_SIDEREAL...
2022-09-01T06:23:59: [INFO] Iterative Goto (1): RA diff = 0.52 arcsecs DE diff = 0.02 arcsecs
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Slewing to RA: 20:46:57 - DEC: 30:40:47
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Slewing mount: RA increment = 225, DE increment = -32
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Setting Eqmod Goto RA=20.794 DE=30.9685 (target RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Aligned Eqmod Goto RA=20.794 DE=30.9685 (target RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] GOTO ALign Nearest: delta RA = 0.011631, delta DEC = 0.288763
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Align: current point is 3
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Starting Goto RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797 (current RA=20.7945 DE=30.9672)
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Align Sync: point added: lst=20.89802170 celestial RA 20.78290916 DEC 30.67846406 Telescope RA 20.79453993 DEC 30.96722656
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Align Triangulate: number of faces is 3
2022-09-01T06:23:58: [INFO] Align Pointset: added point 3 alt = 75.1038 az = 185.797
2022-09-01T06:23:40: [INFO] Telescope slew is complete. Tracking TRACK_SIDEREAL...
2022-09-01T06:23:40: [INFO] Iterative Goto (1): RA diff = 1.84 arcsecs DE diff = 0.04 arcsecs
2022-09-01T06:23:39: [INFO] Slewing to RA: 20:46:57 - DEC: 30:40:47
2022-09-01T06:23:39: [INFO] Slewing mount: RA increment = 15146, DE increment = -14876
2022-09-01T06:23:39: [INFO] Setting Eqmod Goto RA=20.794 DE=30.9672 (target RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:23:39: [INFO] Aligned Eqmod Goto RA=20.794 DE=30.9672 (target RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:23:39: [INFO] GOTO ALign Nearest: delta RA = 0.011635, delta DEC = 0.287507
2022-09-01T06:23:39: [INFO] Align: current point is 2
2022-09-01T06:23:39: [INFO] Starting Goto RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797 (current RA=20.8334 DE=30.3861)
2022-09-01T06:23:38: [INFO] Align Sync: point added: lst=20.89264807 celestial RA 20.82181030 DEC 30.09862549 Telescope RA 20.83344494 DEC 30.38613281
2022-09-01T06:23:38: [INFO] Align Triangulate: number of faces is 1
2022-09-01T06:23:38: [INFO] Align Pointset: added point 2 alt = 74.5627 az = 183.466
2022-09-01T06:23:14: [INFO] Telescope slew is complete. Tracking TRACK_SIDEREAL...
2022-09-01T06:23:14: [INFO] Iterative Goto (2): RA diff = 1.01 arcsecs DE diff = 0.00 arcsecs
2022-09-01T06:23:13: [INFO] Iterative goto (1): slew mount to RA increment = 5473, DE increment = 0
2022-09-01T06:23:13: [INFO] Iterative Goto (1): RA diff = 51.30 arcsecs DE diff = 0.00 arcsecs
2022-09-01T06:22:40: [INFO] Align: current point is 1
2022-09-01T06:22:28: [INFO] Align: current point is 0
2022-09-01T06:22:22: [INFO] Slewing to RA: 20:46:57 - DEC: 30:40:47
2022-09-01T06:22:22: [INFO] Slewing mount: RA increment = -4608028, DE increment = 3052230
2022-09-01T06:22:22: [INFO] Setting Eqmod Goto RA=20.8332 DE=30.3861 (target RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:22:22: [INFO] Aligned Eqmod Goto RA=20.8332 DE=30.3861 (target RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:22:22: [INFO] GOTO ALign Nearest: delta RA = 0.050769, delta DEC = -0.293575
2022-09-01T06:22:22: [INFO] Starting Goto RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797 (current RA=20.8331 DE=30.3861)
2022-09-01T06:18:20: [INFO] Telescope slew is complete. Tracking TRACK_SIDEREAL...
2022-09-01T06:18:20: [INFO] Iterative Goto (1): RA diff = 0.37 arcsecs DE diff = 0.00 arcsecs
2022-09-01T06:18:20: [INFO] Slewing to RA: 20:46:57 - DEC: 30:40:47
2022-09-01T06:18:20: [INFO] Slewing mount: RA increment = 75, DE increment = 0
2022-09-01T06:18:20: [INFO] Setting Eqmod Goto RA=20.8332 DE=30.3861 (target RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:18:20: [INFO] Aligned Eqmod Goto RA=20.8332 DE=30.3861 (target RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:18:20: [INFO] GOTO ALign Nearest: delta RA = 0.050769, delta DEC = -0.293575
2022-09-01T06:18:20: [INFO] Starting Goto RA=20.7824 DE=30.6797 (current RA=20.8332 DE=30.3861)
2022-09-01T06:18:18: [INFO] Telescope slew is complete. Tracking TRACK_SIDEREAL...
2022-09-01T06:18:18: [INFO] Iterative Goto (1): RA diff = 0.64 arcsecs DE diff = 0.01 arcsecs
2022-09-01T06:18:18: [INFO] Slewing to RA: 20:46:56 - DEC: 30:40:47
2022-09-01T06:18:18: [INFO] Slewing mount: RA increment = -216, DE increment = 197
2022-09-01T06:18:17: [INFO] Setting Eqmod Goto RA=20.833 DE=30.3861 (target RA=20.7822 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:18:17: [INFO] Aligned Eqmod Goto RA=20.833 DE=30.3861 (target RA=20.7822 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:18:17: [INFO] GOTO ALign Nearest: delta RA = 0.050769, delta DEC = -0.293575
2022-09-01T06:18:17: [INFO] Align: current point is 1
2022-09-01T06:18:17: [INFO] Starting Goto RA=20.7822 DE=30.6797 (current RA=20.8324 DE=30.3784)
2022-09-01T06:18:17: [INFO] Align Sync: point added: lst=20.80323527 celestial RA 20.78160403 DEC 30.67201290 Telescope RA 20.83237329 DEC 30.37843750
2022-09-01T06:18:17: [INFO] Align Triangulate: number of faces is 0
2022-09-01T06:18:17: [INFO] Align Pointset: added point 1 alt = 75.1565 az = 181.101
2022-09-01T06:18:00: [INFO] Telescope slew is complete. Tracking TRACK_SIDEREAL...
2022-09-01T06:18:00: [INFO] Iterative Goto (1): RA diff = 0.55 arcsecs DE diff = 0.00 arcsecs
2022-09-01T06:18:00: [WARNING] Can not guide if not tracking.
2022-09-01T06:18:00: [WARNING] Can not guide if not tracking.
2022-09-01T06:17:59: [INFO] Slewing to RA: 20:46:56 - DEC: 30:40:47
2022-09-01T06:17:59: [INFO] Slewing mount: RA increment = -383, DE increment = -142
2022-09-01T06:17:59: [INFO] Setting Eqmod Goto RA=20.8322 DE=30.3784 (target RA=20.7822 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:17:59: [INFO] Aligned Eqmod Goto RA=20.8322 DE=30.3784 (target RA=20.7822 DE=30.6797)
2022-09-01T06:17:59: [INFO] GOTO ALign Nearest: delta RA = 0.050002, delta DEC = -0.301269
2022-09-01T06:17:59: [INFO] Starting Goto RA=20.7822 DE=30.6797 (current RA=20.8312 DE=30.384)
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Hey, nice tip - thanks. I haven't used exiftool before.
No FOCUSTEM in my images:
$ astfits -h0 Test*.fits |grep FOCUSTEM
$
Since I don't have a cooled camera, it seems to just set the CCD-TEMP instead:
$ astfits -h0 Test*.fits |grep CCD-TEMP
CCD-TEMP= 22. / CCD Temperature (Celsius)
I bet it's a bug in EKOS that results in CCD-TEMP being "22." instead of "22.3" or similar.
The UI displays the full value in all areas (Focuser tab and Capture tab). But 100% of my images have a FITS header CCD-TEMP that ends in a ".".
Of course, with the dot at the end, the filename ends up being:
$ exiftool '-filename<%f_${CCD-TEMP;}.%e' Test.fits
1 image files updated
$ ls Test*
Test_22..fits
Now I need to find the proper forum to report the above bug.
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Thanks, I found that gnuastro (linux package) includes the astfits utility that does the trick.
I also found that EKOS in my setup is putting the focuser temperature in the value called CCD-TEMP when using a DSLR. (There is no FOCUSTEMP FITS header in my images).
Here is how I'm pulling CCD-TEMP from the fits headers in a random fits file. Note that for some reason, even though the value is an integer, a "." is placed at the end of the decimal value. So I use sed to remove a trailing ".".
I guess it truncates or rounds up the focuser temp when putting it into CCD-TEMP.
astfits file.fits -h0 | grep CCD-TEMP| awk '{print $2}'|sed s/.$//`
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Ahah. Looks like fitsgetext can pull out individual headers from fits files from the command line. This means I can write a script to rename the files to include the sensor temp.
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Thanks, that is helpful as an alternative. Now I just need an extended "ls" command for Linux that can display and sort by the FITS headers 
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Probably not the right forum, if someone knows a better place to ask please let me know.
I use a DSLR and as a result, temperature is important for calibration frames.
It seems that EKOS allows me to add a number of variables to the captured filename but the temperature setting seems to come from the temp setting for the cooled camera.
I'd like to use the sensor from the focuser instead.
Is this possible?
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Thanks again for the help on this topic! After switching from the SynScan driver to EQMod and using direct connect to the mount rather via the handset, I had the best guiding experience so far with this mount. So happy to avoid all setup in the hand controller as well!
No issues with slewing / time zones / plate solving and guide performance was the best I've seen yet (Total RMS was 0.49 - 0.82 arcsec and was usually under 0.6, all with only a rough polar alignment).
Previously: Guide performance was around 1.6 arcseconds with huge swings (over 2 arcsec) when using the SynScan driver + USB connected to the Hand Controller; even when I had excellent polar alignment before.
I still had ~15% of my 5m exposures with a little star elongation due to the nature of the bouncing around. Will do better polar alignment tonight and try again.
I think my conclusion is that folks should avoid the SynScan driver if at all possible. If you must use the hand controller, perhaps try EQMod with PC Direct mode set on the hand controller (though I have not tested this yet)
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Haven't had clear skies yet but am testing it out a bit more and still seeing odd behavior. Time appears to be solved now (using EQMod and a cable connected directly to the mount with no hand controller connected), but GPS coordinates are still behaving strangely.
The logs in the INDI Control Panel say: "Observer location updated: Latitude 45:XX:XX / Longitude: -122:XX:XX" and these values indeed match the Kstars location I enter, but when I click on the "Site Management" tab, it shows a Longitude that is way way off. E.g. 237 instead of -122. But Lat and Elevation are correct.
I can update them and choose "Set" to correct them, but if I disconnect and reconnect, the Longitude is way off again.
Any idea what could be causing this?
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Thanks again for the help. I was indeed able to get it to connect to the mount and slew just now using EQMod and the USB cable. Only had to change the baud rate in the INDI control panel to get it to connect. I'll try it for real once I get a clear night.
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Thanks for your reply. Initially, I had "Kstars updates everything" but still had this problem on occasion so I changed it to the mount controls everything. I will try going back to kstars updates everything and see if that helps.
Note that when I try to unplug the hand controller and connect directly to the mount (rather than USB port on hand controller), I get errors connecting (using synscan driver). I spoke to skywatcher support and they mentioned that I probably have an updated control board that doesn't allow direct connect (only used for updating firmware). Are you using synscan driver or eqmod driver when connecting directly to the mount?
I would certainly love to skip using the hand controller during initial setup. SynScan driver requires you do a setup/star alignment before it will work when connected to hand controller directly.
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This is something I've struggled with for a while and cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong. Sometimes things work fine but I can't tell what I"m doing different on the days it works vs. the days it doesn't work. Initially I thought it was due to running disconnected (astroberry hotspot) vs. my home wifi but that isn't always the solution.
The first thing I do is setup and 1-star align the mount. During this process, I enter the location coordinates, timezone offset for standard time, as well as YES/NO depending on whether DST is active or not. Given that I am in pacific timezone and DST is active, I set Timezone offset to -8 and I set DST to YES.
I also have the timezone set on the raspberry pi operating system to PST and I run (as root) the date command to set the time to the correct time, I confirm that in the UI it shows the proper current time.
I also set the geographic location using the astroberry preference menu to match what I set in the mount.
Then I start Kstars/EKOS and connect to the mount/camera/etc. I use "SynScan" driver to connect to my EQ6-R Pro with a USB cable plugged into the hand controller.
It pops up the INDI control panel and I notice that the UTC time displayed is off by an hour compared to actual UTC time and the TimeZone offset is -7. I also notice that the longitude is sometimes off by a significant amount. Instead of showing -118.xx.xx as I set in the mount, it shows like 242.xx.xx.
End result is that plate solving corrections do not work in the mount and I even notice that the mount itself will do a meridian flip an hour early. Plate solving with corrections iterates forever bouncing around about 10 arc-seconds at a time, but not even always in the right direction.
I have tried switching INDI settings to use location from mount but that seems to have no effect.
Hopefully someone can point out the error in my ways here.
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