15 replies to this topic

[WallyZ]

I'm not sure what is going on and why this has only just started.

 

In k-stars.

 

When going to targets or load/solve to targets the mount is slewing in the wrong direction and crashing into the mount (if I don't abort).

 

My home location (Perth Western Australia) is correctly set.

 

Even if I manually slew and get close to the target if I then goto or solve-to the target the mount goes completely the wrong way.

 

I have disabled the "automatic and manual rotator control" under rotator settings for the solver options.  Meridian flip is set to zero degrees but the mount is still going well past that!

 

I'm struggling!

 

Mount is the Skywatcher Star adventurer GTI.  I do not align the mount via synscan pro.  All alignment is via k-stars.

 

Appreciate any ideas!

Edited by WallyZ, 05 March 2024 - 07:58 AM.

[vidrazor]

Are you on a Raspberry Pi? Is the system clock set? What time are you seeing in KStars?

[WallyZ]

Are you on a Raspberry Pi? Is the system clock set? What time are you seeing in KStars?

No not on a Pi.  The indi server is Armbian on an Odriod.  The client is an AMD laptop running Ubuntu.  The Linux and k-stars time appear to be correct.  The Linux time on the indi server is correct.

Edited by WallyZ, 05 March 2024 - 09:08 AM.

[kerniew]

I suspicion that you have an error (somewhere) in your lat/long/time setup.  I have had similar issues like you and had to do a careful scrub of my setup parameters.

 

Here is a bit of a procedure.

1. Stop using KSTARS.  Use the Synscan hand controller and/or Synscan app.  Verify that it operates as expected.  Write down the lat/long and time from those.

2. Reintegrate KSTARS.  Verify the lat/long and time is the same in KSTARS as the data you wrote down from step 1. 

          Be thorough in KSTARS. 

          Check the geographic location:https://docs.kde.org...fig.html#setgeo  Ensure you have the correct time zone and daylight savings time.

          Then check the local time in the upper left of the KSTARS skymap.  It starts with "LT:"

          In the INDI control panel, check the "Site Management" under the mount tab.  It should have the correct lat/long/date.

 

After that make small movements from the home position (south celestial pole).  i.e. one of the bright stars of Octans? I'm guessing here since I'm at 35 degrees north.  That way you minimize risk of a tripod collision.

 

On the more complex side, you can integrate a GNSS (GPS) receiver into KSTARS and have it feed you location and time.  That way you eliminate potential setup issues.   I use this one: https://www.amazon.c...e?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Good luck.

[michael8554]

I agree with kerniew.

 

The mount or KSTARS thinks it's in the northern hemisphere, or is 115 degrees west instead if east

[Spaceman 56]

the mount Park position might also be confused.

 

in KStars send the mount to the parked position, and see if its pointed where you want it to be.

 

if its not turn, everything OFF, and then manually move the mount until its looking where you want it to be.

 

then turn everything on again, and see if the mount slews to targets.

 

basic stuff but it has worked for me.

[vidrazor]

the mount Park position might also be confused.

Good point, forgot that. Been there, done that.
 

[WallyZ]

So I followed everyone's advice.

 

I made sure the time and location were correct in K-stars (they were).  I then made sure the mount was properly parked.  Dec was perfect but RA was off to the west an hour or so.  I just clutched it back to vertical position and continued from there.

 

Conducted my usual k-stars alignment and slewed to some targets close to the s.pole.  All good.   Slewed to Orion to the north which had passed the meridian and was almost directly overhead.  All good.  Resolved to a previous capture of Orion and still all good.  Took a number of subs before the clouds rolled in.

 

So everything worked as it usually did.  Not sure if correcting the park was the fix but I will add that to my process.

 

Thanks and clear skies!

Edited by WallyZ, 06 March 2024 - 08:59 AM.

[gordtulloch]

I occasionally have to shut down my rig, normally when it might have hit an obstruction or otherwise lost sync with the software, so I position the scope manually pointing around Polaris, and when I turn everything back on the software correctly assumes the mount is pointing at Polaris. The first slew is pretty far off but the platesolve fixes that. I need to reset the park position as well since the encoder positions will have changed.

[WallyZ]

I occasionally have to shut down my rig, normally when it might have hit an obstruction or otherwise lost sync with the software, so I position the scope manually pointing around Polaris, and when I turn everything back on the software correctly assumes the mount is pointing at Polaris. The first slew is pretty far off but the platesolve fixes that. I need to reset the park position as well since the encoder positions will have changed.

That's exactly what I found.  The first slew after aiming the scope back at the s.pole is off by the R/A amount that I moved it but after the first plate solve it behaved as expected.

[Spaceman 56]

  Not sure if correcting the park was the fix but I will add that to my process.

 

Thanks and clear skies!

its something that I have to do periodically when the mount slews to the wrong spot.

 

after parking the mount turn it off, and turn KStars off too. then adjust the mounts position manually.

 

Finally restart everything.

 

that generally works for me.  

[Tribe_Of_Dan]

I have two different computers (both running Ubuntu/Kstars/Ekos to drive my EQmod Mount.  
One computer has "gone stupid" and is always pointing the mount in the wrong direction, even after plates solving several stars.
Another and possibly related issue is that it keeps forgetting that Polaris is the "home" position and at startup time thinks that the mount is pointed about 45 degrees up instead of the 27 degrees up that represents the Celestial Pole.

My other computer drives the mount around the sky, just fine. It always moves the telescope in the correct direction when using GOTO. This is to say that troubleshooting has revealed that the mount is behaving properly and that KStars/Ekos is driving it in the wrong direction when given a GOTO command.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to really reset everything on KStars/Ekos?

[gordtulloch]

If you delete the mount model in the mount tab in EKOS and turn off both mount and computer, thats always reset everything for me.

[WallyZ]

After having this occur on many random occasion I believe I have found what I was doing that may have caused the issue and subsequently a method to avoid it.

 

This issue appears to occur when (From EKOS Plate-Slover/Alignment panel) a sync is performed when the scope is pointed very near the pole.

 

I noticed when ever I started kstars the reticle for the scope position on the star map was always a centimeter or two to the right of the pole.  This does not seem to be a problem or the problem.

 

However if I was pointed very close to the pole (closer than the reticle position on the star map) and I attempted to do a plate-solve sync all my problems would begin.

 

To avoid the problem I no longer do a plate-solve sync until after I have completed the polar alignment and moved away from the pole before I do my first plate-solve sync.

 

Cross fingers.  After doing this I no longer have a confused scope/software.

[gordtulloch]

Absolutely syncing near the pole will cause problems good call!

[WallyZ]

Just like to add a comment regarding scope starting position.

 

When staring with EQmod driver (with a SA GTI) the scope position (on the star map) is positioned a few degrees to the east of the median.  However when starting with the newer SA GTI driver the scope position is directly over the pole (south for me).