murjo

I agree this is a good script, but it didn't work for installing phd2 for me. I also somewhat prefer manually installing everything I can, since I wish to have as much control over everything as possible, especially after all the struggles with indi and ekos. Even the eqmod driver has to be compiled from the indi-3rdparty repository to work with a rpi 5. I know astro-soft compiles everything from source as well, but considering that compiling this yourself doesn't take too long, if you know what you're doing, I think it is worth trying. But yes, I agree, trying this script before anything else is likely the simplest solution for most people, if it works, great, you just saved a lot of time.

Hello Steve, I've managed to get eqmod to work (with the hand controller). The apt package (indi-eqmod) is apparently outdated, so you have to compile it from source. Just follow the guide from the indi-3rdparty github page. Actually, you can just paste the commands, because the example used for compiling only one driver already uses eqmod. Good luck with everything and feel free to ask if you need any help Clear skies

Hello all, after buying a pi 5 for imaging, I've realized just how awful the indi ecosystem is to install. Sure, you can use `apt` for everything, but then you'll get indi 1.9.9, which is not enough for phd2. This guide aims to solve that, by at least seeing if what worked for me, works for you. Get a fresh install of raspberry pi os: self explanatory, there are a million other guides for this, I won't be covering it here. First, run sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade This will update your system and may take some time. Next, install the indi dependencies (source: https://astroisk.nl/raspberry-pi-5-indi/): sudo apt install -y git cdbs dkms cmake fxload libev-dev libgps-dev libgsl-dev libraw-dev libusb-dev zlib1g-dev libftdi-dev libjpeg-dev libkrb5-dev libnova-dev libtiff-dev libfftw3-dev librtlsdr-dev libcfitsio-dev libgphoto2-dev build-essential libusb-1.0-0-dev libdc1394-dev libboost-regex-dev libcurl4-gnutls-dev libtheora-dev !!! IMPORTANT !!! If you, at any point, get an error that a library wasn't able to be installed, just remove it from the install command. I'll try my best only to include libraries that still exist, but I can't be certain. The installation will likely work just fine without the library. If it doesn't work, leave a comment here and I'll look into it. It may also be necessary for you to add Mr. Mutlaq's repository: sudo apt install software-properties-common python3-launchpadlib && sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/ppa Next, you'll need to decide where you want to store the uncompiled applications. I chose the ~/astro folder, you can choose anything else, just replace ~/astro with your folder path. mkdir ~/astro cd ~/astro Get the repository and install indi: cd ~/astro git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/indilib/indi.git mkdir -p ./indi/tmp cd ./indi/tmp cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ~/astro/indi make -j4 sudo make install Now you should have the latest version of indi on your system (at the time of writing this that is 2.0.8) Moving on to Kstars/Ekos: sudo apt install build-essential cmake git libstellarsolver-dev libeigen3-dev libcfitsio-dev zlib1g-dev libindi-dev extra-cmake-modules libkf5plotting-dev libqt5svg5-dev libkf5xmlgui-dev libkf5kio-dev kinit-dev libkf5newstuff-dev libkf5doctools-dev libkf5notifications-dev qtdeclarative5-dev libkf5crash-dev gettext libnova-dev libgsl-dev libraw-dev libkf5notifyconfig-dev wcslib-dev libqt5websockets5-dev xplanet xplanet-images qt5keychain-dev libsecret-1-dev breeze-icon-theme libqt5datavisualization5-dev cd ~/astro git clone https://github.com/KDE/kstars.git mkdir ./kstars/tmp cd ./kstars/tmp cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo ~/astro/kstars make -j4 sudo make install This will be (by far) the longest part of the installation, just let it do its thing. Another way of installing Kstars (but I'm unsure if it's good or not, it's a bit ugly) is to use apt: sudo apt install kstars cd ~/astro/indi/tmp sudo make install You have to install the latest version of indi back, because apt installs indi 1.9.9 along with Kstars (I think I also got a bad installation of Kstars like this, the Ekos button was missing) You are now (hopefully) done! Clear skies

Hello, good news: I won’t be needing the internal guider from the looks of it. Phd2 achieved 0,6” guiding last night (on a “poor” calibration”!!)!!! Most of the ra error was periodic, and dec error was just due to backlash. I guess my tinkering with the mount during the weekend worked. When I get the eqdir cable, I’ll try PEC, and I’ll probably add a timing belt to the declination axis, to minimise backlash. I’ll also try replacing the bearings, to help with the balance (the mount is very stiff currently).

Yes, the mount works fine overall. It slews (pretty accurately actually), tracks and parks. Sometimes it does some weird stuff, but that’s to be expected (not syncing RA when close to the pole, parking wrong sometimes, stuff like that). It doesn’t work for polar alignment though (it slews and platesolves for the first three times, but doesn’t refresh, the platesolver times out). I’ve used refresh rates of 2 - 10s with an exposure time of 5s. Maybe it’s wrong that I’m using astap for platesolving, do other solvers work? Do you happen to remember if you used the synscan or eqmod driver with the hand controller? If you don’t, that’s fine, I’ll get the eqdir cable soon enough. Clear skies

Hello, thank you both for the reply. Just to clarify, I’m using a raspberry pi 5 (8 gb ram, I plan to get an nvme for it soon) with pretty good cooling running raspberry pi os for indi and an old laptop for ascom. I don’t think the rpi is the issue, considering my friend uses an uncooled raspberry pi 4 and was able to get sub 0,5” guiding with his eq6-r pro pretty easily as far as I know. I really don’t think phd2 is the issue here (I will however post the logs when I get home, and tonight is supposed to be clear, so I can try the internal guider). Any time I said driver in my post, I was referring to the mount driver (so synscan or eqmod), I know there’s no “guiding” driver. I also use nina and ascom on windows (nina is windows exclusive), not sure if I was so unclear earlier. My setup consists of a 130pds with a self modded canon eos 2000d with a 240 mm focal length guide scope and a 120mc (3,75 um pixel size). From my testing on ascom 2 second guide exposures work best. It could the usb bus filling up, didn’t think of that. I’ll try using a different port. I also ordered a eqdir cable, because I don’t like the hand controller (for all I know using the eqdir shouldn’t be necessary, right? That’s what pc direct mode is for?) One thing I just though of that might work is checking permissions, maybe the mount mounts (🥁) to a port without the necessary permissions.

Hello all, recently I have started using indi and ekos for my imaging (I used nina and ascom before that). After the initial struggle to get everything working and running, I reached a problem. My guiding was a lot worse than it was on ascom. I was usually getting 0,8” guiding there, while now, I’m getting horrible guiding now (usually around 2”, but it often spikes, so I have a lot of star trailing). The thing is, my hardware hasn’t changed, only the platform. Both times I’ve used phd2 for guiding, with the same settings, but it just seems to work better on ascom. Calibration is always poor on INDI (I wax pointing at the equator, 5 deg off the meridian), while it is usually good on ascom. I even tried calibrating on ascom and using the data with INDI, which was slightly better, but not as good. Therefore, I’ve come to the conclusion that it must be the driver causing the issues. I use the synscan driver on indi with my eq5 pro, through the hand controller (which is NOT in pc direct mode, because it won’t connect if it is). I suppose using the eqmod driver instead of synscan would be better, but here lies my problem: it just won’t connect. I tried using the eqmod driver with the hand controller, but it doesn’t work, even in pc direct mode. The firmware is updated, so is everything else. I use eqmod on ascom just fine, so what’s the deal? It also seems like the driver isn’t exactly responsive, if I click on connect (or any other options), the light next to the option turns yellow, which means idle. If someone has some experience with this, I would love to hear your suggestions, help is greatly appreciated Clear skies