stash_old

Is the Stepper 1.8 or 0.9 degree's ?

Shouldn't say this but ,touch wood, they have never let me down - had to reload the Nano a couple of times but the Stepper has been great. A good company. Once you have finished this - the next one you could try the "geared" version its even better but more expensive. 

Did your stepper come with a wiring diagram showing colours and the matching A- A+ B- B+ (as also marker on the TB6560 driver) - if it did that helps.

1 hour ago, fozzybear said:

the tb6560 has whole-step,half-step, 1/8 step and 1/16 step ?

Set it at half-step to start - depends of torque required and how much weight your camera etc - As I say that depends on your mechanical adapter.

1 hour ago, fozzybear said:

I've a NEMA 17 nano and the tb6560 

Looks about right

1 hour ago, fozzybear said:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/arduinofocuscontrollerpro/files/CODE ARDUINO/ 

goto files Arduino and download Arduino Firmware myFocuserPro-175.zip

 is the correct one

regards

Andy

Its the only one - it contains ALL the INO code for all sorts of set ups ?

If you mean Linux version then you need Roberts code my Moonlight compat version is wemos Wifi based not Nano - This is the Indi Moonlight version from Robert https://sourceforge.net/projects/arduinofocuscontrollerpro/  and follow the DRV8825 version (this is what I originally used for mine). When you download the zip file it will have lots of version as his version has lots of options - buttons,lcd,Bluetooth etc etc. The first one of each range is the basic.  He has done many changes from when I last looked (over 2yrs ago). The only thing you will not be able to do is micro stepping changes by software but I never found the need as it all depends on you connection to the Scope tube and the Stepper motor ( geared or not , steps per 360 etc etc). As I say I would set up a test bed first.  Note most steppers run best about 12v but with up to 3amp current but again testing should high light any heating problems - IMHO dont be tempted to go 1/32 or even 1/16. 

12 hours ago, fozzybear said:

enabled + on the tb6560 does this goto the pins I suggested a4 or d8?

That depends on the software running on the Nano (if thats wha you are using) - On my modified versions of Roberts code I use D3,D4,D8 - no A pins used - are as my diagram shows thats a direct relationship - d3 nano goes to 3 on the diagram. But as I say it depends on the software pins used - its not hard and fast they just all have to match - e.g. if D3 on the Nano is the CLK signal to the TB6650 then D3 must me connected to CLK + on the TB6650 board ( or whatever board pin has the CLK signal). The software must then make sure that references to the CLK signal are via D3 - Normally only defined once no matter whose software you use. By software I refer to the INO Code for the Arduino. Hope that helps. May I suggest you set up a test rig first before you start soldering to test it all out ?

4 hours ago, fozzybear said:

enable no8 is this d8 or a4 as per roberts sketch  

Pretty picture (2nd one) but what is it LOL - never did any soldering as I am naff at soldering.

On 07/03/2019 at 21:36, fozzybear said:

Stash

well after a long break with work plan on putting this pup to bed got all the kit ready I know a long time but working 6 days a week and astro on back leg now working 5 days a week so have time for astro work thank god, do you have the Arduino code for this as planning to control my 150pds

regards

Andy

Good question I will have a search round 

IMHO there is one big problem with everything being on one expensive pc (mini or otherwise)  as it runs in a harsh environment it is more likely(I did say more likely !!!!)  to go belly up. So if you have spent £400 ($500)  and it doesn't last ,lets say,2yrs that's an expensive item - as normal ok if thats not a problem.

And really the ONLY items that require speed/capacity are CCD camera's - nothing else (i can think of ? ) needs an I5-7 processor power,high spec graphics , USB 3 or large power wattage! Mount,Focuser,Rotator ,GPS,Weather station even guide camera's  run  well on far far less spec'd systems - even all on 1 system.

With Indi and now Ascom Alpaca (although new) giving distributed processing there is no need ,IMHO, to spend a fortune (Relative I know) and I would say that the item shown by our friend from Wisconsin,or the M3 stick, would probably perform just as well as the £400 items discussed here accepting the CCD/4k graphics limitation - if you want/need that!.  

Ok I accept 4k graphics might be missing or slower but IMO the Hyperstar would be (and  is) , more beneficial in EAA - as you are only as good as your weakest link !

While I would normally condone future proofing  - in IT even 18 months is a very long time things change so fast! 

But its all up to the individual's needs and how deep their pockets go!  

4 hours ago, noah4x4 said:

Raspberry Pi. But you are then limited to previous generation wireless

Dont disagree overall but the above is factually incorrect - RP3IB+ uses 5ghz and I get 350mb wirelessly. 

2 hours ago, giorgio_ne said:

This saddle on AliExpress seems to have 19mm spaced holes:

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/b6OIEfjL

That link didn't show any saddle ,for me, just a list of items - a very long list of items for sale on Ali ?

3 minutes ago, R26 oldtimer said:

It looks the same as mine and the description matches mine, but from what you say the board doesn't perform as your seller states in his description.

Exactly - awaiting reply from seller but will be asking all of £5 back LOL

4 minutes ago, R26 oldtimer said:

Also at this point I have to say that this board may have many interesting applications, but my original intention was to use it as a straight substitute in place of the skywatcher wifi mount adapter with more or less the same limitations.

As i think I stated early on already done that various ways - its just acting as a transparent serial(TTL) Wifi gateway - but if the device was good it should have worked my Focuser as well - I use Indilib so serial/Networking via UDP or TCP are all there by default {-)   

Anyway something for people to be wary of - as ever with stuff from China.

Thanks for the replies and good luck with your project,

Clear skies !

17 minutes ago, R26 oldtimer said:

Do you have a link?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TTL-to-Wifi-ESP-M2-Wifi-Serial-ESP8285-Module-6-in-1-CP2102-Serial-Module-Cable/182828738058?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=690132639318&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

13 minutes ago, R26 oldtimer said:

That's the actual board I got and tested.

The first line reads "FCC ID 2AL3B-ESP-M" and the second "ISM2.4G 802.11b/g/n"

Perhaps its a faulty board, so frustrating after a month wait. Before you discard it though try  a reset, I think there is a reset button on it. Also try to pull-up the EN pin although everything I read on the internet suggests it works just as well without the EN pin pulled up.

Thanks for the reply.

I bought 2 (I normally do from China just in case !) both are the the same as yours (Level 3.3v on the reverse plus Doit trade mark) and both have the same problem as described - Yes read Github Wiki and so did Reset etc still the same. My seller (not Alice) just sent me a std picture which was on the orig ebay sell - helpful NOT. I haven't tried the "enable" pin but as you say you shouldn't need it plus it should have the correct AP name (esp_ is the std on all bare ESP's wifi chips).  

Oh well it was only a test - not for a mount but for wireless focuser.

Hi

a question does the chip on your DT06 say m2 as per the pictures (from the seller) ?

Reason  - I bought one from China(like yours) but it neither works (doesn't give DoitXXXXX Wifi AP address) and I cannot connect to the Web Server even if I connect to the AP name (ESP_XXXXX) - so budding buyers be warned some appear to be no quite true

17 hours ago, kens said:

Wireless has been problematic but I'm almost there

Yep the AAeon support for wifi is appalling IMO - even using Windows 10 the internal driver has many problems. Gave up using internal Wifi and now use 11ac usb adapter - but on Windows 10 only but it works well (with TP-link below) - Linux support for 5ghz 11ac usb adapters is poor IMO. Having said that the inbuilt 11ac works on RPI3+.

However you have to think outside the box. I now use a TP-Link C7/C9 AP (runs on 12v), as its only 6 feet (2m) away from the SCB never drops a connection and has no comms wires  dangling from the mount -  in the field its a bit big but haven't found a decent replacement at a decent price. As the TP-link runs both 2.4 and 5 ghz networks I can connect to any Wifi network (home or away) and download speeds are good - 25mb CR2 in 4-6 secs , FITS 35mb 8-10 secs  - 100mb up 350-450mb download.  

IMHO Indilib ,as I have said before ,still need to concentrate on "core" stable set ups and stop trying to be everything for everyone. The "Indi Team" work very very hard but are spread too thin IMO.

I personally now use Synscan App under Wine (Ubuntu 18 and Fedora 28 work fine)  so that I can simultaneously use BOTH IndiLib and Ascom (via Synscan Ascom Mobile interface). This gives me a wider availability of devices to connect too - so a "horses for course's" approach. 

Again,IMHO, Indilib needs to develop a working Windows Indiserver (Not the Indigo/Cloudmakers Windows Ascom server) so that devices on Windows can be connected to Indilib/Kstars/Ekos running on Unix or Windows without Ascom.

For me the Indi mobile set up(Mount etc) can now be deployed and working in under 10mins with minimal wires which was my main aim - I would love to have the "Slip Ring" facility Ken has - I can dream. ?

Funny thing is I now run a "fixed" stable version of Indi/Kstars/Ekos (2.9.8) on a Ubuntu 18 on a old 4 core,4mb ram,120gb SSD Amd PC - plus ,on the same latter PC, a "bleeding edge/Daily updates" Indi/Kstars/Ekos(3.0.0) on the same PC using Virtualbox /Ubuntu 18 -  I cannot see any difference in speed/response. Plus it allows me to try the latest changes without compromising my "everyday" set up or changing wiring/networks etc.

IMO the latest version of Indi/Kstars/Ekos is pretty close to being a fully integrated reliable Astro work horse.

Clear Skies to all for 2019 - Indilib user or not ?

Nice find ?

Couple of questions :-

1. How long is the 5v power supply lasting ?

2. How far (clear line of site) does the WiFi signal go and work  :-

   a. When its in AP mode

   b. When its in STA mode

3. Once the settings have been made do you have to set the settings again on the module ?

4. Have you tried this in the field yet ?

Thanks

17 hours ago, LightBucket said:

noVNC runs from the web browser..! So would RealVNC be faster..??

To be honest cant say as I haven't used NoVnc. But really we are talking about the client end (The Viewer) and I would expect Realvnc viewer to work well with Realvnc server but who knows. ?

I ask about frame rates as on my other set up I do EAA which depends on either very fast scopes ( < F4 ) and/or very high frame rates for fast real time stacking.

17 hours ago, giorgio_ne said:

I use WiFi plus, in my opinion KStars feels a bit sluggish when running on the Pi. Plate solving is also much faster when delegated to the instance of KStars on the laptop (I downloaded the appropriate index files).

Sorry I must have misunderstood I thought you were saying Realvnc was sluggish not that running Kstars/Platesolving is slowing the RPI - totally agree I too do Kstars/Platesolving on another device for that reason.

Cables - that lovely subject LOL ?

11 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

Yes, sorry to but in...

no problem ?

12 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

Also just been trying out using teamviewer host on the rpi but find noVNC much better, what is the difference between RealVNC and noVNC...??

As RPI has a deal wih Realvnc you are allowed to install realvnc on any o/s on RPI (as far as I know) so I use it on Stretch and Ubuntu mate with no problems.

You cant reinvent the wheel so really the only difference is Realvnc Server runs as a "service" on RPI while if i read Novnc the latter is just a Client and connects to any remote desktop server as it runs I guess like TeamViewer via Web sockets and HTML. So where I need to use any VNC client (realvnc,tightvnc etc) I have to install it first on the client end - NoVNC just uses existing HTML Web Browser saves installing a client.

Realvnc has been around 20yrs but of late have started to charge for none cloud connecing software (Clients are free) excep RPI which as I say have a deal on the server lic.

RealVnc is very fast (haven't run against with Novnc) and you can transfer file between client and server through its own protocol - sometimes useful.

29 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

Well i use two Starlight Xpress Cameras, My OSC is an SXVR M25c which runs really well, and my mono is an SX H18 which has the popular mono KAF 8300 sensor and agin it runs really well, plus a lodestar autoguider..

What sort of Frame rates are you getting on your CCD's and what are you storing you frames on (local or remote)

Sorry Andyb90 for hyjacking thread but it is connected to "requirements" - let us know if you object

3 hours ago, LightBucket said:

Using skysafari, is really useful if you need to go out to the mount, and slew to an object as you can see in real time...

The rpi is more than fast enough when used this way as it’s onlt a server, there is no power Hungary software running on it, that’s all done form ones laptop or PC indoors..

I found that the noVNC is superb, I have never had a problem with connection or with any dropouts, it just works..never tried RealVNC though..

Hi @light bucket I was really asking why giorgio was using Skysafari and not just Kstars - i was expecting the same answer from him - just being nosey ?

I too use Skysafari ,on my really old Sony xperia phone ,when using my Indi Grab and Go set up but very rarely when back at base - just use Kstars/RealVNC from nice warm man cave !!!! Never had performance issues,hence the question, except networking which had nothing to do with Remote working it was RPI3 (not 3+) weak 2.4ghz signal which I cured. Even have used remote desktop when using RPI Zero W using std Raspbian with Indiserver installed to control DSLR/mount with no performance problems as I disconnect after starting my scripts the Realvnc goes to sleep - yes I could use SH or Web service but too lazy to set up  ?

However the CCD performance does intrigue me as some say its too slow while others seem to be quite happy (or dont say anything) - hence that question using his lovely QSI CCD (drooling ? ) CCD - wondered what the performance was like on a RPI3/USB2 set up. 

:-) 

5 minutes ago, sloz1664 said:

Great set-up Giorgio. I would love to move to say an Ubuntu controlled system. could this extend to a twin scope system. driving two ccd cameras, filterwheels, autofocusers and one mount.

Steve

Simple answer is yes but not ,i would suggest ,on a single RPI (but you can run multiple RPI's or other SBC thats Indi inbuilt speciality) especially if you want to image at the same time. Go over to the Indi forum there are users who run that sort of set up - they dont bite ?

1 hour ago, giorgio_ne said:

Last but not least INDI has a Skysafari plugin that allows me to use Skysafari on my iPad to select targets and slew the mount. As I do so, it’s amazing to see the scope position being updated in real-time on KStars on the laptop.

Why use Skysafari when Kstars does all that Skysafari does - not a criticism but a question because I have been asking why Ekos is not totally separate (you can't run Ekos without Kstars on any O/S) especially as Indilib allows CDC and other planetarium software to connect/control.  Is it because your mount is mobile ?

Plus your picture doesn't show any power wires connecting to the PI - I understand you run from the Rigrunner but cant see the cables ?

Doesn't effect me as I run a DSLR but others have said that the RPI (even the RPI3 which split USB/Ethernet Bus) is just not faster enough with CCD's (frame rate) hence many have gone Rock64,Intel Stick etc . What's your experience ?

I have never found a problem with RealVNC server on the RPI's only the network connection ,especially the Wifi weakness so what do you mean by "Performance" ? Again not criticism just interested ?

It does make me laugh that your great set up relies on a £34 device - totally out of proportion to the rest of the kit - but it works LOL

Glad to hear you have installed Indi set up but may I suggest you join (if you haven't already) post your questions on the Indi Forum - they dont bite ? and there are more people to answer your queries.

Location details can be entered either with the set up wizard or via the drop down menu coordinates in Kstars. I have done it both ways and it works - normally:-) 

1 hour ago, LightBucket said:

I dont think that is correct, all good here with 18.04.1..I never had to alter anything at all after install, just installed full Kstars and INdI, and all was good, also no need to load drivers seperatly as they will be included with INdI...

Julian is correct it DIDN'T work but like all things It has moved on so it appears it does now work - I like Julian tried it a while back and it didn't ?