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Darren's Observatory Build

dazza1639

By dazza1639
in DIY Observatories

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JamesF
JamesF

It's quite simple (actually it isn't :), but it sounds complicated. Let's say you're running some Windows imaging application that uses ASCOM to control the hardware.  No-one ever really thinks a

dazza1639
dazza1639

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I was recently sorting out my old photos and came across the ones from my 2011 observatory build. I decided to create a bit of a slideshow, YouTube video. You can ch

malc-c
malc-c

Actually it's the Elves that do the hard graft of pushing all the 'bits' around. The fairies do all the admin work to make sure the Elves behave themselves and keep things in order 😉

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dazza1639

dazza1639

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Sorry to revive an old thread, but I was recently sorting out my old photos and came across the ones from my 2011 observatory build. I decided to create a bit of a slideshow, YouTube video. You can check it out at https://youtu.be/KQN69-L-tc8. 
I am also thinking of doing a bit of an update video showing how the observatory has developed over the years to its current state. I wondered if anyone thought that this would be of interest.

 

Darren

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Rusted

Rusted

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2 hours ago, dazza1639 said:

the scope room could do with being 500mm bigger, but I couldn't do it and maintain the angle to Polaris which lies directly over the warm room.

So? The conservatory's days are numbered then? :biggrin:

 

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malc-c

malc-c

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Darren, nice update

 

Question as I'm confused about the scope control.  You have a pi which I presume is running a flavor of linux, which I assume is connected to the mount via some interface cable.  But you then ran Kstars on what seems to be a windows PC and showed it connecting to the scope.  Then you remote desktop'd using an app into the Pi that also has kstars running..... Can you explain the set up of the scope control in more detail?  - The bit that is confusing me is having Kstars on the windows PC because naively it doesn't support Ascom and trying to get 3rd party software interfacing to try and make this work is a real pain.  My guess is that in order to have the windows version of Kstars support Ascom there is some costs involved in having the api licence or something... if not then it really does astound me that the developers of Kstars have not make it Ascom complaint already 

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dazza1639

dazza1639

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My mount is connected to the USB 3 hub using a USB to serial cable. The hub is connected to the RPi which is running the StellarMate OS. KStars automatically starts on the RPi when it boots, but it doesn’t need to be running. KStars on the Windows PC is just running as a client, Ekos connects to the RPi over WiFi. The RPi runs an INDI server that connects to all of the equipment. KStars/Ekos running on the Windows PC just sends commands to the remote INDI server, so no Ascom or drivers needed on the PC as the RPi talks to the equipment. It was really easy to setup. I hope that makes sense.

 

Darren

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Swoop1

Swoop1

Posted
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3 hours ago, dazza1639 said:

My mount is connected to the USB 3 hub using a USB to serial cable. The hub is connected to the RPi which is running the StellarMate OS. KStars automatically starts on the RPi when it boots, but it doesn’t need to be running. KStars on the Windows PC is just running as a client, Ekos connects to the RPi over WiFi. The RPi runs an INDI server that connects to all of the equipment. KStars/Ekos running on the Windows PC just sends commands to the remote INDI server, so no Ascom or drivers needed on the PC as the RPi talks to the equipment. It was really easy to setup. I hope that makes sense.

 

Darren

I have just read this post and understood USB and WiFi.

The rest appears to be in your avatars native tongue?

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JamesF

JamesF

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21 minutes ago, Swoop1 said:

I have just read this post and understood USB and WiFi.

The rest appears to be in your avatars native tongue?

It's quite simple (actually it isn't :), but it sounds complicated.

Let's say you're running some Windows imaging application that uses ASCOM to control the hardware.  No-one ever really thinks about how the imaging application interacts with ASCOM, but you might as well say that imaging pixies take ASCOM instructions from the imaging software and deliver them to the ASCOM software and it does what's required with the hardware, giving the results back to the pixies who take them back to the imaging system.

In Darren's setup, the imaging pixies speak a different language: INDI rather than ASCOM.  KStars (and Ekos, which is an extension built into KStars) talk to the INDI pixies, but in his case they don't go to the INDI software directly.  They take the instructions to their mates the network pixies who run down the wires to the RPi and deliver it to another set of INDI-speaking pixies there, who do give the instructions to the INDI software and carry the results back in the reverse direction with the help of the network pixies.

I have of course left out the details of the USB pixies that the ASCOM and INDI software uses to carry the instructions to the hardware, but that's probably not important in this instance.

All clear now?

James

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malc-c

malc-c

Posted
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James, I've heard various analogies to describe something, but your little pixies had me in stitches :)

If only Kstars  supported those ASCOM pixies things would be a lot simpler, but would mean the  INDI and Network pixies would be out of work and claiming JSA :) 

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dazza1639

dazza1639

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5 hours ago, JamesF said:

I've got to be honest.  It may actually be fairies who do the network bit.  I've never been entirely sure.

James

Brilliant James, this has made my day. Now if I could only get the INDI speaking pixies to start behaving again and stop mischievously spinning the filter wheel non stop. See other THREAD

 

Darren

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malc-c

malc-c

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, dazza1639 said:

Brilliant James, this has made my day. Now if I could only get the INDI speaking pixies to start behaving again and stop mischievously spinning the filter wheel non stop. See other THREAD

 

Darren

Actually it's the Elves that do the hard graft of pushing all the 'bits' around. The fairies do all the admin work to make sure the Elves behave themselves and keep things in order 😉

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