Remote control AZ-EQ6 with Raspberry Pi

[wornish]

I have searched this forum but can't find any post where someone is actually controlling their mount remotely using a Rasberry Pi at the mount end.

What software needs to run on the Rpi to actually connect to the mount?

Any help or links appreciated.

[RolandKol]

As I recall @Gina has done something similar.

If I am wrong, - I am almost sure she will be able to direct you 

 

[wornish]

28 minutes ago, RolandKol said:

As I recall @Gina has done something similar.

If I am wrong, - I am almost sure she will be able to direct you 

 

Thanks, I have read her long post but it seems she only controls the focuser and camera, not the mount.

I am sure someone is doing it but I can't find them on here.

Edited March 6, 2019 by wornish

[daz]

I have installed the Astroberry server onto a Pi, and although not actually connected it to anything, it has all the functionality to do the mount.... There is a (huge) thread on the INDI web site regarding Astroberry

[Gina]

Mount control is already covered by standard INDI drivers.  I do indeed control mounts - I have an NEQ6 and EQ8 both of which I have controlled with INDI drivers from KStras/Ekos indoors, with INDI on the RPi.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

A standard Indi\KStars setup will happily control an AZ-EQ6....   well it does mine...

Edited March 6, 2019 by Dr_Ju_ju

[wornish]

Thanks for the replies but there is no explanation of the steps needed to load exactly what software on the RPi and what software on the remote controlling computer if its running Windows.  

Indi is not fully supported on Windows even today according to their website.

Its a minefield of issues, which most posts seem to gloss over, or drown you in lots of technical info which never actually come to a working solution.

I am looking at indigo which could be the way forward but it's still effectively in Beta and not solid, but shows promise.

Remote control of your total imaging system and mount etc is certainly not ready for non-techies who want to get into the warm!

I use APT as my main application which in the next version is promising indigo support and that will make a big difference if it delivers.

 

 

[Gina]

INDI is running on the RPi which is running Linux.  I think KStars/Ekos has a Windows version but not sure.  I'm using Linux Mint which is very similar to Windows 7 from the user point of view.

[RadekK]

If you want to use ready to go solution, just flash your SD card with Astroberry or Stellarmate (both are based on INDI). And yes, it is a working solution. I've been using it for every session for at least 5 years. In case of Astroberry it does not matter what system you run on your PC, because remote desktop is accessible with your web browser. This means you can use linux, windows, mac, tablet or phone. In case of Stellarmate you additionally have mobile app.

If you want to build your own system, flash SD card with Ubuntu or Ubuntu Mate and follow this instruction: https://indilib.org/download/ubuntu.html

You can also use official foundation's Raspbian and follow this instruction: https://indilib.org/download/raspberry-pi.html (not recommended as it requires some technical expertise)

KStars/Ekos is available on linux, windows, mac. You can download it from here https://edu.kde.org/kstars/install.php

If you want to run KStars on WIndows you need to run INDI on RPi (where all your devices are connected). In such a case you just connect your KStars running on Windows to INDI running on RPi.

Edited March 6, 2019 by RadekK

[Astrofriend]

Hi,

I did a project where I was trying to setup a raspBerry to control all of my equipment. I got in problem that the Raspberry was to slow. There are others way to do it, but I wait until there is faster Raspberries, maybe I divide the load on several Raspberries next time I try to do this setup. I really like the idea to use the Raspberry or alike.

 

Here you can read about every step I did to setup it:

http://www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/projects/project-kstars-indi-linux/project-kstars-indi-linux.html

It was a year or more since I wrote that down.

 

/Lars

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Agreed, forget the Raspberry, instead, I have gone for the Rock64\RockPro64 boards (https://www.pine64.org/?page_id=7147) more grunt, & USB 3 port & gigabit ethernet, all in a small package, & can run Indi\Ekos system.

[Gina]

Yes, that's what I'm thinking of for high speed imaging such as Ha solar or planetary.  The RPi is fine for DSO imaging and the all sky camera.

[Astrofriend]

That looks interesting, it even looks to fit in the Rasberry box. Is the installation of software the same as for Rasberry, or does it need some other files?

/Lars

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Apart from the physical differences, of connector layouts etc. it just has a standard build of Ubuntu (or any distro that will run Indi\Kstars).

[wornish]

I have taken the advice from RadekK and downloaded astroberry to try on my new RPi3B+.

After a few teething problems because of a slightly low 5V supply, I have managed to get Indi / Kstars and PHD2 up and running and being accessed over WiFi.

I have updated Ubuntu from 16 to 18 and all still works, this allows me to use extra drivers in Indi.

I think I am going to need a WiFi extender though as the one in the RPi does not have a very long range I am told.

So progress is being made.

 

[wornish]

Just a brief update I had my first real session last night running Astroberry on my RPi3B+  on my mount.

Apart from the initial set up of the focuser and then doing polar alignment (I use Sharpcap for that)  I controlled the whole thing from a nice warm house using my windows laptop over WiFi.

Managed to get  5 x 300 sec shots each R,G and B + 10 x 300s Lum of Makarians Chain with M86 in the centre using the Ekos inbuilt astrometry for platesolving and alignment.  

I also used the internal Ekos guiding package but don't think I got that working correctly will watch a tutorial again to see what I missed.

The whole Kstars and Ekos apps are very powerful and I am going through a steep learning curve, but very pleased to actually get it working pretty well.

 

Here is my attempt from last night.

 

 

[feilimb]

Well done Wornish, I also have been using Indi on a Raspberry Pi 3 for about a year now. I've had plenty of nights where the software just didn't want to play ball, but after getting through teething problems and various bug fixes that have come I find it to be quite stable now. 

I run Kstars on the Pi itself and just VNC into the Pi from my laptop, but the Pi does all the work. I do find that sometimes Kstars just crashes if I am opening Fits files while Ekos is capturing images. 

You mentioned above that you upgraded Ubuntu 16 to 18 - was this on the RPi 3? I think mine is still running Ubuntu Mate 16 and I didn't know an 18 version was available. 

Best of luck with it anyhow, it is a really powerful piece of software (when it behaves), clear skies 

[wornish]

15 hours ago, feilimb said:

Well done Wornish, I also have been using Indi on a Raspberry Pi 3 for about a year now. I've had plenty of nights where the software just didn't want to play ball, but after getting through teething problems and various bug fixes that have come I find it to be quite stable now. 

I run Kstars on the Pi itself and just VNC into the Pi from my laptop, but the Pi does all the work. I do find that sometimes Kstars just crashes if I am opening Fits files while Ekos is capturing images. 

You mentioned above that you upgraded Ubuntu 16 to 18 - was this on the RPi 3? I think mine is still running Ubuntu Mate 16 and I didn't know an 18 version was available. 

Best of luck with it anyhow, it is a really powerful piece of software (when it behaves), clear skies 

 

At the moment I am just running the indi-drivers on the RPi and Kstars and Ekos on my windows laptop, I have not suffered any crashes - yet?

The standard Astroberry still comes on Ubuntu 16 and I wanted to take advantage of some of the latest indi drivers which need 18.  So I have now updated my RPi to 18.10.  The release-upgrade takes a long time and after about three hours asks you a couple of questions which you have to answer before it continues for another hour or so.  It does however work.  I was using a 16gB memory card and that did fill up.  So it's important to clear out a lot of the old stuff using some of the command line tools and the Bleachbit (as root) app when upgrade finished to clean out junk and free up disk space.

[feilimb]

7 minutes ago, wornish said:

The release-upgrade takes a long time and after about three hours asks you a couple of questions which you have to answer before it continues for another hour or so.  It does however work..

Thanks -  was that done via an update from a Terminal using 'sudo apt-get dist-upgrade' or some similar command?  I may give it a whirl too, I actually picked up a Rock64 which I am considering moving to for Indi: the extra processing power, RAM, and having one USB3.0 port are major positives, but it is a pity that it only has 3 USB ports and a lack of in-built WiFi adapter.  Personally I hate cables so the idea of having an ethernet cable running out from the house and adding a USB Hub to allow control of 4 devices is the downside.. still though USB3 would be very handy for connecting to the main imaging camera and in particular the speed of image refresh / focussing.

Edited March 30, 2019 by feilimb

[wornish]

2 minutes ago, feilimb said:

Thanks -  was that done via an update from a Terminal using 'sudo apt-get dist-upgrade' or some similar command?  I may give it a whirl too, I actually picked up a Rock64 which I am considering moving to for Indi: the extra processing power, RAM, and a USB3 port are major positives, but it is a pity that it only has 3 USB ports and a lack of in-built WiFi adapter.  Personally I hate cables so the idea of having an ethernet cable running out from the house and adding a USB Hub to allow control of 4 devices is the downside.. still though USB3 would be very handy for connecting to the main imaging camera and in particular the speed of image refresh / focussing.

It can be done using the terminal.  After a lot of searching the command that worked for me was.        sudo do-release-upgrade 

You can also do it from the main Astroberry window using the System - Administration - Software Update app as well.  Its a bit complicated though doing it that way.

I also looked at using the Rock as well but decided to try the more proven RPi3B+ to see what its like.  I did invest in a powered hub for the mount as the RPi just couldnt cope with all the USB power needed for the cams and focusser.

I am amazed that the inbuilt WiFi actually works without any booster and connects to my house BTHub, so I am completely wireless!

 

[wornish]

Finally got everything working.  Using Kstars and Ekos with Astroberry on a RPi3B+ on the mount, all work great.  

Just set up for a remote control session tonight.

This is my astro setup.

 

 

[stash_old]

On 30/03/2019 at 16:26, wornish said:

So I have now updated my RPi to 18.10

You do realise that 18.04 64bit official Ubuntu Mate version is released but  is only beta1 so is/may not be stable.  Unless you are still using 32bit ?

But if it works for you great ?

Nice tidy set up by the way ?

[Gina]

The new version didn't work for me so I'm still on 16.04.  That works fine so I'm happy.

[wornish]

So far it's working for me. Fingers crossed.

 

[Astrofriend]

What a great nice looking setup. I will later too move the computer to the mount. Maybe I place it on the counter weight side to not increase the weight too much.

/Lars

Edited April 27, 2019 by Astrofriend