New INDIClient Module Released

[kkretzsch]

Please please don not make the same mistake as the others when writing a manual for this great new feature.

I'll take that advice since I am aware of the fact that the current setup  is not that easy to install as it should be. But please also take into account the complexity of the problem. You have tons of different devices which all speak their own protocols,  you have different operating systems, different communication protocols (ASCOM and INDI), and different reference implementations of these protocols (ASCOM on windows and INDI on Linux/OSX).

INDI and ASCOM are a first step in simplifying this complexity by providing a layer that is independent of the vendor specific device control protocols. But both technologies are locked to different OS: ASCOM on Windows (it is written in .Net) and  INDI (the server part) on Linux/OS.

I choosed INDI since it better supports the PI platform coverage and it is written in C/C++ which is easier to intergrate into PI.  The drawback of that decision is the more complex installation for Windows users. 

[astrofan]

A really good news for all Linux astrofotographers out there. Looking to test it with an RasPi :-)

Thank you Klaus !

[chrisvdberge]

Excellent news! I've been experimenting with INDI recently (with Ekos) so very interested in this!
If only there was a way to control MGEN over INDI


Quick test showed it works perfectly with INDIServer on a rapsberry pi controlling a Nikon D600

[chrisvdberge]

oh actually I get the 'Bulb mode isn't supported' message back from IDIserver.
This is something I don't get with the D600 with Ekos, but read some forum messages there that it was a problem at one point and it had to do with capitalization (Bulb vs bulb)
So perhaps similar problem here?

Edit: Nevermind that, after reboot I'm not getting the error

[HgPI]

Great work ! Happy to see the INDI ecosystem grow.
-- Hans

[kkretzsch]

Quick test showed it works perfectly with INDIServer on a rapsberry pi controlling a Nikon D600

Thanks for testing! The PI was running on a Linux/MacOS or Windows machine?

Edit: Nevermind that, after reboot I'm not getting the error

Good to know. Did you test the upload server modes? I had some issues with my Canon500d here, but I have a quite old INDI installation on my raspberry.

[iksose7]

I like the sound of this and understand it could go a long way in the future. It would be great to see Pixinsight containing the whole package of image acquisition and image processing some day.

But can you clear a few things up before i download please. Does Pixinsight have to be running in order for the INDIClient module to run or is it a separate program? I only wonder as i run PI on my 64bit desktop for processing and use a 32bit laptop for imaging. And if i am right in saying that PI doesnt work on 32bit (?) then does this mean i need to acquire a 64bit imaging laptop to replace my 32bit in order to install PI and get the new module to work?

Hope that made sense!
Callum

[chrisvdberge]

Quick test showed it works perfectly with INDIServer on a rapsberry pi controlling a Nikon D600

Thanks for testing! The PI was running on a Linux/MacOS or Windows machine?

Edit: Nevermind that, after reboot I'm not getting the error

Good to know. Did you test the upload server modes? I had some issues with my Canon500d here, but I have a quite old INDI installation on my raspberry.

I'm running PixInsight on OSX and the Raspberry Pi is running Raspbian.
Not sure what you mean with the upload server modes?

I do have a problem now however; PixInsight crashed and now I don't have the new Processes anymore? PI still says the updates are installed, and no new updates available, but I can't find the INDI stuff anymore.
Any thoughts? (and yes, I did reboot )

[calberts]

Top, to add this functions in Pix

Chris

[kkretzsch]

But can you clear a few things up before i download please. Does Pixinsight have to be running in order for the INDIClient module to run or is it a separate program? I only wonder as i run PI on my 64bit desktop for processing and use a 32bit laptop for imaging. And if i am right in saying that PI doesnt work on 32bit (?) then does this mean i need to acquire a 64bit imaging laptop to replace my 32bit in order to install PI and get the new module to work?

Good idea to check the setup beforehand  . What OS are you talking about? Windows 64-bit for PI and windows 32-bit for imaging? INDI is a TCP/IP protocol and does not care whether server or host are 32 or 64 bit, but server and host must be reachable in your local network. So if both laptops run on windows you have presumably already ASCOM installed on you 32-bit Laptop? If both Laptops are connected through a local network you could control the imaging Laptop from your PI desktop remotely. In order to  do that you have to install the wINDI server  on your 32-bit Laptop which shoud work since it is a .Net application.

However this is a quite complex setup which I haven't tested.

[kkretzsch]

Not sure what you mean with the upload server modes?

In the "CCD Device" section of the "INDI CCD Controller" process you can choose the destination of the newly created image.

• Upload to client only
• Upload to INDI server only
• Upload both: client and server

where

• Means that the newly created image is transferred to the client and displayed in the PI app
• Means that the newly created image is stored on the INDI server, i.e. the host where the INDI server is running
• Means 1. & 2.

I do have a problem now however; PixInsight crashed and now I don't have the new Processes anymore? PI still says the updates are installed, and no new updates available, but I can't find the INDI stuff anymore.
Any thoughts? (and yes, I did reboot )

PI automatically disables the module if it chrashed. So we have a problem here. Did you remember what you were doing before the crash? You can re-enable the module with PI itself: Goto Process -> Modules -> Install modules... -> Search -> Install.  (After pressing the search button PI should have found the INDI module)

[chrisvdberge]

Thx.. got the module back
I was just connecting to the INDI server when it crashed.

Now it's working again and tried the upload to client and server. Not sure where I would need to find the frame locally though, but I do see the file added on the server.

[Oleg Astro]

Look at my second test of this module under OS Ubuntu 16.04 (64 bit): INDI server + Cartes du Ciel for mount control + PixInsight for image capture.

[Oleg Astro]

I have found a small bug in this INDIClient: I want to change the coordinates, but their submenu indicate
xx.xxxxxxxxxx deg 0 arcmin and 0 arcsec
instead
xx deg xx arcmin xx arcsec.

[kkretzsch]

I was just connecting to the INDI server when it crashed.

OK, thanks. Refactoring the OS dependent client connect code is one of the top priorities in our backlog