- Lunatico Astronomia Driver Online
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- Lunatico Astronomia Driver Mac
- Lunatico Astronomia Driver Ed
- Lunatico Astronomia Driver Review
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Navigation: Seletek > Focusing > The focuser programs > The configuration window allows us to select and adjust our equipment; it's growing big and maybe a bit scary as we've added more and more configuration possibilities, but again: in most cases there is no need to change anything here.Lunatico Astronomia Driver Online
Now let’s see one by one the elements it is composed of:
“Main window always shown”: activate it if you want to see the Seletek window constantly. It is very useful at the beginning or when troubleshooting focusing problems.
In the “Temperature control parameters” zone, we must select the temperature sensor we want to activate. The current temperature reading of any of the sensors is shown between brackets; when the external sensor is not connected, or if the temperature is extremely low, “N.A.” will appear.
More options:
Temperature compensation profiles are absolute: (relative if unchecked) – explained in the 'Profiles' section.
Secs between corrections: time to be elapsed, after a correction, before a new check is made.
Ignore delta <: temperature differences implying a movement below that value (in steps) will be ignored by the tracking system.
In the “Motion related parameters” we define some physical data about the system:
Min position (0 in the example): the motor will move in a range from this number to the Max (this is, from 0 to 20000 in the example).
Max position (20000 in the example): the motor will move in a range from Min position to the number we indicate here (this is, from 0 to 50000 in the example). More about motion limits in short.
Dist/Step (microns): this piece of information is utilized by some automatic focus programs. Bearing the steps per turn of the motor in mind, and knowing or measuring how much the focus moves every turn, it is easy to calculate:
Micrometers by step = 1000* displacement per turn (in mm)/steps by turn. |
… as an example , for a focuser that moves 20mm by turn, and our standard 3600 steps/turn motor, the calculation will be: Micrometers by step= 1000* 20/3600= 5.55.
Let's wait a bit before going into the “Set limits” section.
Reset position: will set the current position as in the middle of the defined (Min..Max) range; so it will become 10000 in the example. No actual movement involved!
Reset Set new pos to : will set the current position to the value keyed at its right
Reverse button's motion: please use this to make your focuser move as advertised, that is, so that In, Cont-IN, … etc buttons will move the focuser in the appropriate way.
Let's go now to the “Set limits”:
There are two ways to limit the focus motion, always with the aim of avoiding damaging the focuser, motor etc.
The first way: beginning from a position where we are near focus, give it a motion range. We can manage this entering direct values in the “Max pos” and “Min pos” fields just seen.
The procedure will be as follows:
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To focus approximately (with any method)
Take down or memorize the current step number (let's say, 12345)
If you want the range to be +/- 500 steps, in the configuration window intro 12845 as Max pos and 11845 as Min Pos.
This is the simplest way of working, and it is perfectly convenient for the majority of the cases.
Nevertheless, if:
The focus point is very close to one of the physical limits of the focuser
The telescope has the motor on permanently
Or we simply want additional security,
we can indicate the program where, exactly, are the focuser limits
| Since v3.5 software and 2.2 firmware, even physical limit switches can be used. Please pay a look at the last section, Advanced uses . |
This is the second way.
After quitting the configuration window, we must move the motor (using the “OUT” or “Cont OUT” buttons already explained) until the focuser is almost completely out of its trajectory; once there, we go back to the configuration window and press the “Set outermost” button.
We go back to the main window pressing “OK” and let’s move the focuser, always with the buttons (“IN” or “Cont IN”), until it is almost at the maximum limit inside its trajectory.
In both cases, and in order not to the force the mechanism, a minimum safety margin, such as ½ millimeter will be enough.
Again to the configuration window and now we press “Set innermost” button.
And so it is. The system now knows the motion limits and will never get out of them. It is a simple process but, since the motor is rather slow, it can be boring to implement. By the way, the motion limits will not be enforced until both have been defined; once done, the “Max pos” and “Min pos” fields will be updated with the new values, and of course can be changed at anytime.
Back to our review by the configuration window, there are a few buttons left to describe:
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The “Advanced parameters...” area, as it full name says, while powerful is also potentially dangerous. If you are sure you want to modify those, you'll have to press the “Enable modifications to these parameters”, then agree to a popup window, and you'll have full freedom.
All the modifiable fields have a “tooltip” (a short help message that will display as you pass your mouse pointer over it) that will help you find correct values, but let us insist again: do not change them unless you know for sure you must do it.
The most dangerous things you can do:
Selecting a wrong motor type! (Lunatico, as of today, only supplies unipolar motors) : the motor may heat and permanent damage can occur, including risk of fire.
Increasing the % Power while stopped: the motor will be energized while stopped, again will overheat and can result in permanent damage and even fire.
Basically, the type of motors:
Unipolar: a standard stepper motor; Lunatico supplies unipolar motors, and Moonlite and Robofocus motors are also unipolar ones.
Bipolar: a different type of stepper motors.
DC: inexpensive motors, usually found on cheap focusers. No step position control. However, the Seletek will operate them simulating steps, obtaining very good results.
Step & Dir: the controller will output these signals to an external motor driver. With this option we've opened the door to controlling any possible motor.
Important: any motor you plug to the controller should not take more than 1A current. If you are changing motors, either you know what you're doing or please do ask us before damaging the controller. |
Regarding the motor mode, this is really simple: before firmware 1.5 (quite long ago), the Seletek controller drived motors in a fixed way; for Robofocus(tm) or Moonlite(tm) motors, a specially wired cable was needed.
Now we have improved the firmware and software so no special cable is needed. The configuration goes like this:
Motor connected | Cable | Select Mode | Notes |
Lunatico | Straigh | Lunatico | Default mode |
Robofocus(tm) or Moonlite(tm) or compatible | Straigh | RF/Moonlite | Will not work with the hand pad if no PC is attached - configuration is saved at the PC! |
Robofocus(tm) or Moonlite(tm) or compatible | Specially wired | Lunatico | Suitable for people updating from previous versions |
Lunatico | Specially wired | RF/Moonlite | Odd combination |
The “inverted” modes just step in the opposite direction – select inverted if your automated software is confused about what's IN and OUT.
For any other case please select the default “Lunatico” mode.
Lunatico Astronomia Driver Ed
Installation
INDI armadillo-platypus driver is included with libindi >= 1.6.0 Under Ubuntu, you can install the driver via:
Features
Both the Armadillo and Platypus are advanced programmable controllers that can drive many different motors, attached to a variety of focusers. With this driver you can automate your focusing in a very accurate and customizable way, being able to drive almost any motor out there, from small and inexpensive dc motors to huge, power hungry motors.
For accurate focusing recycled stepper motors from old mounts, printers, etc, can be successfully used and driven with these controllers.
Operation
Connection
Apart from information on the driver, you can select the connection mode (for the moment only serial - that is, via USB - is developed). The baud rate is 115200, and the 'autosearch' feature usually finds the correct port.
Once connected, you can:
- Move the focuser to a position relative to the current one - select 'focus in' or 'focus out' and specify the number of steps in the 'relative position'
- Move to an absolute position - just specify the step number.
- Sync, that is, set a specific number as the current position of the motor.
- Abort the motion at any time.
You will also get information on the current temperature reading (using the internal or external sensor, you can configure this in the Settings tab), and the firmware version of your controller.
Presets
You can save up to 3 motor positions in the 'presets' tab to quick and easily perform goto to any of them later. Usually the 'fully racked in', and 'approximate focus' positions are good candidates to store here.
Settings
Here is the configuration of the motor and controller. Port: select which port the motor is attached to. Just one port for the moment.
- Max speed: speed at which the motor will turn. At the default value of 9800, good for our stock motors, the motor will take 36 seconds to perform a full turn - that is 10 miliseconds per step, and 3600 steps / turn. This value works fine for many motors. If you are tuning a different motor, in general faster speeds work better in smaller steppers.
- Temperature sensor: just select the external one if connected, the internal otherwise.
- Backlash: if enabled, you can input the value (in steps) in the field and click 'set'. The backlash will be applied in every change of direction of the motor.
- Halfstep: if you find your motor is not precise enough for your setup, you can double the effective steps by selecting halfstep. Please note this also halves the speed!
- Motor type: just select your current motor type. Lunatico's stock motor (as well as many others, Robofocus, Moonlite, Lakeside...) is Unipolar. With 'bipolar' you can also drive most unipolar motors but with increased torque, if needed, apart of course of driving true bipolar motors (such as the ones mounted in Feathertouch focusers). 'DC' motors are the ones used in inexpensive motofocusers, as sold by Orion, Skywatcher and others. You can control it simulating stepper behaviour (choose a very slow speed!), but their accuracy won't be too good
in any case.Last, 'Step-dir' is used to control 3rd party motor drivers, which can be used with very big or very exotic motors. With this option, you can effectively drive any motor in the market. - Wiring: so you don't have to mess with the cables. For this kind of motors, with 4 wires, only 2 types or wiring are commonly used, A B A' B' (which is
Lunatico normal wiring) or A A' B B' (RF/Moonlite wiring). Select reverse if the motor moves in the wrong direction (it should rack in the focuser
when the steps get smaller).
Lunatico Astronomia Driver Review
Issues
There are no known bugs for this driver. If you found a bug, please report it at INDI's bug tracking system at Github.