SBIG Linux Driver 64-bit ARM compilation request

Discussion in 'CCDOPS and SBIG Universal Driver (Retired)' started by rlancaste, Jan 4, 2017.

  1. rlancaste

    rlancaste Standard User

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2015
    Messages:
    25
    I have been a loyal SBIG/Diffraction Limited customer since I purchased an SBIG 8300M camera in late 2013. At the time, I was using my SBIG camera on my Mac OS X laptop in the field with Equinox Image and Equinox Pro as the software running it.

    In May 2016, I discovered that KStars and Ekos, a great open source astrophotography program suite, works great with SBIG cameras and all of my other Astrophotography equipment. I found that it was particularly nice to run an INDIServer on a Raspberry Pi 3 or Odroid C2, and then run an INDIClient on my Mac Laptop like KStars/Ekos and use that to control my imaging session. It is a huge improvement over what I was doing before. My astrophotography has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 6 months or so I have been using it.

    The SBIG camera works very well with my Mac and the Raspberry Pi when used in this manner. The INDI community has made an SBIG INDI driver that builds upon the Linux driver released by SBIG, which is why it works on the INDIServer. The Linux SBIG driver has been compiled for amd64, armhf,and i386 processors, so it will run great on systems running these processors. I have been using it on an arm-hf (32 bit) Raspberry Pi 3, but I would also like to be able to use my ODroid-C2, which runs an arm64 kernel, not 32-bit like the Raspberry Pi is currently using. It will also help for future compatibility because I believe there are plans to release a 64 bit kernel for the raspberry pi 3 because it actually has a 64 bit processor even though it is running a 32 bit kernel. So I would really appreciate it if you could compile the driver so that it will run on an arm-64 system as well.

    As you can see on this website, the only current build failure for the ppa for INDI is the 64 bit arm version of the SBIG driver due to this problem.
    https://launchpad.net/~mutlaqja/+archive/ubuntu/ppa/+packages

    Thank you very much for your support!!
     
    Jasem Mutlaq likes this.
  2. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2014
    Messages:
    7,380
    Location:
    Earth
    There's also some interest from Raspberry Pi folks for support, as Software Bisque's TheSkyX is available. Not sure the flavour of Linux though.
     
  3. rlancaste

    rlancaste Standard User

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2015
    Messages:
    25
    Yes, sometimes I use it exclusively in Linux too, I have KStars fully installed on the raspberry Pi, so sometimes I run my full imaging session from the Pi and use VNC to control it from my Mac. This alternate configuration works great and has the added advantage that I can turn off my mac or use it for other things once the imaging session is all set up.
     
  4. Richard Asarisi

    Richard Asarisi Cyanogen Customer

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2016
    Messages:
    56
    Yes Drivers for Linux in fact for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS will allow the operation of a total linux platform to run The Sky X with no longer a need for any windows pc. A small headless pc like a NUC can be connected to the scope and equipment and then be controlled remotely via VNC or RDP.

    Yes please drivers for LINUX.
     
  5. rlancaste

    rlancaste Standard User

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2015
    Messages:
    25
    Any update on the 64 bit ARM compiled driver for Linux?
     
  6. David Gwyn

    David Gwyn Standard User

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    Messages:
    2
    I'll add a vote for Raspian-compatible drivers so that I can successfully control my STF-8300M and ST-i on a rPi 3 with TheSkyX. While drivers exist, there are bugs and issues, which makes it unusable. While I can install Ubuntu on the rPi 3, the Linus version of TheSkyX won't run in that platform so Raspian is needed. Is there a plan to update those drivers and fix the issues?
     
  7. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2014
    Messages:
    7,380
    Location:
    Earth
    Interesting... I think this has been discussed a bit. Assuming that you are talking about:
    Raspbian Jessie with PIXEL
    Image with PIXEL desktop based on Debian Jessie
    Version: April 2017
    Release date: 2017-04-10
    Kernel version: 4.4
     
  8. David Gwyn

    David Gwyn Standard User

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    Messages:
    2
    Yes, that's the version I'm talking about. I did a search on Raspbian Jessie and didn't find anything. I did a number of searches before posting, sorry if I missed it. Can you please point me in the right direction? Was it resolved?
     
  9. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2014
    Messages:
    7,380
    Location:
    Earth
    There was a post either here or on Bisque's site basically saying the two companies were collaborating on a number of things, and that RPi support was on the list, however it may be some time, as both groups are prioritizing based on customer needs and their resources. So I think you have to be patient, and I think they would like to, but they are working on a lot.
     
  10. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2014
    Messages:
    7,380
    Location:
    Earth
  11. rlancaste

    rlancaste Standard User

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2015
    Messages:
    25
    Any progress on an arm64 compile? The armhf driver for SBIG in INDI still works great, but I would like to use a 64 bit linux system if possible. Any chance you could compile the driver for 64 bit linux in addition to 32 bit?
     
  12. rlancaste

    rlancaste Standard User

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2015
    Messages:
    25
    Any progress on an arm64 compile? As I said in the last post months ago, the armhf driver for SBIG in INDI still works great, but I would like to use a 64 bit linux system if possible. Any chance you could compile the driver for 64 bit linux in addition to 32 bit? I have more than 1 64 bit arm linux computer that I could lend you if that is the issue.

    Thank you,

    Rob
     

Share This Page