[Hamlib-developer] Rot2Prog rotctl move command

[Benjamin W. <bdw...@as...>]

Hello there:

My name is Ben Weber and I am a junior in aerospace engineering at Arizona
State University. I work on the ground station system on campus and have
been having some issues with my rotator controller. For context, I am
utilizing a SPID RAS AZ/EL Rotator with a Rot2Prog controller and I am
running the controller through the SatNOGS client over a network tcp
connection.

The issue I am having is when I schedule passes that cause the rotator to
turn clockwise past 180 deg in azimuth, the rotator will wind up and
eventually hit the mechanical limit. Due to this I want to make a post
observation script that brings the rotator back to a "home." The current
post path script I have running is: rotctl -m 2 -r localhost:4533 P 0 0.

When reviewing the Hamlib manual for rotator control, I found this command:

   M, move 'Direction' 'Speed'
        Move the rotator in a specific direction at the given rate.

        Values  are  integers where Direction is defined as 2 = Up, 4
= Down, 8 = Left, and
        16 = Right.  Speed is an  integer  between  1  and  100.   Not
 all  backends  that
        implement  the  move  command  use  the  Speed value.  At this
time only the gs232a
        utilizes the Speed parameter.

I’ve been trying to implement this command via the command line, in
something like this: rotctl -m 2 -r /dev/rotator P 0 0 M 8 -1. I also
get the same error when I enter this: rotctl -m 2 -r /dev/rotator
set_pos 0 0 move 8 -1. I haven’t been able to find an example of
someone using both of these. Regardless, I’m getting an error message:

move: error = Feature not available
write_block(): TX 6 bytes
read_string called, rxmax=64
read_string(): RX 9 characters

I do think that the move command is supported for this controller in
the current release of Hamlib due to lines 388 - 435 in the spid.c
source code file. What is the command format for "move" through the
Rot2Prog? Let me know if you have any questions or if there is another
source I should direct this inquiry to.

Thanks


*Ben Weber*
*Research Aide, Interplanetary Initiative Lab*
*Interplanetary Initiative*


*Knowledge Enterprise*

Arizona State University

bdw...@as... - KK7HJU