Skip to content

Releases: brickbots/PiFinder

v2.0.4

12 Sep 02:01
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v2.0.4 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_2.0.4.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

Hot on the heels of the v2.0.3 official release is this patch to fix up a couple of bugs and refine a few rough edges.

Software Updates

  • Improve the completeness of the Recent Object List
  • Chart rendering is faster and has less distortion
  • Experimental Alignment Feature added for testing
    • This is experimental and very lightly tested. You can find this under the Tools/Experimental menu. The existing alignment feature is still recommended for general use!

Bug Fixes

  • Fix chart updating when pending GPS lock
  • Fixing magnitude filtering bug
  • Fix sharpless catalog import to correct some positions
  • Update testing scripts tooling to reflect new keypad
  • Catalog filtering bug fix

Full Changelog: v2.0.3...v2.0.4

v2.0.3🎉

02 Sep 22:11
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v2.0.3 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_2.0.3.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

This is a major version release which introduces a whole new user interfaces, support for a new camera, and configurations for new v3 PiFinder hardware.

v3_ui_anim

So much has changed with this release that it's difficult to list all of the new bits. Here's a top-level overview:

  • All new scrolling menu system which allows easy access to all PiFinder functions in a consistent way.
  • All non-numeric buttons have been relabeled and their behavior is more consistent
  • All functions are available by scrolling using the arrows, pressing right to select/move deeper into the menus and left to go back.
  • Text on most screens is larger and more legible and at the same time we've shifted to more descriptive names and less abbreviations.
  • For shortcut/quick access functions we've implemented a context sensitive Quick Menu available via a long-press on the new SQUARE key.
  • There is now one object list which you can be loaded from any catalog, or all catalogs, globally filtered, sorted by nearest, and more. This is the heart of your observing sessions and any object can be selected to get Push-To info, object images and detailed catalog info 🙌
  • Full text search is now available with T9 style text entry 📱
  • All settings and tools are available through the Settings menu item and are organized for easy discovery and access.
  • New Help system for screen/function specific info
  • Just so much more.....

I'd suggest checking out the updated Quick Start and User Manual to get a better sense of the changes:

Due to the significant changes and little tweaks that have gone in during a short public testing period, this is the 3rd minor release of this new software.

Bug Fixes

This v2.0.3 release includes many minor bug fixes and tweaks from the 2.0.0/2.0.1/2.0.2 releases that were found by early testers. Thank you for all the great bug reports.

Feedback on releases is always welcome and we very much appreciate the bug reports to help us continue to improve the PiFinder!

v1.11.2

06 Jul 23:22
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v1.11.2 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_1.11.2.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

This is a minor release to address some data issues discovered in the ARP catalog and fix a couple of bugs. These release notes include version 1.11.1 and 1.11.2

Software Updates

  • No feature or software changes

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed position of some ARP catalog objects
  • Regenerated images for all ARP objects to better frame objects
  • Added more cross reference names in catalogs
  • When pushing objects from SkySafari, PiFinder now properly displayed Locate screen

Documentation

  • No Changes

Feedback on releases is always welcome and we very much appreciate the bug reports to help us continue to improve the PiFinder! I'll leave you with some of the great new objects in the ARP catalog!

c0e54482_Arp 77_001_docs
c0e54482_Arp 41_001_docs
c0e54482_Arp 319_001_docs
c0e54482_Arp 244_001_docs

v1.11.0

03 Jul 02:06
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v1.11.0 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_1.11.0.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

If you like peculiar galaxies, this is the release for you! The main feature of this release is the addition of the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies by Halton Arp and we've coupled this with a couple of requested changes and a few bug fixes to round everything out.

Software Updates

  • Added ARP Catalog!
  • Swapped direction of azimuth arrows in Locate screen per Cloudy Nights informal poll (see below)
  • Change default exposure time to 0.4
  • Exposure is now saved between sessions
  • Made animation of GPS indicator more consistent among screens
  • GPS Satellite count in status screen more reliable
  • Accept 2d GPS fixes rather than wait for full 3d fix
  • Allow wider range of FOV's to accommodate slightly different lens versions

Bug Fixes

  • Bright Star Alignment no longer rejects very bright stars 🙌

Documentation

  • Small typo fixes and clarifications

Thanks to everyone who took the time to weigh in on the Locate screen directional arrows for the Azimuth axis. We've swapped these for now as it seems to be the predominant intuition, but we are planning on making this customizable in the future.

v1.10.1

24 May 04:16
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v1.10.1 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_1.10.1.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

This release is all about QOL - Quality of Life. It's a collection of minor changes to UI, little bits of functionality, and a bug fix which together make the PiFinder experience a bit nicer. Thanks for everyone who filed issues, made suggestions, and took the time to reach out to let us know how you use, and want to use, the PiFinder! 💯

Software Updates

  • Nearby screen now holds list until scope is moved a few degrees to make selecting targets nice and easy
  • RA / Dec now optionally shown on Chart screen in either HH:MM or Decimal degrees
  • Locate screen no longer shows -.--- when missing key data but now shows Searching for GPS or Waiting for Solve
  • GPS Status indicator in title bar now flashes while looking for GPS and is solid when GPS lock achieved
  • Shape of arrows on Locate screen adjusted for enhanced legibility
  • Camera orientation now completely configurable for custom builds
  • Position of planets is now recalculated more often to improve accuracy of Push-To instructions

Bug Fixes

  • Planets catalog can now be enabled/disabled along with others

Documentation

  • Clarification on Software setup page

deb43e04_NEARBY_001_docs
deb43e04_LOCATE_001_docs
deb43e04_CHART_001_docs

v1.10.0

10 May 02:01
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v1.10.0 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_1.10.0.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

This is a major release featuring two great new catalogs along with a few bug fixes to make life better 🙌 You can see all the changes below, but here are the main highlights:

- Sharpless
The Sharpless catalog is a list of 313 H II regions (emission nebulae) intended to be comprehensive north of declination −27°.
(It does include some nebulae south of that declination as well.)

- Abell
The Abell Catalog of Planetary Nebulae (1966 by George O. Abell) contains 79 entries confirmed to be planetary nebulae.

Keep your suggestions for new catalogs coming as we'll be continuing to add new catalogs with every release 📈

Software Updates

  • Sharpless Catalog
  • Abell Catalog

Bug Fixes

  • Fix IMU flip detection code to avoid 'stuck' IMU readings
  • Restore catalog object additional name display
  • Properly apply altitude filtering to catalog objects
  • Filter catalog objects displayed in Nearby
  • Make sure all catalogs are available for activation

Documentation

  • Improved WiFi setup documentation
  • Add catalog list to documentation

Thank you @mrosseel for helping to get to version 1.10.0 🎉

v1.9.0

17 Mar 22:37
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v1.9.0 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_1.9.0.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

This is a major feature release with a host of awesome new improvements. Once again @mrosseel was the champion here contributing pretty much all of this new functionality. A very special thank you goes out to @smroid for their work on Cedar Detect and improvements to Tetra3 🥇 You can see all the changes below, but here are the main highlights:

- Solving is both faster and more robust
We've switched to a new way of detecting stars which allows solving images with shorter exposures. 0.2 second exposures (5 solves per second!!) are now very usable under bottle 2/3 skies and similar improvements should apply across brighter skies as well. This star-detection update also helps with trees, buildings and other obstructions in the camera FOV!

- Nearby Screen
One of our favorite uses of the PiFinder is to explore a specific patch of sky, uncovering new objects that we may have never seen before. This was possible previously using an observing list populated with nearby objects, but @mrosseel took this idea and supercharged it! Now there is a specific screen, which updates in real time, showing a list of objects nearby that match your current catalog filters. Like globular clusters, maybe Planetary Nebula? Set your catalog filter to see the types objects you are in the mood for and as you move your scope around the sky you'll get an updated list of these objects nearby with magnitude and other info!
Nearby_a
Nearby_b

- New Catalogs
This update includes the Barnard catalog of dark nebula and the RASC catalog of double stars! Keep your suggestions coming as we'll be continuing to add new catalogs with every release 📈

Software Updates

  • Switch to Cedar Detect and Cedar fork of Tetra3 for improved solving performance and robustness
  • Add new Nearby screen
  • Add RASC double star and Barnard catalogs
  • Adjust catalog options page to allow support for more than 10 catalogs
  • Catalog info display improvements with better formatting of descriptions
  • Minor time to first GPS lock improvement
  • Web Interface UI updates; Add default password to login page, clarify save/cancel when adding new networks

Bug Fixes

  • Fix crashing bug when loading some observing lists
  • Adjust FOV hint on solver to allow for variation in lens manufacturing

Documentation

  • Developer guide overhaul by @apos 🙌
  • Improvement in fist time focus instructions based on user feedback

v1.8.3

23 Feb 21:24
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v1.8.3 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_1.8.3.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

This is fix for an issue causing disconnection from SkySafari and other apps that rely on the LX200 PiFinder interface. Under many circumstances the PiFinder would return improperly formatted responses and would cause spurious disconnections.

Bug Fixes

  • Fix improperly formatted response to LX200 GD request when current solution was in negative declination

v1.8.1

27 Jan 02:54
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v1.8.1 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_1.8.1.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

This is minor change and bug fix related to the newly released planets catalog

Software Updates

  • Planets Catalog now available at start up rather than being loaded after GPS lock

Bug Fixes

  • Pressing 'B' to view object image for planets would cause a hard crash

v1.8.0

22 Jan 00:01
Compare
Choose a tag to compare

v1.8.0 Release

The prebuilt image for this release is available at:
https://ddbeeedxfpnp0.cloudfront.net/software/PiFinder_1.8.0.img

For information about how to update software versions:
https://pifinder.readthedocs.io/en/release/user_guide.html#update-software

Notes

This feature release adds Planets to the PiFinder catalog interface 🎉 . Also included is the ability to send targets from SkySafari or other apps to the PiFinder for Push-To locating and an interface for setting time/location via the web interface 🌐

Software Updates

  • Planets Catalog! Once time/date is acquired a catalog of Planets will be available for your observing pleasure
  • Allow Go-To command via LX200 interface. This enables sending targets not in the PiFinder catalog from SkySafari or other apps to the PiFinder. This is great for comets and other transients!
  • Web Interface update to allow for setting time/date manually. Handy for debug or if you've forgotten your GPS dongle. Just click on the pencil link on the GPS status from the home page

00fbcb66_CATALOG_001_docs
Screenshot 2024-01-21 at 3 58 08 PM