KStars v3.1.0 is released!

I'm glad to announce KStars first release of 2019: v3.1.0 for MacOS, Linux, and Windows. This release focuses on improvements to stability & performance of KStars. In 3.0.0, we introduced quite a few features which resulted in a few regressions that we worked hard to iron out in this release.

Ekos Scheduler

Eric Dejouhanet fixed a few bugs with the Ekos Scheduler along with making steady improvements to cover all corner cases for multi-object multi-night scheduling which can become quite complex.

Ring-Field Focusing

Eric also added a new feature to the Focus module: Ring-field focusing. This method limits the area which stars are detected between an inner and an outer ring. This can be useful in images where
galaxies or nebulaes can be mistaken as stellar object which often lead to erroneous HFR reporting.

This can only be used for full-field focusing.

Meridian Flip

Wolfgang Reissenberger migrated the Meridian Flip handling code to the Ekos Mount tab. This makes meridian flip possible even if there is no capture process going. If the mount is tracking and passes the meridian, it can be triggered to flip now in the Mount Module.

Ekos Documentation

Yuri Chornoivan migrated online Ekos documentation to KStars official documentation. This was a tremendous effort due to the volume of the documentation data involved. Now Ekos documentation are properly managed by us in KDE and should get translations like the rest of the official documentation.

Ekos PAA for Non-GOTO mounts

Sebastian Neubert introduced manual workflow for users who would like to use Ekos Polar Alignment Assistant Tool with manual non-GOTO mounts. Now the users are prompted to rotate the mount when it is required to do so until the process is complete. This is Sebastian's first code contribution to KStars, welcome to the team!

MacOS Build Script

Robert Lancaster developed a comprehensive script along with detailed documentation for building KStars with Craft on MacOS. This enables users to wish to either develop for KStars or use the latest bleeding edge versions from trying it out with a single script that pulls all the sources and compile them accordingly with the aid of KDE's spectacular Craft technology.

DSLR LiveView

The LiveView window received a few enhancement to enable zooming and panning for supported DSLR cameras.

Other Fixes & Improvements

• The FITS Viewer window is now automatically raised to the foreground when a new image arrives.
• Dark Library now considers all DSLRs to be shutterless.
• Mounts are grouped by manufacturer in the Equipment Profile Editor.
• Preliminary support for websocket to INDI::CCD on the client side.
• DBus interface expansion to provide more fine control over KStars.
• Fixed relative focuser bug in autofocus mode.
• Improved multi-channel histogram by providing dedicated controls to each channel.
• Fixed Auto-Stretch affecting raw image values.
• Support for compressed FITS (*.fits.fz) in INDI. This can cut the transmission time to 30%!
• Improved display of Parked status.
• KStars defaults to limited resource mode on ARM architecture.
• When there is binning change, always FORCE setting of frame values even if they did not change

Chuangnuode Intelligent Science & Technology Scam

A couple of months ago, I ordered microSD cards from Shenzhen Chuangnuode Intelligent Science & Technology Co., Ltd, a reseller on Alibaba. This is not my first order from Alibaba and I'd have to say that 90% of the time, everything goes on fine with the product getting delivered as per the specs especially since I always order items with the AliBaba trade assurance.

However, this seller apparently thought they could cheat their way through. So instead of sending me the Class 10 SD cards as requested, they went for the lower speed Class 6 SD cards. Even though I specifically told them I will test the SD cards, they didn't care at all.

Not only were the SD cards class 6, but they were prone to corruption a lot more than previous cards I got from Taiwan. This caused incredible headaches since I used them for StellarMate. After testing the cards, their speeds were slightly above class 6 but well below what you expect for a class 10 cards.

After raising the issue with the seller, they stuck to their story, but then I raised dispute with Alibaba to get my money back for this scam. They then acknowledged that they indeed cheated as illustrated below!

 

Then they agreed to take the cards back, but they requested it to be sent via regular mail as UPS/Fedex/DHL would apparently incur some costs on that. In Kuwait, you avoid government registered mail like plague since it is managed worse than 3rd world countries. I tried avoiding sending via regular registered mail, but then AliBaba asked me to do so in order for the dispute to go forward, and so I did.

Now it's been a month and there still isn't any news on the package. Government mail, even registered one, could take ages to reach its destination.

So what's the take away from this? On one front, it's hard to avoid such scams. If you deal with Alibaba you will eventually get bitten by them. Even if you ask for samples, they can send you the "good" samples first and then send you the lower quality ones later.

Though to be fair most transactions I had in Alibaba went great without a hitch, so this is an outlier and not the rule. However, avoid this reseller at all costs and find more reputable sellers on their network.

UPDATE 2019-03-29: Finally AliBaba agreed to fully refund me today. The package arrived in China on February 14th, but it took the seller 4 weeks to report about receiving it. I have always used Alibaba Trade Assurance by default for all my purchases, but this case proves that it is a very solid insurance to protect you against dishonest sellers. Happy with Alibaba's effort in resolving this case!