Troubleshooting & FAQ ===================== .. note:: This page applies to v3 and v2.5 PiFinders running software 2.x. If you're on older software, updating is often the fix in itself — see :ref:`user_guide:update software`. Most PiFinder hiccups have a quick, known fix, and more often than not the cause is something simple — focus, or a settings mismatch — rather than a fault. This page is organised by *symptom*: find the line that matches what you're seeing and follow it to the cause and the cure. If your symptom isn't listed, or a fix doesn't sort it out, the PiFinder community on the `Discord server `_ is friendly and quick to help. The PiFinder won't turn on -------------------------- The power control is a small white **slide switch** on the top of the unit, above the screen — it slides side to side, it is not a push button. Facing the screen, slide it right for on, left for off. (The **SQUARE** key never controls power.) A few things to check: - **Is the battery charged?** There's no battery-level indicator on the screen, so plug in to charge if you're unsure. The charging light glows blue while charging and turns green when full. - **Try external power.** Plug a USB-C cable into the port closest to the keypad. That port powers the unit *immediately, regardless of the switch position* — so if the PiFinder runs this way but not on battery alone, the trouble is the battery or the switch, not the computer. - If you built your own unit and it won't power up at all, double-check the PiSugar battery board connections. The screen is blank, or it won't finish booting ----------------------------------------------- First, rule out the simple explanations: - **Brightness turned all the way down.** If the PiFinder was last used at a dark site, the screen may simply be dimmed to nothing. Hold **SQUARE** and tap **+** several times to bring it back. - **Give it time on the first boot.** A normal start-up reaches the welcome screen in about 20 seconds. The *first* boot after re-imaging takes a minute or two, and the unit will restart itself several times while it sets up — that's expected. If a unit seems stuck, wait a full five minutes before deciding something is wrong. If the screen is still blank, look at the keypad backlight — it tells you where the problem is: - **No keypad light and no screen** (you may see a faint red LED glowing inside the case, meaning the Pi has power but isn't booting): this is almost always **SD card corruption**, the single most common hardware issue. Re-image the card with the latest release, or request a fresh one. SD card faults are all-or-nothing — they stop the PiFinder booting rather than causing subtle misbehaviour, so don't reach for a re-image to explain slow solves or the occasional position jump. - **Keypad lights up, but the screen is blank or shows garbled characters**: that points to the screen's connection rather than the software. You can confirm it by connecting through the :ref:`web interface ` — if the remote screen looks correct there, the software is fine and the physical screen connection needs attention (a solder reflow on DIY builds). For re-imaging instructions, see :ref:`user_guide:update software` and the :doc:`software` page. The camera view is blank or black --------------------------------- If the Focus screen shows nothing at all — not even faint noise with the lens cap on — the **Camera Type** setting probably doesn't match the camera in your unit. - Open Settings and try a different Camera Type. The v3 sensors are ``imx462`` and ``imx296``; older v2 cameras are ``imx477``. It won't hurt to try each. - **After changing Camera Type you must fully power the PiFinder off and on** — a software restart alone won't apply it. - A software update can quietly reset this setting, so it's worth re-checking after you update. A healthy camera shows at least some faint noise with the lens cap on, and a brighter image in daylight — use that to confirm the camera is alive before chasing focus or exposure. It won't plate solve ("can't find stars") ------------------------------------------ Plate solving is how the PiFinder works out where it's pointed (see :ref:`quick_start:setting focus & first solve`). When it won't solve, **focus is the cause far more often than anything else** — and stars that look fine at normal zoom are frequently not tight enough. Work through these in order: - **Focus, properly.** On the Focus screen, use **+/-** to zoom to 2x and 4x and rotate the lens until the stars are as small as you can make them. Tight focus matters *even more* under bright, light-polluted skies, where slightly soft dim stars vanish into the background. If you're starting from way off, set the lens so about 6 mm of thread is showing — roughly a pencil's width — which is close to in focus. - **Lens cap off, and hold still.** The PiFinder can only solve a sharp, stationary image. - **Exposure.** The default of 0.2 s suits most skies. For bright urban skies try 0.4 s; for dark skies 0.1 s works well, or choose **AUTO** to let the PiFinder set it for you. (Software older than 2.2 doesn't have the AUTO option — another reason to update.) - **High, thin cloud.** An invisible drifting cloudbank will stop solves at an otherwise perfect site. If solves come and go while the scope is dead still, suspect the sky before the hardware. .. note:: On older v2 cameras the lens has two rings — a focus ring and an aperture ring. The **aperture must be fully open** for the PiFinder to see enough stars to solve. An object has "disappeared" from a list (for example, M45) ---------------------------------------------------------- Objects are never deleted. If something you expect is missing from a list, it's being hidden by an active **filter** — magnitude, altitude, type, observed status, or which catalogs are selected. To bring everything back, open the Filter menu and choose **Reset All**. See :ref:`user_guide:filters` for what each filter does. The chart or Push-To directions look backwards ---------------------------------------------- If the star chart appears mirrored, or the Push-To arrows consistently send you the wrong way, the most likely cause is the **PiFinder Type** setting not matching how your unit is mounted — for example, set to Right when it should be Left. This setting tells the PiFinder its orientation, and it drives both the chart and the Push-To directions. Set it to match your hardware under Settings, as described in :ref:`Configuration Setup `. .. note:: The clockwise / counter-clockwise Push-To arrows are also *configurable* to suit how you picture turning your scope. If only the left/right (azimuth) direction feels reversed, try flipping that preference in Settings rather than changing the PiFinder Type. "Is this normal?" ----------------- A few PiFinder behaviours surprise people into thinking something is broken. These are all expected: - **The alignment reticle isn't centred.** The Telrad-style reticle on the Align screen shows where your scope is pointing *within* the camera's wide 10° view — it is not meant to sit in the middle, and a reticle off to one side is completely normal. See :ref:`quick_start:alignment`. - **The star chart is "zenith up", not eyepiece-matched.** The on-screen chart is a naked-eye view, oriented the way you'd see the sky looking up, so it won't match the flipped or rotated view through your eyepiece. The object *image* previews, by contrast, are rotated to match the eyepiece. - **Push-To numbers dim while you move the scope.** While the scope is moving the PiFinder estimates position from its motion sensor and dims the numbers to say so; the instant you stop, it takes a fresh photo, the numbers brighten, and the position is exact again. (This is separate from the whole screen dimming in power-save mode.) - **The charging light is slow to turn green.** Near a full charge the current tapers off, so the final stretch from blue to green takes a while. That's normal charging behaviour, not a fault. Frequently Asked Questions -------------------------- **Do I still need a finder scope or Telrad?** Not for finding objects — once the PiFinder is aligned to your scope it replaces a traditional finder. A zero-power finder (a red dot or Telrad) is handy for the *initial* alignment, though, since that step asks you to put a bright star in your eyepiece so you can select it on the PiFinder's chart. **Does it work in light-polluted skies?** Yes — very well. Bright skies just need a longer exposure: the default is 0.2 s, and for heavy light pollution you can raise it to 0.4 s. Good focus matters most of all here. **How do I update the software?** From the unit, go to Tools → Software Upd while connected to a WiFi network with internet access (Client mode). If the version reads "unknown", the PiFinder simply can't reach the internet to check — that's a connectivity issue, not a reason to re-image. Full details are in :ref:`user_guide:update software`. **What's the default password for the web interface?** ``solveit`` — all lowercase, one word. The home screen is viewable without it; other pages require it. You can change it under the web interface's Tools page. **How long does the battery last?** Four to five hours, but it's highly activity-dependent: sitting on a single object lets the PiFinder drop into a lower-power mode and stretches runtime, while a fast tour through many objects shortens it. There's no on-screen battery gauge, and the unit shuts off abruptly when empty, so for long sessions keep a USB-C power bank handy — you can hot-plug it while the PiFinder is running. **Where are my saved observations and images?** On the PiFinder's network share, reachable at ``//pifinder.local/shared`` (connect as guest, no password). See :ref:`user_guide:shared data access`. **Can I connect SkySafari?** Yes — the PiFinder talks to SkySafari and other planetarium apps over WiFi. See the :doc:`skysafari` page for setup. **Can I enter my own coordinates?** Yes. You can type in an arbitrary RA/Dec for objects that aren't in the built-in catalogs — handy for asteroids, comets, or newly discovered objects — and you can also send targets to the PiFinder from SkySafari. **Can I use the PiFinder on an EQ mount?** Yes — the PiFinder works with any mount, and plate solving behaves the same whatever the mount type. Switch it to EQ mode in the :ref:`user_guide:settings menu` by setting "Mount Type" to EQ, which presents Push-To distances in RA/Dec instead of Alt/Az. On software 2.5.0 and earlier the accelerometer tracking does not work correctly in EQ mode, so the Push-To numbers are unreliable while you move the scope; once you stop and the camera solves, the correct distances appear. From version 2.6.0 on, EQ mode is fully supported with accelerometer tracking. **Can I control my motorized (GoTo) mount with the PiFinder?** Not yet — this is in active development. It will rely on INDI support for your mount, so even once the software is ready it may not work with every mount; check INDI's supported-mount list at http://drivers.indilib.org/mounts/. There is no arrival date yet, as it depends on a planned move to a newer operating-system distribution with a more current version of INDI. **The operating system clock is wrong — does that matter?** No. The PiFinder is built to run standalone without internet, and the Raspberry Pi has no real-time clock, so it cannot keep accurate time on its own. It saves the time at shutdown and reads it back at startup as a rough estimate, which can be off by days if the unit has been powered down for a while. The software does not trust the system clock — it uses GPS time for everything except log-file timestamps. To sync the system clock to GPS time, run these commands in a terminal on the PiFinder: .. code-block:: bash sudo apt update sudo apt install chrony Then add the following to ``/etc/chrony/chrony.conf`` before the ``pool`` directive: .. code-block:: text refclock SHM 0 poll 3 refid gps1 This lets chrony use GPS time as a reference. In WiFi client mode chrony will usually prefer internet NTP servers over GPS, so the OS time may still be a second or two off. When running off-grid, the system clock stays inaccurate until you get a GPS lock. Have another question? Send it to `info@PiFinder.io `_ and I'll do my best to help, and maybe add it here. Better yet, fork the repo and contribute the answer via a pull request.