About 1-2 months ago I started poking around the Satnogs rotor control software because I was seeing bugs in the operation of the controller. Referring to github upload of 27 April, 2018 timestamp:
When powered up the rotor should home, but the homing flag is set to TRUE which does NOT allow it to home on power up. In my software version I fixed that.
I am using GPredict for the rotor controller commands and the current parsing of the AZ/EL command coming from GPRedict to the rotor is not being parsed correctly - only the azimuth part is being parsed correctly. I have updated that section of the software as well, so now it works for both AZ and EL. Is anyone else not having a problem with GPredict - Satnogs interface problem?
I uploaded the TEXT version of my corrected software to this group several months ago in hopes that SOMEONE could fold those corrections into the github repository (I have zero clue, and no desire to learn yet another software package, how to upload the corrected files) but they are still not folded in.
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Here is a screenshot of both Github and Gitlab showing dates. I do stand corrected, Bitlib is newer (by one month) but neither of the .ino files have been updated in at least 5 months with me posting the source code for changes that need to be made that correct problems with the software no more than 4-6 weeks ago.
Has no one else had any problems with the Elevation part of the code working or is it just me (perhaps I have something wrong with rotctrl or GPredict that is causing problems?
Without a doubt there is a problem withe two sets of software running with this rotor.
If I upload the source code to this thread can some please test it (if necessary, or whatever the protocol is) to verify that I have removed several bugs and then get it one the server? I don’t mind troubleshooting and improving the software, but I don’t have the knowledge on how to update the Gitlib files…
OK, so what is the process to have my updated code added to the repository? Does it have to be vetted by a group within this group? I have no experience with crowd source projects, but am willing to help.
If I post the source code here can it be added to the repository or what needs to be done? It seems a waste of effort if I have improved the code and no one else can take advantage of it…
Just tell me what to do…If the group isn’t interested in the revised source code I’ll quit asking…
Our code management and development happens indeed at GitLab. The Github public repositories are there for archiving and because we did have only Github initially so we don’t want to break any links from the older documentation.
Getting directly to the point. You will need to create your own fork of the repository: (click on “Fork”)
Then:
Create a new branch (name it however you like)
Edit any file you want
Create a new commit
Once the new commit is created you can submit a Merge Request from your edited branch to the master branch of the original repository.
Once the Merge Request is done then @azisi (the repo maintainer) will be reviewing it and accepting it or providing comments.
This is the standard contribution practice. I understand if that might be daunting for a newcomer to git and versioning control but this process ensures visibility, clarity, and traceability of commits and code.
Let us know if you need any help along the way and we will be happy to help.
I also had to go through this process as I started to work on gpredict a while ago. I wasn’t happy about that fact, too, but now it seems it made my coding even better. With some great help, initially from @csete, later at gitlab also from @fredy!
To give back something to the community I would also be there to share my gained experiences to newbies. Feel free to ask and if you want to get forward very fast: simply join #satnogs on freenode, IRC.
(click on “Fork”)