deepskyman
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Posts posted by deepskyman
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Hi there, I have until now manually started up each app, however I ultimately want to operate as a remote observatory so I’m looking for confirmation and advice on this topic.
What is the correct startup order for Windows? I run all Accessories via ASCOM Device Hub:
Pulsar 2.7m Dome (this is via an alpaca dynamic driver to ASCOM remote server running on the machine controlling the dome).
Primaluce ESATTO focuser
So logically startup order would appear to be:
ASCOM Device Hub - How do I get ADH to connect automatically to all devices?
Planetarium Software (Stellarium with DDM85 set to auto-connect)
Sequence - How do I get Sequence to auto connect to all devices?
Kind Regards
Paul
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Hi I’m into my second evening trying to get my ASA mount to play nicely with my Windows 11 machine. There appears to be a compatibility issue between Windows 11 and the Prolific driver. When I look in Device Manager my Ports entry has the following message against what should be the Prolific driver:
PL2303TA DO NOT SUPPORT WINDOWS 11 OR LATER, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SUPPLIER
Having spoken to Wolfgang at ASA, he referred me to the following post which provides instructions for addressing this issue:
https://embetronicx.com/uncategorized/fixed-prolific-pl2303ta-usb-to-serial-and-windows-11/
unfortunately in my case this proved not to be the case. My next stop was the Prolific web-site where I downloaded the latest driver and had a go with that, still no joy 😏
Has anyone else here gone through this issue? Does anybody have a cure?
Kind Regards
Paul.
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Hi folks, I recently registered for the new release of Autoslew, and have obtained my license key, but I can't find the a link for download of the software anywhere on the ASA web-site. I have searched both the 'Downloadcentre' and the Member Area. Can anybody point me to the hyperlink please.
Kind Regards
Paul Johnson
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Hi there, I’m looking for some assistance with a problem I am experiencing trying to drive my Pulsar dome from Autoslew. I have managed to get Autoslew to recognise the Pulsar ASCOM driver in as much as the menu options for Open and Close of the shutter are now enabled, unfortunately when I execute the Open command I receive the following error output:
-------------09:13:24------------Dome Problem:Object reference not set to an instance of an object.I am not sure where the error is being generated (no stack trace available), is this an Autoslew issue or is the message simply passed up the stack from the Pulsar ASCOM driver. Running ASCOM diagnostics against the dome driver provides the following output.
Create Creating device
Connected Connecting to device
Name Pulsar Observatories Dome
Description Pulsar Observatories Dome
DriverInfo Pulsar Observatories Dome Drive Version: 6.3
DriverVersion 6.3
InterfaceVersion 2
Azimuth, Altitude Property not available - Property read Altitude is not implemented in this driver.
AtHome False
AtPark False
Connected Disconnecting from device
Dispose Disposing of device
Dispose Completed disposal
ReleaseComObject Releasing COM instance
GC Collect Starting garbage collection
GC Collect Completed garbage collectionHas anyone else had similar issues interfacing Autoslew to their dome via ASCOM? My concern is that as far as I am aware, there is no other way to drive the dome from Autoslew other than via ASCOM, so I need to get it to work somehow.
Kind Regards
Paul.
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Hi there as per my recent post, I have been experimenting with ASCOM remote which in theory allows control of Autoslew using the Alpaca protocol, unfortunately although ASCOM Remote can talk to the AS ASCOM driver, it falls over due to what appear to be non-conformances with the AstroOptik driver. I jumped on the opportunity of Alpaca because it would allow me to drop Stellarium in favour of my preferred planetarium software SkySafari.
Kind Regards
Paul.
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Hi there I am having issues controlling my DDM85 Std from my preferred planetarium app which is SkySafari. Note that I can use Stellarium without any issues, but I dislike the interface and would much prefer to get SkySafari working, now that the networking capability is there via ASCOM Alpaca and ASCOM Remote.
The communication chain is:SkySafari7 Pro - iOS
Utilising ASCOM Alpaca Over Wifi
to
ASCOM Remote running on Windows 11
to
AstrooptikServer.Telescope (Autoslew)I can verify that SkySafari is able to communicate with Autoslew however SkySafari fails to achieve an enduring connection as it fails after a short while with:
Connection Failure
SkySafari 7 Pro can make a wireless network connection to the Alpaca server, but the scope returned error "'System.__ComObject' does not contain a definition for 'AxisRates'.Here are the logs from ASCOM Remote:
Device Telescope 0 (AstrooptikServer.Telescope) connected OK and is available
ASCOM Remote Alpaca device listening URI: http://192.168.0.41:11111/api/
Listening for IPv4 discovery broadcasts on port 32227.
IPv6 discovery not enabled.
Server started successfully.
GET /management/apiversions
GET /management/v1/configureddevices
PUT /api/v1/telescope/0/connected
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/canslewasync
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/canslewaltazasync
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/cansync
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/cansyncaltaz
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/canpark
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/cansettracking
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/canmoveaxis
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/canmoveaxis
GET /api/v1/telescope/0/axisratesand this as far as it gets in the sequence.
I have spoken to both Simulation Curriculum and contributors to the ASCOM Group Forum and arising from this I have been able to run ASCOM conformance tests against the AstrooptikServer.Telescope driver, the logs from which are attached. The files are named according to tests run against the native Windows ASCOM driver itself, as well as Alpaca protocol tests. There appear to be a number of potential non-conformance issues with the driver.
Please can you assist me in getting to a solution, failing this, constructive feedback would be useful so that I can go back to the ASCOM Forum and SimCur with additional information.
Kind Regards
Paul J.WinASCOMconform.report.txt WinASCOM.ConformU.1926.369220.txt Alpacaconform.report.txt Alpaca.ASCOM.ConformU.1923.001500.txt Alpaca.ASCOM.RemoteServer.1921.216150.txt Alpaca.ASCOM.ServerAccessLog.1921.388630.txt
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Hi there, just wondering if anyone happens to have a set of DDM85 metrics that I could use with my 2.7m dome ASCOM setup. New to dome setup so I'm sort of experimenting at the moment. As I don't yet have my pier (unforeseen budget complications), I'm currently working with my Altair Starbase Tri-Pier. The ASCOM dome setup requires the following:
Measurement Inches mm Total North/South Offset Total East/West Offset Total Up/Down Offset Dome Diameter or Dome Radius GEM Axis Offset Any assistance greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards
Paul.
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Hi there. Has anyone ever carried out pier height calculations for a DDM85 in a Pulsar 2.7m Dome? OTA will be an 8” EdgeHD. I’m looking at purchasing an EMC P200 Pier, very likely the 1200mm version. Just curious what calculations are out there for a similar setup.
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Hi there, I had assumed that the DDM85 would have a direct Ethernet connection, however this appears not to be the case. What are some solutions out there for giving an ASA mount a presence on the network. Note the intention is for remote control of mount and dome, though I hasten to add that remote in this case means my back yard obsy not e-eye 🙂
Paul.
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My intention is to install an ASA DDM85 in a Pulsar 2.7m dome. The only means of controlling the dome is via ASCOM. I have heard some concern about the ASA ASCOM driver. Should I be worried about this, or is it just scare mongering?
Kind Regards
Paul.
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Hi there I am new to the ASA Forum. I am in the market for a DDM85 Standard mount or price equivalent, so what better place I thought, to continue my search which has been ongoing now for a good few weeks, than on the manufacturers web forum. Hoping that someone on the forum has intentions on upgrading and might have a DDM85 available for sale.
Here’s Hoping 😀
Paul.
Problem with Dome and Mount Positioning/Synchronisation from Sequence
in ASA DDM85, 100, 200, 500
Posted
.I have an issue with my Pulsar 2.7m Dome and DDM85 Mount synchronisation. I have a set of dome parameters which work perfectly when ASCOM Device Hub is in sole control of the dome, however when I attempt to control from sequence the mount and dome are out by several degrees, to the extent that it is unusable, so currently in sequence I switch off dome control and leave this aspect of the observatory completely to ASCOM Device Hub and this works perfectly every time. Control of the dome from Sequence and from ASCOM Device Hub is facilitated by an Alpaca Dynamic Driver which communicates with ASCOM Remote running on my dome control server.
I’m now considering the impact this issue will have on the Sequence autopoint function. There can be a considerable delay between the mount slewing to position and the dome coming to the same position, anything between 30 seconds and 1.5 minutes. If Sequence is not controlling the dome how do I get the mount and dome to synch to enable me to carry out a full sky autopoint function. I’m assuming that exposure timing will be handled by the link between Sequence and MaximDL.
Kind Regards
Paul.