-----Original Message-----
From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Chris Rowland
Sent: Monday, 31 December 2007 7:56 PM
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] EQ4 Motorise - usb

Peter Richens wrote:
> Hi
>
> I am looking around for my options to motorise an EQ4or 5 Mount, one option
> would be to purchase the Synscan upgrade but I was hoping someone had built
> a Stepper motor control board that could be controlled in a similar way to
> EQMOD via either the Serial or USB to Serial adapter - can't be all that
> hard - just a few stepper motor control chips and a PIC chip to drive them,
> add some clever software and pop you have it .. someone?

If it's so easy then why not do it yourself :-) You can get compilers
for the PIC quite easily, HiTEC do a free Lite version. There's a PIC
with a USB port built in, this with a ULN2803 driver IC, may be almost
all the hardware needed.

The devil is in the details of course. If the stepper gearing is fine
enough that you get good tracking then it's difficult to get the stepper
to run fast enough to slew at a reasonable rate. If it will slew at a
respectable rate then you need the complexities of microstepping to get
the low speed tracking. You may also need power control for the motors,
ramping the speed up and down so you don't loose steps.

> I know there must be something out there that dose not require a parrel port
> and drives stepper motors.

Mel Bartels does two scope drive systems, a stepper motor one using the
parallel port of a PC running DOS and a servo motor version that uses
controller boards with serial connections to the PC. The stepper version
is free and open source, the servo version commercial.

Chris

Hi there!

I am thinking to use the ASCOM library in one of my projects.
In my project, I need to set all the necessary values (Altitude,
SiteLongitude, SiteLatitude, etc.) without invoking the SetupDialog
method.

Is this possible?

And if not, how is it possible to use the ASCOM classes and deal
with  those situation that do not allow the use of a window handle
(and therefore it is not possible to recall the SetupDialog, which
opens a new window...)?

For example, let's say I am working on a Windows service. I do not
have a handler for GUIs and all my settings are recovered from a
database. So, what could I do?

Thanks in advance for all the replies,
Best Regards,
Gianluca.

DICK
     I am sorry, I am unfortunately not familiar with the detail in
your message below...the code details. I can confirm that you are
correct, it is "wrong tracking state" Also, I played around (during
the day) and the "wrong tracking state" only appears when I tick
the "auto unpark/track" tick box. When I untick it, the command is
actioned by the scope, although it appears things are a bit wierd,
left is up, right is down, etc....but it could be that I was not
aligned...

Also, I can also confirm that the scope was tracking and aligned
originally with my 1st post. It was tracking for more than 10 minutes
before I started playing around with SNP 4.05.

Any more help or ideas will be appreciated.

Regards
Paul


--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "autostaretx" <rseymour@...> wrote:
>
> --- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "cradle_observatory"
> <cradle_observatory@> wrote:
> >
> > DEAR ALL
> >         I have the following set up:
> >
> > - Meade LX200GPS 14" with Autostar II ver. 4.2G (Dick's patch
version)
> > - Ascom 4.1 with updated Meade driver.
> > - Starry Night Pro v 4.05.
> > - Scope is mounted in Alt/Az
> >
> > I am having the following problem:
> > - After connecting to the scope from Starry Night, it connects
OK,
> > and places the red crosshair/marking on the current pointing
> > position. When I click on a different object to slew to, I get
the
> > error message...."Wrong tracking rate" on the computer......
>
> The actual error message is "Wrong Tracking State" (not "rate").
>
> The Meade driver will emit that if it thinks you are not
> Tracking, and/or perhaps if it thinks you should be in Polar
> instead of Alt/Az mounting.
>
> The code is in the Telescope.cls file, and is the final test
> in this procedure:
> ----------------
> ' CheckConnected() - Raise an error if the scope is not connected
> '
> Private Sub CheckConnected(Park As Boolean, Track As Boolean, Asleep
> As Boolean)
>
>     If Not IsConnected(devTelescope) Then _
>         Err.Raise SCODE_NOT_CONNECTED, ERR_SOURCE, MSG_NOT_CONNECTED
>
>     ' only allow if scope needed to be awake
>     If Asleep And g_bAsleep Then _
>         Err.Raise SCODE_ASLEEP, ERR_SOURCE, MSG_ASLEEP
>
>     ' Global error checking for all slews and syncs
>     If Park And m_bParked Then _
>         Err.Raise SCODE_PARKED, ERR_SOURCE, MSG_PARKED
>
>     ' tracking checks for alt/az vs equ commands
>     If Track <> m_bTracking Then _
>         Err.Raise SCODE_WRONG_TRACKING, ERR_SOURCE,
MSG_WRONG_TRACKING
>
> End Sub
> ------------------
>
> You should make sure your scope -is- tracking (GoTo a star from
> the keypad, perhaps?) and if that doesn't satify it, try setting
> it to Polar instead of Alt/Az and see if there's an effect.
>
> have fun
> --dick
>

I also had to upgrade and received VISTA home premium.  I usually launch TheSky6
first and
under the telescope setup, select POTH and then configure for my scope (I have
one AP900
and one TAK EM-400).  It usually connects fine this way but I do notice some
glitches if I fool
around with the POTH/configure too much.  Once setup, it seems to run fine
though.

Oh, geeze, how soon we forget. We hashed this over in this thread

   http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCOM-Talk/message/12995

I had forgotten the detail I we gone into until I came in this morning, and
thought "I could sewar we were looking at this before" and found the thread.
View message grouped by topic and you'll see that it was started by you and
went through some contortions w.r.t. PrimaryInteropAssemblyName stuff then.

I had released ACP 5.1 right around then and got diverted by the traffic
relating to that... and it faded into background.

I will see if I can make this work right as soon as I'm back online full time in
a couple of days.

Happy New Year!

   -- Bob

Hmm strange.. I don't see poth in my Sky 6 setup..
Just all the other scope setups.

Kip
--- r1300rs <cardiofuse@...> wrote:

> I also had to upgrade and received VISTA home
> premium.  I usually launch TheSky6 first and
> under the telescope setup, select POTH and then
> configure for my scope (I have one AP900
> and one TAK EM-400).  It usually connects fine this
> way but I do notice some glitches if I fool
> around with the POTH/configure too much.  Once
> setup, it seems to run fine though.
>
>


Kip

   Clear Skies and Calm Winds!!!

   "The WIKI Dude"

   Check out the wiki for tutorials on Nebulosity and PHD

    http://tinyurl.com/2qes99

Hi Bob,

> Oh, geeze, how soon we forget. We hashed this over in this thread

I see what you mean, it does now look very familiar! I didn't have time
to properly understand that thread in October.

Is it possible to uninstall the previous Platform 5 version
automatically before installing the new version? Ray seems to do this
with PEMPro, perhaps it could work for us?

Regards, Peter

Thanks again, Peter. I have updated the Platform installer Jon's files...

The nice thing is that he provided them all with installers made from the Inno
Setup generator in the Platform. While the platform itself doesn't have a source
install option, I can put his installers out on the new ASCOM site so people can
get the sources that way. I've already cribbed the main Platform installer so
that the simulators are separately registered in the custom actions. That way
one can work on the simulators without Windows Installer getting in the way of
registering and unregistering.

With regard to Conform, once again I have to say THANKS! You've done an
incredible amount of very useful work to further ASCOM. It will definitely be in
a prominent place on the new ASCOM site in the developer area.

Happy New Year!!!

   -- Bob

(what am I doing here today?)

Peter Simpson:
> Hi Bob,
>
> I have posted a new version of Conform that tidies up a couple of bugs
> in 1.0.9 and extends the tool to test filter wheels and focusers.
> Perhaps this could go in the developer section of the new site? The full
> list of changes is given below.
>
> On the topic of updated code, in June/July Jon Brewster created some up
> level versions of the simulators and Pipe/Hub/POTH; they are in the
> JonBrewster directory in the files section. Is it possible to
> incorporate these into the release 5 platform or make them available as
> updates from the new site? The versions are:
>
>     * Component        Platform Version Jon's Version
>     * Dome simulator        5.0.5          5.0.6
>     * Focus simulator       5.0.4          5.0.5
>     * Switch simulator      5.0.1          5.0.2
>     * Telescope simulator   5.0.7          5.0.9
>     * Pipe/Hub              5.0.7          5.0.9
>     * POTH                  ?              5.0.4

Peter Simpson:
> Hi Bob,
>
>> Oh, geeze, how soon we forget. We hashed this over in this thread
>
> I see what you mean, it does now look very familiar! I didn't have time
> to properly understand that thread in October.

Ha ha ha... well I was trying to keep up with all of this while working nights
(7PM-4AM) doing DUI enforcement. I know... astronomers have little sympathy for
night-shifters :-))) It's just that I only had an hour or two each day to do
other things, and I was always tired (stressful work at night). Last night was
it, though, and I'm enjoying having the time to start catching up now.

> Is it possible to uninstall the previous Platform 5 version
> automatically before installing the new version? Ray seems to do this
> with PEMPro, perhaps it could work for us?

I already have that option set in Windows Installer. In that earlier thread I
found that not having it on caused all sorts of other issues (not bugs in
Windows Installer, just the way I think it's supposed to work).

My plan is to "go pragmatic" and stuff the missing PrimaryInterfaceAssemblyName
data into the registry myself assuming I can detect the difference between a
fresh install, an update, and a repair. A hack to be sure, but I already ran out
of petrol back in October while trying to understand why Windows Installer is
acting the way it is.

   -- Bob

Hi group

Don't smoke me for asking my internet has been slowed due to too many
downloads this billing month (12GB) so I have not been able to have a look
...
But is there a compatible driver for the iOptron GOTONOVA - goto kit?

My other mount blew up and while I am waiting for it to be fixed I dug in
deep and found the money to motorise my EQ5 mount and decided to go to this
upgrade kit... just hope I have made the right decision?

So please give me the good news :-)

Regards
Peter Richens
Brisbane Australia

Alright, maybe it was too early to post in the forum.
I have checked better and I saw that SiteAltitude, SiteLongitude,
etc. can be set in the object Telescope by being read/write
properties.

The question remains for property like the serial port. How can I set
the communication port without using SetupDialog?

Thanks in advance again,
Gianluca.


--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "gc.london" <-jc-@...> wrote:
>
> Hi there!
>
> I am thinking to use the ASCOM library in one of my projects.
> In my project, I need to set all the necessary values (Altitude,
> SiteLongitude, SiteLatitude, etc.) without invoking the SetupDialog
> method.
>
> Is this possible?
>
> And if not, how is it possible to use the ASCOM classes and deal
> with  those situation that do not allow the use of a window handle
> (and therefore it is not possible to recall the SetupDialog, which
> opens a new window...)?
>
> For example, let's say I am working on a Windows service. I do not
> have a handler for GUIs and all my settings are recovered from a
> database. So, what could I do?
>
> Thanks in advance for all the replies,
> Best Regards,
> Gianluca.
>

Hi Gianluca,

> The question remains for property like the serial port. How can I set
> the communication port without using SetupDialog?

You don't have to set up the serial port every time you use the
telescope, same for latitude, longitude and elevation. If you are able
to run the setup GUI once and set these parameters, the values you set
will be remembered and are used every time you connect to the telescope
so no need to ever use the GUI again.

If you can't run the GUI for some reason then you could consider
entering required values directly into the registry where most drivers
store the values input through the GUI. This is definitely not a
recommended approach as it bypasses all the protections implicit in
using the ASCOM API and GUI.

Regards, Peter

Hi Peter,

Thanks a lot for the precious information.
That was exactly what I needed.

Gianluca.

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "Peter Simpson" <simpsons@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi Gianluca,
>
> > The question remains for property like the serial port. How can I
set
> > the communication port without using SetupDialog?
>
> You don't have to set up the serial port every time you use the
> telescope, same for latitude, longitude and elevation. If you are
able
> to run the setup GUI once and set these parameters, the values you
set
> will be remembered and are used every time you connect to the
telescope
> so no need to ever use the GUI again.
>
> If you can't run the GUI for some reason then you could consider
> entering required values directly into the registry where most
drivers
> store the values input through the GUI. This is definitely not a
> recommended approach as it bypasses all the protections implicit in
> using the ASCOM API and GUI.
>
> Regards, Peter
>

Hi Bob,

> > Is it possible to uninstall the previous Platform 5 version
> > automatically before installing the new version? Ray seems to do
this
> > with PEMPro, perhaps it could work for us?
>
> I already have that option set in Windows Installer.

Since we know that the installer does work correctly on a fresh system
and that the problem only occurs during upgrade , this suggests that a
full uninstall doesn't occur during the upgrade. Would it be worth
trying to run an uninstall manually as a separate step before the main
installer runs to install the new platform?

I know this shouldn't be necessary, but this might be more sustainable
in the long term, as it relies on the MS installer actually doing its
job, rather than simply adding the required entries after an upgrade
which could break on Vista or some future platform.

Regards, Peter

Hi Gianluca-

The purpose of the setup dialog is to sweep up all the one-time (or
rare) configuration settings that are device dependent, and not handled
by universal methods. So the short answer is that you can't access these
things externally.

In practice, the settings are saved, so you could implement a set of
driver-specific methods to poke those settings, but if you plan on
supporting all ASCOM telescopes this will be ugly, difficult, and sure
to break your program at regular intervals, since drivers save the
values in different places (Registry or files), using proprietary
formats and key names. You'd have to stay on top of every driver change
or addition.

It is usual that these settings are configured manually the first time a
particular piece of equipment is attached. Does your application make
this difficult or impossible?

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "gc.london" <-jc-@...>
To: <ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2008 2:50 AM
Subject: [ASCOM] Re: SetupDialog...


> Alright, maybe it was too early to post in the forum.
> I have checked better and I saw that SiteAltitude, SiteLongitude,
> etc. can be set in the object Telescope by being read/write
> properties.
>
> The question remains for property like the serial port. How can I set
> the communication port without using SetupDialog?
>
> Thanks in advance again,
> Gianluca.

I'm sorry, I may have gotten one step ahead of you.  I do select Telescope API
in TheSky
Telescope setup then I go to the POTH setup and configure my mount (either AP900
or EM-
400).

Yep. for some reason The Sky tells me that API is not
there yet.. it is... Must be a vista thing.. Guess the
driver needs to be modded.. Worked ok with XP. Hmm

Kip
--- r1300rs <cardiofuse@...> wrote:

> I'm sorry, I may have gotten one step ahead of you.
> I do select Telescope API in TheSky
> Telescope setup then I go to the POTH setup and
> configure my mount (either AP900 or EM-
> 400).
>
>


Kip

   Clear Skies and Calm Winds!!!

   "The WIKI Dude"

   Check out the wiki for tutorials on Nebulosity and PHD

    http://tinyurl.com/2qes99

> For example, let's say I am working on a Windows service. I do not
> have a handler for GUIs and all my settings are recovered from a
> database. So, what could I do?

One idea is to provide a separate program that enables/disables the service,
provides for setting auto/manual startup of the service, and also has a button
for the SetupDialog.

If you don't want to use SetupDialog(), don't write to the registry. Use
DriverHelper.Profile which gives you access to whatever storage scheme and
location is in current use by drivers (it may change to XML). Drivers themselves
use Profile to store persistent data. So if your service or service control app
wants to access the same values that the driver itself uses, then use the same
mechanism that the driver (should) use: DriverHelper.Profile.

   -- Bob

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, Bob Denny <rdenny@...> wrote:
>
> > For example, let's say I am working on a Windows service. I do not
> > have a handler for GUIs and all my settings are recovered from a
> > database. So, what could I do?
>
Hello Bob,

that's really interesting. So, if I want to set my com port and all
the other information, according to what you said, I can use this
Helper.Profile. Is that right?

This would solve many problems for me...

Thanks again to everybody for the help.

Regards,
Gianluca.

> One idea is to provide a separate program that enables/disables the
service,
> provides for setting auto/manual startup of the service, and also
has a button
> for the SetupDialog.
>
> If you don't want to use SetupDialog(), don't write to the registry. Use
> DriverHelper.Profile which gives you access to whatever storage
scheme and
> location is in current use by drivers (it may change to XML).
Drivers themselves
> use Profile to store persistent data. So if your service or service
control app
> wants to access the same values that the driver itself uses, then
use the same
> mechanism that the driver (should) use: DriverHelper.Profile.
>
>   -- Bob
>

Hi!

I'm new to this world of scopes and mounts, so please be gentle.

I'm trying to find a remotely controllable, motorized mount to use for
photography, inspired by this setup (a Meade LX-200 with a Canon SLR):
http://research.microsoft.com/ivm/HDView/HowDone/howdone.htm

Strategy 1 - find an LX-200 mount
=================================
I have tried to get hold of a LX-200 mount, but to no avail. I'm
(un)fortunate enough to live in Norway, and the resellers here won't
sell the mount separately. Ebay is currently not much help. Don't know
of too many web sites where I can look for used mounts. And the
complete Meade LX-200 with a telescope is not an option.

Strategy 2 - try other mounts
=============================
The Meade DS-2000 series looks cheap and cheerful, and might do what I
want. But I couldn't find a definitive answer as to whether it is
supported by the ASCOM driver for "Meade LX200, LX200GPS, and Autostar
", and if someone have had success in using it. There are, as far as I
can see two threads on the DS-2000:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCOM-Talk/message/13286
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCOM-Talk/message/13188

So - should I look for another mount, or should I sit down and write a
driver (coding is pretty much what I do all day)?

Regards
duracellbunny1

I think I may have found a major clue.

   http://support.microsoft.com/kb/905238

I've seen this (the PIAs not even being in the GAC after updating). I looked
with Orca at the MSI and indeed (as advertised) the remove-existing is occurring
early.

Peter, I'm with you now (it just took me longer to "get it"). I, like you, had
several "interesting" adventures trying things today.

I'll put into the custom action a detector for existing installations, pop a
message "Please uninstall your current platform first", then unwind the install.
I'll put it into the Install section of the custom action. The bad part is that
the installer will have to rollback, sort of ugly. Maybe I can figure out a way
to do this really early in the install process (an Installer class event???).
All I have to do it look for the Master Interfaces type library registration
info in the registry. If it's there, a Platform 5+ is installed.

   -- Bob

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "duracellbunny1"
<duracellbunny1@...> wrote:
>
> Hi!
>
> I'm new to this world of scopes and mounts, so please be gentle.
>
> I'm trying to find a remotely controllable, motorized mount
> to use for photography, inspired by this setup (a Meade LX-200
> with a Canon SLR):
> http://research.microsoft.com/ivm/HDView/HowDone/howdone.htm

The telescope mount in that photograph is a Meade LX200gps (or
LX200R), not a no-longer-produced LX200 (also known as a Classic)

There is a ready market for LX200gps/LX200R optical tubes separated
  from their mounts (even Meade sells the LX200R separately)


> Strategy 1 - find an LX-200 mount
> =================================
> I have tried to get hold of a LX-200 mount, but to no avail. I'm
> (un)fortunate enough to live in Norway, and the resellers here won't
> sell the mount separately. Ebay is currently not much help. Don't
> know
> of too many web sites where I can look for used mounts.

www.astromart.com  , the "classifieds" page.

> And the complete Meade LX-200 with a telescope is not an option.

Even without a telescope, the base would probably cost close
to us$1000 (before shipping and taxes).

>
> Strategy 2 - try other mounts
> =============================
> The Meade DS-2000 series looks cheap and cheerful, and might do
> what I want. But I couldn't find a definitive answer as to whether
> it is supported by the ASCOM driver for "Meade LX200, LX200GPS,
> and Autostar", and if someone have had success in using it.

First, the DS-2000 will happily be controlled by ASCOM.
It is usually sold with a 494 Autostar (no numeric keypad),
and therefore requires a Meade #506 cable/converter to perform
a (Meade proprietary) AUX-to-serial conversion. (the AUX socket
is on the DS-2000 base).  The 506 has active PIC components,
and costs about $30 to $50.
The 494 Autostar cannot be reprogrammed.

An more powerful alternative is to also buy a 497 Autostar
(has numeric keypad), since that controller's firmware -is-
updateable and changable (i create free patch kits to add features,
some directly applicable to terrestrial time-lapse photography).
The 497 Autostar can be connected to a PC's serial port with a
home-made cable (wired like a Meade #505 cable).

Whether or not a 494 Autostar would be suitable for your task
depends upon what command motions you wish to have the camera
perform.  If it's simply "GoTo Az=120, Alt=15", then it will work.
If you wish sophisticated control ("...at a rate of 0.15 degrees
per second in Azimuth and 0.01 degrees per second in Altitude")
then you will require the 497 Autostar.

Bill Vorce at www.telescope-warehouse.com  sells a DS mount
and controller (but without the 506) for us$90, plus shipping.
<http://shop.telescope-warehouse.com/categoryNavigationDocument.hg?categoryId=11\
>
(click on the left-side photo).

> So - should I look for another mount, or should I sit down and
> write a driver (coding is pretty much what I do all day)?

I assume you have seen the (obsolete and incomplete) Meade protocol
  document at:
<http://www.meade.com/support/LX200CommandSet.pdf>

Also join/visit the Roboscope  Yahoo group.

have fun
--dick

Many thanks for your exhaustive reply!

It makes me feel more at ease. And at ~$90 + the 497 I can afford some
trial and error.

I hope to contribute to the development of ASCOM (hopefully with more
answers than questions) further down the road.

Great stuff!

Regards
duracellbunny





--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "autostaretx" <rseymour@...> wrote:
>
> --- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "duracellbunny1"
> <duracellbunny1@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi!
> >
> > I'm new to this world of scopes and mounts, so please be gentle.
> >
> > I'm trying to find a remotely controllable, motorized mount
> > to use for photography, inspired by this setup (a Meade LX-200
> > with a Canon SLR):
> > http://research.microsoft.com/ivm/HDView/HowDone/howdone.htm
>
> The telescope mount in that photograph is a Meade LX200gps (or
> LX200R), not a no-longer-produced LX200 (also known as a Classic)
>
> There is a ready market for LX200gps/LX200R optical tubes separated
>  from their mounts (even Meade sells the LX200R separately)
>
>
> > Strategy 1 - find an LX-200 mount
> > =================================
> > I have tried to get hold of a LX-200 mount, but to no avail. I'm
> > (un)fortunate enough to live in Norway, and the resellers here won't
> > sell the mount separately. Ebay is currently not much help. Don't
> > know
> > of too many web sites where I can look for used mounts.
>
> www.astromart.com  , the "classifieds" page.
>
> > And the complete Meade LX-200 with a telescope is not an option.
>
> Even without a telescope, the base would probably cost close
> to us$1000 (before shipping and taxes).
>
> >
> > Strategy 2 - try other mounts
> > =============================
> > The Meade DS-2000 series looks cheap and cheerful, and might do
> > what I want. But I couldn't find a definitive answer as to whether
> > it is supported by the ASCOM driver for "Meade LX200, LX200GPS,
> > and Autostar", and if someone have had success in using it.
>
> First, the DS-2000 will happily be controlled by ASCOM.
> It is usually sold with a 494 Autostar (no numeric keypad),
> and therefore requires a Meade #506 cable/converter to perform
> a (Meade proprietary) AUX-to-serial conversion. (the AUX socket
> is on the DS-2000 base).  The 506 has active PIC components,
> and costs about $30 to $50.
> The 494 Autostar cannot be reprogrammed.
>
> An more powerful alternative is to also buy a 497 Autostar
> (has numeric keypad), since that controller's firmware -is-
> updateable and changable (i create free patch kits to add features,
> some directly applicable to terrestrial time-lapse photography).
> The 497 Autostar can be connected to a PC's serial port with a
> home-made cable (wired like a Meade #505 cable).
>
> Whether or not a 494 Autostar would be suitable for your task
> depends upon what command motions you wish to have the camera
> perform.  If it's simply "GoTo Az=120, Alt=15", then it will work.
> If you wish sophisticated control ("...at a rate of 0.15 degrees
> per second in Azimuth and 0.01 degrees per second in Altitude")
> then you will require the 497 Autostar.
>
> Bill Vorce at www.telescope-warehouse.com  sells a DS mount
> and controller (but without the 506) for us$90, plus shipping.
>
<http://shop.telescope-warehouse.com/categoryNavigationDocument.hg?categoryId=11\
>
> (click on the left-side photo).
>
> > So - should I look for another mount, or should I sit down and
> > write a driver (coding is pretty much what I do all day)?
>
> I assume you have seen the (obsolete and incomplete) Meade protocol
>  document at:
> <http://www.meade.com/support/LX200CommandSet.pdf>
>
> Also join/visit the Roboscope  Yahoo group.
>
> have fun
> --dick
>

Dick already gave you the info you need for now. In case you would like
to use the setup for panning a camera smoothly during time lapse
photography, ASCOM falls short because the command you'll want to use
(MoveAxis) apparently isn't supported for Autostar telescopes. But the
DS-2000 mounts are capable; you will just have to send the appropriate
commands by other means. Check this thread in the Meade_Autostar group:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Meade_Autostar/message/1945

Also, here's a video about using a DS-2000 mount for time lapse
photography which you might find interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni89TBOTCUA

Best regards,
Poul Jensen

Hi Bob,

> I think I may have found a major clue.

That's great news, it truly shouldn't be as dificult as this!
Interesting that the MS article only talked about workarounds and not a
fix... In investigating installers today I found that Vista and Server
2008 use a version 4 installer, I wonder if they have fixed this in that
version, however, there was no sign of a V4 installer for XP so I think
you are definitely on the right track to fix the current installer.

Thanks very much for seeing this through.

Regards, Peter

Trying to install Platform 5.0 Beta 3 on several Vista machines I get
the following error:

"The installer has encountered an unexpected error installing this
package.  This may indicate a problem with this package. The error
code is 2869"

installation was on machines with no previous versions of ASCOM
installed.  Any suggestions as to what the problem could be?

Joseph Colosi


--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, Bob Denny <rdenny@...> wrote:
>
> In response to the discoveries of Chris Rowland, I've build another
Platform
> beta. This update will install over Platform 5 beta 2.
>
> * The name has been changed to ASCOM Platform 2008 in various places.
> * Inno setup generator fixed to use /codebase switch on .NET DLL driver
>   registrations
> * Inno setup generator fixed for Windows 2000 systems with no
FrameworkDir
>   symbol in PATH
> * Inno setup generator has improved tooltips
> * ReadMe has some links fixed, the templates link would not work if
templates
>   were not installed. That document (Templates.html) is now always
installed.
> * A new popup appears relating to the (sometimes) failure message
relating to
>   ASCOM.Simulator.Rotator.dll, advising to continue installation and
re-run the
>   installer with the Repair option if the message appears. I plan to
take
>   another crack at this problem before the final release. After
repair all
>   is well.
>
> The installer is located at
>
>   http://download.ascom-standards.org/ASCOMPlatform5Beta3.msi
>
> A the risk of repeating myself, I'm on reduced hours during
Decemter, but I'll
> try to keep up here the best I can.
>
> Thanks again to Chris Rowland, Tim Long, and Ray Gralak for their
inputs!!!
>
>   -- Bob
>

Me:
> I'll put into the custom action a detector for existing installations, pop a
> message "Please uninstall your current platform first", then unwind the
> install.

Still dopey from my night-shift days. This is a trivial Launch Condition and it
happens immediately, the right technique.

> Interesting that the MS article only talked about workarounds and not a
> fix... In investigating installers today I found that Vista and Server
> 2008 use a version 4 installer, I wonder if they have fixed this in that
> version, however, there was no sign of a V4 installer for XP so I think
> you are definitely on the right track to fix the current installer.

Well, it's really the ordering of the events in the MSI tables that creates the
issue. Now that I understand it, I don't think I could make an effective
argument that it's a bug in Windows Installer or VS.NET 2005. Really, the issue
arises because the installer contains an "app" (the Rotator Simulator) that uses
the assembly in the GAC (the interfaces PIA, but being a PIA is irrelevant), and
it also contains the GAC assembly itself!

The real solution would be a separate installer for the GAC assemblies, followed
by an installer for the rest of the Platform. I suppose I could do some merge
module trick, but I stumbled across a bunch of traffic about limitations on
merge modules too. I'd rather not start out on a long winding path again!

How often will someone have to update their Platform anyway, particularly since
it no longer contains drivers? Uninstalling the current one is a minor thread in
the fabric of life.

   -- Bob

Kip --

You might have to install the TelescopeAPI plugin from the ASCOM Platform. The
one that comes with TheSky is a "stub" and doesn't do anything. Look in
C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Telescope\Planetarium Plugins\TheSky
and read the install.txt file for directions.

   -- Bob

Peter --

It might be worth asking iOptron if they have an (or know of a compatible) ASCOM
driver. You might get surprised. At a minimum, they'll get the message that
there is demand.

   -- Bob

> is there a compatible driver for the iOptron GOTONOVA - goto kit?

> I am sorry, I am unfortunately not familiar with the detail in
> your message below...the code details.

OK, what's happening is that somehow Starry Night is turning off the sidereal
tracking before it tries to slew your Alt-Az mount. Weird. Contact them as they
are responsible for what things are done TO the telescope, the driver is only
responsible for the HOW they are done, if you get my meaning...

   -- Bob