ASCOM-Talk : Messages : 27336-27366 of 29981

Hi Chris,

Yes, the Platform 6 SP1 Transform component does support Az/El to RA/Dec conversion. This is documented in the Developer help installed with the SP1 developer components. http://www.ascom-standards.org/Downloads/PlatDevComponents.htm

I'm afraid I don't have enough math to answer your second question

Regards, Peter

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "chrisdimpfl" <chris.dimpfl@...> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> Two questions:
>
> 1. Does ASCOM.Astronomy (or other included library) include utilities for transforming Az/El to RA/Dec? I've been using the ASCOM.Astronomy.Transform class to transform RA/Dec to Az/El, but I'd like to use ASCOM-blessed code for the other direction as well if possible.
>
> 2. Does ASCOM provide a way of finding the movement vector of objects for tracking, or some literature on preferred implementation for tracking? My first inclination is to generate a vector that an object is moving along and track along that vector (updating periodically), but I suspect there's a much more elegant method that I should be taking advantage of.
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
>

Reply | Messages in this Topic (2)

#27337

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:10 am
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

t_p_long

Ah now that’s interesting. On the first computer I used, the page background came out the exact same colour as the hyperlink, which is why I didn’t see it. I saw the red text about unblocking the download and was confused by that because there was no obvious file to download. My other computer displays the page differently, with a lighter background colour, so I can see the link.

Regards,

http://www.hristopavlov.net/ASCOM/index.htm

From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Hristo Pavlov
Sent: 28 April 2012 00:02
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

Hi Tim,

Try the link at the top of the page. It contains a zip file with both the generated CHM file and the interface defined in a C# file.

Regards,

Hristo Pavlov

Sydney, Australia

From: Tim Long <Tim@...>
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 9:30 PM
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

Hristo,

My first thoughts are that this seems to be a very well-reasoned and well-presented proposal. Its excellent how you have presented the reasons for your decisions and I think I agree with all of them. I don’t think you’ve actually published the interface definition though, the document you linked to only contains your notes… J I particularly like the way you have presented the use cases and kept the proposal to the minimum necessary to meet those use cases.

With ICameraV2, one area in particular that I’ve noticed people having issues with is accessing the ImageArray. It would be useful if the proposal could be very clear about data ordering within the array and how this is accessed from various languages, preferably with code snippets. Good candidates are VBScript, Jscript, C# and VB.NET which covers access both from COM and within the .NET Common Language Runtime. I’m sure the community will be happy to help with this if you aren’t familiar with all the languages.

Once you publish your actual interface proposal, I’ll give more feedback.

--Tim Long

From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Hristo Pavlov
Sent: 27 April 2012 11:42
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

Hi All,

Please find below my initial draft for a new ASCOM interface for controlling video cameras:

Your comments are highly appreciated!

Regards,

Hristo Pavlov

Sydney, Australia

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#27338

From: "Joe" <joe.spracklen@...>
Date: Sun Apr 29, 2012 3:23 pm
Subject: Problems with ASCOM SP1 install.

joe.spracklen

Sorry for starting another topic like this, I've looked at the other recent
similar threads and my issue seems to be different.  I'm upgrading from ASCOM 5
and during the installation everything seems to be going well until the finalize
stage, where errors start flying.  I get a "CLR Error: 80004005, the program
will now terminate" and a notice that "GACInstall has stopped working."  Each of
these alerts pop up at least 5 times.  I've checked to make sure I have .NET
framework v3.5 installed and running.  Any idea what these errors mean and what
the fix might be?  Thanks for your help!

-Spracks

#27339

From: "Mike" <mikerushford@...>
Date: Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:36 pm
Subject: RA and DEC of SUN using NOVAS

mikerushford

Using the
ASCOM Developer Help CODE Example for NOVACOM

I altered these two line

NCPlanet.Name = "Sun" 'Initialise Planet object as Sun
NCPlanet.Number = 10

as I want to get the RA and DEC of the sun.

is this the correct way to get the RA and DEC of the sun from a script?

Thanks

Mike Rushford

#27340

From: "Chris" <chris_group_mail@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:08 pm
Subject: Re: RA and DEC of SUN using NOVAS

scope_sapiens

I'm not sure that's the right way to specify the Sun, it isn't planet 10 and
from what I can see the name isn't used.

One possible way would be the get the heliocentric position of the Earth (from
the Sun) and take the opposite direction as the position of the Sun from the
Earth.
This code at least returns 2 numbers, If you subtract 12 hrs from the RA and
negate the dec they seem about right.

set Utl = CreateObject("ASCOM.Utilities.Util")
'Get current Julian date
JD = Utl.JulianDate
set NCEarth = CreateObject("ASCOM.Astrometry.NOVASCOM.Earth")
NCEarth.SetForTime JD
set HP = NCEarth.HeliocentricPosition
Msgbox "Ra " & HP.RightAscension & ", Dec " & HP.Declination

Chris

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "Mike" <mikerushford@...> wrote:
>
> Using the
> ASCOM Developer Help CODE Example for NOVACOM
>
> I altered these two line
>
> NCPlanet.Name = "Sun" 'Initialise Planet object as Sun
> NCPlanet.Number = 10
>
> as I want to get the RA and DEC of the sun.
>
> is this the correct way to get the RA and DEC of the sun from a script?
>
> Thanks
>
> Mike Rushford
>

#27341

From: "Peter Simpson" <peter@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:38 pm
Subject: Re: RA and DEC of SUN using NOVAS

peter_w_g_si...

Hi Mike,

I've checked the code and NOVASCOM doesn't support the Sun = Planet10 convention adopted by NOVAS. Hopefully Chris's work-round works for you. I hesitate to recommend using the NOVAS routines directly because I've very recently found that in many instances they are not callable from COM, which you will need if you are using a scripting language.

If you are able to use a .NET language, the NOVAS 3.1 TopoPlanet routine can provide the sun RA and Dec if you call it using Planet number 10.

Regards, Peter

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "Mike" <mikerushford@...> wrote:
>
> Using the
> ASCOM Developer Help CODE Example for NOVACOM
>
> I altered these two line
>
> NCPlanet.Name = "Sun" 'Initialise Planet object as Sun
> NCPlanet.Number = 10
>
> as I want to get the RA and DEC of the sun.
>
> is this the correct way to get the RA and DEC of the sun from a script?
>
> Thanks
>
> Mike Rushford
>

#27342

From: "Peter Simpson" <peter@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:42 pm
Subject: Re: Problems with ASCOM SP1 install.

peter_w_g_si...

Hi Joe,

Some similar problems in the past have been traced to corrupted installations of the .NET framework. It might be worth uninstalling then reinstalling the .NET framework as well as making sure that you have relevant updates installed from Windows Update.

When I Googled your error code, one entry suggested that having the beta version of the .NET framework installed and then upgrading to production without un-installing the beta first caused a similar error.

Regards, Peter

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "Joe" <joe.spracklen@...> wrote:
>
> Sorry for starting another topic like this, I've looked at the other recent similar threads and my issue seems to be different. I'm upgrading from ASCOM 5 and during the installation everything seems to be going well until the finalize stage, where errors start flying. I get a "CLR Error: 80004005, the program will now terminate" and a notice that "GACInstall has stopped working." Each of these alerts pop up at least 5 times. I've checked to make sure I have .NET framework v3.5 installed and running. Any idea what these errors mean and what the fix might be? Thanks for your help!
>
> -Spracks
>

#27343

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:25 pm
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] Re: Problems with ASCOM SP1 install.

t_p_long

Rather than uninstalling and reinstalling (which can come with its own set of problems) – consider using the .NET Framework Setup Verification Tool available from http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2008/10/13/8999004.aspx

The .NET Framework setup verification tool is designed to automatically perform a set of steps to verify the installation state of one or more versions of the .NET Framework on a computer. It will verify the presence of files, directories, registry keys and values for the .NET Framework. It will also verify that simple applications that use the .NET Framework can be run correctly.

Peter, if you have too much spare time on your hands (<grin>) you could consider incorporating this tool into the ASCOM setup – it boils down to a single executable and can run from the command line in silent mode (this is documented in the blog post) and will return a simple exit code that tells you whether the installation is good.

Regards,

From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Peter Simpson
Sent: 30 April 2012 22:43
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ASCOM] Re: Problems with ASCOM SP1 install.

Hi Joe,

Regards, Peter

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "Joe" <joe.spracklen@...> wrote:
>
> Sorry for starting another topic like this, I've looked at the other recent similar threads and my issue seems to be different. I'm upgrading from ASCOM 5 and during the installation everything seems to be going well until the finalize stage, where errors start flying. I get a "CLR Error: 80004005, the program will n! ow terminate" and a notice that "GACInstall has stopped working." Each of these alerts pop up at least 5 times. I've checked to make sure I have .NET framework v3.5 installed and running. Any idea what these errors mean and what the fix might be? Thanks for your help!
>
> -Spracks
>

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#27344

From: Bob Denny <rdenny@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:37 pm
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

dc3dreamer

Was this Windows 8 Metro? <joking here>

   -- Bob


On Apr 28, 2012, at 19:10, "Tim Long" <Tim@...> wrote:

> Ah now that’s interesting. On the first computer I used, the page background
came out the exact same colour as the hyperlink

#27345

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:49 pm
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

t_p_long

Hehe, that's actually quite funny Bob (I think you were referring to Visual
Studio 11, which has been lambasted for its monochrome colour scheme).

Regards,
Tim Long

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-
> Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Bob Denny
> Sent: 01 May 2012 00:38
> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments
>
> Was this Windows 8 Metro? <joking here>
>
>   -- Bob
>
>
> On Apr 28, 2012, at 19:10, "Tim Long" <Tim@...> wrote:
>
> > Ah now that’s interesting. On the first computer I used, the page
> background came out the exact same colour as the hyperlink
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
> ASCOM-Talk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

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#27346

From: Bob Denny <rdenny@...>
Date: Tue May 1, 2012 12:14 am
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

dc3dreamer

I was referring to Metro in general since your problem was color flattening. How
to throw away years of user interaction research and development and dumb
yourself down to be like a phone.

http://solo.dc3.com/forumimg/w8aol.jpg

   -- Bob


On Apr 30, 2012, at 16:49, "Tim Long" <Tim@...> wrote:

> Hehe, that's actually quite funny Bob (I think you were referring to Visual
Studio 11, which has been lambasted for its monochrome colour scheme).
>
> Regards,
> Tim Long
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-
>> Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Bob Denny
>> Sent: 01 May 2012 00:38
>> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
>> Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments
>>
>> Was this Windows 8 Metro? <joking here>
>>
>>  -- Bob
>>
>>
>> On Apr 28, 2012, at 19:10, "Tim Long" <Tim@...> wrote:
>>
>>> Ah now that’s interesting. On the first computer I used, the page
>> background came out the exact same colour as the hyperlink
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------
>>
>> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
>>
>> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
>> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
>> ASCOM-Talk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>>
>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>
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>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU USED TO
SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
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>
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>
>
>

#27347

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Tue May 1, 2012 4:26 am
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

t_p_long

I think you’re baiting me now ;-) but Windows 8 still has the regular desktop
in addition to the metro style touch interface. You need that for tablets, and
there will be lots of tablets.

Regards,
Tim Long


> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-
> Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Bob Denny
> Sent: 01 May 2012 01:15
> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments
>
> I was referring to Metro in general since your problem was color flattening.
> How to throw away years of user interaction research and development and
> dumb yourself down to be like a phone.
>
> http://solo.dc3.com/forumimg/w8aol.jpg
>
>   -- Bob
>
>
> On Apr 30, 2012, at 16:49, "Tim Long" <Tim@...> wrote:
>
> > Hehe, that's actually quite funny Bob (I think you were referring to Visual
> Studio 11, which has been lambasted for its monochrome colour scheme).
> >
> > Regards,
> > Tim Long
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-
> Talk@yahoogroups.com]
> >> On Behalf Of Bob Denny
> >> Sent: 01 May 2012 00:38
> >> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> >> Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for
> >> Comments
> >>
> >> Was this Windows 8 Metro? <joking here>
> >>
> >>  -- Bob
> >>
> >>
> >> On Apr 28, 2012, at 19:10, "Tim Long" <Tim@...> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Ah now that’s interesting. On the first computer I used, the page
> >> background came out the exact same colour as the hyperlink
> >>
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------
> >>
> >> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
> >>
> >> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
> >> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
> >> ASCOM-Talk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >>
> >> Yahoo! Groups Links
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > --
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
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> >
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> >
> >
> >
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
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#27349

From: "Ray Gralak" <groups1@...>
Date: Tue May 1, 2012 12:31 pm
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

raygralak

> I think you’re baiting me now ;-) but Windows 8 still has the regular
desktop in addition to the metro style touch
> interface. You need that for tablets, and there will be lots of tablets.

Yes, but they'll probably be largely Apple tablets. Maybe I'll think differently
after trying Windows 8 but something seems wrong about the Metro UI. I think
they should have continued evolving the desktop UI and also made a separate,
lighter weight version of Windows for tablets. Microsoft seems to be going
backwards instead of forwards in regards to UI design. To me, the Metro
interface is reminiscent of the Ribbon interface that people love to hate. I
guess in a few years we'll see if this is true or not.

-Ray Gralak
Author of Astro-Physics Command Center (APCC)
Author of PEMPro:  http://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: http://www.gralak.com/apdriver
Author of PulseGuide: http://www.pulseguide.com
Author of Sigma: http://www.gralak.com/sigma


> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Tim Long
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 9:27 PM
> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments
>
>
>
> I think you’re baiting me now ;-) but Windows 8 still has the regular
desktop in addition to the metro style touch
> interface. You need that for tablets, and there will be lots of tablets.
>
> Regards,
> Tim Long
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:ASCOM-Talk%40yahoogroups.com> 
[mailto:ASCOM-
> > Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:Talk%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of Bob
Denny
> > Sent: 01 May 2012 01:15
> > To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:ASCOM-Talk%40yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments
> >
> > I was referring to Metro in general since your problem was color flattening.
> > How to throw away years of user interaction research and development and
> > dumb yourself down to be like a phone.
> >
> > http://solo.dc3.com/forumimg/w8aol.jpg
> >
> > -- Bob
> >
> >
> > On Apr 30, 2012, at 16:49, "Tim Long" <Tim@...
<mailto:Tim%40tigranetworks.co.uk> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hehe, that's actually quite funny Bob (I think you were referring to
Visual
> > Studio 11, which has been lambasted for its monochrome colour scheme).
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Tim Long
> > >
> > >> -----Original Message-----
> > >> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:ASCOM-Talk%40yahoogroups.com> 
[mailto:ASCOM-
> > Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:Talk%40yahoogroups.com> ]
> > >> On Behalf Of Bob Denny
> > >> Sent: 01 May 2012 00:38
> > >> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:ASCOM-Talk%40yahoogroups.com>
> > >> Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for
> > >> Comments
> > >>
> > >> Was this Windows 8 Metro? <joking here>
> > >>
> > >> -- Bob
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> On Apr 28, 2012, at 19:10, "Tim Long" <Tim@...
<mailto:Tim%40tigranetworks.co.uk> > wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> Ah now that’s interesting. On the first computer I used, the page
> > >> background came out the exact same colour as the hyperlink
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> ------------------------------------
> > >>
> > >> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
> > >>
> > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
> > >> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
> > >> ASCOM-Talk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:ASCOM-Talk-unsubscribe%40yahoogroups.com>
> > >>
> > >> Yahoo! Groups Links
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
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> > >
> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
> > USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
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> > >
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
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> >
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#27350

From: "bretm151" <bretm@...>
Date: Tue May 1, 2012 1:01 pm
Subject: Re: Where to put new API proposal?

bretm151

Hristo:

Very ice job putting the proposal together. A couple thoughts in response to
some of your questions:

1.  I wouldn't think so. If it is version 1, it should return a 1 but it doesn't
really matter - it isn't like you are going to run out of version numbers.

2. I would add them.  All the other drivers have them, and it is very for each
to return a not implemented exception if the current camera can make use of
them, but does allow the flexibility to use them if a need arises without having
to update the interface. Their purpose is to let an application ask the device
to do things that by definition are outside the boundaries of the ASCOM spec. 
(call it futureproofing)

7. The sub frame and binning elements might be useful if there is (ever) a
camera that supports them.  Leaving them in, and setting MaxBinX and MaxBinY to
1 seems pretty cheap compared to wishing the interface supported sub frames or
binning at some point in the future (see note at end)  Also, it seems like the
temperature related functions might be useful.

10. I would leave them (see below)

I appreciate your desire to simply the interface as much as possible, but I
would recommend not cutting quite as much as you have.  Many of the functions
that you are excluding might be useful for a different kind of "video" camera.

For instance, one interesting possibility opened up by your proposal is that a
person could write a video driver for a ccd camera if they wanted.  For example,
Metaguide only works with video cameras, and I have Lodestar (a still CCD
camera) that I guide with. At some date in the future, after your standard is in
place and supported by Metaguide, I could write a video driver for the Lodestar
(it will do something like 7 fps full frame and much higher binned) where many
of the functions you proposed cutting would be potentially useful.


Bret

#27351

From: "Mike" <mikerushford@...>
Date: Wed May 2, 2012 3:28 am
Subject: Re: RA and DEC of SUN using NOVAS

mikerushford

Chris and others who helped

I found another older post that calculated the RA and DEC of the sun. The
translation to python is placed in the files folder <mikerushford EOTS> as file
"sun RA and Dec.pdf". In that file you see the RA and DEC I see in Spyder, POTH,
SiTech and SkyChart. Notice the RA and DEC from the Spyder python code printed
to the right side box is not exactly the same as that in SkyChart, the graphic
shows the offset. I think the error was less this morning rather than at the end
of the day, might this be due to my location from the center of the earth?

Thanks for your help.

I also added a file called "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT ASCOM.py" containing all the
wincom32 classes I found in registry under ASCOM. Just part of my learning
procedure other might find useful.

Mike Rushford

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "Chris" <chris_group_mail@...> wrote:
>
> I'm not sure that's the right way to specify the Sun, it isn't planet 10 and
from what I can see the name isn't used.
>
> One possible way would be the get the heliocentric position of the Earth (from
the Sun) and take the opposite direction as the position of the Sun from the
Earth.
> This code at least returns 2 numbers, If you subtract 12 hrs from the RA and
negate the dec they seem about right.
>
> set Utl = CreateObject("ASCOM.Utilities.Util")
> 'Get current Julian date
> JD = Utl.JulianDate
> set NCEarth = CreateObject("ASCOM.Astrometry.NOVASCOM.Earth")
> NCEarth.SetForTime JD
> set HP = NCEarth.HeliocentricPosition
> Msgbox "Ra " & HP.RightAscension & ", Dec " & HP.Declination
>
> Chris
>
>
> --- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "Mike" <mikerushford@> wrote:
> >
> > Using the
> > ASCOM Developer Help CODE Example for NOVACOM
> >
> > I altered these two line
> >
> > NCPlanet.Name = "Sun" 'Initialise Planet object as Sun
> > NCPlanet.Number = 10
> >
> > as I want to get the RA and DEC of the sun.
> >
> > is this the correct way to get the RA and DEC of the sun from a script?
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Mike Rushford
> >
>

#27352

From: "peschman2001" <eschman@...>
Date: Wed May 2, 2012 3:01 pm
Subject: Platform 6 SP1, bug in Inno template generator

peschman2001

I just found a bug in the Inno template generator included with Platform 6 SP1.
The template generates this line:
if (U.IsMinimumRequiredVersion(6.0)) then // this will work in all locales

where the decimal must be changed to comma, as in:
  if (U.IsMinimumRequiredVersion(6,0)) then // this will work in all locales

Otherwise, Platform 6 is not detected properly.  I ran the template generator
using Platform 6 SP1 Developer Tools "Driver Install Script Generator"

Thanks,
Peter E.
ServoCAT driver

#27353

From: "Chris" <chris_group_mail@...>
Date: Wed May 2, 2012 3:48 pm
Subject: Re: Platform 6 SP1, bug in Inno template generator

scope_sapiens

Thanks for pointing this out Peter,

I noticed this a few weeks ago and it's fixed in the sources but there hasn't
been a new build of the platform released yet.

Chris

--- In ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com, "peschman2001" <eschman@...> wrote:
>
> I just found a bug in the Inno template generator included with Platform 6
SP1.
> The template generates this line:
> if (U.IsMinimumRequiredVersion(6.0)) then // this will work in all locales
>
> where the decimal must be changed to comma, as in:
>  if (U.IsMinimumRequiredVersion(6,0)) then // this will work in all locales
>
> Otherwise, Platform 6 is not detected properly.  I ran the template generator
> using Platform 6 SP1 Developer Tools "Driver Install Script Generator"
>
> Thanks,
> Peter E.
> ServoCAT driver
>

#27354

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Wed May 2, 2012 8:57 pm
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

t_p_long

Ray, I tend to agree. I think MS is making a lot of mistakes at the moment.
Cutting its partners out of the loop in the "cloud rush"; trying to look like
too much like Apple; I could write a long list. I actually quite like the ribbon
though ;-) It's part of Microsoft's corporate vision to continually reinvent
itself, they are going to do these things whatever you or I think of it. I'm
used to it now, it's just life with Windows, so I just try to focus on the
positives (there _are_ a lot of positives).

We should probably take this off list now... ;-)

Regards,
Tim Long


> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-
> Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ray Gralak
> Sent: 01 May 2012 13:32
> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments
>
> > I think you’re baiting me now ;-) but Windows 8 still has the regular
> > desktop in addition to the metro style touch interface. You need that for
> tablets, and there will be lots of tablets.
>
> Yes, but they'll probably be largely Apple tablets. Maybe I'll think
differently
> after trying Windows 8 but something seems wrong about the Metro UI. I
> think they should have continued evolving the desktop UI and also made a
> separate, lighter weight version of Windows for tablets. Microsoft seems to
> be going backwards instead of forwards in regards to UI design. To me, the
> Metro interface is reminiscent of the Ribbon interface that people love to
> hate. I guess in a few years we'll see if this is true or not.
>
> -Ray Gralak
> Author of Astro-Physics Command Center (APCC) Author of PEMPro:
> http://www.ccdware.com Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver:
> http://www.gralak.com/apdriver Author of PulseGuide:
> http://www.pulseguide.com Author of Sigma:
> http://www.gralak.com/sigma
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-
> Talk@yahoogroups.com]
> > On Behalf Of Tim Long
> > Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 9:27 PM
> > To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for
> > Comments
> >
> >
> >
> > I think you’re baiting me now ;-) but Windows 8 still has the regular
> > desktop in addition to the metro style touch interface. You need that for
> tablets, and there will be lots of tablets.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Tim Long
> >
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> > > <mailto:ASCOM-Talk%40yahoogroups.com>  [mailto:ASCOM-
> > > Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:Talk%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf
> Of
> > > Bob Denny
> > > Sent: 01 May 2012 01:15
> > > To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:ASCOM-
> Talk%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for
> > > Comments
> > >
> > > I was referring to Metro in general since your problem was color
> flattening.
> > > How to throw away years of user interaction research and development
> > > and dumb yourself down to be like a phone.
> > >
> > > http://solo.dc3.com/forumimg/w8aol.jpg
> > >
> > > -- Bob
> > >
> > >
> > > On Apr 30, 2012, at 16:49, "Tim Long" <Tim@...
> <mailto:Tim%40tigranetworks.co.uk> > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hehe, that's actually quite funny Bob (I think you were referring
> > > > to Visual
> > > Studio 11, which has been lambasted for its monochrome colour
> scheme).
> > > >
> > > > Regards,
> > > > Tim Long
> > > >
> > > >> -----Original Message-----
> > > >> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> > > >> <mailto:ASCOM-Talk%40yahoogroups.com>  [mailto:ASCOM-
> > > Talk@yahoogroups.com <mailto:Talk%40yahoogroups.com> ]
> > > >> On Behalf Of Bob Denny
> > > >> Sent: 01 May 2012 00:38
> > > >> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> > > >> <mailto:ASCOM-Talk%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > >> Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for
> > > >> Comments
> > > >>
> > > >> Was this Windows 8 Metro? <joking here>
> > > >>
> > > >> -- Bob
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> On Apr 28, 2012, at 19:10, "Tim Long" <Tim@...
> <mailto:Tim%40tigranetworks.co.uk> > wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >>> Ah now that’s interesting. On the first computer I used, the
> > > >>> page
> > > >> background came out the exact same colour as the hyperlink
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> ------------------------------------
> > > >>
> > > >> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
> > > >>
> > > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT
> > > >> YOU USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
> > > >> ASCOM-Talk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > > >> <mailto:ASCOM-Talk-unsubscribe%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > >>
> > > >> Yahoo! Groups Links
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >
> > > > --
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> > > USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
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> > > >
> > > > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------
> > >
> > > For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
> > >
> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
> > > USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
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#27355

From: Mike C <mike@...>
Date: Wed May 2, 2012 10:01 pm
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

tmb_mike

> Yes, but they'll probably be largely Apple tablets.

For a couple years? Statistically long run I would think they will largely be Android tablets.

#27356

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Wed May 2, 2012 10:10 pm
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

t_p_long

I rather like the simplicity, I think it is a solid virtue. My instinct is always to simplify and not include stuff "just in case". The usual counter argument is that we should try to put as much as possible in the interface now to avoid having to change it in the future – it’s a seductive argument that provides an easy glide slope to creeping featurism. There will always be need to change based on experience, I very much doubt whether the interface will stop at “V1.0” and a bloated interface up front is more harmful in the long run. Once something is added, its baggage that has to be carried forever. I urge liberal application of the YAGNI (You Ain't Gonna Need It) principle. This means, in essence, "Always implement things when you actually need them, never when you just foresee that you need them." The Wikipedia article is _very_ short, and I hope people will weigh up the points it makes carefully before giving in to the temptation to make additions.

Regarding the Command*** methods, I would have thought they could be safely omitted in favour of the newer SupportedActions/Action methods. These are less tied to the assumption of a serial link and don’t require the application to have any knowledge of the device’s communications protocol. In fact, the Action/SupportedActions methods provide enough flexibility that there is really no need to add anything “just in case” – it can always be added to a driver as a ‘supported action’. Indeed, one of the ideas behind that pair of methods was to enable extensions to the interface without the need to change the interface itself, providing a proving ground for new facilities prior to inclusion in a later interface version.

Regards,

Tim Long

> -----Original Message-----

> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-

> Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of bretm151

> Sent: 01 May 2012 14:01

> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com

> Subject: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

> Hristo:

> Very ice job putting the proposal together. A couple thoughts in response to

> some of your questions:

> 1. I wouldn't think so. If it is version 1, it should return a 1 but it doesn't

> really matter - it isn't like you are going to run out of version numbers.

> 2. I would add them. All the other drivers have them, and it is very for each

> to return a not implemented exception if the current camera can make use

> of them, but does allow the flexibility to use them if a need arises without

> having to update the interface. Their purpose is to let an application ask the

> device to do things that by definition are outside the boundaries of the

> ASCOM spec. (call it futureproofing)

> 7. The sub frame and binning elements might be useful if there is (ever) a

> camera that supports them. Leaving them in, and setting MaxBinX and

> MaxBinY to 1 seems pretty cheap compared to wishing the interface

> supported sub frames or binning at some point in the future (see note at end)

> Also, it seems like the temperature related functions might be useful.

> 10. I would leave them (see below)

> I appreciate your desire to simply the interface as much as possible, but I

> would recommend not cutting quite as much as you have. Many of the

> functions that you are excluding might be useful for a different kind of

> "video" camera.

> For instance, one interesting possibility opened up by your proposal is that a

> person could write a video driver for a ccd camera if they wanted. For

> example, Metaguide only works with video cameras, and I have Lodestar (a

> still CCD camera) that I guide with. At some date in the future, after your

> standard is in place and supported by Metaguide, I could write a video driver

> for the Lodestar (it will do something like 7 fps full frame and much higher

> binned) where many of the functions you proposed cutting would be

> potentially useful.

> Bret

> ------------------------------------

> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.

> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU

> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:

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#27357

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Wed May 2, 2012 10:18 pm
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] Platform 6 SP1, bug in Inno template generator

t_p_long

Ah the irony! That method (IsMinimumRequiredVersion) was added to
prevent people having problems with language-sensitive decimal points
;-)

Regards,
Tim Long


> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-
> Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of peschman2001
> Sent: 02 May 2012 16:02
> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [ASCOM] Platform 6 SP1, bug in Inno template generator
>
> I just found a bug in the Inno template generator included with
Platform 6
> SP1.
> The template generates this line:
> if (U.IsMinimumRequiredVersion(6.0)) then // this will work in all
locales
>
> where the decimal must be changed to comma, as in:
>  if (U.IsMinimumRequiredVersion(6,0)) then // this will work in all
locales
>
> Otherwise, Platform 6 is not detected properly.  I ran the template
generator
> using Platform 6 SP1 Developer Tools "Driver Install Script Generator"
>
> Thanks,
> Peter E.
> ServoCAT driver
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU
> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:
> ASCOM-Talk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

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#27358

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Wed May 2, 2012 10:21 pm
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

t_p_long

Yeah, especially now it’s been ported to C# ;-) Seriously!

http://blog.xamarin.com/2012/05/01/android-in-c-sharp/

Regards,

From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mike C
Sent: 02 May 2012 23:01
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

> Yes, but they'll probably be largely Apple tablets.

For a couple years? Statistically long run I would think they will largely be Android tablets.

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#27359

From: Hristo Pavlov <hristo_dpavlov@...>
Date: Thu May 3, 2012 1:22 am
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

hristo_dpavlov

Software engineering methodologies and best practices have changed a number of times in the part 15 years. We hope that this is for good but I am sure there will be people that will disagree.

Getting into an argument of what is better - fewer members for simplicity or more members to allow for future uses is a difficult one without a context. And to be able to get a context one needs to think about the qualities we are after. After all we want to build something good but the question is what will make it good?

There are couple of things to my mind that will make the interface good. First of all a good interface is one that is being used. So the number one thing is for the interface to fit its designed purpose and be easy to implement and use in the scenarious where video is needed. And we really have to think about this in the context of separation of functionality and responsibility of the various interfaces and devices. For example it is not impossible to make a video camera to behave like a CCD and a CCD to behave like a video camera, but this doesn't mean that we should create ICameraV3 and add a bunch of methods that will make it possible a CCD camera to do video. The same way we should refrain from adding a bunch of methods in the IVideoCamera interface that will make it work as a CCD. The sole reason of creating a new IViewCamera interace rather than extending the ICameraV2 is to avoid complexity. Because complexity creates problems, requires us to think a lot more on the problems, which means we need to spend more time working on a given project (i.e. implement a CCD or Video caemra driver or software) and as an end result we have achieved less or wasted time or both. These are NOT things I consider good so we should try to aviod them by avoiding complexity and keeping things simple.

Things like extensibility and maintanability are also important. And as Tim said we have the SupportedActions/Action combination that gives as great extensibility to add those super specific and super cool features that only one or two video camera support. More importantly keeping less members in the interface makes it also easier to maintain as we are less tied to backwards compatibility of features that very few cameras need. So by having a simple interafce, by cutting what is not needed for our usecases, we actually
improve the maintanability.

I am sure that in the next 15 years people will surely want to use video cameras for other things or in other ways. And if we keep thinking about what could come up in future we will never finish our project - creating the interafce. So I am certainly in favour of agreeing on a simple interface sonner, see what people want to do with it and then eventually extend it. And again the best way to do this is to provide a very simple interface with generic extensibility via SupportedACtions/Action and consider adding commonly used Actions into the main interface in its future versions.

Having said all that I do acknowledge that this discussion may have a certain amount of religion into it and I hope that I managed to explain my position without looking like a preacher or looking like defending myself.

I also want to add a few things about binning and temperature. In fact the PointGrey video cameras do support both of those things. However from what I have seen video to be used for those features are not useful. Of course what limits my vew is the number of very limited applications of video cameras in astronomy that I know about - timing events such as occultations. So may be a better question for discussion will be:

What have you used a video camera in Astronomy for or what have you heard of people using a video camera in Astronomy for and does the current IVideoCamera interface fits into this?

Lastly one type of cameras that I haven't considered at all are web cameras. Some time ago they were popular for doing planetary imaging. If there is anyone here that has experience with web cameras I would love to hear their comments about the IVideoCamera interface.

Kind Regards,
Hristo Pavlov
Sydney, Australia

From: Tim Long <Tim@...>
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, May 3, 2012 8:10 AM
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

&n bsp;

Regards,

Tim Long

> -----Original Message-----

> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-

> Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of bretm151

> Sent: 01 May 2012 14:01

> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com

> Subject: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

> Hristo:

> Very ice job putting the proposal together. A couple thoughts in response to

> some of your questions:

> 1. I wouldn't think so. If it is version 1, it should return a 1 but it doesn't

> really matter - it isn't like you are going to run out of version numbers.

> 2. I would add them. All the other drivers have them, and it is very for each

> to return a not implemented exception if the current camera can make use

> of them, but does allow the flexibility to use them if a need arises without

> having to update the interface. Their purpose is to let an application ask the

> device to do things that by definition are outside the boundaries of the

> ASCOM spec. (call it futureproofing)

> 7. The sub frame and binning elements might be useful if there is (ever) a

> camera that supports them. Leaving them in, and setting MaxBinX and

> MaxBinY to 1 seems pretty cheap compared to wishing the interface

> supported sub frames or binning at some point in the future (see note at end)

> Also, it seems like the temperature related functions might be useful.

> 10. I would leave them (see below)

> I appreciate your desire to simply the interface as much as possible, but I

> would recommend not cutting quite as much as you have. Many of the

> functions that you are excluding might be useful for a different kind of

> "video" camera.

> For instance, one interesting possibility opened up by your proposal is that a

> person could write a video driver for a ccd camera if they wanted. For

> example, Metaguide only works with video cameras, and I have Lodestar (a

> still CCD camera) that I guide with. At some date in the future, after your

> standard is in place and supported by Metaguide, I could write a video driver

> for the Lodestar (it will do something like 7 fps full frame and much higher

> binned) where many of the functions you proposed cutting would be

> potentially useful.

> Bret

> ------------------------------------

> For more information see http://ASCOM-Standards.org/.

> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email FROM THE ACCOUNT YOU

> USED TO SUBSCRIBE(!) to:

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#27360

From: Bob Denny <rdenny@...>
Date: Thu May 3, 2012 1:26 am
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

dc3dreamer

I read this article and it's reeeeally impressive. I used Mono on a cross-platform set of VOEvent tools which I call Dakota. It was a joy to work with, even on the slightly shaky MonoDevelop IDE on Mac OSX. In the end, I was able to build to both Windows and Mono targets in VS2008 with a very light sprinkling of conditionals for environmental differences. Dakota runs on Win, Mac, and Linux (well, a few of the 'distros' I tested, who knows about the other hundred+).

http://voevent.dc3.com/

Used to transport/relay messages about transient astronomical events.

-- Bob

On May 2, 2012, at 15:21, "Tim Long" <Tim@...> wrote:

Yeah, especially now [Android has] been ported to C# ;-) Seriously!
http://blog.xamarin.com/2012/05/01/android-in-c-sharp/

#27361

From: "Ray Gralak" <groups1@...>
Date: Thu May 3, 2012 1:35 pm
Subject: Tablets Was:; RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

raygralak

> > Yes, but they'll probably be largely Apple tablets.
>
> For a couple years? Statistically long run I would think they will largely be
Android tablets.

Maybe... but I'm thinking that the company with more cash in the bank (Apple)
than the U.S. Government is not going to
let this market slip away. Right now I think the iPad's have the best panels (in
Ipad 3) and most continuously
upgradeable operating system. In fact, I think one problem with Android is that
each vendor customizes the O/S for their
own device and when a new version of Android comes out it costs too much for
them to reintegrate the changes into the
new O/S. So Android devices don't often get upgraded operating systems, like
Apple devices do.

-Ray Gralak
Author of Astro-Physics Command Center (APCC)
Author of PEMPro:  http://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: http://www.gralak.com/apdriver
Author of PulseGuide: http://www.pulseguide.com
Author of Sigma: http://www.gralak.com/sigma


> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Mike C
> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 3:01 PM
> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments
>
>
>
> > Yes, but they'll probably be largely Apple tablets.
>
> For a couple years? Statistically long run I would think they will largely be
Android tablets.
>
>
>
>

#27362

From: "Tim Long" <Tim@...>
Date: Fri May 4, 2012 12:06 am
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

t_p_long

Hristo, I can see this spec is in capable hands.

> So may be a better question for discussion will be:

> What have you used a video camera in Astronomy for or what have you

> heard of people using a video camera in Astronomy for and does the

> current IVideoCamera interface fits into this?

Yes, that seems like the right focus to me.

> Lastly one type of cameras that I haven't considered at all are web cameras. […]

> If there is anyone here that has experience with web cameras I would love to hear

> their comments about the IVideoCamera interface.

I have a Celestron NexImage, which is essentially a repackaged Philips webcam. I’ve used it just a little bit, so I’m not the most qualified person in this regard. The process I’ve used is basically to produce a video of a planet, then load that video into something like RegiStax and let it stack and align the frames. So for practical purposes, it’s the same as a video camera really. I’m not sure how well your interface would work for a webcam but based on my very limited experience, I don’t see the need to treat it any differently to a video camera. I would like to hear from someone more experienced with webcams though.

Regards,

From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Hristo Pavlov
Sent: 03 May 2012 02:22
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

Software engineering methodologies and best practices have changed a number of times in the part 15 years. We hope that this is for good but I am sure there will be people that will disagree.

What have you used a video camera in Astronomy for or what have you heard of people using a video camera in Astronomy for and does the current IVideoCamera interface fits into this?

Kind Regards,
Hristo Pavlov
Sydney, Australia

From: Tim Long <Tim@...>
To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, May 3, 2012 8:10 AM
Subject: RE: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

&n bsp;

Regards,

Tim Long

> -----Original Message-----

> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-

> Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of bretm151

> Sent: 01 May 2012 14:01

> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com

> Subject: [ASCOM] Re: Where to put new API proposal?

> Hristo:

> Very ice job putting the proposal together. A couple thoughts in response to

> some of your questions:

> 1. I wouldn't think so. If it is version 1, it should return a 1 but it doesn't

> really matter - it isn't like you are going to run out of version numbers.

> 2. I would add them. All the other drivers have them, and it is very for each

> to return a not implemented exception if the current camera can make use

> of them, but does allow the flexibility to use them if a need arises without

> having to update the interface. Their purpose is to let an application ask the

> device to do things that by definition are outside the boundaries of the

> ASCOM spec. (call it futureproofing)

> 7. The sub frame and binning elements might be useful if there is (ever) a

> camera that supports them. Leaving them in, and setting MaxBinX and

> MaxBinY to 1 seems pretty cheap compared to wishing the interface

> supported sub frames or binning at some point in the future (see note at end)

> Also, it seems like the temperature related functions might be useful.

> 10. I would leave them (see below)

> I appreciate your desire to simply the interface as much as possible, but I

> would recommend not cutting quite as much as you have. Many of the

> functions that you are excluding might be useful for a different kind of

> "video" camera.

> For instance, one interesting possibility opened up by your proposal is that a

> person could write a video driver for a ccd camera if they wanted. For

> example, Metaguide only works with video cameras, and I have Lodestar (a

> still CCD camera) that I guide with. At some date in the future, after your

> standard is in place and supported by Metaguide, I could write a video driver

> for the Lodestar (it will do something like 7 fps full frame and much higher

> binned) where many of the functions you proposed cutting would be

> potentially useful.

> Bret

> ------------------------------------

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#27363

From: Hristo Pavlov <hristo_dpavlov@...>
Date: Fri May 4, 2012 5:15 am
Subject: Re: [ASCOM] IVideoCamera Discussions

hristo_dpavlov

Hi Tim,

> I have a Celestron NexImage [...] The process I’ve used is basically to produce a video of a planet, then load that video into something like RegiStax

I assume that the format of the video file was dependent on the software you used to record the video, is this correct? I also assume you plugged the camera into a USB port and did not require a separate video grabber?

Was this an AVI or MPG file that the software recoreded? Did it have a fixed frame rate?

Cheers,

Hristo Pavlov

P.S. I have changed the subject as it appears that my main post was hijacked for tablet UI discussions (I enjoyed reading them - hehe) and the previous subject was not really related to what we are discussing

#27364

From: Luke Bellani <lbellani@...>
Date: Thu May 3, 2012 2:58 pm
Subject: Re: Tablets Was:; RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

lukebellani

Android is...well....crap.
I have an Android phone and it's absolute rubbish.
Worst mistake I every made.
I won't make that mistake with a tablet.

I bought my wife an iPad 1 when it came out and it has been magic. She just loves it and it never sleeps.
I will be getting an iPad 3 very soon and my next phone will definitely not be Android.

I saw an add for a Microsoft tablet a short time ago and it suggested that using a stylus is what people wanted.
Those people just don't get it.

Cheers,
Luke
P.S. I just finished reading Steve Jobs Biography.
The world has lost a great visionary.

On 3/05/2012 11:35 PM, Ray Gralak wrote:

> > Yes, but they'll probably be largely Apple tablets.
>
> For a couple years? Statistically long run I would think they will largely be Android tablets.

Maybe... but I'm thinking that the company with more cash in the bank (Apple) than the U.S. Government is not going to
let this market slip away. Right now I think the iPad's have the best panels (in Ipad 3) and most continuously
upgradeable operating system. In fact, I think one problem with Android is that each vendor customizes the O/S for their
own device and when a new version of Android comes out it costs too much for them to reintegrate the changes into the
new O/S. So Android devices don't often get upgraded operating systems, like Apple devices do.

-Ray Gralak
Author of Astro-Physics Command Center (APCC)
Author of PEMPro: http://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: http://www.gralak.com/apdriver
Author of PulseGuide: http://www.pulseguide.com
Author of Sigma: http://www.gralak.com/sigma

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mike C
> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 3:01 PM
> To: ASCOM-Talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments
>
>
>
> > Yes, but they'll probably be largely Apple tablets.
>
> For a couple years? Statistically long run I would think they will largely be Android tablets.
>
>
>
>

#27365

From: "applev7" <applev7@...>
Date: Thu May 3, 2012 10:08 pm
Subject: ASCOM Focuser Chooser with Focus Max

applev7

I am trying to get the ASCOM Focuser Chooser (v 6) to recognize a ShoeString
FCUSB driver when I try to use it with Focus Max 3.4.40. on a Dell
laptop running XP Pro. When I try to open the FCUSB I get the message:
Incompatible Driver (FCUSB Focuser). This driver is not registered for
COM (can't find Prog ID). Please re-install.
I reinstalled everything and it didn't help.
Here is the rub: I have another XP Pro laptop on which it does recognize the
driver and works fine. Any ideas why it doesn't work on the first one would be
greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Bruce

Reply | Messages in this Topic (2)

#27366

From: "Douglas B. George" <dg@...>
Date: Fri May 4, 2012 7:55 pm
Subject: Re: Tablets Was:; RE: [ASCOM] New IVideoCamera (Draft V1) - Request for Comments

maximccd

I don't have a lot of time to look at this right now, but I had a quick perusal.
   Comments:

I can't read the CHM file - it appears to be empty except for TOC.  Had a quick
look at CS file.

The Action / SupportedActions feature looks very general, but at the same time
pretty open-ended and it kinda seems like a non-standard.  A rigid standard is a
double-edged sword, but so is complete flexibility.

Most video camera drivers can display on-screen as well as capture.  This
doesn't appear to be supported but could be very useful.

How does this improve upon existing Microsoft video standards, such as
DirectShow and Media Foundation?

Doug

--

Doug George
dgeorge@...

Diffraction Limited
Makers of Cyanogen Imaging Products
http://www.cyanogen.com/

100 Craig Henry Dr., Suite 202
Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada, K2G 5W3

Phone:    (613) 225-2732
Fax:      (613) 225-9688