Hello to all of the new members :) please feel free to ask any questions....there is no question too stupid or task too trivial that we canŽt at least try and answer (and if we donŽt know wéŽll start inventing words and make something up whilst wearing a serious face and pointing and nodding)

SGL Observatory Automation is an open source project to control the creation of software, hardware and interfaces to automate an astronomical observatory using the Arduino open standard, with ASCOM support for appropriate devices.

Current hardware/software modules under development are:

Focuser
Cloud Sensor
Dew Heater controller

The Getting started manual and software is located under:-
Files -> SGL Software

With the individual modules under the following directories:-

Files -> SGL Software -> Focuser -> Current Version
Files -> SGL Software -> Cloud Sensor -> Current Version
Files -> SGL Software -> Dew Controller -> Current Version

There is a lot of work going into the Focuser and Cloud sensor at the moment but the next phase is to create a hub to allow the control of 2 focusers. The idea is that eventually this hub will allow the enabling/disabling of Modules (focuser, cloud sensor etc) as and when you have the time and hardware to add them in. We will also include some I/O control to allow switching of power or detection of limits for roofs or mounts.

As we expect the code to be fairly modular we are also going to provide 'standalone' code for those that want a single module rather than Focuser, dew control and cloud detector. the single modules will be compatible with the smaller arduino boards which will keep costs down.

All software under development will be put on the site for people to view, test and improve.

This group has been creatd by members of Stargazerslounge.com in order to pool our resources and come up with a cheap solution that anyone can use.