Putting the "Ek" in "Geek"
Sneak Preview: New ASCOM Driver
Update: Yang reported an error with the driver not handling COM ports other than COM1. I think I’ve corrected that issue, so if you had the same problem, uninstall the driver, redownload it, and reinstall and give it a whirl.
If you’re using this new driver, please leave me a comment below and let me know.
I’ve been working on an updated ASCOM driver for my digital setting circles project for quite some time now. Yeah, I’m slow. At any rate, it’s just about ready for prime time, but I could use some beta testers to give it a whirl. (See below for a link to the download.)
What’s new, you ask? Well, I rewrote the thing, basically. It still bears some resemblance to the old driver, but it also now includes syncing and slewing capabilities, and an upgraded interface for performing the alignment process.
The picture above is of the alignment screen. Instead of being presented with a list of stars like before, you can now select alignment stars graphically by constellation. Hopefully this will streamline the alignment process.
The next picture shows the screen that appears when you tell your software to slew your telescope. Obviously, your telescope will not magically grow motors for slewing. The screen gives you visual feedback as you manually push your telescope tube toward your intended target. You push the tube until both numbers read zero, at which time your telescope should be pointing at your target.
This picture shows the setup dialog for the new driver. It’s not much different in content from the old driver, with the exception that there is now a checkbox for reversing the altitude encoder ticks. You should not check this box until you have found that no other combination of settings will result in a successful alignment. If the old driver has worked okay for you, you will not need to check this box.
You can download the new driver installer here. You can have both the old and new drivers installed at the same time, so make sure you select the correct one in the ASCOM chooser dialog box. If you need a refresher on ASCOM, visit my project’s compatible software page.
Please leave a reply below if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this new driver. I’ll be releasing a final version of the driver sometime in the next couple of months, after I’ve fully tested for compatibility and written some help files.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Dave on October 29, 2009 at 12:55 pm, and is filed under Digital Setting Circles. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 10 months ago
I installed the new driver. I can’t find the new driver but only old driver on the ascom driver list of the ascom telescope chooser window.
I can find th files at the c:\program files\common files\ASCOM\Telescope.
about 10 months ago
I’ll check this out tonight and get back to you.
about 10 months ago
Okay, I think I’ve fixed the problem. Uninstall the driver, then redownload it and reinstall. Let me know if it works this time.
about 10 months ago
Thank you very much. It’s OK!
I think it is easier to align telescope than old driver.
After I test at the field. I will write the result.
I have another question. When I use syncing?
thanks
about 10 months ago
Syncing is used to update your alignment. The farther away you get from your alignment stars, the more error there is in your alignment. If you find that your telescope isn’t quite pointing where the software says it is, you can aim it at a nearby star and tell the software to sync the telescope to that star in order to reduce the pointing error.
about 9 months ago
I am working on building this control and needed to know about the tic resolution ,Is this the number of openings in the encoder or the number of quadrature counts that the encoder will see for a full turn ?
Thanks Kenneth
about 9 months ago
It’s the number of quadrature counts for one full revolution of the telescope axis (same as for one full revolution of the encoder shaft if the gear ratio is 1:1.
about 9 months ago
I tested the driver at the field.
I have some problems.
The driver only check the COM1 port.
I used USB-Serial Converter.
the COM port # is 6.
Though I set com port to COM6 at the ekbox setting screen. the driver alerts “can’t open COM1″ message.
so I changed the port to COM6 to COM1 at the hardware manager.
After I set the zero for alignment. the driver often alerts “time out” message.
and then I tried to connect again. it alerts “can’t open COM1″ message.
thanks.
about 9 months ago
Yang, you definitely found a problem with the driver. I’ll take a look at it in the next couple of days and let you know when I post a new version. Thanks for testing and letting me know what you found.
about 9 months ago
Yang, I think I’ve fixed the problem. Please download the new version and try it again (uninstall the older version before installing the new version). Let me know how it goes.
about 7 months ago
I installed the new version. I use ciel.exe and ascom 5.5
when I clicked “test” button at the “reverse encoder counts”
or click connect after configuration. all programs are hung.
when I use ekbox 1.0, it’s ok.
So I uninstalled v1.0 and reinstall v2.0. it makes problem.
about 7 months ago
Sorry!!!!! Today I succeeded the test for driver 2.0. but I don’t know what makes the problem. thanks!!!
Please do me a favor.
My friends have poor sight. They have diffculties in aligning stars. So Please use bigger fonts at the alignment star selection windows as constellation name at the combo box, star proper name at the chart.
thanks.
about 4 months ago
Dave, I’ve been testing your new driver. I like the alignment. I can set the scope up in minutes. I run the ticks around 40,000 on the encoders for my scope.Yea I know…pretty high. Anyway when I run the new driver and the az hits around 17,500 it seems to split the difference with the altitude number on the slewing box numbers?? I made it do it several times. I can change my encoder setup but I was hoping you already know the fix. On a side note..what a great project!!
about 4 months ago
Brian, I know we already resolved these issues offline, but for the benefit of visitors to my web site who read your comment above, the slewing numbers can change abruptly as you move your scope around because you might move the scope through the point where it’s 180 degrees opposed to your target direction. The driver was working correctly.
about 3 months ago
Hi Dave and sorry for not getting back sooner. You are exactly correct…vrs 2 works great. The push to go is dead on and the alignment is easier than my CPC GPS. Woow! For everyones benefit it turns out I had my encoder tics slightly off. With your help I discovered the problem and I can now move my Lightbridge to any part of the sky without an alignment problem.
about 1 month ago
Hi Dave…The circuit works great and I ahve been using the 1.0 version of the drive with ciel.exe and ascom 5.5. When I upgraded to 2.0 (actually 2.0 beta r2), the program hangs, as if it is looking for something on the comm ports. I am using com2. I’ve tried deinstalling and reinstalling everything, but still no success. I am using Vista and a USB-RS-232 converter. The exact config works just great with the 1.0 driver.
about 1 month ago
I’ll have to check it out, Spencer. Thanks for the report. I’m pretty sure I tested with a USB-serial converter, but I’ll have to go back and try it again. Are you sure you had the right com port selected?
Dave
about 1 month ago
Yes…I can switch to the 1.0 driver with the same com port and it works
about 1 month ago
Hello Dave,
Having installed the ASCOM 5.5 upgrade the beta ASCOM driver comes back with a message on install that “ASCOM 5 and above is required”. If I remove the 5.5 upgrade it then installs fine.
Thanks,
Harry