This driver supports Astro-Physics mounts over a serial connection with a firmware version of 'V' or newer.
Current features of the driver:
The experimental driver adds new capabilities only available using the latest mount firmware. Since it is under development care must be taken when using it (not recommended to use the mount unattended, for example) but if you are interested in helping test this new code it would be a great help.
The experimental driver adds these features:
This driver is under development and as such should be considered in a BETA state. This means you are testing the driver as much as using it.
That said it has been used for imaging and appears to operate correctly. Use common sense when testing this driver - be near the mount whenever slewing or parking just in case!
Any feedback on this driver is greatly desired and will help it progress more quickly from the developmental state.
When using the driver for the first time, ensure to set the telescope's aperture and focal length in the Options tab.
It is also necessary to set the geographic location and park position in the Site Management tab.
Do not try parking the mount until this position is defined!
It is best to use one of the predefined park positions of PARK1/PARK2/PARK3/PARk4.
These are defined in this document from Astro-Physics: PARK POSITIONS
Also make sure the "Unpark From" option on the Main is set to "Last Parked". This is the safest option since it will let the mount determine its position based on where it was last parked. The only reason to use a different setting is if the mount seems to have lost sense of where it is and you want to start from a predefined position.
Be sure to save these options using the "Save" button on the Options tab or else the changes will be loss when the driver is closed.
The mount will automatically be initialized by the driver - the user is not required to do anything extra.
The main control tab is where the primary control takes place.
You will need to verify the Unpark From? property before connecting to the mount for the first time. Normally the default of "Last Parked" will work and should usually not be changed. If for some reason the mount seems to not slew properly it can help to put the mount in a known park position (PARK1/PARK2/PARK3/PARK4) and set the Unpark From? property to the corresponding park position and connect to the mount. This will properly initialize the mount position. Then you can set it back to "Last Parked". Be sure to save the options!
WARNING - Leave this option at "Last Parked" unless you know what you are doing. If you start the driver up and it is set to something besides "Last Parked" and the mount is not actually in the configured PARK position it will be very confused about where it is really pointing and lead to improper slews that may cause a pier strike!
To track an object, enter the equatorial of date (JNow) coordinates and press Set. The mount shall then slew to an object and once it arrives at the target location, it should engage tracking at the selected tracking rate which default to Sidereal tracking. Slew mode is different from track mode in that it does not engage tracking when slew is complete. To sync, the mount must be already tracking. First change mode to Sync, then enter the desired coordinates then press Set. Users will seldom use this interface directly since many clients (e.g. KStars) can slew and sync the mount directly from the sky map without having to enter any coordinates manually.
The Abort Motion button can be used to stop the mount at any time.
Four tracking modes are supported: Sidereal, Solar, Lunar, and Custom. When using Custom mode, the rates defined in Track Rates shall be used.
Tracking can be enganged and disenganged by toggling the Tracking property.
Mount parking and unparking is controlled by the Parking property.
The Use Pulse Cmd property can be enabled to guide the mount through the communications interface and eliminates the requirement of using an ST-4 cable to guide the mount.
The Firmware property shows the detected firmware version of the mount controller.
The Options tab is used to set debugging and other configuration options, as well as being able to load and save configurations.
If a dome is used in conjunction with the mount, a policy can be set if parking the mount or dome can interfere with the safety of either. For example, you might want to always park the mount before parking the dome, or vice versa. The default policy is to ignore the dome.
Under motion control, manual motion controls along with speed and guide controls are configured.
Time, Location, and Park settings are configured in the Site Management tab.
You can park the telescope by clicking on Park on the Main Control tab. If the telescope is already parked, click the park button to unpark it. You cannot perform any motion unless the telescope is first unparked!
Guide related option:
If you find a bug, please report it at INDI's