Whether its one of our roof controllers or our line of addons such as the astroalert weather monitor, our atpark monitor integration system. The fiberglass observatory dome homedome is seated on brick and wood structure. Observatory the observatory consists of a 8x16 first floor with a 8 cylindrical second floor topped by a 8 dome with splitshutter design. After a short time, the main dome control panel will be displayed. It is the job of the dome control software to do this for you. First maxim dl is an excellent program for controlling both your camera and observatory dome through maxdome ii observatory dome control system. This software allows control of the ace smartdome using any ascom application such as acp or by using the sky x communication is via tcpip port and or a serial communications com port. Dome control systems domepro2 controller astrometric. It has a high resolution encoder which counts the azimuth gear rack slots and synchronizes the telescope mount movement with the dome rotation keeping the telescope pointed in the dome shutter opening.
Seletek dragonfly observatory control the software suite for the seletek dragonfly formerly firefly observatory control addon. This page provides some details of my efforts at automating my exploradome. The pulsar dome drive is the latest development in automating your observatory. The other part is the nexdome software found here nexdome control system 3. Customised integrated dome control system with the astronomy software theskyx pro from software bisque and boltwood cloud sensor 2 from diffraction limited. Astronomy software expert service unbeatable prices.
These solid body domes are a single piece with overlapping shutter seams for maximum weather resistance and can be configured in numerous ways to fit your. I am looking for options to automate a dome not yet purchased. Observatory control software astronomy stack exchange. How to automate your observatory skyatnightmagazine. Maxdome ii observatory dome control system diffraction. You will need staple software items to make remote observatory control work correctly. Computer based dome automation package, hardware and software.
The observatory computer is the primary machine that runs the imaging sessions and implements all of the automation. The exploradome home observatory dome is constructed of durable fiber glass with blackened interiors and bright white exteriors to help manage light and heat. For simplicity im setting up the operator pc to run windows, but that is not set in stone yet. The new lesvedomenet software is written in vbnet and takes all. The telescope azimuth data will tell the bs2 where the observatory dome azimuth will need to be and it will drive some reversible gear head dc motors. Observatory automation putman mountain observatory. The drive unit is flash upgradeable to allow additional features to be implemented as they are developed in the future. Ascom scopedome hub receives a slew command from the planetarium software and sends this command to the mount. Integrates observatory control functions, such as power, weather, dew management, prime power monitoring.
In manual mode the dome can be driven in either direction by two pushbuttons. I let the software estimate the dome diameter and i made measurements to get the radius. The observatory has a windows 7 class machine that is hardwired to many of the control systems in the observatory, including the paramount, telescope and dome. A custom software was designed to control the dome rotation. Pulsar observatories shutter and rotation drive system. Registered users can optionally purchase a usb stick. Maxdome ii observatory dome control system diffraction limited. Manual control of rotation motors through a small hand control on 12 foot cable. Download talon observatory control software for free.
With the new version its possible to control two k8055 boards, one for the dome driver and another one to control what you want in the observatory. Software the rotation drive is supplied with the pulsar observatories software package which gives full control of the observatory from a computer. The pulsar observatories software will currently control the. Its based on using an inexpensive and easy to work with arduino mega2560 wethernet shield to control some relays and sense switch closures and analog inputs and operate weather sensors which are usually on an i2c. In this video robert visits the premises of pulsar observatories and looks at the dome rotation and shutter control system developed for their range of observatory dome buildings. Observatory controller the oncue ocs observatory control system should be of help to capable diyers who want to automate small observatories. All our products are engineered for the specific needs of your automation project. Other dome control products from astrometric instruments. Gone are the days of manual tracking and the volatility of a close enough pointandshoot style. Kit for full automation of rotating domes including automated shutter control. The edome relay control box and wiring for the azimuth motor and switches. Imaging the software needs to be able to take multiple images over the course of the night, with multiple filters. If there is a label telling you the information on the box you can ship through the general setup info. There is a german mount, dome, focuser, filter wheel, various switches etc.
The control system allows a color touch screen interface. Maxdome ii softwaredrivers and user manual are distributed on a usb stick. It also calculates the required dome azimuth for the final position, and sends this to the dome. Im setting up an observatory and im wondering what userfacing software would be best to use in terms of hardware control. There are three main tasks to be tackled first the motor drives, then the servo, and finally the software to link with the telescope control program.
Please choose from the observatory automation products listed below. Usb interface and power with gui control software interface. The basic dome control is based on a usb io controller, 2 relays, an azimuth sensor and a. It needs to control the camera and the filter wheel. Foster systems roll off roof and dome controllers external link drivers for the foster systems roll off roof and dome controllers. However, to do this correctly, the software must know exactly where the telescope is mounted in relation to the centre of the dome, so your first task is to make some careful. Nexdome, the most affordable and true personal obervatory. Astrometric instruments control systems for telescopes. Talon is a a fully automated opensource solution for automated telescope and observatory control. Dome control the dome, if any, must rotate to follow the telescope. Luckily the equipment was covered with plastic sheets. Now this software, named lesvedomenet, is released as a shareware.
The package includes a fiberglass dome with base and one shutter, all hardware and motors for rotation and shutter movement. The main board is controlled by dome and switch drivers. The ace smartdome is a professional industrial control system for automating a telescope enclosure. Maxdome ii works as a sync mechanism with your scope and dome and allows the dome slit to be centered on the telescope. We offer the original 8 exploradome i and now the 116 exploradome ii. Observatory control software posted in observatories. Supports dome automation from exploradome, ddw and other providers. Observatory in the bag production of astronomical home.
Technical innovations robodome also includes digital dome works hardware and software for computer remote control of observatory and the dome is shipped fully assembled. Are there additional advantages to using other software. In practice, the only thing most observers have to. Not so lucky was the observatory computer which refused to boot following the storm event on the monday. Ascomstandard dome and telescope interfaces support for automadome slave dome rotation to your telescope rotationonly and full shutterandrotation systems available single or dual shutter operation, with sequencing wireless shutter control no.
In the next diagram the functions controlled by the dome driver are represented in blue and switch driver functions in orange. A free demo period of the maxim dl pro level software, with full technical support is available to determine suitability of the. Our flagship domepro2 products shown above provide the most immediate, and often drop in, solutions for dome control however we do offer the following products for custom applications. Over the course of the night, temperatures will likely change enough that the telescope will need to be automatically refocused. Observatory control software observatories cloudy nights. Scopedome automation control systems provide comprehensive dome observatory control, set up, monitoring and safety protocols that you would expect, and possibly not expect with a range of peripheral control capabilities that extend your overall control beyond the dome to your other equipment, like telescope, mount, camera, lighting, flats. Automate your observatory and put it on the web with acp observatory control software, maxim dlccd and pinpoint astrometric engine. Provides complete remote control capability of observatory including slaving to telescope.
The main controller is connected to a pc by a usb cable. Technical innovations robodome robotic observatory opt. Lesvedome was only using one k8055 board and had limited functionalities besides dome control. The observatory escaped with a bit of water spray entering due to the horizontal rain during the storm. Im sure there are going to be bugs that need to be worked out here goes. Continuing to refine the observatory dome control software.
The telescope control software continuously transmits the dome target position to the dome controller which attempts to drive the dome to the required position by optically reading and counting 1 degree spaced marks on the dome base ring. At foster systems, were astronomers who have designed the astromc line of observatory automation equipment and software. The main controller domecontroller the shutter controller domeshutter main controller. Talon controls all aspects of robotic astronomical observations, including telescope control, dome control, image processing, scheduled operations, and envi.
Saftey protection logic for dome closure lockout when rain detected. Ascom compliant dome interface makes it easy to integrate telescope mount with dome and with higher level control software such as acp, ccd commander, ccd autopilot, the sky and even maximdl in standalone mode. The ace smart dome control unit also has its own software ascom interface for controlling the dome. Includes fiberglass dome with base and one shutter, all hardware and motors for rotation and shutter movement. Installs a driver for the boyd observatories cyberdrive dome control systems. This unit features easy plugin hardware with all the right connectors already on the controller.
An astronomical observatory dome controller based on two arduino boards. The observatory computer software program receives that data from the scope. Other stuff some of these programs accept weatherstation data to determine if the sky is getting too cloudy to continue, and close the dome automatically if necessary. Lesvedomenet is an cheap diy solution to slave the dome to the telescope. It has numerous advanced features demanded by large professional observatories. The second optional board is controlled by switch driver. Scopedome home dome observatory remote dome observatory. Over the last 20 years, astrometric instruments has provided electronic control systems for telescopes, domes, and other astronomical equipment. The maxdome ii dome controller provides flexible, fully integrated observatory dome control. Now you can afford to sit inside a true observatory, sheltered from the winds and annoying neighbors porch lights. Dome control overview i have all my electronics and software all set to install into my dome update all installed and working. Computerizied observatory controller procoscpro astrosmart.
It uses the maxdome ii serial protocol for compatibility with existing software. Currently, i use sgp to automate imaging sessions and it appears that it can also be used for simple observatory control slaving dome, open and close shutters, park mount and dome, etc. Unlike halfdome designs, nexdome is a classic observatory dome with more than 100 degrees of shutter opening, allowing you to point your telescope to the zenith while remaining shielded from stray light and wind. An astronomical observatory dome controller based on. He presented two talks at the table mountain star party in july of 2004, one on construction and one on software and automation, and again on dslr astrophotography in 2005.
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