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Setting up AutomaDome and the ASCOM DomeAPI plug-in
AutomaDome can be problematic to set up so that it works successfully with
the ASCOM DomeAPI plug-in, so we recommend following this procedure carefully.
It is assumed that the following prerequisites are all met before commencing:
- AutomaDome is already installed
- TheSky is already installed and the telescope connection has been
configured and tested.
- Orchestrate has been installed (Orchestrate is required).
- All applications are closed.
- Test your ASCOM dome driver stand-alone and ensure that it is correctly
configured, is able to talk to the dome hardware and can be successfully
controlled using the ASCOM Dome Control Panel. It is important to be certain
that the dome driver is working OK before proceeding.
- Install the ASCOM DomeAPI plug-in.
- Start the ASCOM DomeAPI Configuration utility. Ensure that the correct
dome driver is selected.
- Click on Properties... and ensure that your settings are correct for
your particular dome installation (this is specific to each model).
- Dismiss all the dialogs by clicking OK.
- Start AutomaDome.
- From the menu, select Dome | Setup...
- It is important to realise that when the ASCOM DomeAPI plug-in is in use,
some of the AutomaDome settings are redundant and have no effect. This is a limitation of
AutomaDome, which does not expose the configuration through the DomeAPI
interface. This is why a separate configuration utility is necessary. In the
AutomaDome setup dialog, the settings for COM Port, Baud rate and ACL
address have no effect and should be ignored. The COM port settings are
configured using the seperate configuration utility and, if this procedure
has been followed, they should already be correct.
- Ensure that the "Elevation not significant" is CHECKED. If your dome
allows precise shutter control then you can try unchecking this box later,
but if you uncheck it now you risk complicating the setup, so please, for
the time being, leave it checked. Once everything else is working, you can
come back and uncheck it later if you want to.
- Click on the Geometry... button and enter your dome geometry. Refer to
the Software
Bisque online help for an explanation of the parameters. When done,
click OK. If you're not sure what to enter, just leave all the defaults and
continue with the procedure (but note that the dome alignment will be poor
until correct values are entered). You can come back later and enter the
correct dome geometry.
- Click the Security... button and check all of the check boxes, then OK.
- OK the Setup dialog.
- Now we will test whether AutomaDome can communicate with the dome
driver. From the menu, select Dome | Link -> Establish. You should see an
azimuth readout in the AutomaDome window. Moving the dome using the manual
hand control should cause the azimuth reading to change as the dome moves.
Other commands on the Dome menu (Open, Close, Goto, Home, etc) should work
as expected. Only proceed if this step is successful. If the dome does not
respond to AutomaDome, STOP and resolve the problem - there is absolutely no
point in proceeding unless this test is successful.
- Quit from AutomaDome and close all running programs.
- Go to the
Software
Bisque Online Help for AutomaDome and locate the
Getting
Started section. Follow steps 1 to 7 carefully.
- Launch AutomaDome. Don't connect to the
dome yet.
- Launch TheSky and connect to the telescope. Ensure that the telescope
can be slewed within TheSky.
- From TheSky press CONTROL+SHIFT+D
to display the Dome Controller dialog box. This looks similar to the
AutomaDome window, but is different. Don't get them confused.
- From the menu of the Dome Controller dialog, select Dome | Link -> Establish.
- From the menu of the Dome Controller dialog, select Dome | Couple (if it is not already selected).
Your dome should now be coupled to your telescope and and the dome slit should be
visible as a white trapezoid on the VirtualSky.
IMPORTANT - AutomaDome only moves the dome in response to a telescope slew;
it does not attempt to 'track' the telescope. So the dome will not move to the
telescope position until a slew is started from within TheSky. Many people are
surprised by this behaviour, but it is the way AutomaDome was designed to work.
This is actually quite adequate for many uses. If tracking is required, a script
is available from Software Bisque that implements this feature.
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