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en:documentation:devices_setup
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Device setup
Open this window from the menu Edit → Device setup to configure the devices to use with the program.
Interface
The first tab “Interface” let you select the profile you want to use.
All the devices and all the program preferences will be stored in this profile, allowing to have completely different settings for your different equipment or locations.
The Copy button copy the current profile to a new one, allowing to change a piece of the equipment but keep the other settings.
The New button create a totally empty profile, with no equipment and no options. This can be use to create a profile for another observatory and be sure to not left behind an incompatible option.
Use the Delete button to remove a profile you no more need.
Next you can define the default server host name or IP and port for the INDI server and ASCOM Alpaca server and apply this settings for all the corresponding devices.
CCDciel itself never start the INDI or ASCOM Remote server, even if running locally. It is assumed they are already running and configured with the drivers you need.
For INDI you can start it using the command line, IndiStarter, or Indi Webmanager.
For ASCOM Remote click the “ASCOM Remote” icon in the Start menu.
You can search for Alpaca server and devices on your local network by using the button Discover. This require that discovery and management interface are active in the Alpaca server. You can adjust the discovery port if you change this value in the server configuration.
When the discovery fail a new button Scan this server appear, this allow to search for devices in a server not in the broadcast range, for example across the Internet.
You can use at the same time devices connected to different server and using different protocol. For example the camera using a local ASCOM driver, the mount connected by INDI to a Raspberry PI and the focuser to a remote ASCOM Alpaca server.
INDI devices
Select the INDI tab for each INDI device you want to use and check the server host name or IP address is right. If need you can set a different server for every device.
Then click the Get button to fill the Device list with the corresponding drivers running on the server.
Select the device you want in the list.
You can select to load the device configuration just after the device is connected and if not already connected in INDI. This is the same as the INDI client Options/Configuration/Load button, be sure you saved the right configuration from the INDI panel.
ASCOM devices
Select the ASCOM tab for each local ASCOM device you want to use. This tab is available only if CCDciel is running on Windows.
Click the Choose button open the ASCOM Chooser to select the driver to use.
The Setup button let you configure the options specific for this driver.
The About button show information about the driver.
ASCOM Alpaca devices
Select the ASCOM Alpaca tab for each ASCOM Alpaca remote device you want to use. You can use a ASCOM Alpaca device also from Linux and macOS.
If you click the button Discover on the first tab you can select the devices from the top drop-down list.
Check the protocol, normally http: if not using a proxy, and the server host name or IP address is right. If need you can define a different server for every device. The user name and password can be used for authentication when using a proxy service.
Then enter the remote device number to use for the device type. This is for example the “Device Number” you configured in the ASCOM Remote Server configuration.
Camera
Select the camera to use with CCDciel, a camera is mandatory so you cannot leave this page unconfigured.
ASCOM, ASCOM Alpaca:
You can select if you want the image to be flipped vertically when it is read from the ASCOM driver. Checked from compatibility with Linux version, uncheck for compatibility with many Windows software.
Select if you want the DATE-OBS keyword to be from the ASCOM driver. Beware some camera do not respect the UTC rule.
When Try to fix pixel range is selected the program will try to recover the original pixel value depending on the CMOS camera bit depth. For example with a 12bit camera the pixel are stored with a range from 0 to 4095. This revert the multiplication by 16 done by the driver.
INDI:
The Sensor field, visible when a SBIG camera is selected, is to select the sensor to use for dual-chip camera, you probably always want “Main sensor” here.
Select how you want INDI to transfer the image data:
Network the normal transfer mode you can use with local and remote INDI server.
RAM disk may improve the performance if you use a local INDI server. Be sure the path you set point to an in memory disk, it's size need to be two time the size of one of your FITS image.
Guide Camera
Select the guide camera to use with the CCDciel internal guider.
Let this unselected if you use an external guider software.
Finder Camera
Select a camera to be used for plate solving if this cannot be done with the main camera.
Typical use is when the main camera is behind a spectrograph, but this can also be used for planetary imaging with very long focal length.
It is possible to use the same camera than the Guide camera because both are never used at the same time. Just specify the same driver here.
You can change between finder and main camera at any time from the Slewing preferences.
Filter wheel
After selecting the driver, check “Use filter wheel”.
Select “In camera” if the filter wheel is commanded by the camera driver.
Select “Manual” to use a manual filter wheel.
Enter the number of slot and the name for each filter.
The program will pause and ask you to change the filter when required.
Focuser
After selecting the driver, check “Use focuser”.
If a ASCOM weather station is configured and report the temperature, you can check Temperature from weather station to use it as the focuser temperature.
Rotator
After selecting the driver, check “Use rotator”.
Mount
After selecting the driver, check “Use mount”.
You can set the following options at your convenience depending on your environment. For example if the mount include a GPS or if you synchronize the site location across different software.
Set mount time from computer: send the time from the computer to the mount.
Set mount site long/lat from configuration: send the site from the configuration to the mount.
Get site long/lat from the mount: update the configuration site coordinates by the one set in the mount.
Dome
After selecting the driver, check “Use dome”.
CCDCiel do not position the dome by itself but rely on the available software.
Before to setup here, the dome must be configured using the INDI Dome settings, the ASCOM Device Hub or any other specific dome software.
Be sure the mount is also set to a compatible driver so the dome slaving can be managed.
When using the ASCOM Device Hub it is mandatory to use both ASCOM.DeviceHub.Telescope and ASCOM.DeviceHub.Dome instead of the real drivers.
The Dome preference let you manage the park/unpark function along with the telescope mount park/unpark.
Weather station
After selecting the driver, check “Use weather station”.
For ASCOM and ASCOM Remote, you can select if you want to use a ObservingConditions or SafetyMonitor driver.
You can define the ObservingConditions limits in the Preferences. If using a SafetyMonitor be sure the limits in the driver are set to ensure good observing condition, for example no clouds.
For INDI the limits are the Warning level of the weather driver.
When the observing condition are not good the sequence is paused until they are good again.
The equipment is NOT put in safety, if required see the Safety monitor below.
Safety monitor
After selecting the driver, check “Use safety monitor”.
For ASCOM and ASCOM Remote, be sure the SafetyMonitor driver limits are set to ensure safe operation. For example no rain.
For INDI the limits are the Alert level of the weather driver.
You can define the action to take when the condition are not safe in the Preferences.
Beware that by default it do nothing!
Watchdog
Check “Use watchdog”, select the INDI driver and set the threshold value in minutes.
The watchdog is a specific INDI driver that can park the mount and the dome if the connection is lost with CCDciel for more than the threshold time limit. There is no similar function when using ASCOM drivers.
Switch
Check “Use switch”.
Select the number of different switch driver you want to connect. This add the corresponding number of tab where you can define the connection to the different switch.
Be sure to add a nickname for each switch, this is this name that identify the switch later in the program.
Click OK after you complete your setting.
en/documentation/devices_setup.txt · Last modified: 2024/03/17 18:47 by pch
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