This page is for the more adventurous. Reading my books, some have likened me to some kind of rocket scientist. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although I did develop software, it was many years ago and I can tell you that I didn’t feel very clever as I hit a brick wall trying to write an ASCOM driver in C#. It took me several weeks to reacquaint myself with object-orientated programming languages, that had undergone 40 years of evolution, as well as working with modern operating systems and more.
What I discovered is that worked examples are a wonderful way of learning. The obstacles were in my mind and I think that many can follow in my footsteps. For that reason, perhaps more than any other, I am happy to share the source files for my various projects as a starting point for your own experimentation. The content below is shared without warranty or liability. They work for me and some others but I cannot guarantee that they will in other environments.
The source files for the various drivers and applications are now published on GitHub.
Look for ASCOM.MegaRoof, Observatory-control-app, ASCOM-Camera-Release, and ArduinoCode-for-ROR.
It is good to start off with the simplest project. Using a KMTronics USB-relay, one can quickly construct an ASCOM camera trigger. Yes, you can use an intervalometer but a remote trigger additionally allows you to change exposure duration on the fly and also, significantly, control the next exposure so that you can dither. This project is described in Capturing the Universe.
ASCOM trigger installer (zipped .exe file)
Part of my observatory controller (below) is the ability to control four relays, to reset some devices and turn things like fans on and off.
ASCOM relay installer (zipped .exe file)
I started this Windows application to initialize my Avalon mount (SynScan version) but now use it with my Paramount. Recently updated to include graphics for environmental parameters and PoleMaster automation
This communicates with my Arduino-based roof controller, with safety sensor and shutter operation. In reality, unless you completely re-create my system, it will be the source files that are most useful, so that you can experiment. Note: The ROR ASCOM driver has been entirely re-written, using the latest ASCOM Visual Studio extensions. It is now generates an .exe file rather than a .dll.
I use this to fire up my observatory and act as a secondary line of defense to poor weather, homing, parking and weather conditions. It uniquely includes logic to power down a relay switch labelled ‘Mount’ or ‘mount’ to avoid slewing or tracking into a closed roof.
GitHub resources (Windows-form application)
These are files with details of the hardware used in the project and the Arduino control / software
Observatory Resources (zipped file)