2.4 bugs for analysis

Just a posting of the bugs I’ve found in v2.4 so far:

On connect to observatory, it will auto-deselect ‘slaved to telescope’. Under observatory control, it displays ‘NA’ for the ‘shutter’ whereas in v2.3 it showed whether my roof was ‘open’ or ‘closed’.

Deleted the stuff that isn’t applicable since my weather station doesn’t report as a safety monitor.

Just had another bug while trying to see where I can trip the ‘unsafe’ set. It appears that I can’t set the filter.

This one is still valid… I dunno what was causing it.

Well, it appears that the AstroAlert is not a ‘safety monitor’. It does not report the correct ASCOM responses to the requirement. However, it is listed as a ‘Weather’ device. What is the difference? Does it report ‘Is Safe?’ as well?

And, I don’t understand ASCOM nor am I programmer, so if you tell me it’s the developer’s fault, can you tell me what I need to tell them to get it corrected based on how you’re implementing the ‘SafetyMonitor’ portion.

And, either way, I can’t seem to get filter wheels to change on my STF8300/FW8300-8.

Does the AstroAlert output a Boltwood file? If so you can use the Boltwood Safety Monitor that Chris R put together.

We’ll look into the others.

Thanks,
Jared

Where is the Boltwood Safety Monitor at? That’s great to here! It does output that file. Should I work with Stan to have him change it from a ‘weather’ device to a ‘safety monitor’?

Chris

When you say you can’t change filters, do you mean that you can’t use the FW docking module to control the filter manually? Does it work when you connect to the ASCOM CFW Sim? What happens when you try to change the filter directly from the CP?

Ken,

I tried the module and I tried it automatically through a sequence. Both went to failure and failed to change the wheel both ‘visually’ and ‘audibly’. I then disconnected, repowered, and tried it again, same problem. I have no issues with 2.3 after reinstalling.

On another note, can I install v2.4 and keep my v2.3 install easily?

You can, but you need to keep in mind that separate installs of SGPro share the same layout and profiles (but different settings files).

I’d be OK with that. Do I just install 2.4 to a different directory?

Oh, messaging works great. I have a play by play of all my issues on my cell :).

Filter changing seems OK with the ASCOM Sim. I’ll give this a shot with my SBIG this weekend to see if it’s device specific.

Thanks,
Jared

Jared,

Any idea on where I find Chris R’s bolt wood 2 monitor?

Chris

Um, that’s a good question. It might be buried in the bowels of the Yahoo group.

Jared

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Chris still come around here? Did he ever get any farther than a basic concept?

The Boltwood Safety Monitor driver is in the files area of the Yahoo group - The Chris Rowland folder. I’m planning to get it hosted on the ASCOM Platform site.

There is no official ASCOM Weather specification but there are a few unofficial ASCOM style weather drivers around. With no specification there’s nothing that an application can rely on for any sort of monitoring.

The reason there is no ASCOM weather specification is that when we tried there was no prospect of any agreement on what should be included. In the end we looked at what this was intended for - safety - and implemented the safety monitor. Weather devices should implement this.

Chris R

Chris,

I see. I asked the guy who builds my weather controller to implement it. Guess we’ll see. Did you release a newer version of your program from the last one I tested? I never saw anything beyond that initial alpha copy. Maybe Jared and the gang could host it here?

There’s a slightly newer version in the Yahoo group files area and I’m planning to get it hosted on the ASCOM site with an even newer one. All that will change is that if you are not connected then IsSafe returns false.

That’s the Foster Systems controller I suppose? If Stan wants to contact us we will be happy to help.

Chris R

I posted a request to the forums. The guy is kind of a recluse :). I downloaded your version from the group and I ran out of time. Maybe in a few days! Thanks for building it!

Chris, one more question, I see multiple options… one is ‘safe to image’ for my ASCOM driver. Another is ‘safe to open’. What was the purpose of these?

The two drivers can have different safety criteria, that could be, for example, that it’s safe to image and safe to have the dome/roof open. The names have to be different but could have been anything. The help and playing with them a bit should make this clearer.

There was discussion at the time that people might want to pause imaging if conditions were unsuitable for imaging but OK to keep the observatory open, such as thin cloud, but also have the ability to close down if conditions because unsuitable for having the observatory open, such as rain, thick cloud and so on.

For now just use one of the drivers and set the safety criteria to what you want.

Chris

Gotcha! Thank you.

Chris