If you have any sort of scope that runs on your Windows machine, you can control it from SS7 (1019 or later) without needing the AlpacaScope SkyFi emulator. SS7 has built-in support for Alpaca, and thus from SS7 you can control any ASCOM-compatible mount plugged into your Windows system! ASCOM Remote, supplied by the ASCOM Initiative, is a Windows app that converts any ASCOM mount on Windows into an Alpaca mount available on the network (and thus reachable by Sky Safari).
- Make sure you have the latest ASCOM Platform 6.5 SP1 or later installed. You probably do if your Windows scope is ASCOM compatible.
- Download and install the latest ASCOM Remote 1.6.7946 or later that allows for the (perfectly legal) E-format numbers
- Follow the included directions to allow Remote to connect to your mount and load its driver/controller.
- Create an Alpaca Telescope Profile in SS7 and allow it to discover your Windows mount. You may need to try discovery more than once.
- Connect in SS7 and enjoy. If you turn on the logging checkboxes in Remote you’ll see all of the Alpaca traffic between SS7 and Remote. This stuff is saved in the Remote logs so if the devs here need logs you can give them the ones from Remote as well as the logs from SS7 itself.
So you can run your PlaneWave, Astro-Physics, EQMOD, whatever scope from SS7 this way. I know the devs here will be interested in your experiences with various mounts. Make certain you’re running 7.1017 or later. If your mount uses an executable ASCOM driver, or if you use the DeviceHub on Windows, you can share your scope between Starry Night and Sky Safari! How cool is that?
The link to the latest ASCOM Remote 1.6.7946 or later with the E-format number fix above looks like it’s virtually invisible so here it is again
https://github.com/ASCOMInitiative/ASCOMRemote/releases
[updated for release of ASCOM Remote]
