iOptron/ iMate mounts

[ScopesNC]

Can we see a future version of SharpCap for the new iOptron mounts that have iMate built in? Would be nice to have it as an option
in the mounts open system. SharpCap has come so far and the iMate does run on a Windows based PC. HMM

[admin]

Hi,

I suspect that the built in ARM system for the iMate mounts will run some form of Linux as its own operating system, so there will be no version of SharpCap to run on the ARM processor (since the amount of work to create a Linux version of SharpCap would be monumental).

There will be a way (and it's not clear how yet) to control the mount, etc from other computers including a Windows PC running SharpCap. That might involve remote communication with the iMate device over the Indi protocol or some sort of ASCOM driver from iOptron that talks to the iMage in the background. Right now, SharpCap doesn't have indi support, but the new version 4.1 does support ASCOM Alpaca for remote hardware communication and there is an Alpaca->Indi bridge out there somewhere that should make the missing link.

Something to keep an eye on as these devices actually start being delivered and used.

cheers,

Robin

[ScopesNC]

Thanks for the information. So not all is lost on it. Good to know.

[gregm]

I thought it was clear. They are using kstars and Indi
That basically means it’s similar to ASIAIR. They may just use the public domain version and if they change anything, they hopefully will post the updated source code.
Google kstars. Anyone can download it and change and compile it provided any changes are uploaded to the source. ZWO has not followed this licencing condition. I hope iOptron do.
Unlike the pirated ASIAIR software. I hope all those using ASIAIR are happy they are using illegal software as ZWO has not complied with the licensing agreement so in effect, profiting out of stollen software.

[admin]

Hi,

yes, I'm aware that there is some pretty poor compliance with open source licenses in various astronomy products by more than one vendor

Whatever the arm-side implementation, I would still expect an ASCOM driver to emerge from the vendor to allow use with Windows software - they would be cutting off a big part of their market if they didn't do that.

SharpCap 4.1 has compatibility with Indigo via ASCOM Alpaca and Indigo's Alpaca agent (well, there is an issue in current versions of the Alpaca agent, but that should be fixed in the next update). I'm not sure if Indi has that Alpaca compatibility though. Also, the route through Indigo means that the ability to slew each movement axis is lost, so it would be preferable for there to be a manufacturer-supplied ascom driver.

cheers,

Robin

[AstroMathmo]

I've been using the stand alone iMate for a few weeks. Yes indeed it is Kstars running over INDI on Debian Linux. How open source it is remains questionable though as it is proving difficult to even update KStars from the 3.6.7 it ships with and IOptron have told me they intend to control updates. So more closed than I hoped. I see Robin's point about Alpaca though. I've got some low level linux tinkering to do for the wi-fi (it's fine as a server, not as a client right now) and trying to work around the KStars updating, but might have a look at Alpaca later. One of my control machines is Windows laptop with Sharpcap on and it connects via NoMachine over wifi or ethernet just fine. No idea whether I can do anything with that though.

[admin]

I guess the thing is that by selecting ASIAir or the iOptron iMate you are gaining convenience at the expense of control over the system. In theory, the manufacturer can comply with all the open source licensing and *still* not have to give you admin access to the device to make changes to the config or installed software.

If you want to keep ultimate control yourself and be able to update/install/tweak any aspect of the system then something like a rasperry pi 5 or similar, connected to a Pegasus ulitmate power box for USB and power connections might be best. I think there is an Astroberry distribution for the PI...

cheers,

Robin