7 replies to this topic

[MikeECha]

Hello there.

 

I have been using ASCOM Remote very successfully for a couple of years now and there is something I cannot figure out and it kind of bugs me.

 

PHD2 is the only app in my indoor/local laptop that does not "see" the Alpaca Dynamic drivers presented to my network by the ASCOM Remote server in the outdoor/remote miniPC by the mount unless they are registered with ASCOM in the indoor laptop.

 

In order for PHD2 to see the remote guide camera, mount and rotator drivers, I have to manually register every one of them with the ASCOM Diagnostic app in my indoor laptop first. NINA and SharpCap can see them without registration.

 

Is this the way it is with PHD2 or is it an operator error?

 

 

[Bob Denny]

Before I dig in deeper, are you maybe routinely running PHD "as Administrator"?

[MikeECha]

Before I dig in deeper, are you maybe routinely running PHD "as Administrator"?

No, I am not. I noticed this several version back, I just never got around to ask. Since it works fine when the drivers are registered I never gave it much of a thought.

 

I did some googling before I posted and found someone with the same question in another forum. Link below

 

"https://stargazerslo...ver-with-phd2/"

[Bob Denny]

OK, got it. The dynamic drivers are "just plain old ASCOM COM" drivers that happen to relay to the Alpaca devices created by Remote on the other system. I hope this makes sense. So you should see the dynamic drivers in the ASCOM Profile Explorer along with the ASCOM simulators and other "real" ASCOM drivers. When you say "registered" do you mean registered for ASCOM (profile explorer) or registered as COM objects in Windows? One way I can tell is if you tell me how you "register" the drivers so PHD can see them.

[MikeECha]

OK, got it. The dynamic drivers are "just plain old ASCOM COM" drivers that happen to relay to the Alpaca devices created by Remote on the other system. I hope this makes sense. So you should see the dynamic drivers in the ASCOM Profile Explorer along with the ASCOM simulators and other "real" ASCOM drivers. When you say "registered" do you mean registered for ASCOM (profile explorer) or registered as COM objects in Windows? One way I can tell is if you tell me how you "register" the drivers so PHD can see them.

Maybe I am using the wrong lingo. Explain what I mean.

 

When I say dynamic driver I mean the driver that ASCOM Remote makes visible in the network for clients to use.

 

When I say register the driver with ASCOM I mean going in the indoor laptop where NINA, PHD2 and the rest of the clients are installed then, opening ASCOM Diagnostic => Chooler => Device type. Here I see the Alpaca Dynamic drivers showing the fixed IP address I have assigned to the remote miniPC. Then say OK => connect=> then Get profile.

 

NINA and SharpCap do not need this "registration". But PHD2, and after further review Stellarium too (the mount in this case), would not show these drivers on the list unless I do that process.

 

I always thought that was normal behavior of PHD2 until a few months ago I posted on a thread about the use of ASCOM Remote and you corrected me that "registration" process was not needed. That stayed with me as I was sure that in fact I needed it otherwise the driver is not available.

 

That is why I asked if it was "an operator error" me!

[Bob Denny]

I think I get where you're coming from. 

 

 

When I say dynamic driver I mean the driver that ASCOM Remote makes visible in the network for clients to use.

In order to communicate let's get onto common ground. On your Mini PC the devices (mount, guide camera, rotator, etc) all have ASCOM drivers, right?  On the Mini PC, right? Then you run ASCOM Remote on the remote Mini PC, and select the devices in ASCOM Remote. At this point the Mini PC will start broadcasting your devices as Alpaca devices to all of the other computers on your LAN. No dynamic drivers needed on the Mini PC. There are no dynamic drivers on your Mini PC, just the ASCOM drivers and ASCOM Remote which turns them into Alpaca devices. It is ASCOM Remote that makes the devices visible. For the rest of your PCs the Mini PC now has an Alpaca-speaking guide camera, mount, and rotator. 

 

So far so good?

 

Now on your indoor laptop, you have programs NINA, Sharpcap, PHD that need to talk to the Alpaca devices on your Mini PC. In the case of NINA (Did I show you this before?) it can talk Alpaca Natively. No brainer. For the other programs which only speak ASCOM, how can they talk to the Alpaca devices on your remote Mini PC?? Ah ha!  The Chooser makes the dynamic drivers, once. This is what you're calling "registering". Some programs themselves allow you to open the Chooser. You've found that you need to get the Chooser by opening it from Diagnostics. So be it, and I'll get back to that later. 

 

When you use the Chooser on your indoor laptop to make a dynamic driver, you have made an ASCOM driver on the indoor laptop that can speak Alpaca to the Alpaca devices coming from your remote Mini PC (re-read the first paragraph). This should only be needed once, so a Chooser from anywhere can be used once to make a dynamic driver. Once. After this, the Chooser on your indoor laptop, should always show the devices via their dynamic drivers. Doesn't Sharpcap use the Chooser to select its ASCOM devices? If so it should show all of the ASCOM devices on your indoor laptop, including  the ASCOM dynamic drivers for your remote devices on the mini PC.

 

If we're still communicating, what I am getting from your post is that every time you want to use PHD, you have to go over to Diagnostics, open the chooser from there, re-discover, and make another dynamic driver??? This seems impossible. So if you open the Chooser in Sharpcap, the devices show, but if you open the Chooser in PHD they do not show, and you have to re-discover and re-make the dynamic drivers??? Just for PHD??? And if you keep making more and more dynamic drivers they will show in the Chooser on other programs, creating an ever-expanding list of remote Alpaca devices! Huh?

 

Let me know if I've run off the rails here. It's really hard for me to interpret what you wrote, but I am really trying.

 

PS The chooser, whether started from the Diagnostics or any other program, will make dynamic ASCOM drivers that will connect you to a remote Alpaca device. Once made, the dynamic driver can be selected from any program. There di not need to be separate dynamic drivers for each program. 

 

In the end this is actually really simple.

Edited by Bob Denny, 25 June 2025 - 02:51 PM.

[MikeECha]

Bob,

 

Thank you for the explanation. I think you answered my question clearly: PHD2 and Stellarium must be ASCOM-only apps as they do not "see" Alpaca drivers natively like NINA does. I just assumed all were "Alpaca-compatible" and I was doing something wrong.

 

Sorry for the confusing post. I had the terms confused. I was calling "dynamic drivers" to the Alpaca drivers from the miniPC. But we are in the same page and I know I only have to "register" a driver once I just did not explicitly stated.

 

Is is really amazing what you/ASCOM team do and all for the love of the game. One more time, Thank You All.

[Bob Denny]

Amazing, thanks! I tried. Yes, NINA is, so far, the only Windows app (AFAIK) that talks Alpaca without a converter driver. It's built right into NINA's user interface. The other two, PHD and Stellarium, talk only to classic ASCOM and thus we provided those apps with a Chooser that can create a gateway for them. 

 

Thanks for letting me know I was able to explain and answer :-) :-) 

Edited by Bob Denny, 25 June 2025 - 05:23 PM.