Temma by Takahashi ASCOM Driver

v5.5.9 click here to download

Revision History

Minimum System Requirements

Software

ASCOM 5.5 Platform.
Planetarium software (TheSky 6 (needed for some advance features), etc.)

Hardware

Any Takahashi Temma model.
PC RS232 serial cable
serial port on your computer.

Hardware Setup

Setting up the Temma

Polar Align. The Temma Mount will not slew accurately without an accurate polar alignment.
Plug the Temma's RS232 Serial Cable into an open COM port and into the Temma control panel.

Temma Setup and Initialization Procedure

Turn off the Temma telescope mount.
Connect the RS232 serial port on the Temma to an open serial port on your computer.
Turn the Temma Power switch on. Each time the Temma is powered on, the Temma control system is initialized with the following default parameter:
* The optical tube assembly (or telescope) is assumed to be on the West side of the mount.
* The telescope is pointing to 0.00 in both right ascension and declination.
* Right ascension and declination correction speeds are set to 90 (unless you have entered a different rate in the Temma driver's main window).
* The control system tracking is for the Northern Hemispheret.

Open your planetarium software.
In the 'ASCOM Telescope Chooser Control list, select Temma by Takahashi.
Click Settings and then select the correct COM port and input your info in the other fields (e.g:. longitude/latitude).
Establish a link to the Temma.
Select one of the orientation modes from the 'Init' windows
When the link is established, center the appropriate star as directed and then synchronize the planetarium software (e.g.: for TheSky press its 'Sync' button).

Synchronizing	Procedure
To synchronize with the optical tube assembly on the East side of the mount, Scope pointing West	Loosen the clutches on the mount and move the telescope to the East side of the mount. Center a known star that is on the West side of the Meridian in the field of view. Identify the star in your planetarium software. Sync on the star. An on screen dialog will notify you of the correct side of the meridian to select the sync star.
To synchronize with the optical tube assembly on the West side of the mount, Scope pointing East	Loosen the clutches on the mount and move the telescope to the West side of the mount. Center a known star that is on the East side of the Meridian in the field of view. identify the star in your planetarium software. Sync on the star. An on screen dialog will notify you of the correct side of the meridian to select the sync star.
Scope Pointed at Pole, Counter-weight down position	This method is intended for remote users. The CW down method gives a rough initial alignment that must be refined by a subsequent sync for accurate GOTO operations. It is recommended that the subsequent sync be accomplished using ACP (Pinpoint) to plate solve a CCD image after the initial alignment. Obviously, a manual/visual sync can be used if desired.
Scope Pointed at Pole, Counter-weight West	The CW West method gives a rough initial alignment that must be refined by a subsequent sync for accurate GOTO operations. Place the CW on the West side of mount with the CW shaft and OTA parallel to the ground.
Keep Last Sync	The Temma telescope was previously synced and not powered off, or the Temma was 'Parked'

Temma Setup dialog box

Temma mounts have numerous different options that can be configured via the driver.

Highlight the longitude/latitude input boxes via a double click or left mouse drag to input new values.

The mount safety features is not a failsafe way to protect your equipment from damage, and it is not intended to be a substitute for for good judgment or and attendant at the scope. Please use with caution. Keep the checkbox checked to disable these features.

Setup the Parameters:

note: scope movements started via the Temma's hand paddle can not be controlled via the driver's mount safety features. Rule imposed by the driver will only affect slews initiated by the driver. These features are mainly designed to help avoid crashes from the telescope tracking in to the mount, tripod, or other object.

Minimum Allowable Altitude - Input a number representing degrees in altitude that the mount will stop all movement when it is reached or exceeded.

Maximum Allowable HA (hourangle) - A positive number for the maximum HA permitted (e.g. 5.5 = a HA of +/- 5.5 hours from the Meridian). Calculations for declinations other than 0 will automatically be performed using this input.

Allowable Tracking Near the Meridian - Enter a number for the minutes tracking near the Meridian when the scope is West on the pier and pointing East (e.g. -.5 will stop tracking when the mount reaches 30 minutes of the Meridian).

When a crash is avoided by these features you must take the following actions to reinitialize your mount and the Temma driver:

1. Disconnect the driver

2. Enter the Temma Driver's setup and check the 'Disable Mount Safety Limits' checkbox

3. Reconnect to the Mount

4. Move the mount to a safe position

5. Enter the Temma Driver's setup and uncheck the 'Disable Mount Safety Limits' checkbox

6. Resume

The 'Warn Before Flip' checkbox , when checked, will make prompt before a GOTO that requires a Meridian flip is attempted.

The 'Automatic Meridian Flip' checkbox , if checked, will perform a Meridian flip when the mount reaches a point equal to the hourangle of the Meridian plus/minus the user inputted factor contained in the 'Allowable Tracking Near The Meridian' box (e.g. HA or Meridian = 0, user input = .5, so 0 +.5 will result in a Meridian flip .5 hours or 30 minutes past the Meridian. The flip will occur only when the scope is positioned on the West side of the pier (counterweights pointed East). Caution: ensure that the scope will not strike the pier or any other objects prior to allowing a Meridian flip. Meridian flips will move the mount's RA axis 180 degrees, be careful!

The 'Flip Mount' checkbox , when checked, will make prompt the user to perform a manual Meridian Flip. This is very useful to place the mount in a position that allows the longest time for astroimaging. For example, a GOTO to an object that is near and has not yet crossed the Meridian will leave the mount positioned with the OTA on the West side of the pier. Pressing the 'Flip Mount' button will move the mount 180 degrees to position the OTA on the East side of the pier allowing the longest possible time for astroimaging of the object.

The 'Always Show' checkbox , when checked,' will make the handbox visible on connection to the Temma. If unchecked the handbox will remain minimized in the tray until called.

Clicking the 'Stop' button or hitting the 'Esc' on the computer keyboard will halt all slews.

Correction Speed

New

Enter the right ascension correction speed (as a percentage of the Sidereal rate). This setting is used for the slow speed moves or for guiding.

Current

Displays the right ascension/declination correction speed (as a percentage of the Sidereal rate).

Apply Speed

Check the 'Apply Speed' and 'Send All Settings' boxes then click 'OK' to set the tracking rates.

Tracking Rates

Sidereal (default)
Lunar - When used in conjunction with the 'Use TheSky Data' checkbox the lunar rate will be set to a high precission mode that will control both the RA speed and Dec rate to account for parallax
Solar
King - Rate will compensate for atmospheric refraction
Manual - When selected rates must by inputted into the RA and DEC boxes, then press the 'Send' button
Custom - This features requires TheSky v6. When selected uses can input the objects name and update interval in the 'Custom Tracking Rates' frame. Updates to to current offests will be made at the desired intervals.

Clicking on the ' Tracking Rate' option buttons will toggle the rates.

'Tracking On/Off' is used to stop/start the tracking on Temma 2 mounts, or slow the tracking rate to ~60% sidereal rate for non Temma 2 mounts. This is useful if you want to pause viewing. The slower rate will avoid the mount running in to itself when left unattended. Additionally, when using non Temma 2 mounts the 'Rewind RA' checkbox (when checked) will rewind the right ascension back to the point where the tracking was stopped adding one more level of mount protection for unattended pauses in observing or imaging.

This feature will stop tracking in Temma 2 models only! Therefore, parking the mount and turning off the power is the preferred way to stop motion of the NON-Temma 2 mount for prolonged periods.

Power Source

Select the appropriate power setting from the 'Power' drop-down box. You must have the appropriate 24 volt power supply to run at the 24 volt high slew rates (see details).

High Speed Drive	Working Voltage
	DC12V	DC24V
EM-400 Temma2	250X	500X
EM-10 Temma2 Jr.	120X	250X
EM-200 Temma2 Jr.	120X	250X
EM-200 Temma2	350X	700X
NJP Temma2	175X	350X
EM-500 Temma2	260X	520X

Comet Tracking Rates

RA Adjustment (sidereal sec/day)

Enter the adjusted tracking rate for the right ascension axis in sidereal seconds per day max = +/- 32767. There are 86,164 seconds in one sidereal day (1 "earth day" = 1.002738 "sidereal day").

Dec Adjustment (min/day)

Enter the adjusted tracking rate for the declination axis in minutes per day, max = +/- 1180 (plus = North, - = South).

Use TheSky Data

Checking this box allows for the direct input of RA/Dec rates obtained from Thesky's object info box

Example:

1. +140, +50 - Entering +140 into the RA text box will speed up the RA tracking by 140 seconds per day (one revolution normally takes 86164 seconds at sidereal rate), +50 into the Dec text box will move the declination axis 50 minutes per day North. Check the 'Manual Input' box 'Send' to apply the new comet settings. The maximum offsets are +/- 32767 for RA, and +/-1180 for Dec

Parking the Temma

The Temma's electronics do not offer advanced features such as the ability to park the mount. However, via this driver there is now a software solution to the mount's limitations.

Park Procedure:

Two park methods are available:

'Slew Before Park' slews to the inputted alt/az position before parking
'Park at Current Position' parks the current alt/az position of the mount.

Prior to using the park feature the mount must be correctly synced as described above.

The 'Set Park' button can be used to select the mount's current position as the parking position whenever the Temma is connected. The position will be saved thus removing the need to manually input the values.

       1. Input the desired park altitude and azimuth
        2. Select one of the park methods
        3. Click the 'Park Mount' button
        4. When the park slew is completed disconnect the driver and immediately power off the mount or the mount can be left parked.

However, if the power is not turned off the mount will remain in the simulated 'tracking off' mode for NON-Temma 2 models.

Upon reconnection to the mount the unpark sequence will begin.

Stop Tracking:

This feature is useful as a precaution against mount damage in the event you fall asleep or otherwise leave the mount unattended for extended periods.

Procedure:

Use the scroll bars to set the local time (in 24 hour format) that you want to stop tracking (make sure it is before the mount will track into itself!)
Select either 'Park' or 'Tracking off'
Click the 'Stop tracking' button.
When the set time is reached the driver will set tracking to off.

To use the GPS the Temma must not be connected.

Procedure:

Your GPS must be set to send data in NMEA format, baud rate 4800.
Press the 'Link' button to connect to the GPS.
Once connected press the 'Send' button to send the GPS time and location to the Temma and to update your systems computer clock.
Press the 'Unlink' button to disconnect the GPS then press 'Exit to return to the setup window.

Telescope.MoveAxis(Axis, Rate)

The method syntax has these parts:

Part	Description
Axis (TelescopeAxes)	The physical axis about which movement is desired
Rate (Double)	The rate of motion (deg/sec, + = clockwise) about the specified axis
Return (Nothing)	Does not return a value.

Remarks

This method supports control of the mount about its mechanical axes. The telescope will start moving at the specified rate about the specified axis and continue indefinitely. This method can be called for each axis separately, and have them all operate concurretly at separate rates of motion. The sign of the Rate parameter determines the direction of motion, with positive being clockwise and negative being counterclockwise.

Set the rate for an axis to zero to stop the motionabout that axis. Tracking motion (if enabled, see note below) is suspended during this mode of operation. Raises an error if AtPark is true.

This must be implemented for the if the CanMoveAxis property returns True for the given axis.

Notes:

The movement rate must be within the value(s) obtained from a Rate object in the the AxisRates collection. An out of range exception is raised the rate is out of range.
The value of the Slewing property must be True if the telescope is moving about any of its axes as a result of this method being called.
This can be used to simulate a handbox by initiating motion with the MouseDown event and stopping the motion with the MouseUp event.
When the motion is stopped the scope will be set to the previous TrackingRate or to no movement, depending on the state of the Tracking property.
It may be possible to implement satellite tracking by using the MoveAxis() method to move the scope in the required manner to track a satellite.

Symbolic Constants

The (symbolic) values for TelescopeAxes are:

Constant	Value	Description
axisPrimary	0	Primary axis (e.g., Right Ascension or Azimuth)
axisSecondary	1	Secondary axis (e.g., Declination or Altitude)
axisTertiary	2	Tertiary axis (e.g. imager rotator/de-rotator)

MoveAxis in the Temma driver is limited by the capabilities of the mount. The move speeds are not variable and limited to constant speeds depending on the type of mount as follows:

Mount Type	Volts	Speed in Degrees per Second
EM-200	24/12	2.8/1.4
EM-400	24/12	2/1
EM-500	24/12	2/1
2 JR	24/12	1/.5
PC	24/12	1.6/.8
PC JR	24/12	.6/.2
NJP	24/12	1.4/.7

To use this method rates above 50% of the maximun slew speed will slew the mount at high speed. Select a rate < 50% to slew the scope at the set guide speed.

In addition to the required ASCOM Properties/Methods these Temma Driver Properties are available to external programs and scripts:

Telescope.HoursPastMeridian(read-write, Double)

Integer representing 0-30 minutes

Syntax

Telescope.HoursPastMeridian[= Integer]

The property syntax has these parts:

Part	Description
Value (`Double`)	a positive number representing the maximum hourangle permitted to track or slew past the Meridian (e.g. 5.5 represents a HA of +/- 5.5 hours from the Meridian). Calculations for declinations other than 0 will automatically be performed based on this input.

Telescope.MinAlt (read-write, Integer)

Integer representing 0-90 degrees in telescope altitude

Syntax

Telescope.MinAlt [= Integer]

The property syntax has these parts:

Part	Description
Value (`Integer`)	The minimum altitude allowed before tracking is stopped.

Telescope.EnableSafety (read-write, Boolean)

Boolean representing True or False

Syntax

Telescope.MinAlt [= Boolean]

The property syntax has these parts:

Part	Description
Value (`Boolean`)	True if mount safety enabled, False otherwise.

Set this property to True to enable mount safety.

Telescope.StopNearMeridian (read-write, Integer)

Integer representing + or - minutes before or after the Meridian

Syntax

Telescope.StopNearMeridian[= Integer]

The property syntax has these parts:

Part	Description
Value (`Integer`)	+ or - minutes for offset from the Meridian before tracking is stopped.

Special thanks to all the beta testers!!

Revision History

5.0.0 Changed to use the ASCOM v5 early bound interface
5.0.1 NewEnum Property has to have a Procedure ID of -4. In VB6 its in Tools->Procedure Attributes >>Advanced.
5.0.2 Added AbortSlew for Alt/Az slews
Fixed bug in UnPark that prevented unparking on reconnect
Added checking for slews in wrong direction after unpark in Let Connected
Unload main form in setup dialog if not connected
5.0.3 Added CanSetSideofPier = True
5.0.4 Added code to account for slew request to same position
5.0.5 Set mount safety to disabled by default
5.0.6 Reduced mount settle time after a slew command to 500ms (DoSlewAsync)
5.0.7 Added Parked = False to unpark
5.0.8 Major change to mount safety logic
5.0.9 Fixed bug causing Type mismatch in setup dialog load form
5.0.10 SetPark coords changed to 2 decimel points
5.0.11 Increased slew settle time to 2500ms
5.0.12 Added resume on error to handbox timer1
5.0.13 Reworked GuideRate 'Let' proprties
5.0.14 Fixed bug preventing closure when multi instances existed
5.0.15 Fixed auto unpark routine
5.0.16 Added checkbox to disable hbx
5.0.17 Refined pointing
5.0.18 Reworked pointing, position calc, and sync. removed current ra/dec from synctotarget
5.0.19 fixed bug in sync for nimus declinations
5.0.20 changed lunar rate
5.0.21 Added custom rates based on Thesky data with auto update intervals
5.0.22 refined the mount safety, dfisabled ha when slewing, added code to make driver fully init before checking these setting.
5.0.23 - 25 cosmetic changes
5.0.26 removed waitformillisedonds from timers to avoid issues with slowed Windows clock
5.0.27 increased precision of alt.az to 4 decimal points (SetPark)
5.0.28 fixed pulse guide for durations > 3 sec
5.0.29 fixed site latitude
5.0.30 fixed bug not allowing changed setting to work until unload then reload. Created ne instances of profile in 'connected'
5.0.31 disabled tracking = true in main form activate that caused ACP not to turn off on startup, removed msgboxes
5.0.32 rolled back to not use New ASCOM utilities
5.0.34 fixed issues with settings not sticky in multi forms (one public profile created)
5.0.35 - 37 Reworked pointing to fix T-Point model errors (?)

5.0.38 Fixed type mismatch bug when setting up for first time

5.0.39 Refined settings saving to work better with platform version 5.5

New Version for ASCOM Platform 5.5 or higher

5.5.0 Uses ASCOM Platform's V5.5 utilities serial helper and other new ASCOM utilities

5.5.1 - 5.5.3 - fixed bugs preventing saving com port 1 selection

5.5.4 - Updated GPS for NMEA 0183HS protocols

5.5.5 - Fixed a bug that called old MSCOMM instead of Utilities.Serial

5.5.6 - Fixed bug related to false GPS location and time reporting

5.5.7 - MoveAxis implimented

5.5.8 - Minor bug fixed in SlewToAltAz

5.5.9 - Fixed bug in installer that kept old driver from being unistalled