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NickK

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  1. NickK

    AOSX.. onwards!

    By NickK,

    AOSX has had a little bit of a backseat recently with ATIK and the wedding.. over the last few days I've been discussing and finalising some ideas with OzDave and I'm progressing nicely with the architectural changes we've been thinking about for a while.
    The focus of AOSX is the user, so we've been building in some heavy duty crash protection. This means now that each device in service has it's own process - a heavy approach but one that means if the driver "blue screens" or crashes then it will not affect any other part of AOSX or the client application. Most cameras that support reconnect could then conceivably reconnect and recover the sub in the camera. This may not be a problem with 30 second shots but 30 minute shots.. that's a different matter!
    This will be the last iteration before it appears for general consumption *hurrah*. Now that OSX 10.8 means additional Parallels costs to run PC-based solutions.. I have decided to go 100% OSX in my astronomy so I have no choice to get this working before my trip to Olly's place! (optimistic me!) OzDave is really looking forward to integrating EQMac to allow EQMac to support different mounts and Crag Stark is interested for PHD and Nebulosity.
    I may have some additional holiday left to take - if so as Sandrine doesn't.. I'll spend the time on driving this forward!
    Enough.. back to the grindstone!
  2. NickK
    V3 (latest), here in this post:
    So the next question is what next..

    So basically the app will get some additional features to exercise the cameras (and yes you'll be able to set up a sequence of shots).
    When will I add filter wheel support in the sequence?
    Well after the driver is running.. I'll be putting some focus back into AOSX itself with the driver becoming a camera module, the filter wheel will also be supported and anyone can then use it :)
    I've been talking to Craig Stark (of PHD and Nebulosity fame) who is interested and along with EQMac's OZDave (on this very forum) who has been participating in AOSX development.. it's looking good.
  6. NickK
    I upgraded to Mountain Lion (10.8) and it appears my Parallels 6 doesn't work. Looking for a patch to get it to work has resulted in an 11 page thread on the Parallels forum full of vitriol about being forced to pay $60+ on a parallels 7 for very little gain. Parallels blaming Apple however to develop a product like this requires lots of understanding and planning.. peeved/livid - yes I am.
    So in order to use ASCOM I now have to pay $64.. so 13.99 for ML costs more than you think...
  7. NickK
    I looked at 16GB originally when I first bought this MBP after the demise of my long serving previous MBP.. but decided that the update from 4GB to 8GB was better at that time than the ridiculous prices they charged for 16GB.. now with time 16GB is reasonable and so I took the plunge.
    Firstly everything is naturally quicker.. now HD limited on initial loading but after that everything is in memory making the machine pretty much instantaneous in normal use.. however this also means that compiling is exceptionally quick and processing large sets of images (stacking and the like) is lightning fast with the i7 running maxed out without waiting for the HD.
    So for ~£100 for 16GB (Crucial memory) for my early 2011 MBP this is a great move :D Most people would be fine with 4GB.. APers need a bit more ram and 8GB is a good size to help stacking etc.. 16GB still offers good additional gains in performance.
  8. NickK
    So the app has nice scrolly shifts to the windows but it has occurred to me that those that don't use a trackpad/laptop will be limited in the gestures which means buttons to navigate..
    A restructure later.. and the app code is looking nicer. When i have the chance to get the camera and laptop in the same room we may see a video of it's first image capture..
  9. NickK
    So, with the wedding done and dusted.. I've started to get the itch to crack on with the ATIK stuff again. With it being mid-summer.. it's a good time to get the camera work out the way ready for the coming 2013 galaxy season :D Sandrine has booked me a trip to Olly's so there's also another, further driver to have some things working!
    To recap I have a basic driver working for the Titan and 3-series, with the 4000/11000 waiting until a later release. I have an application with the basic connect/disconnect working. So next up is to continue with the app to systematically nail each camera feature on the application. I have made the luxury purchase of a mini-display port monitor adaptor.. so I can now sit at a desk rather than huddled over the laptop. I may also expand the laptop to 16GB from the 8GB as the ideas I've been playing (which will follow on from this driver/AOSX) require a little more oomph but enough of that and back to the application!
    Nick
  12. NickK

    Test app anyone?

    By NickK,

    So what's next :D
    I'm going to create a little test application to support a sub-set of the cameras for people to test and give feedback on (not an image capture app!).
    Just need to sweet talk Sandrine into giving me a an evening or two..
  13. NickK
    So I've spent a few days on the ATIK support over the wet & cloudy weekend after a little break (including SGL7)..
    The productive points:
    * EFW2 support should be simple - I'm happy with the research on that part.
    * The final refactoring/restructuring of the ATIK driver library is in full swing - after which a large portion of testing!
  14. NickK
    I took an image directly using the Mac last night with the 383 (the PC was still performing guiding using the 16IC and controlling the mount as it was the end of a late session).
    This is a raw image with all the dead pixels, the refractor aberrations and no processing..
    Here's a link to the raw 17.1MB 16 bit TIFF of the Bear Paw Galaxy
    You may want to do some curves to pull out the target(s).
  17. NickK

    Let the countdown begin!

    By NickK,

    Well it's friday and the last day before a week of carry-over holiday that I need to take. With Sandrine at work this gives me the opportunity to push ahead with the ATIK support :hello2: (stop here if you're feeling over-geeked)
    So on my checklist this week I have, in priority order:
    * Finish the 383L support, this includes resolving the slow transfer rate (I know how to resolve this but I've not had time to resolve it).
    * AOSX module using the above code - this is a relatively straightforward step.
    * Finish the Titan support.
    * AOSX module using the above - again this ging to be relatively straightforward.
    So I'll be blogging away on the coffee breaks!
  18. NickK
    As Sandrine is away doing female wedding things (dresses).. it's left me a free weekend to sit down and push forward the project.
    There's still a way to go, mainly down to differences between windows, OSX and Linux that will need additional work but the core goal of today has been achieved - namely getting a first downloaded image from the 383 onto the mac.
    So the event may be impressive, the image isn't (lol) as it's a saturated white from the pentax on a sunny day pointing at the garden ground! I may upload one later if the cloud clears :D
    (the previous tentative image had the shutter closed)
    Now on with the project!
  19. NickK
    Big difference in speed between the 16IC and the Titan! (the 16IC is USB 1.1, the Titan is USB 2.0 High Speed)
    I've had a 5 minute play.. I've got a tweak or two and I should be able to get the images off it. :evil6:
    Can't wait to point this at M42!
  21. NickK
    Last night I managed to trip up and take out the USB cable and the centre plastic pin inside the USB socket.. so I'll be arranging a repair trip for the 383L. Perfect conditions but ho-hum!
    The additional downside is that the 383L support will have to wait for it to be fixed but it does mean I can continue with the 16IC :D
    I've also just found out that there's an open source project that allows connection for my little Garmin Geko 301, a RS232 serial connection... GPS support :D But 16IC first!
  22. NickK

    Tentative Image transfer!

    By NickK,

    In between returning from kickboxing and getting to bed I managed to spend an hour working on this.
    I've now got the first 17MB image transferred.
    I've still got additional work todo but it's a milestone in the project. :glasses1:
  23. NickK
    Many thanks to Sandrine putting up with my obsessive behaviour this weekend!
    For the first time, the ATIK 383L+ initialised itself with the characteristic click-click.
    The plan was to get the image downloaded for something to show.. however some stupid unwritten behaviour of Apple's USB implementation meant banging my head against the wall for two days straight trying to figure it out - that's sorted! :glasses1:
    So the camera initialises, chats and will initiate a download of the image.. the remaining work I have is just a bit of thread queue intercommunications debugging for the final download.. annoying because I had planned to have that done this weekend!
    I expect work to be hard this week and I think I will need to pay someone some attention.. so perhaps completed next weekend!
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