Dome Control -
LesveDome driver
Last update 2008 04 30
At beginning,
the LesveDome driver has been designed for HomeDome from Technical
Innovations,
in the mean time
it has been used on various dome brands : Ash, Exploradome, Sirius and
DIY.
The dome control
is based on a USB I/O controller, 2 relays, an Azimuth sensor and a
Home position switch.
USB I/O
interface is a main advantage of this solution as Serial and Parallel
ports are less and less available on new PCs.
Two optional
relays are also used to power on/off the Telescope and a SBIG camera.
It's also
possible to control the dome shutter with additional relays.
A discussion
group has been open on Yahoo, if interested, join : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lesvedome/
LesveDome driver
is available on my download
page
LesveDome
users
Since
2008
Wayne F. Hawai USA
Miguel P. Canary Island Spain
Graham B. Essex UK
Peter S. East Sussex UK - Home
made dome
Joe H. GA USA - Turtle Creek
Observatory - HomeDome HD10
Terry Pedroza. CA USA Antelope
Valley Observatory- Exploradome
Robert L. TX USA
Huub J. Netherlands - Sirius
Donald Golka. Alberta
Canada - Home made dome
Roger L. OH USA - HomeDome HD6
David M. New Zeeland - Home
made dome
Anne and Dany L. Belgium Home
made dome
Rodney Owens, NJ, USA RVO
Observatory - Exploradome http://www.freewebs.com/rodbo1967/
If your
observatory is already using Lesve Dome Automation design and not
listed above, let me know and I'll add it.
Block
diagram
USB
I/O controller
The USB
I/O controller is available as a low cost kit K8055 (39 Euros) or as
mounted module VM 110 (55 Euros) from Velleman (a Belgian company
www.velleman.be ) but the product is also available from various
resellers all over the world (see Velleman resellers at end of this
page).
Mounting this
module is easy is you have a good soldering iron, Velleman
documentation provides a step by step procedure to mount all the
elements. With the module you receive also a test software to verify
all the functions.
Specifications: http://www.velleman.be/ot/en/product/view/?id=351346
Two
digital outputs are used to
activate motor relays
- Clockwise/Counter
Clockwise direction relay.
The
position of the direction relay is also sensed with USB I/O, so if the
dome is rotated with manual switches (see electrical diagrams at end of
this page), the Ascom Lesve Dome driver will be aware of this dome move.
The list of used
input/output channels of the USB I/O controller is provided at end of
this page.
Azimuth sensor
from
Technical Innovations (http://www.homedome.com)
is based on wheel in contact with the Dome base.
As the wheel is
contact with the dome base, this wheel will rotate when the Dome is in
move
You could also
consider buying only the two Photo micro sensors from an electronic
retailer and making yourself the mechanic instead to buy and adapt the
Technical Innovation Azimuth sensor for your dome. Azimuth sensor is
just an arm with a spring supporting the azimuth wheel and the photo
sensor.
The two photo
sensors, shown with yellow lines are Omron EE-SX1042, Google provides a
lot of links for this component.
Specifications http://ecb.omron.com.sg/pdf/photomicrosensors/non-amplified/EE-SX1042.pdf
For Exploradome users a
specific design is also available.
A complete description of this Azimuth sensor is available in the Help
file (see below)
Human Interface
|
|
A complete
description of LesveDome
driver is provided in the following help file.
To avoid
problems opening the .chm file use the following procedure:
- right
click lesvedomedriver.chm link
(updated on 2008 04 30)
-
choose Save Target as ... (choose a convenient directory)
-
click Open folder
-
double click on lesvedomedriver.chm
-
uncheck "Always ask before opening this file"
-
click Open
This Help file
is also included in the installation file "LesveDome x x x
Setup.exe" (see download page)
Ascom Lesve Dome Driver,
installation program is available on my download
page
Velleman
resellers
http://www.oceancontrols.com.au/data_acquisition/usb_8055.htm
http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=K8055
http://www.apogeekits.com/usb_interface.htm
http://www.jaycar.com.au/
keyword search "usb kit"
http://www.jaycar.co.nz/ keyword
search "usb kit"
http://store.qkits.com/moreinfo.cfm/VM110
if you find other
interesting reseller links, let me know I'll add your inputs.