Apogee Filter Wheel

[SteveP]

Hello

I am returning to AP after a 5 year gap and it feels like I'm beginning afresh. So much has changed. I am thinking about using Prism as a means of integrating all of my AP processes under one umbrella and then being able to extend this to my new observatory which I expect to construct in spring of 2020. In the past I've used a combination of The Sky, Maxim and PS.

My current equipment comprises a Gemini driven MI250 mount; an FLI Atlas focuser; a SX H36 mono camera; a SX Lodestar guide camera and an Apogee AFW50 9R filter wheel all attached to either an FSQ106 or a TOA130. I am currently checking the equipment against the current Ascom standards in readiness of taking advantage of Prism's trial period once the dark evenings start again. The mount appears OK as do the imaging camera and the guide camera. But I appear to have hit a snag with the Apogee filter wheel. Following the takeover of Apogee which I've only just learned about, the FW has recently become an obsolete model! I have sent an email to Andor asking for a copy of the latest AFW50 drivers (I don't have a copy of these on my current Windows 10 laptops) but have yet to receive a reply.

My question is can Prism control my Apogee AFW50 filter wheel in the absence of the appropriate Windows 10 compatible drivers being supplied by Andor? I really hope the answer is a positive one!

Regards

Steve

[rottielover]

Hi Steve,

I cannot say for certain, but what I can tell you is that I went into hardware setup in Prism and under filter wheels you can select the following:

None, ASCOM, CFW10 SBIG, FLI, or APOGEE

Under APOGEE they list these: 50_9R , 50_7S , 30_7R , 50_5R , 25_4R

So I cannot tell you for any certainty it will work or not, but those are the models it might be able to directly control without an ASCOM driver.

Hope this helps you out.,

[SteveP]

Thanks for checking the hardware set-up in Prism. That looks quite positive with the complete range of Apogee filter wheels including the now obsolete models being being available to select.

When you get a moment, would you mind doing the same check in the hardware list for me for the FLI Atlas focuser? I might have an issue with it in that FLI's Ascom driver which I've just downloaded is 32-Bit (despite it being described as 64-Bit) and therefore won't work with the 64-Bit Ascom platform. I'm awaiting a response from FLI on this issue. But it would make things much simpler if there were a native driver within Prism for the Atlas.

Thanks again

[rottielover]

Focuser's only have 3 options, None, DLL Plugin, or ASCOM

So if you don't have a direct DLL you'll need an ASCOM driver for it.

[SteveP]

Hi Rottie

Thanks for checking the hardware list for me. It's much appreciated.

I'm still waiting for a response from FLI on how to download a 64 Bit version of their Ascom driver from their site. Until that happens, it looks as though I'm limbo for the time being with a 32 Bit version of the FLI driver unable to connect to the 64 Bit Acom platform. I don't know whether Prism can cope with a mixture of 32 Bit and 64 Bit drivers.

I may need to contact Hamza about this or possibly download a trial version of Prism and give it a go.

Thanks for your help again.