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XmTel
=====

Copyright 2010 John Kielkopf
Email: kielkopf@louisville.edu
Last update: October 14, 2010

Distributed under the terms of the General Public License (GPL, see LICENSE).

XmTel is a telescope control interface designed to to communicate with a
telescope server, and Elwood Downey's XEphem, through the INDI protocol.
It will also operate as a free-standing program for control of telescopes
that use the NexStar, Paramount, and LX200 command sets, telescope
drive systems built using Galil's industrial motion controller, and RC Optical's
Professional series fork mount with electronics from Telescope Control Systems.

XmTel utilizes the "Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface" (INDI),
Copyright Elwood Charles Downey. General Public Licensed software for this
interface is included in this package.

XmTel provides three user interfaces and an INDI server:

* xmtel1 - communicates directly with the mount
* xmtel - communicates with the indiserver which then talks to the mount
* command line scripts -- talk to the indiserver

The mount software is specific to different designs and must be selected when
XmTel is compiled. You may build different versions if you want to run
different mounts with this software. We offer protocols to run

* NexStar mounts from Celestron
* LX200 series mounts from Meade or other vendors
* Galil Motion Control servo motor system for research applications
* RC Optical Telescope Control System (on request)
* Software Bisque Paramount (requires a library available on request)
* Planewave Instruments 200HR and CDK700 (under development)


NexStar
-------

The standard "HC" interface uses serial communications through the hand
controller. It requires manual startup and is not suitable for robotic
operation, but is very reliable for remote control once the telescope has
gone through its starting routine.

The powerful "AUX" interface also uses serial communications through the
hand controller, but it bypasses the hand control processor except as a
communication handler. AUX utilitizes the motor controllers on the axes of the
telescope, and it does run in a fully robotic mode. However, the version
included here is set up to run a specific gear ratio for a prototype of the
Celestron Pro CGE. We will probably be able to supply parameters for the
current CGE Pro, the older CGE, and models of the fork mounts when time and
availability for testing permits. Please ask if you have a specfic need.

We will not support the "PC" interface connector on some NexStar mounts. It uses
the "AUX" code, but in tests on the mounts available to us, this connector was
subject to electronic interference and not suitable for unattended operation.


LX200
-----

Most telescopes from Meade or other manufacturers with an LX200 serial interface
will respond to the protocol provided here, since it uses only a fundamental
core set of commands. We no longer have access to a Meade telescope for
development. The command set used here was developed and tested on a
Meade 16-inch LX200.


Galil
-----

Galil Motion Controls DMC-4020 servo controller is a very versatile industrial
controller that should operate motors and accessories on telescopes up to the
1 meter class. Code provided here runs an equatorial mount using these
controllers, and it could be adapted to run a triaxial mount (alt-az and
image rotation). See the notes in the Galil controller directory.


RC Optical
----------

We have an RC Optical Systems "Professional" 0.6-meter with a drive system from
Telescope Control Systems. During development, they kindly worked with us to
integrate their control software into XmTel. The protocols that enable this are
available on request. However, the driver technology and implementation in
their controller is proprietary and would only be available from them with their
mounting. We note only that the combination of the RC Optical control and XmTel
is a professional research class system suitable for a large telescope. Contact
us for more information.


Paramount
---------

Software Bisque does not release a public library for the Paramount. However the
RTS2 project may provide a library on request that enables some of the Paramount's
functions in Linux. See the "bisque" directory for more information. We provide
a driver that requires the RTS2 library.


Planewave Instruments
---------------------

Planewave Instruments manufactures corrected Dall Kirkham telescopes and a large
precision German equatorial mount. We have their telescopes in use at our
observatories in Kentucky and Australia, and are supporting their functions
fully in XmTel with software that will be under development in 2010-2011.










VERY IMPORTANT NOTICES
----------------------

While this software is useful for us in operating our telescopes, it is supplied
without warranty of any kind. Our intention is to offer a framework and
examples that may be tailored to your own applications. Please test the
provided routines with caution and use them at your own risk.

In alt-az operation the mounting may acquire a target with an expected sense of
rotation leading to undesirable cord wrap. Allow slack in cabling, and watch
for the possibility that cables may be under stress.

For German equatorials (e.g. the Celestron CGE) it is possible that a request
to slew may generate a flip of the telescope from one side of the pier to
the other. Be aware of this possibility, and watch for cable wrap.

With the NexStar controller you should set slew limits in the hand controller if
this feature is available. Slew limits are not a guarantee, and also have
no utility in the "AUX" version of the driver provided here. The addition of
mechanically actuated cutoff switches is recommended if this software is to be
used on a telescope remote from the operator.


Credits
-------

Many thanks to Elwood Downey for maintaining XEphem, a program of
extraordinary quality, and for his help to make the XmTel
controller responsive to XEphem and INDI.

Carlos Guirao, Ken Shouse, and Peter McCoullough contributed to the routines
that implement the Meade LX200 command set.

Andre Paquette provided documentation and assistance with the auxiliary command
set for NexStar, Danyal Medley kindly answered technical questions, and
Joe Haberman offered insights into the many features of the Celestron
control system.

Rhodes Hart and Ian Waite of Mt. Kent Observatory at the University of Southern
Queensland have patiently have helped with debugging the software for use with
the NexStar command set.

Dan Azari's programming skills made an interface to RC Optical Systems
Professional Series mounting possible.

Galil Motion Controls provided the library that is necessary to use their
controllers for telescope operations.

Planewave Instruments provided the documentation and supporting information
to interface their HR200 and CDK700 telescopes to our software.

Daniel Bisque of Software Bisque suggested a useful solution to running their
Paramount under Linux by using The Sky's Orchestrate "watched folder". We have
implemented that under VMWare and include the driver for that here.

Petr Kubanek provides the RTS2 module for communication with Software Bisque's
Paramount ME in Linux.


References
----------

"Motif Programming: The Essentials and More", Marshall Brain, (Digital Press,
Burlington, MA, 1992). The book was also re-released by HP Technologies
and may still be available in paper. ISBN 1-55558-089-0.

"Motif Programming Manual", Dan Heller and Paula M. Ferguson, (O'Reilly and
Associates, 1994). This volume (6A of the series) and its companion (6B) are
also available on-line at http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/motif/.

"Astronomical Algorithms", Jean Meeus, (Willman-Bell, Richmond, VA, 1991).
Indispensable!