I have had a bevy of challenges getting TSX, 3rd party scope management programs and a Diffraction Limited MaxDome II controlled Sirius Labs dome to always align and respond to scope movements. My Scopes are mounted on a SkySensor2000-PC controlled Vixen Atlux mount placed on a solid pier that is off set both South and East from the Dome's centre. I went through about 16 driver and control program set up configurations (due to a driver bugs in TSX's scope and dome software) to get everything working!
I just found a complex patch-work around that gives me pretty much all I need - all over sky pointing, dome moves initiated the same moment the scope moves, dome moves when software other than TSX or the hand controller moves the mount.
So I will share my solution for others that encounter this issue:
- In TSX select as the mount a Meade LX200 (presume this is a X2 driver). Add the Meade tab and select GE mount (this mount alone seems to recognise which side of the pier the GE mount is on)!
- Select ASCOM P.O.T.H as the dome hub. Within POTH select Maxim MaxDome II mount and enter all geometry and slaving sessions and slew and track scope parameters.
- Connect scope and mount to devices. This give all sky pointing and TSX issued dome slews sync'ed to mount moves. However it misses dome slews as the hand controller moves the mount. So my workaround:
- Launch Maxim DL. For scope select TSX controlled scope and for Dome select POTH. Connect both scope and dome in MaximDL.
- In the Maxim DL Observatory - under the Dome tab select Slave Dome to scope (this picks up all hand controller - or third party astronomy software movements of the mount).
That is it. MaximDL Observatory tab now does what The SkyX was meant to do with its drivers - it monitors and scope and dome alignment and if the hand controller move the scope - the dome respond within a second or two at most.
My only issue right now is if the mount is pointed due North. With either TSX or POTH controlling the dome - the dome thinks the mount is on the wrong side of the pier. This isn't a problem with TSX - this is the drivers, and it only happens when the dome is within a degree of due north with the scope around 30 - 50 degrees elevation. In these cases for my set up the scope has the weights bar 5 degrees above the scope - so the meridan flip hasn't switched in but possibly the drivers think it has or should have.
Many thanks all - if / when Software Bisque get the Meade LX200 driver and to send external to TSX movement updates to the dome driver - I would be happy to test this and remove POTH and MaximDL from the software set up. As is - in a passive Big Brother mode - it can fix this bug at the moment!
