Guitastro Device to provide access to ASCOM camera controler drivers – README.md

README.md

Guitastro Device ASCOMCAM library

GUITAstro stands for General Use of Instruments and Telescopes in ASTROnomy.

GuitAstro is a Python module that provides classes and methods to write easily Python scripts for astronomical observations.

GIT repository: https://gitlab.irap.omp.eu/guitastrolib/guitastro.git

Guitastro device Ascomcam complete Guitastro to provide access to ASCOMCAM camera drivers:

GIT repository: https://gitlab.irap.omp.eu/guitastrolib/guitastro_device_ascomcam.git

Few basic examples of use

First example: To connect a Ascomcam controler and acquire an image:

import guitastro
import guitastro_device_ascomcam

dev = Device_Ascomcam("ASCOMCAM", name="Ascomcam")
dev.open(True)
dev.commandstring("camera SET exptime 0.1")
dev.commandstring("camera DO ACQ START")
while True:
    timer = dev.commandstring("camera GET timer")
    if timer == -1:
        break
    time.sleep(1)
ima = dev.component('camera').ima
ima.save("my_image.fit")

Guitastro functionalities

GuitAstro device Ascomcam wraps the driver functions dispatched into the classes:

  • Device_Ascomcam: Manage device Ascomcam drivers.

This class inheritate from the classes Component* of Guitastro. As a consequece, it is needed to install Guitastro before using Guitastro Ascomcam. Moreover, this class imports internally a Python wrapper to use the SDK ascomcam libraries provided by Finger Lakes Instruments. You need to compile the python wrapper wrapper_ascomcam:

$ cd guitastro_device_ascomcam/src/wrapper_ascomcam
$ python setup.py build_ext --inplace

A complete documentation can be generated from .rst files in the folder doc/doc_rst

Support and contact

The main author is alain.klotz@irap.omp.eu