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Electronic Network

The computer runs with Windows 7. It is a Pentium Sony Vaio Laptop linked to 12x USB 2.0 ports, 3x serial converters and a Firewire port and connected to the autoguiding relaybox. The liquid flatfield screen is heated from the back, by a guided warm airflow from the electric heating unit underneath. It prevents the freezing of screen at very cold nights...

The installed softwares under Windows 7 are linked via Ascom 5.2 and the 'TheSkyTelescope driver'

MaximDl 5.03
TheSky6.0.0.64
CCDStack 1.7
CCDInspector 2.2.1
CCDAutopilot 4
Focusmax 3.4.30
The Mount Ascom driver SkySensor2000 by Vixen works with the Boxdörfer Dynostar and Alt-AD7 mount out of TheSky6

The PC is located above a heating cable (1.2m long 25 Watt). At cold winter nights, the electronic inside of the computer housing is automatically heated by the terrarien temperatur control unit, starting below plus 5 degrees celsius. It works perfectly down to minus 8 degrees celsius.


The heating cable is placed in wooden, carved rills...


Screen shots of the dual screen installation... MaximDL readouts and TheSky6 per one click on the left site and the CCDAutopilot, all controller screens for focusing, guiding and exposing on the right site.


All equipment is triggered from this platform or from the MaximDL5 respectively. From left to right:

o The Mount control unit Dynostar from Boxdörfer
o The SmartFocus Digicontroller-handbox of NGF-DX-1 focuser/ primary focuser cassegrain f3
o The selfmade handbox of the secondary focuser cassegrain f9
o The FeatherTouch Digicontroller handbox/ ED100
o The Seletek Controller, independently controlling the two ATIK filterwheels in the projectionsetup, is located under the green small board.

A board is fixed at the wall equipped with several USB-Hubs and USB-seriall convertes. Most of the equipment need serial ports such as, the GerdNeumann-filterwheel/SBIG or the Smartfocuser. The Gerd Neumann filterwheel in the SBIG setup is controlled by a handbox and as well like the ATIK wheels by the software MaximDL5. The three focusers, of the ED100 solarscope (feathertouch), the ED100 autoguider/sunscope and the Keller/ASA Cassegrain (Smartfocus/NGF-DX-1) are controlled from MaximDL5 and by their handbox Controllers.
The waterflow-indicator and the temperaturesensor of the SBIG cooling system are visible at the right site/wall.


The temperature of the H-alpha-Filter SO-1 is very precisely controlled by a digital unit of Solar Spectrum.


The schematic network map of the observatory. The Himmelwarte is additionally connected via a fix line to the internet. The whole equipment is linked on the basis of various softwares such as MaximDL, TheSky6, Ascom drivers and the Maxpoint Software functioning as a software Hub. The Maxpoint and Dynostar Controller (Boxdörfer) works with the ASCOM/Windows7 driver of the VIXEN Mount!!! The Maxpoint Hub enables the correction of possible mechanical flexures in the equipment during the guiding over wide angles over the sky.