As the sole developer behind Collimation Circles, I’m always looking for ways to make the application more reliable, easier to maintain, and accessible to as many astrophotographers as possible. Today, I’m excited to share a major architectural update that transforms how the app handles camera connections—making it significantly simpler under the hood and far more flexible in practice.
Going All-In on ASCOM Alpaca for Universal Camera Support
Until now, supporting various camera models meant maintaining separate drivers and native SDKs. In this latest release, I have completely refactored camera integration: video feeds are now retrieved exclusively via the ASCOM Alpaca interface.
By adopting the open ASCOM Alpaca standard, Collimation Circles now seamlessly bridges to both major astronomical device ecosystems:
- INDI Servers (on Linux, Raspberry Pi OS, and macOS)
- ASCOM Servers (on Windows)
What does this mean for your setup? Virtually every astronomy camera on the market that connects to INDI or ASCOM is now fully supported—without requiring dedicated vendor drivers inside the app!
What I’m Building Next: Mount & Focuser Control
Simplifying the camera pipeline frees up space for exciting new functionality currently in the pipeline:
- Telescope Mount Control: Direct slewing and positioning controls built right into the interface.
- Manual Electronic Focuser Control: Fine-step focus adjustments for electronic focusers (such as EAFs).
Why this matters: Accurate optical diagnosis often requires analyzing a defocused star. With integrated mount movement and focus adjustment, you will soon be able to center a star, defocus it to reveal the diffraction rings, and apply graphical overlay guides—all from a single, unified workspace.
Try the New Version Today!
The latest release is now available on GitHub. Because I develop and test this software independently, your real-world feedback across different operating systems and equipment combinations is immensely valuable.
Download the update, connect your ASCOM Alpaca or INDI camera stream, and let me know how it works for your telescope!
Clear skies and happy collimating!
Add comment
Comments