Program Update Information on ASCOM driver instructions for Wireless Unit

This is a driver for controlling the Wireless Unit with ASCOM-compatible software. Installing this program on your PC enables you to control the Wireless Unit with ASCOM-compatible software.

About this update
Update Procedure
Update History

About this update

Ver. 1.1.0.0 (2024/7/11)

・Added support for switching the Tracking property.
・Correction on the issue where the SideOfPier property and DestinationSideOfPier property report incorrect values when the observation location is in the Southern Hemisphere.
・Correction on the issue with the observation location information on the “Vixen Wireless Unit Driver Setup” screen.

※ Please update the “STAR BOOK Wireless” app and Wireless Unit firmware to the latest version.

Update Procedure

Before starting update:

ASCOM platform, an intermediary software provided by ASCOM Standard for Astronomy (external website) and commercially available various astronomical software compatible with ASCOM are used.
This section describes a procedure to install necessary drivers on PC. For details how to use ASCOM compatible software, please refer to the instructions supplied by the software.

Requirements:

Wireless Unit and equatorial mount compatible with the Wireless Unit
Power supply to operate the Wireless Unit
Windows PC used to control the Wireless Unit
ASCOM driver for the Wireless Unit (Driver software provided on this webpage for download)
ASCOM platform (Free downloadable intermediary software provided by external website 「ASCOM Standard for Astronomy」
ASCOM compatible software (commercially available)

Necessary PC operating environment:: Microsoft Windows 10 or Windows 11; Web Browser: under environment of respective operating system recommended by Microsoft; CPU: under environment of respective operating system recommended by Microsoft; RAM: under environment of respective operating system recommended by Microsoft; Wi-Fi connecting function (2.4GHz)

※ Depending on the OS used, necessary information may not be displayed properly. It is recommended to update your OS to the latest version using Windows Update. ※ Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the US and other countries. Pentium is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation. All products and company names mentioned in the instructions are trademarks or registered trademarks of the companies.

Download procedure:

In order to operate with ASCOM compatible software, the program version of the Wireless Unit must be updated to the latest version.
The firmware version can be displayed in the setting menu “Firmware Update” of the app STAR BOOK Wireless after turning on the power of the compatible equatorial mount while the Wireless Unit is connected.

To install the ASCOM driver for the Wireless Unit, the ASCOM platform must be installed on your PC. The download driver cannot be installed alone.
Please download and install the ASCOM Platform from the external website below.

ASCOM Platform 6.6SP2

Click [Download] from the「ASCOM Platform 6.6SP2」 on the right side of the top page to download the ASCOM platform. ※The ASCOM Platform 6.6SP2 is the latest version as of August 2023.
Run the downloaded “ASCOMPlatform●●.●●●●.exe”.

Please download the ASCOM driver for the Wireless Unit from below.

Download Driver

Run the downloaded ASCOM Driver for the Wireless Unit.
Insert a checkmark in the 「I accept the agreement」 and click the 【Next>】

Click [Install] to start installation.

Installation completed!
Various ASCOM compatible software will be installed here. If it is already installed, proceed to the next step. Please check the instruction manual supplied with the software for installation instructions.

Connect the PC and the Wireless Unit wirelessly and turn on the power of all the equipment to be used. Operation starts with ASCOM compatible software. For details how to use the equatorial mount and operation procedures of the software, refer to the supplied instruction manual.

If a firmware update is required, the [UPDATE] button will be enabled when [CONNECT] is complete.
Click the [UPDATE] button to start the firmware update.

If you experience any problems, please report us the problem using the 2D barcode displayed in the setup dialog of the ASCOM driver.
Your report will be used for improving the future development of the ASCOM driver.

Update History:

If you perform the latest update, all the events will be improved.

Update Start Date	Update Contents
Ver.1.0.0.1 (June 28, 2024)	Added a process to automatically reconnect if WiFi communication is unstable.