Adding the camera

For adding devices like the camera select the Sett. / Conf. tab in the main menu and there select the devices tab. For the following explanation we would like to connect a camera, a filter and adding a link to the mount as well. The mount link is only used for reading the parameters of the mount driver of your setup (e.g. focal length, aperture).

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In core devices select Setup für Camera. A popup shows up. Please fill in the ip address of the INDI or ALPACA server, where your devices are connected to.

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If you are using INDI, you search for INDI camera devices by clicking on the search button. Once you finished searching by pressing OK button, a list of available devices will be populated. From the list choose the device and finish the setup with OK button.

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The selected camera will be highlighted green in the drop down menu and in the status as well. Once you configured the camera, the selection list will be stored for later use. If you want to disable the camera, please select device disabled in the menu.

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MountWizzard4 will now try to connect to the device and show green light whenever a connection is established.

Do the steps 1 - 5 for all devices you need to configure. All configuration are save when leaving MountWizzard4 with Save/Quit button or just when saving the profile. You can add or change any config later on at any time.

Using N.I.N.A. as device

In addition to the standard frameworks to interface to devices, MountWizzard4 could use Nighttime Imaging (N.I.N.A.) as a driver for devices attached to them.

Note

MountWizzard4 uses all necessary data from the FITS of the images taken by the external apps. Please make sure, that the FITS header contains this information, especially the focal length, the pixel size. Otherwise plate solving will fail. As both applications do not transfer their images to MountWizzard4, you have to ensure that the FITS files are stored on your local disk and MountWizzard4 has access.

Basically MountWizzard4 interface N.I.N.A. through it’s alpaca plugin and let them control the devices. This means, that you have to install the Alpaca plugin for N.I.N.A. and enable it, but you could also use other devices than cameras, e.g. filter wheel, focuser, dome, etc. as well.

Preparation for using NINA 3.x as ALPACA device

N.I.N.A. 3.x realizes this feature in a separate plugin. The plugin is called Alpaca:

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Please install this plugin first and enable it.