21
ASCOM
ASCOM Driver Installation for the PMC-Eight
™
System
Although Explore Scientific has developed its own app — ExploreStars — to operate the PMC-Eight,
we recognize that the astronomy community is a diverse one. That is why we also offer the PMC-Eight
ASCOM driver so users may employ the ASCOM-powered planetarium software of their choosing to
run the PMC-Eight either wirelessly or through a wired connection.
With this driver, the PMC-Eight is compatible with a wide range of guidance software programs built
around the industry standard ASCOM interface – including the American Astronomical Society’s
WorldWide Telescope. This massive virtual observatory is an outstanding free resource used by
professional and amateur astronomers, and planetarium directors alike, because of the high-quality
data and real images obtained by some of the world’s most advanced telescopes. These images are
the same that professionals use in their research. While the program allows PC control of the PMC-
Eight with our ASCOM driver, it also has tools to create amazing multimedia full-motion tours with
audio and visualizations that have allowed professional astronomers to further their research.
Originally developed by Microscoft Research, WWT is hosted by the American Astronomical Society
(AAS). The program and data were developed with a philosophy of continual improvement. Explore
Scientific and the AAS teamed up in 2016 to launch the WWT Prize Competition for best new tours
with First Place Winner Beau Hartweg for his tour ‘Eclipse: Countdown to Totality’.
WWT is one of the ultimate planetarium and telescope control platforms available today. This feature
rich application is used by millions of amateur and professional astronomers and planetarium
educators around the world, and is available from the AAS for free. Visit
worldwidetelescope.org
Some of the other popular ASCOM software packages available for use with the PMC-Eight are:
ACP; APT; AST / ATC & Ricerca (Omega Lab); AstroArt; AstroMB; Cartes du Ciel / Sky Chart; CCD
AutoPilot; DeepSky; Deepsky Planner; DFM Engineering; Earth Centered Universe Pro; EasySky; Eye
and Telescope; Project Pluto; Hallo Northern Sky; Maxim DL; MaxPoint; PinPoint Astrometric; Prism;
Sequence Generator Pro; Sidereal Technology; The Sky; SkyMap Software; SkyTools 3; Star Atlas
PRO; Sky Observer; StarryNight; Stellarium; and Virtual Moon Atlas.
NOTE:
These packages are copyright each of their respective copyright owners. Search the Internet to
find the installation setup programs for these applications and programs.
This manual will guide you through installing the ASCOM driver, which can be found at
www.explorescientific.com/pmc-eight/
Installing The ASCOM Driver
To install the ASCOM driver for the PMC-Eight, please follow this procedure:
1. Go to the ASCOM standards website
(www.ASCOM-Standards.org)
and download the latest ASCOM
platform using the download link provided at the upper right hand corner of the page.
2. Run the platform setup program, and follow the instructions in the program.
3. After the completion of the platform installation, locate the icon on your desktop or in your
programs list for the ASCOM Diagnostics and start the program.
NOTE:
The following step will run for a few minutes and test all the platform drivers and
programs to ensure the proper operation of the platform.
4. Press the Run Diagnostics button to verify that the platform has been installed correctly.
5. On completion of the test, verify that there are zero fails.
NOTE:
Steps 6, 7, and 8 direct you to use the ASCOM-Standards.org website to get to the Explore
Scientific PMC-Eight ASCOM Driver download. You can also download the Explore Scientific PMC-
Eight ASCOM Driver by going directly to the webpage at:
http://explorescientific.com/pmc-eight.
