RTS2 - Remote Telescope System / News: Recent posts

Version 0.8.0 is running on multiple observatories (Watcher, B2, D50) and proves to be quite stable. It offers a lot of new features:

- ability to add events on systems state changes
- simple way how to add solar system bodies (former minor planets) from MPC 1-line ephemeris
- removal of priorities, which fixed a lot of errors connected to them
- queue scheduling of observations

In preparation for CAHA 1.23m GRB observations, code undertook huge redesign. This will allow better addition of new services and devices in future releases. Also it is now possible to code devices independently from main source tree.

INDI support for telescope operation is provided right after you compile RTS2. Please find instructions on http://rts2.org/doc.html and follow them.

pyRTS2, which can be obtained from SVN, reached level when it is able to set values - so it is able to replace rts2-mon. It does not yet offer drop-down lists for selection variables and some other support, but basic functions for values editing are presents.

rts2-scriptor is a component designed to run observatory where rts2-executor machinery is not needed. It is currently used on few all-sky CCD systems.

Right at the day when AGILE packets become available from GCN, their support was added to RTS2. Please run svn up to gain ability to receive and react to SuperAGILE GRBs.

It is now possible to set RTS2 variable by XML-RPC call. Either use some custom XML-RPC library and call rts2.values.set with device, var and value filled in (look to src/xmlrpc/xmlrpcclient.cpp for an example) or use rts2-xmlrpcclient with -s option (see rts2-xmlrpcclient for small help).

rts2-image can create softlink, when you specify -l option. This is part of the work to redesign data storage and make it more usable.

There is now application to set manage users which gets triggers. See rts2-user -h or man rts2-user for details.

Redesigned corrections interface, which enables users to monitor progress of autoguiding using plate solving, works flawlessly for few nights now and they are reasonable hopes it will continue to work without significant problems.

RTS2 development was switched to SVN repository at SourceForge today (2008-03-08). From now on, all commits will take place on SF SVN repository.