OATHeadless

A web-based interface for controlling OpenAstroTech (OAT) telescope mounts without requiring a laptop in the field.

Overview

OATHeadless provides a modern web interface for OAT telescope mount control, featuring a Flask backend with an Angular frontend. The system connects to telescope mounts via serial communication and integrates with INDI server for PHD2 compatibility.

Architecture

• Backend: Flask REST API server with mount control via serial communication
• Frontend: Angular web application with Material Design components
• Mount Communication: OAT Meade command protocol implementation
• INDI Integration: Support for INDI server connection and PHD2 compatibility

Features

Mount Control

• Status Monitoring: Real-time position (RA/DEC), tracking rate, and slewing status
• Homing Operations: Individual axis homing (RA/DEC) and full mount homing using Hall sensors
• Date/Time Setting: Sync mount time with device or manual entry
• Location Setting: GPS-based or manual coordinate entry with automatic format conversion
• Firmware Information: Retrieve and display mount firmware version

User Interface

• Material Design: Modern, responsive Angular interface with Material components
• Message Console: Real-time logging of all operations with timestamps and status indicators
• Settings Management: Tabbed interface for location, time, and device configuration
• One-Click Setup: Automatic location and time configuration from browser

Technical Features

• Serial Communication: Robust mount communication with error handling and logging
• REST API: Complete RESTful interface for all mount operations
• Unit Testing: Comprehensive test coverage for all backend routes
• Error Handling: Detailed error reporting and user feedback

API Endpoints

Mount Status

• GET /mount/status - Comprehensive mount status
• GET /mount/position - Current RA/DEC coordinates
• GET /mount/tracking - Current tracking rate
• GET /mount/firmware - Firmware version

Mount Control

• POST /mount/datetime - Set mount date and time
• POST /mount/location - Set mount coordinates
• POST /mount/home - Home both axes
• POST /mount/home/ra - Home RA axis
• POST /mount/home/dec - Home DEC axis

Target Management

• GET /mount/target - Get current target coordinates
• POST /mount/target - Set target coordinates
• Messier Catalog - Complete catalog of 110 Messier objects with searchable dialog interface
  • Source: celestialprogramming.com/snippets/messier.json
  • Search by object name, type, or constellation
  • Automatic coordinate conversion from decimal to HMS/DMS format

INDI Integration

• GET /mount/indi/status - INDI server connection status
• POST /mount/indi/connection - Connect/disconnect INDI

Setup

Backend (Flask)

cd server
pip install -r requirements.txt
python app.py

Frontend (Angular)

cd client
npm install
npm start

Development

• Backend runs on http://localhost:5000
• Frontend runs on http://localhost:4200
• API endpoints available at /api/mount/*

Testing

Backend Tests

cd server
python -m pytest mount/test_*.py -v

Unit Test Coverage

• Mount route testing with mocked serial communication
• Error condition handling and validation
• INDI integration testing

Mount Communication

Uses OAT Meade command protocol:

• :GR# - Get RA coordinate
• :GD# - Get DEC coordinate
• :SC# - Set date
• :SL# - Set local time
• :St# - Set latitude
• :Sg# - Set longitude
• :GVN# - Get firmware version
• :hF# - Home both axes
• :MHRL# - Home RA axis
• :MHDU# - Home DEC axis

Contributing

This project serves as a practical implementation for OAT mount control and a development exercise with modern web technologies.

License

Open source project for the OpenAstroTech community.