Allow usage of 32-bit ASCOM devices

[Alex H]

While connecting to ASCOM devices, N.I.N.A. relies solely on 64-bit drivers, whereas many devices are still stuck in the 90’s and using 32-bit drivers. ASCOM has a 32-bit mode where such devices can be accessed after their drivers are installed. Happy if this legacy driver could be identified during the device setup within the tool, or if a toggle could be manually selected, to make use of 32-bit based devices.

[Stefan B]

Hi, I’m not sure which mode you are referring to, but you can already use the ASCOM device hub to connect to these old drivers

[Alex H]

The ASCOM device hub do not allow me to select a camera, for instance.

[Alex H]

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[Alex H]

If I open the ASCOM diagnostics in default 64-bit driver mode, I receive this error while trying to load my camera device. But in the 32-bit driver, the ASCOM communication with the camera works just fine. NINA do show the camera, so it is aware it exists on the system, but it attempts to load a 64-bit driver instead, failing because there is no such driver. Hope this clarifies the original post.

[Stefan B]

It’s not loading a 64-bit driver, but rather the environment is a 64-bit environment and then it can only load a 64-bit driver. The toolbox can launch in 64-bit or 32-bit mode. N.I.N.A. would have to launch completely in 32-bit mode, but this is deprecated due to the big limitation when doing so.

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[Stefan B]

If you need to connect to a 32bit driver camera you can try out the Optec Server which is similar to the device hub and includes a camera wrapper. https://optecinc.com/downloads/legacy/optecascomserver/