Lunático Astronomia’s new Lunático Last Line of Defense Observatory (LLLOD) software is designed to be there, hidden, in your observatory computer, waiting to take action if anything goes wrong.
In a nutshell, it will monitor certain elements, periodically, and take control of and close the observatory if the circumstances become unsafe. The software is distributed in a way Lunático Astronomia is calling Up To You Ware (see Jaime Alemany, owner of Lunático Astronomia, comments below).
Last Line of Defense Observatory does not need any additional Lunático product to run – although it is designed to work well with the company’s Good Night System which offers a comprehensive system of monitors which constantly scan observatory systems for problems. LLLOD can monitor the observatory roof (via ASCOM); Internet connectivity; automation software; weather (via ASCOM Safety Monitor) and more.
As Jaime Alemany, owner of Lunático Astronomia, comments, “You may ask, if you have your great automation program, with session control and weather monitoring, and recovery, emergency – well, if that works for you, great – indeed you probably don’t need LLLOD. On the other hand, I have tried most of the automation programs out there; most are great, quite reliable, and excellent value for money. However, with all I’ve tried (and that’s 5 of them), at some point, things have not ended as well as they should have. The thing is, those programs are extremely complex, they control many, many things and situations. LLLOD, on the other hand, is extremely simple, just does a simple job, but does it solidly. Period.”
As to pricing the Last Line of Defense Observatory software he notes, “We want you to use the program. You can keep it forever. If however, you use and find it useful, you should pay for it, and we hope you’ll be inclined to so. It’s a little smart program contributing to protecting your precious equipment. Maybe you’ll consider sending us as little as $1/1€ each time the program saves the day… er night? Or a one-time payment somewhat higher? Or nothing at all. That’s what we call it Up to you ware.”
You can learn more on this and other Lunático Astronomia products here.
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