NINA/ASCOM: Connect your ZWO AM5 Wirelessly

August 31, 2022

Tonight's test with the ZWO AM5 mount: run a virtual USB server from a Raspberry Pi and connect wirelessly to the AM5 from my Windows machine running NINA/ASCOM. The VirtualHere server is running on the Raspberry Pi, with the ZWO AM5 mount connected via USB The VirtualHere Client, running on my Windows astro controller, creates a standard COM port for the connected device (AM5). The ZWO AM5 ASCOM driver connects normally, and everything functions as if the AM5 is plugged directly into the Windows computer.

See my older post on this--connecting the Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro: Connecting your astro devices without cables

I'm using a VirtualHere server  (https://www.virtualhere.com)

Don at Novaspirit Tech has a great video, walking through the complete setup on the Pi, using Linux on both ends, but it works basically the same with Windows on the client side. (https://youtu.be/I5zA1lU5Tw0). VirtualHere has servers for just about every OS and hardware combination imaginable, and clients for MacOS, Linux, and Windows. Whatever you're running, it's probably supported. 

UPDATE: I ran an entire night with this setup and ran into an issue about midway through. The virtual USB port inexplicably closed at about the five-hour mark. I have a licensed version installed, so I don't think this is a trial version limitation. I haven't updated the client or server side since I used this setup with the EQ6R-Pro. I reconnected, and everything ran fine after that, but the last thing any of us wants to introduce into the system is unpredictability, so I will have to dig into the cause before trying again.