PulsarFab regain 0.4.0.0

PulsarFab regain 0.4.0.0

Regain control of your equipment. ZWOgain is now PulsarFab regain, with a
new pulsar-and-return icon, updated setup interfaces, documentation, and package
names. The repository has moved to pulsarfab/regain.

• Rust crates and executables use regain-*; .NET projects use Regain.*.
• The NINA plugin and native ASCOM Chooser entries display PulsarFab regain.
• Saved NINA equipment IDs, the plugin GUID, ASCOM CLSIDs, and ASCOM ProgIDs
  remain stable. Existing settings migrate without overwriting regain profiles.
• The installer recognizes both old and new running binaries and removes obsolete
  files after a successful upgrade. Manual NINA upgrades should remove the old
  plugin folder before extracting the new package.
• Custom actions use Regain.*; the old ZwoGain.* spelling remains accepted.
• The README includes the new branding and refreshed UI screenshots.

This release also includes the independent Rust OFP2 flat-panel driver with Alpaca
CoverCalibrator support, and Pegasus Astro FocusCube3 support in native NINA,
native ASCOM, and Alpaca. FocusCube3 ASCOM clients share one out-of-process server
and serial connection across 32-bit and 64-bit applications. Broader sharing
between native NINA, Alpaca, and vendor software remains deferred.

Install or update PulsarFab regain in NINA using either
https://nina-plugins.pulsarfab.com/ or https://nina-plugins.psf-guard.com/.
Both serve the same registry and preserve the existing ZWOgain plugin identity.

For Windows ASCOM, download Regain-ASCOM-0.4.0.0-win-x64-setup.exe below.
The installer includes the standalone Alpaca server. For manual NINA installation,
use Regain-0.4.0.0.zip. The CameraKit ZIP is a separate camera diagnostics tool.

See setup and upgrade instructions
and compatibility details.

Release binaries use the existing StackFoundry LLC signing certificate. Ordinary
CI builds are unsigned. PulsarFab regain and its artwork use Apache-2.0;
bundled third-party components retain their own licenses.

ZWOgain 0.3.1.0

ZWOgain 0.3.1.0 adds native EFW/EAF drivers and calibration, expands Alpaca,
and replaces the Windows camera ASCOM bridge with a native local driver.

• EFW filter wheel: SDK-free Rust USB support, native NINA and 32/64-bit
  ASCOM drivers, filter names and focus offsets, unidirectional movement,
  and explicit wheel calibration with live progress. Calibration preserves
  filter metadata, finishes at slot 1, and rejects duplicate motion commands.
• EAF focuser: native absolute positioning, halt, temperature, beep,
  reverse, hardware backlash, and travel-limit settings. Use zero hardware
  backlash when the imaging application supplies backlash compensation.
• Native Windows ASCOM cameras: four camera entries now use private local
  Rust workers and CAA-style setup dialogs, with shared recovery controls.
  Local ASCOM connections no longer require an Alpaca server. When upgrading
  from the bridge, select each camera once in the new setup dialog.
• Alpaca: the standalone server now exposes the CAA rotator, EFW filter
  wheel, and EAF focuser alongside cameras, with browser setup, serial-based
  selection, and shared client connections. EFW calibration is also available
  through the ZwoGain.Calibrate action in ASCOM, NINA, and Alpaca.
• Windows connection fix: accessory and camera workers accept the UTF-8
  preamble emitted by .NET Framework hosts. Regression tests exercise this
  behavior in both 32-bit and 64-bit COM clients.
• Documentation: Windows and Alpaca setup instructions, USB tracing
  evidence, and a README screenshot gallery. Screenshots use the production
  UI with simulated devices; physical hardware validation is documented separately.

The attached seven-position EFW-S-0 (firmware 3.6.2) and unmounted EAFN
(3.8.1) passed native Rust, Alpaca, and 32/64-bit ASCOM motion tests with
starting positions and settings restored. EFW calibration passed through the
SDK and native frontends in about 49 seconds. NINA provider integration and
setup-button tests passed with simulation. Interactive NINA autofocus,
ConformU certification, and Linux/macOS accessory hardware testing remain
outstanding. Earlier EAF firmware, EAF Pro/Bluetooth, and dual-disc EFWs are
not supported. Only one frontend may own a physical USB device at a time.

NINA: update ZWOgain from https://nina-plugins.psf-guard.com/ and restart
NINA. For manual installation, close NINA and extract ZwoGain-0.3.1.0.zip
into %LOCALAPPDATA%\NINA\Plugins\3.0.0\ZwoGain. Requires Windows x64 and
NINA 3.2.0.9001 or later.

Windows ASCOM: run ZwoGain-ASCOM-0.3.1.0-win-x64-setup.exe. The installer
registers camera, CAA, EFW, and EAF drivers for both 32-bit and 64-bit clients.
Cameras need the ZWO Windows camera driver; the accessories use Windows HID.
The release also includes a portable ASCOM ZIP and
ZwoGain-CameraKit-0.3.1.0-win-x64.zip for camera data collection.

Binaries are signed by StackFoundry LLC. ZWOgain is Apache-2.0 and is not
affiliated with or supported by ZWO. Bundled software retains its own licenses.

ZWOgain 0.3.0.0

ZWOgain 0.3.0.0 adds CAA rotator support, an ASCOM installer, and more direct USB cameras.

• CAA rotator: SDK-free USB control in NINA and ASCOM, with motion, sync,
  mechanical zero reset, reference restoration, travel limits, beep, and alias.
  The tabbed setup saves device selection automatically and fixes first-run
  connection and display-scaling problems. One ASCOM rotator entry is installed.
• ASCOM cameras: four Windows camera slots, installed for both 32-bit and
  64-bit clients. A standalone Rust Alpaca server supports one saved slot per camera.
  Camera recovery is shared with NINA.
• More direct cameras: ASI2600MM Pro P25 and original ASI6200MM Pro, including
  cooling, defect correction, bins 1–4, and supported auxiliary controls.
• Recovery: NINA logs retries, cooler recovery, and SDK fallback. Direct USB
  diagnostics report failed chunks and bytes received. ASI2600 P25 can reopen
  its USB handle and verify a retained frame before returning it.
• Portable Rust: Linux and macOS builds support native USB access and dynamic
  SDK loading. Their standalone packages are available from CI; hardware testing
  on those platforms is still needed.

Direct camera support now covers ASI676MC, ASI2600MM Pro (original and
P25), ASI6200MM Pro (original and P25), and ASI220MM Mini guide camera.
The SDK remains the default. Direct USB capture and SDK fallback are optional.
Replacement exposures are limited to 30 seconds by default; this is
configurable. Same-frame rereads have a separate retry limit.

Hardware checks used dark frames. Full 1,200-second captures passed in NINA on
both ASI2600 and ASI6200 editions. Cooler recovery and auxiliary controls were
checked on the newly supported cameras. The CAA-M54 passed motion, zero reset,
reference restoration, and installed 32-bit/64-bit ASCOM tests. Its replacement
dialog was checked inside NINA at 200% display scaling.

The 2,000-second camera limit remains untested. USB lifecycle tests used
controlled faults and Windows port cycling, not physical cable removal or
power loss. CAA multi-turn travel uses reference resets and requires enough
cable slack; ordinary moves keep the firmware travel limit.

Install or update in NINA: use https://nina-plugins.psf-guard.com/ as a
plugin source, update ZWOgain, and restart NINA. Manual installs use
ZwoGain-0.3.0.0.zip in %LOCALAPPDATA%\NINA\Plugins\3.0.0\ZwoGain with NINA closed.
Requires Windows x64, NINA 3.2.0.9001 or later, and the ZWO Windows camera driver
for cameras.

ASCOM: run ZwoGain-ASCOM-0.3.0.0-win-x64-setup.exe. The release also includes
a portable ASCOM ZIP and ZwoGain-CameraKit-0.3.0.0-win-x64.zip for collecting
new camera data without Python or a compiler.

Binaries are signed by StackFoundry LLC. ZWOgain is Apache-2.0 and is not
affiliated with or supported by ZWO. Bundled software retains its own licenses.

ZWOgain 0.2.0.0

ZWOgain 0.2.0.0 adds ASI6200MM Pro P25 support and fixes camera recovery.
The SDK remains the default; direct capture is optional.

Current direct cameras: ASI676MC, ASI2600MM Pro (non-P25),
ASI6200MM Pro P25, and ASI220MM Mini guide camera.
Coming soon: ASI2600MM Pro P25 and ASI6200MM Pro (non-P25) direct support.

• Adds direct ASI6200 P25 capture, defect correction, bins 1–4, cooling, dew heater, fan, and LED controls.
• Fixes incomplete ASI6200 readout by waiting for all sensor rows before freezing the frame.
• Restores idle camera controls after an abort or failed capture, without starting another exposure.
• Keeps completed images when a later stop/reset fails.
• Gives direct downloads and retries their full timeout budget.
• Finds the selected camera by serial even when another camera of that model is busy.
• Adjusts NINA image areas to the direct driver's size and alignment rules.
• Fixes ASI676 read-retry counts and shortens the README.

The default limit for taking a replacement exposure is still 30 seconds.
Same-frame rereads have a separate limit and can recover longer exposures.

ASI6200 P25 testing includes dark frames in SDK and direct modes, transfer faults,
cooler recovery, and a full 1,200-second direct exposure in NINA. The latest
recovery fixes passed automated fault and NINA interface tests; they have not
yet been retested on the physical camera. The 2,000-second maximum and recovery
after cable removal or power loss remain untested.

Install: add https://nina-plugins.psf-guard.com/ as a NINA plugin source and
update ZWOgain, then restart NINA. For manual installation, close NINA and
extract ZwoGain-0.2.0.0.zip into %LOCALAPPDATA%\NINA\Plugins\3.0.0\ZwoGain.
Requires Windows x64, NINA 3.2.0.9001 or later, and the ZWO Windows camera driver.

The release also includes ZwoGain-CameraKit-0.2.0.0-win-x64.zip. Extract the
whole ZIP and run ZwoGain-CameraKit.exe to collect data for a new camera model.

ZWOgain binaries are signed by StackFoundry LLC. The project is Apache-2.0 and
is not affiliated with or supported by ZWO. Bundled software retains its own licenses.

ZWOgain 0.1.0.0

ZWOgain (ZWO Again) provides a process-isolated ZWO camera driver for NINA 3.2.0.9001+.
This first release includes the NINA plugin and a standalone Windows camera
exercise kit for contributing new camera models.

• Runs the ASI SDK in a supervised Rust process and restores camera settings
  after recoverable failures.
• Retries exposures of 30 seconds or less by default, with a configurable
  cutoff, retry count, reconnect delay and cooling recovery limits.
• Includes an embedded camera/recovery logo for NINA's Plugin Manager.
• Organizes setup into Camera, Recovery, Cooling and Advanced tabs, with clear
  ASI2600MM Pro and ASI220MM Mini guide choices.
• Waits for measured temperature and cooler output to recover before retrying,
  with a temporary NINA readiness-timeout extension for longer recovery.
• Allows ASI2600MM Pro direct exposures up to 2,000 seconds. The default
  automatic retry cutoff remains 30 seconds.
• Tries ready-frame SDK downloads twice by default regardless of exposure
  duration. The exposure cutoff governs full recapture, including reconnect
  and cooling restoration, rather than rereads.
• Allows retained-frame transfer retries at any supported exposure length on
  the direct ASI2600/ASI676 paths. Replacement exposures still obey the cutoff.
  ASI2600 tests recovered the same pixels after canceled USB reads and a real
  read deadline; cable removal and power loss remain unverified.
• Adds experimental SDK-free ASI2600MM Pro main and ASI220MM Mini guide capture,
  factory correction, software binning, main cooling/dew control, and persisted
  opt-in SDK fallback with serial verification and the shared retry policy.

Validated with ASI676MC and both ASI2600MM Pro Duo sensors, simulator fault injection,
and interactive NINA captures. Duo cooling and SDK fallback after worker termination
were hardware-tested. ASI6200/P25 and natural USB transfer failures need separate validation. Public same-frame re-download is
conditional on SDK ready status, with two read retries by default.

NINA plugin: download ZwoGain-0.1.0.0.zip, or add
https://nina-plugins.psf-guard.com/ as a NINA plugin source and install ZWOgain.
For manual installation, extract the plugin ZIP into
%LOCALAPPDATA%\NINA\Plugins\3.0.0\ZwoGain while NINA is closed.
The ZWO Windows camera driver must already be installed. Select ZWOgain
Retryable Camera and choose your camera in its setup dialog. The SDK backend
is the default; the direct backend and SDK fallback are opt-in.

Camera exercise kit: download ZwoGain-CameraKit-0.1.0.0-win-x64.zip, extract
the entire folder, and run ZwoGain-CameraKit.exe with other camera applications
disconnected. Requires Windows x64 and the ZWO driver; no Python, Rust or NINA
installation. The picker runs quick or extended RAW16 exercises and produces
a local ZIP of settings, SDK/USB transactions, calibration and optional pixel
samples. Nothing uploads automatically. Review the bundle before sharing.
See the kit instructions
and hardware results.

Apache-2.0; bundled third-party components retain their own licenses.
Release plugin DLLs, Rust workers and the kit executable are signed by
StackFoundry LLC. Checksums cover the final signed packages. Local and ordinary
CI builds are unsigned. ZWOgain is independent and is not affiliated with ZWO.