Using open-source code and updated interface tools to improve TLU observational astronomy research

Higher end commercially available telescopes are constructed to be in service for decades. However, the relatively robust architecture of mirrors found in older telescopes can become obsolete as the original software control packages become outdated and no longer functional on modern computer operating systems. Over the past decade, the physics and astronomy professional community has developed a wide range of publicly available open-source codes and applications for astronomical observations. In addition, low-cost interfacing tools are now widely available, allowing for continued research-level use of even decades-old telescopes. TLU has two such instruments, both reflector-style telescopes, each over two decades old: a Meade LXD75 Schmidt-Cassegrain model and ETX75 Maksutov-Cassegrain style. This research entails deploying a new computer interfacing scheme for control and data acquisition using these two instruments. Open-source coding, and a low-cost Raspberry Pi^TM device, have been successfully implemented to allow for wireless control of the telescopes. Custom mounts for the interfacing hardware and a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera system, used for image acquisition, were designed and fabricated. The instruments now operate using an advanced alignment/location system known as plate solving, based on publicly available dark-sky maps and simulations which allow for more accurate stellar location and tracking. Open-source applications for image analysis have also been implemented to allow for high quality imaging and the potential for stellar spectroscopy and photometry.