On request from a amateur-astronomer with a remote observatory I created this Generic File SafetyMonitor that allows him to monitor the status of the observatory roll-off roof. I built it as a Gerenic File SafetyMonitor, it can therefore be used to monitor all kind of devices that report through an accessible ASCII file.¹

The driver passed Conform and thus is ASCOM-compatible (validation file in included in the download). Version 1.0.1 can be downloaded from my server: GenericFileSafetyMonitorSetup.zip.

The driver (see figure 1) allows to set-up a number of rules that either indicate a SAFE or UNSAFE situation:

- At (A) select whether the rule should trigger SAFE or UNSAFE.

- Using button (B) to specify the local or network file that should be monitored. This file must be an ASCII file and can be located on the local machine or on a network drive or share. Once selected it will show up in text field C.

- For internet files copy and paste the file location directly in text field C.

- At (D) set the number of minutes (can be fractional) for the interval at which this rule should be executed.

- At (E) the rule can be activated.

- At (F) the trigger preamble can be specified (e.g. "ROOF").

- At (G) the trigger can be specified (e.g. "CLOSED").

- At (H) a period in minutes can be specified until the trigger should cause the status to be changed (e.g. allow 10 minutes before the rule causes an UNSAFE situation).

- At (I) a general description can be given for this rule.

Buttons (J) and (K) allow to export and import the settings.

The Generic File SafetyMonitor Driver automatically switches from SAFE to UNSAFE. It therefore suffices to have only one rule that checks for an UNSAFE situation. If the trigger is not found a SAFE condition is reported.

The Generic File SafetyMonitor Driver can handle multiple files and multiple rules on a single file. It will search the content of the whole file for the preamble and than make a decision based on the trigger found and whether or not that should result in a SAFE or UNSAFE situation (as specified at (A)).

Of course this SafetyMonitor can be combined with other SafetyMonitors using the ASCOM SafetyMonitor Hub.

v.1.0.1 (14/06/2026): Added capability to monitor files on the Internet. Debugged Unsafe Delay.

v.0.0.4 (29/12/2020): linked my logo to my web-site, no further functional changes.

v.0.0.1 - v.0.0.3 (11/2020): First development.

[1]: This driver is freeware, it's use is at your own risk! I cannot be held responsible for any damage caused due to improper set-up or malfunctioning of the driver.