HEQ5 Pro brains trust

[Gundary5]

I find myself taking possession of a second telescope, a lovely little Explore Scientific ED80 on a Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro mount. My question is, to connect this wirelessly to SkySafari 6 etc, do I need the genuine Skywatcher wifi adaptor, or can I use a RJ45 to USB adaptor with a wifi dongle in it?

[Gundary5]

Ok, tried it, no it doesn’t work.

[Oddity]

Beware that the official wifi dongle doesn't connect in via the handset, it connects straight to the mount, meaning you need the SynScan app. I've learned the hard way that the net effect of this is that it makes it difficult to connect via iOS devices.

The problem, you see, is that you need SynScan app running and active at the same time as SkySafari 6, and you set up SkySafari 6 to connect in to the SynScan App which is then set up to connect in to the mount.

Instructions for the the easy version (Android) can be found in the SynScan App or here:
https://teleskop-austria.at/information/pdf/SynScanWiFi_HowToSetupSkySafariForS ynScanApp.pdf

The problem with Apple devices is that they don't allow the SynScan app to run in background, meaning you need two devices - one running each - to connect Safari 6 on device one, to SynScan on device 2, to the mount.

More information on the iOS problem can be found here:
https://support.simulationcurriculum.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/115007331587-Is-The-Skywatcher-SynScan-Wi-Fi-Adapter-Supported-By-SkySafari-6-Pro-Answer-Yes-on-Android-Yes-on-iOS-using-2-devices-

The solution is to run SynScan on one device (eg. an iPhone) and SkySafari 6 on another device (eg. an iPad). It's clunky as hell and entirely SkyWatcher's fault for not consulting the SkySafari developer before claiming it works together and/or for not making the SynScan app backgroundable (possible to do with modern versions of iOS). It may be resolved sometime later this year or early next year.

[Gundary5]

Yeah I read about that issue, and of course I have Apple products. At least I have both a phone and tablet. Coming from a Meade Autostar system several years ago I find the SynScan system awful, so I’m very much looking forward to remote control with SkySafari 6 Pro. I ordered the adaptor this morning.