[WITHDRAWN] BlueTooth and WIFi for scope Mounts Now tested with synscan hand controllers Pictures

[coldknights (Cathy)]

BlueTooth and WIFi for scope Mounts Now tested with synscan hand controllers Pictures

Hi Have Been making Bluetooth now for the Australian market Skywatcher/Merlin, Orion/Teletrack,( Celestron/Nexstar Gt Series plugs into the bottom of the Nexstar hand controller. ) Also Skywatcher "ALLVIEW" Mount.


Update the WiFi work with Nexstar and SynScan hand controllers and work with iPad and iPhone using StarSeek 3 Max Price T.B.A.

Also the bluetooth will be in a small box. some mounts I can can get the power that is required to power up the Bluetooth and some will come with a external battery pack 4 AA . These Bluetooth boxes will come with a bit of Velcro to stick the small box on to the mount....... so it will not catch on anything as the mount moves so it will not get caught up around the legs of the tripod.

Also make Terand Adaptors for to go between the Dynamic Perception mx2 Controller to Skywatcher/Merlin style Mount also the stop switches which a few people that are members of iceinspace use on there Stage Zero Dolly's .

Some of these Bluetooth modules can be used with papywizard the program , as well as a lot of astronomy programs to remotely turn the scope.

I have had these boards Manufactured in the USA !

Skywatcher SynScan Bluetooth are Ready Now ! ( Works with Stellarium ) Download for Free !

Celestron Nexstar Bluetooth are Ready Now ! (Works with Stellarium ) Download for Free

Skywatcher Merlin/Orion TeleTrack mount ( AZ Mount used for Panorama Picture Making ) like the mount in the pictures You don't use a hand controller use a laptop with Bluetooth running the PapyWizard program download it for free

AllView Skywatcher Allview mount Bluetooth Now Ready ! (Used For Making Panorama's ) Download PapyWizard For Free .


EQ5/AZ-EQ6/EQ8 // EQ6 Mounts single Bluetooth for 4 mounts a switch has been added ( FOR SELECTING BETWEEN MOUNTS )
Price TBA

A Youtube video is ready to Watch
http://youtu.be/sO333BG0THc
.

[iceman (Mike)]

This is not a discussion thread. Ask questions or have discussions via PM or in the equipment/diy forum.

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Just a update I have now the EQ5/AZ-EQ6/EQ8/-EQ6 Bluetooth Protype board in just trying to source boxes to put them in.

Price on this module TBA

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Boxes turned up from the USA today just need the front panel to have a few holes cut 1 for the Rj12 and the other for the switch and drill 1hole for the led

This WiFi has been tested with Nexstar Celestron and Skywatcher synscan controllers and works on iPad and iPhone running the app Starseek max .

Hope to have these wifi units finished within 2 weeks.

Template Front panel made....... ready now to go to the laser cutter to cut all the front panels .

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Wi-Fi are kit format only you have to buy the Roving Networks module and plug it in .
I will provide the file to the buyers of this kit and you can send this file to the people you buy the Roving Network Rn-171 module from and ask them to upload it for you.
This keeps the cost of the kit down.

What is included in this kit is the Box takes 4 AA batteries (Not included)
1 Rs232 board so you can plug your roving networks board into.
1 Front panel with switch and is wired and soldered to the box which has a plug on it to connect to the Rs232 board also has been to the engraver to have the correct holes cut.
1 backing board from the engraver to Attach the Rs232 board to secure it in place with 1 metal screw 2 plastic screws and 4 plastic nuts.
Comes also with 2 cables 1 for SynScan hand controllers and the other for NexStar hand controllers

You Can control your telescope with your iphone or ipad.

Link to Roving Network below for the Rn-171 module

http://oceancontrols.com.au/SFR-210.html


Within 2 weeks we hope to have the EQ5/AZ-EQ6/EQ8//EQ6 Bluetooth boxes back will have a price soon as we get the boxes back.

[mrjw (Michael W)]

Hi Cathy I would like to order 1 Wi-Fi kit please .

I have ordered a Roving Networks RN-171 Board and will program it myself with this item from this ebay seller below.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/190749631...84.m1423.l2649

You said you will send a file to the buyers of this module can you please explain what that file does .

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Hi Michael I have sent you a pm.

Ok the file contains the settings required for example name of the WiFi
can be changed to what ever name you want also what Ip address you want to use example 2.3.4.5 also the port number example 2000 and quite a lot of other setting as well.
You use a program like Tera Term

[mrjw (Michael W)]

Hi Cathy sorry for the late reply I have been busy this way,

I received the kit in the mail promptly thank you I was waiting on the RN-171 and the other part I ordered from eBay the USB to TTL RS232 com serial converter module
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-3V-5V-O...EOIBSA:AU:3160
so I could program the RN-171.

I followed the instructions you sent by email and programmed the RN-171 through the program
I downloaded for free off the internet (TeraTerm) configured the coms port to talk to the RN-171 through the USB to TTL RS232 Serial com Converter Module,

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-3V-5V-O...EOIBSA:AU:3160


I followed the instructions programming the RN-171 saved the new perimeters and rebooted once back into program mode I typed (Get everything ) and I checked the perimeters and they all matched your file by email you sent.
I unplugged the RN-171 board from the USB to TTL RS232 Serial com Converter Module and plugged it into the kit you sent together and assembled as per the instructions.
With the lid on and all screws done up I put the 4 batteries in turned it on went to the wifi section of my iPad and there it was the name was there I tapped on the name up come the details and IP address I joined that network.
I then plugged the cable provided into the RS232 port of the SynScan hand controller and the other end into the wifi unit . ( I Done a 3 star Alignment on the NEQ6 First ) then went to My app I bought Starseek pro configured my telescope and location in the settings including the IP address and port number you provided and which was the ip number in the iPad wifi for the name of the wifi I connected too.
I hit done to save hit the picture of the telescope in starseek pro hit connect and it connected and showed me where the scope was and it was correct I then picked a target hit the goto button and it slewed to the target .
I found myself going from star to star and also the moon and Venus and the doing a search for different objects and trying that as well.
Well I have not been long doing astronomy but I might say that having this wifi you made and the iPad program has made it easier to learn the night sky all I do it tap on a star and hit the goto
I have learnt a lot more of the night sky and the star locations doing it this way (star hopping ) is a great way to learn the night sky.
Thank you.
Michael .
Western Australia

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Hi Michael I am glad you got the wifi kit put together we made it as easy as possible to construct.

So from now on all you need to do is Turn Your Neq6 on do your 2 or 3 star alignment then plug the cable between the SynScan hand controller RS232 port on the bottom of the SynScan hand controller to the wifi box,
turn your iPad or iPhone on and go to the wifi section turn the wifi Adaptor on it will be in the wifi section just tap on the name you programmed the wifi unit push the home button on the iPhone or iPad start your app starseek up tap the telescope icon at the bottom when the scope menu comes up hit connect and you are done.

Any questions Michael just let me know

YOUR

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Hi all ,
Good news the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition turned up Today and after setting it up I purchased the SouthernStars Android version of SkySafari Pro set it up and connected to the Synscan Hand controller and now enjoying turning my telescope around with my Bluetooth Adaptor and SkySafari .

Setup instructions Below.

Hardware
=======
1. Turn on the RS232 Bluetooth Adaptor Made by us (it does not have to be connected to the RS232 port of the bottom of the SynScan Hand controller as yet)

1A ( in the New model plug it into the bottom of the hand controllers RS232 port and turn the mount on)

2. On the Android device (I use a samsung Galaxy note) open Setting and the select Bluetooth.

3. Click Search for Devices in the Bluetooth menu look for the BT module (It will have some name such as SynScan001 or some other name)

4. Click on the found device and enter 1234 when prompted for a pairing code. Your tablet should then connect to it.

5. Turn off the mount, if it is not already off. Connect the RS232 cable from the Bluetooth Adaptor to the bottom of the SynScan hand controllers RS232 port and turn the power on to the mount do your 2 star alignment
When it comes up with alignment successfull ... Next Stage !

5A for ( New Model ) 5. Turn on the mount, if it is not already on ! Connect the RS232 cable from the Bluetooth Adaptor to the bottom of the SynScan hand controllers RS232 port and turn the power on to the mount do your 2 star alignment
When it comes up with alignment successfull ... Next Stage !



Application
========
1. Download and install SkySafari Pro
2. Open the Settings in SkySafari and in the Telescope section click on Setup.
3. Select your Scope Type (mine is a Skywatcher SynScan ) and the Mount Type (mine is Alt-Az GoTo)
4. In the Communication Setting select Connect via Bluetooth and then return to the main screen
5. From the main SkySafari page select "Scope" at the bottom and click "Connect". After a few seconds it will connect and you can hear a ding if your sound is turned up and then you can test it by pressing the arrow buttons, or a Target and clicking the GoTo Button.
Enjoy !

A Big Thank you for the people that supported our products and will be Restocking in January 2014 .
Have a Safe and Happy Christmas to all ! ( Coldknights )

[jrhowie (Jimmy)]

Received the unit and after properly sitting down to set it up, it all works fantastically! I use this with sky safari on Samsung Galaxy tab2 with my skywatcher AZ-EQ6 GT. After a quick set up, I can now use my tablet to control my Mount. Don't think this novelty will ever wear off.

Thanks guys!

[trackerau]

WOW! unit received within 24hrs of payment.

I already had sky safari plus on 10.1 Samsung Galaxy tab2 so followed the new instructions. Two minutes later perfect control over my NEQ6.

Quick "day time alignment" and on to the Sun for some picture taking

Now to try it on my Samsung Note 2 phone, then the HEQ5 ............

I should have had one of these units months ago.

Thanks Cathy, great work.

[rudyard (John)]

Many thanks Cathy, device arrived within 24hrs and was very impressed with it and how easy it was to configure via bluetooth to both my laptop pc and the Nexstar mount. I used Stellarium and the only thing i had to change was the com1 port to com5 , which i believe is the usb port on the laptop used. Once that was done , connected and controlled easily via Stellarium on the laptop.
Thanks again, john -
Melbourne

[coldknights (Cathy)]

We will be getting more stock in as soon as the airports reopen in the USA .
Parcel on its way but delayed due to the snow.
Hope to have them back in stock with in 2 weeks will update soon as they arrive !

[Trojan]

Definitely interested in buying one of these for my Celestron CPC. Can you put me down on the waiting list for when these are back in stock?

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Allview and Merlin Mount Bluetooth Setup

( 1 ) You need to Assemble and level your tripod making sure you secure all locking bolts.

( 2 ) Attach the mount to the Tripod as per the instruction manual.

( 3 ) Make ready power in form of batteries to power the mount.

( 4 ) Attach the Skywatcher Allview or SkywatcherMerlin/Orion Teletrack Bluetooth to the port on the mount where you normally put the hand controller wire to the mount where it says HC...

( 5 ) Turn the mount's power switch on.

( 7 ) setup and pair your new Bluetooth adaptor to your pc's Bluetooth using the code 1234

( 7 ) Download and install PapyWizard on your Pc.

( 8 ) Start the PapyWizard program up and go to the hardware tab then down the bottom to the plugins tab,click on that,it will bring a separate box up called plugins drivers and communication.
On the plugins yaw,pitch,shutter should all be Merlin - Orion and the tab opposite that should be All Bluetooth for yaw,pitch,shutter.
Now click on the drivers tab then click on choose and select your Bluetooth from the Bluetooth chooser with the drop down arrow,your device will be papy-Merlin then click okay and okay again on the plugins box.Now click on the hardware tab,click on connect and at the bottom of the PapyWizard box programme you will see a brief connection started and it will disappear and now your 4 direction keys will be highlighted with a blue colour, press a direction key to test.
Your done!

Enjoy

[peterskye (Peter)]

G'day,

I am trying to make sense of this thread, & consider whether purchasing one of these units is appropriate my future plans. I have a Skywatcher HEQ5 I would like to control remotely using either my Android tablet &/or phone, or, at times, my Windows 7 Netbook. Is this unit similar to, or a replacement for, the Orion Star Seek WiFi & it's equivalents. What is the full list of mounts/software/apps/platforms/operating systems that this works with?

I would also consider being able to establish an EQMOD platform for the future whilst still using this an advantage. Over what distances does this work? Is there a website or page that gives an overall & coherent picture of this device & it's capabilities/limitations?

I just find that trying to glean all of this information from such a piecemeal thread a bit frustrating, & I'm sure that others would be more interested also if they had a coherent picture of the full scope of the usefulness of this device.

Thanks,
Peter Skye

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Hi Peter.
Lets start with your Skywatcher HEQ5 mount if you want to control it with your Android tablet or Android phone you can do so with SkySafari and one of our SynScan Bluetooth Adaptors.

If you want to control it with a Windows Pc you can use the same SynScan Bluetooth Adaptor .

( programs it has been tested with for pc
The Sky 5 and x And Stellarium so far will work with others as well )...

Now works with Cartes du Ciel and Skytools 3 ( Ascom ) running the beta Ascom celestron driver.

And has been tested with a EQ8 with the Bluetooth connected to the SynScan Hand controller RS232 port ,there will be a new Ascom release soon.
We Tested it with Win 7 Pro 32 Bit and 64 Bit and Win 8.1 Pro 64 Bit.


If you want to control it with a mac you can use the same SynScan Bluetooth Adaptor .
( programs it has been tested with for mac Stellarium.

The Synscan Bluetooth Adaptor can be used instead of a orion starseek on the Android tablet or Android phone .


The Synscan Bluetooth Adaptor can not be used on a IPhone or Ipad as apple wont open the Bluetooth port to let this happen without going into apples policy.

List of mounts this Synscan Bluetooth Adaptor will work on.
any synscan hand controller AZ or EQ it plugs into the bottom of the synscan hand controller into the RS232 port.


The new 4 way Bluetooth Adaptor will be out soon and it is able to control the following 4 mounts (AZ_EQ6 ,EQ5,EQ8,EQ6) with EQMOD
windows platform and mac platform with EQMAC.

You can use EQMAC on a mac and STELLARIUM together .

You can use EQMOD on a pc with Stellarium together with Stellarium scope the sky 5 or the sky x.

A good safe distance to use the Bluetooth is 35 to 50 ft with no buildings to be a safe distance has been used at 80 ft turning the scope line of sight but 35 to 50 ft is the optimal distance.

There are many different models of Bluetooth Adaptors to fit different Types of scopes send a Private Message to us and we will do the best to answer your questions and requests to do different mounts like the Tah,Sytech and also AP1600GTO.

If Anyone has questions a private message is the best way to get answers and up to date Pricing.

Price for the Skywatcher Synscan ,Meade LX200GPS are $85.00 and the NexStar Bluetooth and Meade lx90 Adaptors and LX55/LX series are now $95.00

Picture below is of the Meade LX200GPS Bluetooth Adaptor weight 28g

Price of the Skywatcher Merlin /Orion Teletrack Bluetooth adaptor for Panorama $75.00 .

Price of the Skywatcher Allview Bluetooth Adaptor Panorama use with PapyWizard program
Price $75.00.

Postage within Australia $10.15 registered postage with Insurance .

Price for the 4 Way Bluetooth Adaptors TBA once the boxes are completed still waiting on them !

EQMod cables with a Adaptor for EQ6 will do 4 Different Sky-watcher mounts EQ5,AZEQ6,EQ8,EQ6 Approximate cable length 1.8m $50.00 .


"Coldknights"

[dragoncity (Brett)]

Hi Cathy,
just a quick note to thank for your excellent BlueTooth Adaptor which I received 3 days after payment. Three Days is really fast for a Tasmanian Delivery !!

I was impressed with your rapid response to my initial query about what I required
to connect my Android Nexus 7 to the Sky Watcher AZ-EQ6GT mount.


I have just come in from a quick test session and can highly recommend the device
which I attached to my Sky Watcher AZ-EQ6GT mount in Alt-Az mode using a ASUS Nexus 7 tablet with Sky Safari Pro.

Setup was simplicity itself, taking about 5 minutes after reading your instructions.

I did some research on what devices are available and yours is very good value
being considerably less expensive and very low in weight. Being powered via the handset also removes the need for any batteries to maintain. Its so light that I simply let it hang from the bottom of the handset.

Having Sky Safari ( insert your choice of software/hardware here ) as the interface to the mount offers so much more flexibility than the regular handset interface as you can see where in the sky you might like to checkout by choosing targets from the Safari GUI screen. Sky Watcher's handset interface is so clumsy in comparison!
You can choose objects by pointing on the screen, select from saved lists, search by name, etc. An added advantage for beginning astronomers is that Safari can display a photo of the desired object so you can compare to what you see in the eyepiece. Its nice to be able to say -- I saw THAT last night !!

I highly recommend your BlueTooth Adapter.
Cheers,
Brett

[west_andrew (Andrew)]

Hi Cathy,

Quick note to say thanks. I initially ordered the Nexstar bluetooth adaptor as I wanted to drive the scope off a tablet - laptop weighing too much and not having enough power to go the night.

Setup was fast, SkySafari was already on my Samsung tablet, about 1 minute and I was away looking at the objects I could actually see from my backyard - I'm waiting for a neighbour to go on long service leave so I can removed his 50 metre bluegum!

About a month ago I got a new scope, a Meade LX200GPS and knew I needed one of these adaptors for it. Considering you didn't have that model, it only took you 2 days to make it - now that's what I call service.

Again setup time was about 1 minute.

Best reason for getting this, I can send so much more time looking through the scope rather than slewing to objects that are low in the horizon; obstructed by trees; or 180 degrees from where I am currently viewing. This has made the whole stargazing experience more enjoyable.

Cheers,
Andrew