Is there a phone app for the Polemaster?

[gregbradley]

I would like to use my Polemaster for polar aligning my nightscape setup.I could use my laptop but its just another thing to carry.
Is there a smartphone app that you can use on the Polemaster?

Greg.

[Nikolas]

Nope it's just pc only

[SteveInNZ]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=polemaster.android&hl=en


Steve.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Steve.

The reviews are very poor for it unfortunately. I also use an iphone.

But its a start. I guess my laptop is going to be it. At least its a small and light one.

Greg.

[vlazg]

Greg, have a look at Polar Scope Align Pro in the App Store, it has a daytime polar align function that works reasonably well , as well as other useful functions

[Saturn488]

Once they nail the app then it would be perfect for travel instead of taking a laptop around (unless you have a Windows tablet).

[Stonius]

Wasn't aware of that. Anyone know what the difference is between the free and the paid version? ($24.99?)


Markus

[gregbradley]

Thanks for the tip. That could be nice alternative.

I also have a polar scope. At one stage at a dark site I was getting quite good at using it. Last several times I tried though it wasn't successful.

Greg.

[netwolf]

i have been meaning to try this app Polar Scope Align Pro
after watching few videos like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKzmnpSarcU
Just not sure how accurate it is with Metal and possibly current carying wires nearby or magnets. I have seen my phones gyro thrown of by small magnets in the phone cases etc or even the ones used to mount to cars.

[vlazg]

All phone apps are affected by proximity to metal, i used a piece of 1x2 wood about a metre long and put it on the mount at one end and the phone at the other which gave enough distance to counteract most of the effect

[gregmc]

I made a stick to do the initial alignment of the tripod for the same reason. Magnetic materials will deflect a magnetic compass.
I added a level to try to keep the tripod level. While the level is not necessary for Polar Alignment of the RA axis, it's necessary to use any software that helps with alignment by providing instructions to move the mount left, right, up or down.

http://www.astrophotosite.com/tiki-index.php?page=Polar_Alignment_Stic k

The stick pointing to true south (in my case) and a digital inclinometer to adjust the altitude of mount based on current latitude.

I image so use SharpCap to polar align. Note that SharpCap can use the Polemaster camera to do a polar alignment which is useful if you switch to setup with no guide camera.