Anyone tried SkyFi/Skysafari on iphone?

[Poita]

My hand controller has bitten the dust on the EQ6Pro, and I'm thinking about going SkyFi or wired to the ipad/iphone instead.
Anyone had a go of it yet?

http://www.southernstars.com/products/skyfi/scope_communication.html

The idea of being able to control the mount from my phone makes me happy :)

[Octane]

Speak to Chris (Omaroo). He's done it.

SkySafari is probably the best planetarium app on iDevices.

H

[issdaol]

Yes worked well for me. I don't think anyone would be feeling sorry for buying this App.

I have switched to the IPAD version now and still use the SkyFi. Main reason I went to IPAD version was that I prefer the additional screen real-estate.

In my experience it seems to be well supported and updated.

I have not used the wired version.

I would recommend go with the Pro Version of the software as it has all the Database and Functionality you will need.

[kustard]

I've been running SkySafari alongside SkyFi on my iPhone and iPad for quite a while now. I have a CPC C9.25 and an Orion XT14g and they both work very nicely with both device and app.

I'm also using the Pro version, I don't find the cost an issue and the extra features provided is well worth it.

Cheers,
Simon

[Poita]

Great stuff, even the pro version and gear is less than a new controller.
I'll check it out.

[Omaroo]

Yep, works beautifully. Also look at the SkyWire option - which performs much the same task but is wired instead. A little cheaper if you don't need 802.11N longish range connectivity.

[gbeal]

Great on the iPad too.
Gary

[Omaroo]

Indeed...better.

[Poita]

Yes, I think the wired version will be my best bet, it sounds like a great setup.

[btschumy]

Hi, this is Bill from Southern Stars chiming in.

If your hand controller has died, then SkySafari may not help you. It assumes you have already done a 2 star alignment using the hand controller. I don't think the EQ6 exposes the protocol to do the 2 star alignment ourselves.

Bill

[Poita]

oh bum, that puts a spanner in it.

[Steffen]

I'm using it with great success on an iPhone 4 with the HEQ5 Pro mount via SkyFi.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Omaroo]

On my Tak EM-10, there is no two star alignment as such. All I do is polar align as usual (using my guidescope/camera and PHD) and then physically slew to a known star on or near the meridian. I centre that star on my main scope (or red dot - close enough), find the same star on my iPad in SkySafari and after centring it hit "Align" using the telescope control. From there I can use the app and phone to slew me reasonably accurately all over the sky. Relying on the drift alignment being performed first lets this work to a reasonable degree. Question is: does or would the EQ6 allow you to slew X-steps to a location if its internal logic isn't sure of what's where... or would it act dumb and simply obey a slew command anyway.... :shrug: