[GC - South Aus]

G'day All

As some of you may be aware through scouring the IceTrade ad’s (especially under the ‘Wanted’ section), I have been looking for either a SkyFi or Orion Star Seek adaptor for wireless control of my Skywatcher EQ6 Pro and Orion Skyview Pro mount’s.


With this wireless control ability I will be able to use SkySafari on IMAC, IPAD and Iphone and be able to control telescopes from a warm room (a very attractive option!) as well as in the field without touching the scope/mount and therefore lessening the effect of vibrations .


It appears that these adaptors are difficult to source both new and used, when I did finally find a source of the new adaptors I found that they were quite highly priced at around A$195.00 . Admittedly I also found a source of new SkyFi from the US and elsewhere at around $150-160 mark, but by the time you add shipping it is still similar to the local price .


So I decided I might look a bit harder for an alternate solution to the problem. After scouring the internet, including the IIS website, I eventually found what looked like a promising solution in the form of WifiScope, EQMOD and a netbook computer. This was kind of lucky as I already had a spare netbook (Toshiba NB100) which I currently use for astro fieldwork.


The Toshiba netbook computer would take the place of the SkyFi or Orion StarSeek adaptor, with it plugging directly into the mount or the SynScan Hand Controller (discussed later).


So if you are interested in this kind of alternate wireless control, this is what you will need:


Hardware & Telescope Requirements
1. Netbook, Desktop or Tablet PC (running Windows – I am currently using Windows XP)
2. USB to Serial Converter and a Serial RS232 cable (usually supplied with your mount)
3. A compatible mount (i.e. EQ5/Orion Skyview Pro, EQ6/Orion Atlas, Meade LX200, Meade ETX etc – see WifiScope, SkySafari and/or EQMOD for further details on compatible mounts)
4. IMAC, IPAD or Iphone (with Skysafari), or an Android tablet or phone (with SkySafari)
5. Home wireless network/router


Software Requirements
1. EQMOD & ASCOM drivers (free downloads: http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net)
2. WifiScope application (free download: http://www.mainsequencesoftware.com/WFS.html)
3. .net Framework V4.X (minimum) for Windows (free from Microsoft Website)
4. SkySafari or Orion StarSeek (for MAC, IPAD, Iphone or Android)
At the time of writing the prices for the SkySafri/StarSeek App on the Apple App Store were:

· SkySafari 3 A$2.99 / SkySafari 3 Plus A$14.99 / SkySafari 3 Pro A$41.99
(Orion have an application known as StarSeek3, I am led to believe that this is basically the same application as SkySafari and may work with this setup – but I am unable to confirm this at this point).


So if you are interested see my attached word document outlining the basic steps in the process. As stated this is a "simple" guide and not a complete installation guide, point for point. But should be enough to point you in the right direction.


It worked for me and saved me a small fortune in buying an adaptor I didn't need



*IMPORTANT - Please be advised that I am not liable for any damage that you may do to your telescope, mount, computer, tablet or phone from undertaking the installation of this software or its use. YOU UNDERTAKE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Cheers

Gav