[Outcast (Carlton)]

Asking some questions with the aim to helping out and elderly friend make more use of his telescope.

His scope is not permanently setup but, that is not an issue..what he wants to do is be able to set it up, then relax in a comfy chair (outdoors is fine) & control the scope, a focusser & see the pretty pictures on his laptop.

Equipment he has:

1. Celestron Evolution 9.25" SCT & mount... - Whilst I don't own one of these, I'm reasonably familiar with them. His is about 4 - 5 years old, I'm unsure at this time whether it has inbuilt wifi or not... either way, we should be able to hook up his handset to his laptop & most likely make use of Stellarium to drive it.

- Any thoughts, advice, experience in this area will be appreciated

2. Infinity ATIK camera to use for EAA - I have ZERO experience with this camera however, I do have experience with ZWO camera's so, I figure it can't be that much different, can it? I figure we'd look at Sharpcap or similar to use for EAA. At this stage looking at USB hookup to his laptop to drive the camera & see the resultant images.

- Any thoughts, advice, experience or tips in this area will be appreciated

Equipment he needs:

1. An auto focus solution - this is an area where I have ZERO knowledge.. I don't use them... Again, cable hookup to his laptop would be acceptable, at least as a starting point... he's in his seventies & has a few health issues... wants to sit in his comfy chair once it's all working & just enjoy the views...

- Really need advice & experience on this issue please

2. Possibly an integrated 'box' either to manage connections or at least manage the power distribution in a reasonably simple manner. I use Stellarmate & a seperate 12v power distribution box for my own astrophotography work but, I'm not convinced he has the IT/troubleshooting skills to make this solution work...
ZWO ASIAIR comes to mind but, I don't think the ATIK camera will work with this solution, is that correct?

3. Coupled with number 2 above... maybe ultimately, a wireless solution but, this is not a high priority nor a necessity... just a nicety... again, I know I can achieve this via stellarmate but, I don't believe this is the solution I want for my friend... ASIAIR comes to mind again except... it's not a ZWO camera & it might not be a ZWO focusser...

So folks, let me know your ideas, solutions, experience both good & bad...

I can't put a figure on a budget as we haven't really discussed this part so, at this stage, open to the full range of options but, needs to be off the shelf with preferably no fettling required & it needs to be reasonably intuitive to setup & operate

Edit: Meant to put this in & forgot... from a practical perspective, what would be the maximum length of USB cabling we could use that would work without issue & what options are out there to boost this length if required... somewhere between 2.5 - 5m unboosted is in my mind for some reason but, I recall there are solutions that could extend this range.. just can't quite recall what they are...

Thanks in advance