Starmap Pro for iphone now with SkyFi support

[gavinadams (Gavin)]

Hi All,
I don't have a skyfi yet but I have been drooling over them for a while.
This could be the clincher though.

There was an update to the Starmap Pro app for the iphone in the past week.
It now supports the Skyfi wifi/serial interface.

the official starmap website has instructions and troubleshooting
http://www.star-map.fr/?telescope

Now I'm just waiting for the Starmap HD for my Ipad to be updated to support Skyfi....

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi Gavin,

I have the SkyFi and found it to be quite good.

I have been using StarMap Pro and HD as an observational planner and found it to be very nice.

I am just waiting on the Tak Temma driver to be implemented for the Starmap Pro and HD versions so I can test that out too.

CHeers

[kustard (Simon)]

Interesting indeed. Is anyone been able to offer a comparison of using SkyVoyager vs SkyMap Pro and the pro's and cons of each one?

[issdaol (Phil)]

Originally Posted by kustard

Interesting indeed. Is anyone been able to offer a comparison of using SkyVoyager vs SkyMap Pro and the pro's and cons of each one?

Hi Simon,

I also have SkyVoyager which I purchased as a bundle with the SkyFI unit and cable after I already had StarMap Pro (I assume you meant StarMap Pro??).

I did this primarily because the other IPhone/IPAD apps did not have inbuilt scope control or support Tak Temma2.

I have not done an exhaustive comparison but based on my personal preferences and experience with both I find that StarMap Pro is more responsive and has a great single evening observational planner and you can setup alarms and record log books. You can also define your optical setup to customise the map view to emulate viewable conditions with your setup. There is a good array of customisation options that make it more of an observational tool than SkyVoyager.

SkyVoyager has the main advantage of inbuilt WiFi scope (which StarMap has just released) and for me Temma support but it does have some annoying habits of map, compass/GPS setting returning to default off setting when you go into an out of telescope control. I also find that it is more "eyecandy" focused rather than being setup as a true practical observational tool.

For my preferences if StarMap Pro/HD get the Temma 2 and general telescope controls sorted I will probably use that tool.

The other alternative is Astromist but this has only just been ported to the IPhone and IPAD and this version does not have scope control yet (the palm/winmobile version does). There also seems to be some "teething" bugs in the IPhone and IPad versions which the developer seems to be working to fix.

The StarMap developer also seems to be very active in getting fixes and updates out too.

If you have an IPhone 3GS/IPAD I would recommend (for the price) that you download all three and test them out. Compared to PC/Laptop software this will not set you back that much at all

Cheers

[kustard (Simon)]

Thanks Phil, yeah I did mean StarMap Pro (bit of a brain failure there).

I also grabbed the SkyVoyager and SkyFi bundle and I also have StarMap but have rarely used it. If StarMap performs as you say then next time I go out I'll give it a go with my new iPad (hurry up HD version hehe).

Thanks for the information

[Rod]

I have just spent a couple of hours testing out my new skyfi adapter and comparing starmap pro and sky voyager.

What I like about starmap pro is the serial wifi connection is almost instant and is very stable - if it drops out the reconnection is almost immediate. Skyvoyager on the other hand takes a long time to make an initial connection and then the connection seems less stable- it drops out and then sometimes takes a long time to reconnect.

Starmap pro's object lists seem better organised to me so I guess I agree with Phil it is a better planning tool. On the other hand starvoyager has a lot of interesting background info built in about huge range of objects. I think it would be a handy tool for answering questions on public viewing nights.

I like Skyvoyager's interface better. I find the object labels easier to read in the dark- the font is sharper somehow. I also like the align button (not available on skymap pro) which resets the equatorial and alt az coordinates on my scope so that they match he object I have selected in skyvoyager. I will always be doing my star alignments with sky voyager as a result. I have home built Bartels system so this is a really useful feature for me.

For some reason I kept getting the compass interference message after I had been observing for a 90 mintes or so. This made starmap pro almost unusable as I could not get the message to go away. It was not as much of an issue with skyvoyager. The message would show briefly and automatically go off after a second or two.

I have astromist too so I am looking forward to being able to use it as well. I used to use it with bluetooth on a Pocket PC and found it worked very well.

Rod.

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi Rod,

Hope your testing with all three work out.

I mentione to the Starmap developer about the lack of alignment function and I believe he is going to write in a single and n-star alignment function.

The compass interference can pop up at anytime where an app is using the compass function.I have had not had it appear very much but it would be about equal in both apps.

If you are still having the connection problem with SkyVoyager there were are a couple of firmware releases that you may need to apply.

Cheers

[Tiotion (Jack)]

Does anyone know if either SkyVoyager or SkyMap Pro support david ek's box with SkyFi. The moment either does ill be buying it! Im currently using Astromist on a pocket pc but thats another topic altogether.
Cheers

[Rod]

Hi Jack,

It is not listed as an option with starmap pro. Skyvoyager does support several encoder based systems but doesn't specify David Ek's in the Help menu. But you select 'Dobsonian platform' for all the encoder based systems (so it might work). It would be worth emailing the developer directly to be certain. Otherwise just wait for serial-wifi control of astromist which will be available in the next couple of months.

Phil, I tried upgrading the firmware - near as I can tell the latest version is the same as the one I had. I still find the connection to skyvoyager sluggish. I am on the yahoo list so I might post a question there about it.

Rod.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Rod, just email Tim directly at support@carimamobile.com. He's very accommodating and keen to help. I have a similar problem on occasion, but I wouldn't say that it's obtrusive as far as I've found.

[Rod]

Thanks Chris

I have sent Tim a message so will see how it goes.

Rod.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Darn it - sorry Rod - a typo there. Of course, the address is:

support@carinamobile.com

[Rod]

I received this helpful reply from Tim:

Turn off the "Settings -> Scope Communication -> Set Time and Location"
switch. Meade LX-200s require a 30-sec delay after sending time & location
in order to update their internal planetary data, etc. No other scope
requires this delay. The only downside is that you'll manually have to set
the scope's time/date/location on the controller (since the iPhone is no
longer sending it over the WiFi.)

My scope is LX200 compatible so when I turned off the automatic update for location etc connection speeds became just as fast as with starmap pro. I can now use both programs side by side and not have to wait for reconnections.

Thanks for the advice Chris.

Rod.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Great stuff Rod. Tim is fantastic. He's always quick to help, and he involves people in beta testing and proving their software worldwide. He's very aware that not all astronomy is a northern pursuit.

[ashcb1 (Ashley)]

I have recently purchased an Ipad and also purchased Voyager software for it. I am looking at now, trying to use my new toy to connect and drive my telescope. I have a Vixen GPD2 Mount with a Vixen Starbook S Controller (links below).

http://www.vixenoptics.com/mounts/gpd2mount.htm

http://www.vixenoptics.com/acc/gpd2acc.htm

I am wondering if I purchase the SkyFi with cable it will work with my setup? There is a link saying that it will work if I purchase a Airport express access point but I thought any access point would do providing I get an IP address.Thank You

Ashley