Argo Navis vs. SkyCommander

[Mr. Subatomic]

Hey guys,

I've been doing some research on digital telescope computers, reading Mike Salway's article on the SkyCommander DSCs, as well as a past forum about Argo Navis, and I'm pretty set on purchasing one of these devices some time in the future, possibly this year.

I became interested in some of the obtainable planetarium software that indicates where your telescope is pointing on a simulated map of the sky. Being a teenager not bothered to get a job and not really wanting to spend another $100 on a program like 'STAR AtlasRO', is there any free software off the web that is compatible with Argo Navis, SkyCommander or any other of these telescope devices?

Cheers.

[duncan]

Probably " Cartes Du Ciel " would help but i'm not a 100% sure being a newbie.
Cheers,
Duncan

[iceman (Mike)]

Yes, that program (CDC) can integrate with both of those units I believe.

[Mr. Subatomic]

Fantastic, it's already set up and ready on my computer!

Cheers.

[Mr. Subatomic]

Would it all be configured in the 'Telescope' menu of CDC?

Eg. selecting Track and Show Telescope Position?

[duncan]

The software you will need will come with which ever you buy. Then it will interact with the CDC. I'm not exactly sure how it all works as i've yet to go down this path,LOL.
Cheers

[Prickly]

I like winstars v2 - worth a look if you havent seen it. This certainly supports sky commander - not sure about argo navis. Gary who developed and sells the argo navis might be able to tell you if argo navis will work with this.

I havent tried Cartes du Ciel

Regards,
David

[Shaun]

What about stellarium not sure if it works with those but it is free.

[gary]

Hi Shaun,

The good news is that Argo Navis works in conjunction with every
known planetrium program that offers the ability to interface to
a telescope.

As mentioned by others, Cartes du Ciel is available for free
download, operates on Windows and interfaces with Argo Navis.

If you consider running Linux, which itself can be downloaded
for free (for example, see http://fedoraproject.org/ ), you
might then consider running KStars (see
http://edu.kde.org/kstars/ ) along with the INDI interface (see
http://indi.sourceforge.net/index.php/Main_Page )

Another consideration, again to run on Linux, is Xephem. (See
http://www.clearskyinstitute.com/xephem/ )

So not only can you obtain some excellent free planetarium
programs, you can also obtain for free an entire operating
system on which it runs along with thousands of other freely
loadable utilities, which, as far as value for money goes, is
pretty hard to beat.

Keep in mind that not only is Argo Navis designed and
manufactured in Australia, it has the requisite regulatory
approvals to be sold here. Always look for the C-Tick logo.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place
Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080
Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

[gary]

Originally Posted by Mr. Subatomic

Would it all be configured in the 'Telescope' menu of CDC?

Eg. selecting Track and Show Telescope Position?

Hi Shaun,

Indeed, use the Telescope pulldown and choose Select Scope Interface.
Argo Navis supports the Meade protocol and many others, so you can just select
'Meade'. Use the Comm Settings tab to set the appropriate COM port on
your PC and the Baud rate. On the Argo Navis side, set the STARTUP command
on the appropriate SERIAL port (Argo Navis provides you with two independent
ports) to a matching BAUD rate and set the STARTUP command as 'meade'.

After aligning your Argo Navis, you can use the "Show scope position"
selection. What's neat is that as you move the scope, the position on the
screen is shown to you in real-time.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place
Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080
Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au