Quick question about GOTO and auto tracking

[Woodger]

hi all,

I'm thumbing through the vast amounts of information available on what to get for my first scope setup.

With the GOTO auto tracking on the mounts of say, the skywatcher and celestron setups... is it possible to connect the GOTO to our laptop and control the tracking from a laptop rather than the handheld remote?

So say, this model for example (which I am thinking about at the moment)

SkyWatcher Skyhawk 1145P SynScanAZ GOTO Telescope | eBay

Could this be controlled from my laptop rather than the handset? And can any GOTO handset on any model be controlled from a laptop?

Thanks so much for any time you give in replying

[Woodger]

or even a SKY-WATCHER EXPLORER 130P SynScan AZ GOTO Telescope ?

[Jiggy 67]

I've got no experience of it myself, I just use the handset but yes you can control the mount from a laptop, someone will come along soon with more detail

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.364014,-2.734973

[umadog]

Yes. Here is some more detail: http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/166965-synscan-az-goto-mount-stellarium-how.html

You may well find, however, that you don't want to do this in practice. A laptop is an extra thing to drag into the field. The batteries don't last long. They work badly in cold and dewy conditions. Unless you go to significant efforts they will damage dark adaptation if you're at a dark site.

[cyborg421]

If you happen to have an iPad then you can use Skysafari + to control the scope. I use it with the Synscan Dob. You will need a connecting lead. The lead is a bit expensive for what it is but using it you can control the scope, slew to any object and look at object info instantly. Skysafari + is a steal £10 - I would recommend it anyway. There is also a wireless version of the control but I've no experience with that.

Simon

[steelfixer]

If you go down the EQMOD route you can chuck the handset away and just use the laptop.

Take a look at this thread.

http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/174593-eqmod-worth-getting.html#post2143111

[ollypenrice]

One more for not mixing computers and visual observing. Even with red acetate etc it is a source of light and adaptation is everything. For imaging the laptop is a fact of life but I love to get away, well away, from them for visual.

Olly

[umadog]

With laptops it all depends on how dark your surroundings are and what you're trying to achieve. In super-dark skies you can significantly affect your night vision for a minute or two just by looking at M31 at low power. Under such conditions you need two or three layers or Rubylith to dim a laptop screen to tolerable levels. If you just want to find stuff in the sky and aren't too bothered about relatively small losses in dark adaptation then a laptop can work ok. On the other hand, if you're working hard to see very faint details then you probably want to stay away from laptops and use only a very dim red light.

One possibility is to use an eye patch over your observing eye. I find myself not doing that, though, because I've noticed a rather interesting phenomenon: say I shut my right eye and use my left to read a chart with a red torch. I switch off the torch and open the right eye. Everything I see with the right eye now looks red tinged. It's weird and annoying. Probably some odd adaptation effect going on in the visual cortex.

[Woodger]

Just wanted to say a quick thanks, these posts are great and have certainly given me alot to think about.

I think the laptop option is for my backyard viewing only, when I venture out further I will probably leave it behind.

Thanks so much for your responses

[sabana]

I control my Nexstar 8se with my iphone. Using Sky Safari pro. It saves using a laptop.