Is GPS worth it?

[dannybgoode]

1 minute ago, Helen said:

Yes, this (2012) was when the first cheap GPS dongles (non-astro specific) started being available, so they were a bit of a game changer... I think the one I got was around £20

 

I've just got one to use with my RPi4 with Astroberry.  For the price they are now, imo, it is more a question of why not have one - particularly if you are imaging.  For pure visual work in a static location I agree there isn't much point to one.

[Marcel]

17 hours ago, Helen said:

Hi Marcel,

I would say that if your broadband is anything like mine it suggests my location moves between London, Kent, Home fairly randomly! and so I would not rely on it for astro set up.  That said, your phone will provide GPS accuracy (that wasn't an option for most of us when this thread was opened in 2012 😉 ).  I haven't used EQMOD since 2014 when I changed mounts, but I seem to remember that I just plugged the gps dongle into a usb port, told EQMOD the comport number (vaguely remember having to check the baud rate..) and there was a button in EQMOD to press to fetch the data.  It worked really well 🙂 

I still wish my Mesu mount could be controlled by EQMOD - its fantastic software!

Hope you get it working

Best wishes

Helen

Hi Helen,

Thankxxx. In my opion EQMOD recognize only one COMport in staed of 2. I already use one COMport for the mount (skywatcher EQ6 R pro) If it is possible to use 2 COMports let me know.

It is only for alighment and in near future, in the field. That will be in Flushing, Netherlands.

Kind regards

[rnobleeddy]

17 hours ago, dannybgoode said:

I've just got one to use with my RPi4 with Astroberry.  For the price they are now, imo, it is more a question of why not have one - particularly if you are imaging.  For pure visual work in a static location I agree there isn't much point to one.

What's the the advantage if I'm imaging in a static location? I'm using EQMOD/Kstars, so I have to enter my location once and then plate solve to find the location I'm after. Given how cheap they are, it's worth finding out what I'm missing!

[dannybgoode]

1 hour ago, rnobleeddy said:

What's the the advantage if I'm imaging in a static location? I'm using EQMOD/Kstars, so I have to enter my location once and then plate solve to find the location I'm after. Given how cheap they are, it's worth finding out what I'm missing!

For GPS clock control basically which is usually more accurate than the system clock.  From a purely static location the gain is very very marginal at best and there are other (free) ways of getting a very accurate clock signal but hey, if you like your toys.  It isn't going to make your images better though I don't think

 

[chrisshillito]

6 hours ago, Marcel said:

Hi Helen,

Thankxxx. In my opion EQMOD recognize only one COMport in staed of 2. I already use one COMport for the mount (skywatcher EQ6 R pro) If it is possible to use 2 COMports let me know.

It is only for alighment and in near future, in the field. That will be in Flushing, Netherlands.

Kind regards

The only restriction in EQMOD is that you COM port number just be less than 16.  Other than that, there is no problem at all in setting eqmod to use a one dedicated com port for the GPS and another for the mount.

Chris.

[jambouk]

Can someone share a link to one which would with a Skywatcher mount please. I can’t find one for under £120.

[dannybgoode]

11 hours ago, jambouk said:

Can someone share a link to one which would with a Skywatcher mount please. I can’t find one for under £120.

There is not one that will plug into the mount directly for cheap money but any any of the USB GPS dongles on Amazon will do the job if using a computer and EQMod

[jambouk]

Ah. 

When one comes out which plugs into my mount/handset for £10, let me know, until then I don’t see the value of spending £120 on one.

[Planitair]

On 13/06/2012 at 14:39, NickW said:

Just wondering what peoples views are on adding GPS to systems.

Is it worth it or is it a toy? I have seen a couple of systems for use with Syncscan and they seem quite expensive for what they are e.g.

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=10589&tb=3

http://www.pulsar-optical.co.uk/prod/sykwatcher/mountsandtripods/gpsmousefor%20v3handset.html

Are there other options?

Nck

synscanit free app.