Guide cam ?

[Stargazing_Cliff]

Hi do you need to use electronic mount telescope to have guide cam ? or can you just connect any cam through telescope like say i used my xbox cam

and then use that cam through some software and say i aligned the cam with some star from softwares star map and find that star and when ever i move telescope it move the software pointer.

or do you need them electronic mounts telescope to use guide cam ?

[JamesF]

If I understand correctly, you're describing a sort of "follow me" system where the software (planetarium system, say) tracks your position in the sky as you move the scope around. Technically it's possible, but I'm not aware of any software that supports it and it may be impractical even if it's possible.

It would probably be easier to set up encoders for alt and az and relay that information back to the PC so it could follow you. But even that's likely to be harder work than buying a GOTO mount

James

[Stargazing_Cliff]

I know some cams have the motion sensor technology in them most likely the xbox cam have that in circuity amd same goes with wii cam/ and eye toy movement cams

it's wounder they isnt any program that when we move the cam it move the software also

the kind thing ya do if ya was playing on eye toy

im sure the wii cams have tracking in them.

i think you can do somet with wii remote

Wounder if you could use wii remote and track objects with that

[Gina]

Nothing like accurate enough, I'm afraid.

[pel]

It would be good if it worked.

[JamesF]

Well, let's assume you have an interface to Stellarium to allow you to move it's "centre of attention" at will. Not a big assumption given that the source is available. It might then be possible to write some code that would take an image from a high sensitivity guide camera, plate solve it using some sort of algorithm that initially cut down the search space based on what stars it had found last time (or when you set a known star) and pass those co-ordinates back to Stellarium. But you'd need a decent guide camera that could see plenty of stars.

Alternatively, given the same interface to Stellarium, having alt and az encoders on the scope would allow you to push the co-ordinates into Stellarium and get it to follow you. Given a couple of these:

http://www.axminster...sor-prod806698/

and something like an Arduino I'm sure it ought to be possible.

There you are. Two possible solutions that should do what you're after. I've done the hard work. Let me know when you've got one built

James

[pel]

And one for me too please Cliff. I think you need to pay James some money though if he owns the patent.

[Stargazing_Cliff]

wish i had money i would just go and buy goto mount and probably bigger scope guess i just make do's with me stuff's for now maybe one day when win lottery i'll buy observatory

just with all these high tech cams thought they mite been able to track some software then again slight knock of cam the software star map be all over place

guess i just have to make do with classic star map i shud start using the sky at night star map they have in middle pages

or just guess what i'm looking at from looking at stellarium

[Gina]

The mount was the first thing I bought for serious astronomy. I'd had a cheap 130mm Newt to see if my lifetime ambition to get into astronomy was really was true and learned from that where i needed to improve things. Also, I took advice from a number of astrophotographers including buying Steve Richards' excellent book "Making Every Photon Count", that said the mount was by far the most important piece of kit for AP. So I saved up for the best amateur mount within reasonable bounds. That was the Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro Synscan. I have never regretted buying that and it's by far the most expensive part of my kit. (Unless you count the observatory.)