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EQMOD or Synscan

void

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Cornelius Varley

Cornelius Varley

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EQMOD seems to be the thing to do so long as you dont mind taking out one extra bit of kit (laptop).

 

It seems like a nice bit of kit.

 

Does it only work on the skywatcher mounts? Or does it work on the VX celestron mounts also. I understand they basically come from the same factory.

Eqmod only works on mounts using the EQ version of Synscan (Skywatcher, Orion US)

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malc-c

malc-c

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EQMOD seems to be the thing to do so long as you dont mind taking out one extra bit of kit (laptop).

It seems like a nice bit of kit.

Does it only work on the skywatcher mounts? Or does it work on the VX celestron mounts also. I understand they basically come from the same factory.

Whilst you are correct in that Synta make both Celestron and Skywatcher telescopes, they don't however use the same protocol when communicating between handset and mount.  EQMOD has been written to communicate directly with SW EQ mounts using the SW command set.  There was some talk of a 3rd party interface (software or hardware) that would effectively translate between Skywatcher commands and Celestron commands, but searching the net hasn't turned up much progress in the past year

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Amra

Amra

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EQMOD is absolutely fantastic, I use it together with Stellarium and a PS3 controller for hand control on my HEQ5. I upgraded my HEQ5 from the classic version with the 'dumb' motherboard & motors it's one the best investments I've made (managed to buy the upgrade kit without synscan controller, so got it cheaper.) I still need to get some experience with auto-guiding, but weather hasn't been decent enough yet & haven't had dark enough skies.

I do however miss the simplicity of simply attaching the old hand controller and turn on tracking when I use for example a DSLR with a lens on my mount, which might not require the most insanely well polar aligned setup. Since I don't have the synscan controller I'm forced to always use a laptop with my mount, but it's just a minor inconvenience I can live with. :)

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malc-c

malc-c

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Matt,

Because EQMOD is running on a PC, you would have to have the PC in one hand, and use the mouse or touchpad at the same time as looking through the eyepiece when centering a target - this is very impractical.  So you use a gamepad / joystick at the mount to aid positioning much the same as you would with the SW handset.

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chrisshillito

chrisshillito

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Matt,

Because EQMOD is running on a PC, you would have to have the PC in one hand, and use the mouse or touchpad at the same time as looking through the eyepiece when centering a target - this is very impractical.  So you use a gamepad / joystick at the mount to aid positioning much the same as you would with the SW handset.

Using a mouse in the conventional way whilst at the eyepiece is certainly not practical - however it is also possible to use the mouse's buttons  as a mount slew controller provided the EQMOD slew pad window is opened first. The mouse left and right buttons control direction of movement, the wheel/centre button which axis to move and the wheel changes the slew rate. This was the very first method of EQMOD mount control before we got into joysticks and gamepads, wii controllers etc..

However, there is no doubt that for many,  a gamepad provides a much better mount controller interface. EQMOD allows you to assign buttons to functions and Its not just slew control that the the gamepad can be used for either - you can use it to sync, park, etc. and you can even put your monitor in and out of standby to preserve you night vision. For those with ascom focuser drivers you can also use ASCOMPAD (another EQMOD project app) to add focuser control to your gamepad.

What the gamepad does lack is feedback and so for some functions (changing rates, syncing etc.) it is wise to use EQMOD's sounds capability to add audio confirmations for those functions.

Chris.

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Dave_D

Dave_D

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Matt,

Because EQMOD is running on a PC, you would have to have the PC in one hand, and use the mouse or touchpad at the same time as looking through the eyepiece when centering a target - this is very impractical.  So you use a gamepad / joystick at the mount to aid positioning much the same as you would with the SW handset.

I've just set up a standalone intel atom micro atx based computer for the telescope. it measures 10x8x3 inches and takes 12v input and will happily sit on a small frame i'm going to attach to my mount pier. combined with wireless access point software i can connect any wireless device (a nexus 7 in my case) directly without needing internet, routers, lans or all the things i won't have out in the field, and use remote desktop to control everything. once set up, the only reason i have to go near the scope is for focusing, and thats only because i haven't built an electronic focuser yet  :grin:

even if i wanted to stand by the scope, i only have a 7" tablet in my hand yet still have all the eqmod functionality to play with.

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oldpink

oldpink

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I set up EQMOD and a few of the add ons (Stellarium scope, masteralign mosaic etc)
then got the USB to serial cable and installed firecapture & sharpcap onto the laptop
so now the laptop sits by the telescope plugged into the handset

I then retire to my computer room with 2 x 21" monitors and remote desktop the laptop via wifi
I have Stellarium on one screen with the telescope controlled by EQMOD on one screen and either firecapture or Sharpcap opened
so I can see what the scope is looking at and via the camera and decide when to hit the record button

only issue is transferring the images via wifi to process chokes the wifi bandwith
so I plan to put in a cat6 lead out to my viewing site and use a gigabite network to handle the file transfer

last part to add is a motorised focuser for total remote viewing / AP
I designed it this way particularly for AP, and far more practical than a laptop outside fumbling keys & mice in the dark
I should add a gamepad but not found the need yet

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void

void

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I then retire to my computer room with 2 x 21" monitors and remote desktop the laptop via wifi

I have Stellarium on one screen with the telescope controlled by EQMOD on one screen and either firecapture or Sharpcap opened

so I can see what the scope is looking at and via the camera and decide when to hit the record button

only issue is transferring the images via wifi to process chokes the wifi bandwith

so I plan to put in a cat6 lead out to my viewing site and use a gigabite network to handle the file transfer

last part to add is a motorised focuser for total remote viewing / AP

I designed it this way particularly for AP, and far more practical than a laptop outside fumbling keys & mice in the dark

I should add a gamepad but not found the need yet

Sounds one hell of a set up you have got going there. Homemade observatory?

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Frenchgow

Frenchgow

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however,when eqmod is working fine no problem,other times if its not ,im glad to have the synscan,so i can at least have a fruitful night observing,and for the extra cost,in my opinion is well worth it, especialy when you consider the cost of an AP setup

Gow

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