Using a smartphone as a finder scope!

[Ahgii]

Hello all! This idea came to me some time ago and it's been on my mind. Using a smartphone as a finder scope, its not what you might think, it's not using the camera of the phone as a finder scope. My celestron telescope has a camera attatchment knob on top of it, that is compatible with my telescope/binoculars smartphone adapter(if you put the phone holding part on top of it there and screw it on so the phone faces the direction the telescope faces). And if my phone stands there it can be used as a finder scope in the following way, get the skyview app, used to find celestial objects in the sky, put your smartphone in the adapter screwed to the telescope, get your telescope to point at a celestial object and then manually calibrate the skyview app so it also shows you that you are pointing at that object as well, and then you can use it to find other objects in the sky, even in bright daylight. Clear skies!

[kev100]

Hi there, have a look at skeye (on Android) ... it has 'push to' functionality : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lavadip.skeye

[SonnyE]

I did that when starting out. I put a holder on a stem off my Vixen rail. I was novel, but it didn't work all that well.

Now, I use Stellarium, and I even have it set up to slew my Go-To mount and telescope around the night skies.

I haven't found my phone to be accurate enough. Very handy, but not accurate enough.

YMMV

[m.tweedy]

1 hour ago, SonnyE said:

 

I haven't found my phone to be accurate enough. Very handy, but not accurate enough.

YMMV

Totally agree. tried it and gave up.