Meade DSI Camera - 2004/5 vintage

[Mike Oliver]

I have just been given (lucky me!) a Meade DSI camera pack with all the associated cables, etc. and a copy of "Auto Star Suite" software. I don't believe it has ever been used but, from what I can see, it is 2004/5 vintage and I'm not sure whether that will work with my Celestron STL 127 Mak Cas setup. The 'scope is mounted on the Celestron Nexstar AltAz mount and I have the latest hand control and firmware. Can anyone tell me if I need to obtain or "do" anything for the camera to work? My laptop is running windows 8 and has the appropriate ports for the connections. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

[Davey-T]

I had one years ago running on WinXP Pro, no idea if it will run on Win8.

Dave

[Mike Oliver]

You might need to run it in compatibility mode, specifying WinXP as the OS. I did this with some other old software and selected "Vista" - the software worked fine. I just need to know if I'll be able to use my "new" camera with my Celestron 'scope.

Mike

[Davey-T]

No reason it wouldn't work with your scope, don't know how big it's pixels are but probably quite big being old so should suit your scopes focal length.

I take it you're not planning on using the Autostar Suite to run your mount 

Dave

[Davey-T]

Thinking about the software I seem to recall Meade released their Envisage software which I think allowed the earlier cameras to run on Win10, could be wrong as my memory isn't what it used to be 

Dave

[LunarView]

I think the latest Meade envisage software, which is what you need to run this camera, will only run on win 7 and older...but best to try...

[LunarView]

This may help, it’s the latest Envisage package with drivers, says it’s fine with win 7 64bit, so best to try on later windows and see..

https://www.meade.com/support/downloads.html

 

[Mike Oliver]

I've downloaded the latest Meade Envisage package - thanks for the link - and now have to see if everything works. Before I get to that, however, I have to star align my new 127 Mak; the camera arrived a touch early in my new stargazing career!

[ebdons]

 I have the  dsi 2 mono and it works okay with win 8.1 but the meade software is a bit clunky as always, so I use it under  DSI spec and ascom in stark labs nebulosity3. I can't get it to connect under version4,  I just use it for a guider but it does produce some ok images. ton

[Mike Oliver]

On ‎18‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 13:57, ebdons said:

 I have the  dsi 2 mono and it works okay with win 8.1 but the meade software is a bit clunky as always, so I use it under  DSI spec and ascom in stark labs nebulosity3. I can't get it to connect under version4,  I just use it for a guider but it does produce some ok images. ton

That sounds encouraging - if all else fails, your method might be workable for me too. Once I've come back to the subject having got my new scope properly aligned, I shall probably start playing around with the camera - it would be a shame to let it go to waste.

[happy-kat]

Doing a google looks like Nebulousity by Craig Stark works with the camera.

[Mike Oliver]

On 20/03/2019 at 16:12, happy-kat said:

Doing a google looks like Nebulousity by Craig Stark works with the camera.

I've just returned to this thread - sorry if I appeared to have ignored your response. I've been in touch with Meade and they say that my DSI will not work with Windows editions later than XP. Luckily I have an old but functional laptop with XP on board, so I'm going to download the necessary software and see what I can achieve. Nebulosity seems to be another option and I appreciate your heads-up and the link.