No Synscan help!

[crimpshrine]

Hi everyone. After a long break from Astro I decided to find my old gear and reignite my passion! I have the NEQ6 pro mount but after spending days looking I can’t locate the remote! Having looked online these aren’t cheap new, especially for something I hope to one day find.

Can I get my mount set up and tracking using software? I seem to recall people using Eqmod and other software but is this a fairly simple operation... especially with aligning etc? I’m used to just using the remote to star align, navigate then track.

Also does anyone know where I could get a cheap second hand remote... at least if mine turns up I can sell the spare and not loose too much money.

Thanks for any advice

[JamesF]

Handsets occasionally come up for sale here or on AB&S.  I've not seen one for a fair while that I can recall though.

There's no reason you can't use just software though.  You just need the EQDIR unit and to install the ASCOM and EQMOD packages and a planetarium program (Cartes du Ciel is quite commonly used, I believe).  PHD2 has a polar alignment option that's not too bad once you get the hang of it, but you need a suitable camera to use it.

James

[crimpshrine]

Thanks. Can I star align with the software also?

[JamesF]

You can, though if you're setting up and breaking down your kit every night you might need to jump through a few more hoops to set up a new model each time.

If I recall correctly (I've not done this for some time) you would select a star in CdC, tell the mount to go there and move the mount to the right place using EQMOD if it isn't correctly aligned with the star, then tell CdC to sync the location.  Repeat with several stars.

Might well be better to follow the instructions of someone who has done it a bit more recently than me though :)  (I was mostly restricted to using my dob for a while before I got my observatory usable, and since then I've been using Kstars etc. on Linux.)

James

[crimpshrine]

I have purchased the cable from FLO. It will be interesting to try out as I always used the controller before.. maybe one day it will turn up.

Thanks for your help.

[Phillips6549]

Crimpshrine

I recently picked up a Skywatcher Alt-Az goto mount without the handset.  I too was surprised how expensive they are.  Although you've now bought a cable to connect your computer, if you do get a hankering for a portable solution, consider the Skywatcher WiFi adapter.  Half the price of a handset and then you can use your phone or tablet to control the scope.  It also doesn't rule out using a planetarium app to find your targets as most of these will connect via the Synscan app.  This was the route I took.

Clear skies.

Mark

[crimpshrine]

On 19/09/2019 at 21:34, Phillips6549 said:

Crimpshrine

I recently picked up a Skywatcher Alt-Az goto mount without the handset.  I too was surprised how expensive they are.  Although you've now bought a cable to connect your computer, if you do get a hankering for a portable solution, consider the Skywatcher WiFi adapter.  Half the price of a handset and then you can use your phone or tablet to control the scope.  It also doesn't rule out using a planetarium app to find your targets as most of these will connect via the Synscan app.  This was the route I took.

Clear skies.

Mark

Ahh man.. that looks just the job! Wish I had seen this before ordering the cable. 

I have set up the cable with EQMac (apple user here) which is working but can not get it to connect with Stellarium or CDC/Skychart.   This wifi set up and app looks like it would have been better for my currents needs.