Heritage 150p virtuoso + stellarium

[_leo_]

I'm looking at buying this telescope as an upgrade to the heritage 130p, more so for the goto and tracking features.

I use stellarium as my digital planesphere and was wondering whether or not I can link up the scope to stellarium and then control the scope via stellarium?

I have seen this on other telescopes and would like to do it with this.

Thanks.

[thunderstorm]

Hi Leo,

I also have an Virtuoso mount which I able to connect to stellarium via indi server (stellarmate) running on an Raspberry Pi4

the output showing disconnected state, when connected, the device list can show all available devices on indi server, such as mount, CCD, DSLR etc.

I also tried ASCOM driver, it requires Synscan Windows app running at background, it is a bit of weird setup. As I am using indi server for my other stuff such as CCD and DSLR control, my choice is via indi server connection.

Serial cable is another choice, I did not tried it 

[Gfamily]

If you want to use a phone/tablet rather than a computer, you can also use Stellarium Plus or Sky Safari Plus / Pro.

You do the initial alignment with Synscan, but then can link to control it via the App. 

Stellarium Plus currently £14.49   

Sky Safari Plus currently £6.49  Pro £17.99

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Gfamily

[Astro_Dad]

I’ve also managed to get my Heritage 150p Virtuoso working with the excellent Luminos app by Wobbleworks which offers similar - although I note a new pro version is now available - not tested that yet. 
 

AD

[rchal]

I am a beginner.Looking at 130p  to buy,or should I go for Virtuoso model to stop thinking about upgrading as soon as i buy 130p?

[Astro_Dad]

If you are looking for more capability than than the 130p, you could consider the non Virtuoso version of the Heritage 150 - that would be an upgrade over the 130 aperture wise giving you >30% more light gathering capacity. Only consider the Virtuoso if you are sure you’ll use the GOTO and tracking features. Using the electronics and phone control isn’t always the best option for a beginner (or even experienced user) - learning the sky the traditional way and seeking out objects by star hopping can be more rewarding. Fiddling around with star alignment etc. can be tricky and time consuming at times, although it does have advantages in some circumstances. (E.g if you are in a heavily light polluted area and star hopping is then too difficult). Having said that in my experience the Virtuoso version of the Heritage 150p has a smoother and more solid feeling azimuth (left/right) movement than the regular version and it can be fun to use the tracking features, or if time is short and you want to quickly track down a particular galaxy or other hard to find DSO then it’s worth having the facility. Personally, I like the option of having the GOTO option, but more often than not I prefer to use totally manually. 
Others will have different views of course !

[rchal]

thank you.Does it allow me to use it in manual mode if I  dont want to use tracking  all the time.

also  partly the reason to consider this is for children ( 10 and 13 yrs) ,they might enjoy using the virtuoso?

[Astro_Dad]

53 minutes ago, rchal said:

thank you.Does it allow me to use it in manual mode if I  dont want to use tracking  all the time.

also  partly the reason to consider this is for children ( 10 and 13 yrs) ,they might enjoy using the virtuoso?

Yes absolutely - that’s how I use mine more often than not. You simply loosen the clutches and it allows free manual movement (no tracking) just like the standard version of the ‘scope. I think your kids would love it, and the Virtuoso version has a cool tech factor they might enjoy too. Searching through the list of possible targets in the app, selecting one and watching the ‘scope slew to the target and appearing in the eyepiece (well it mostly works and gets the object in the ball park depending on how good your alignment is!) is fun in its own right depending on how tech minded you/they are. If you want to get more advanced in the future, sky tours such as those featured in Sky at Night magazine are available to programme in - in theory allowing you to explore several hard to find DSO’s in one viewing session. Many of these objects are at least viewable in a 6 inch instrument - it’s surprisingly powerful. One thing to consider is that for the Virtuoso version 8 x AA batteries or ideally a portable power supply such as this one:

https://www.celestron.com/products/powertank-lithium-lt

is required. 
You’ll be happy either way with the 150p. 
 

AD

[rchal]

many thanks AD.

I would like to have goto  as kids may like it.

will  buy soon before we see clear sky