HELP - CELESTRON STARSENSE 8 DOB - PROBLEM IN USING THE APP TO SET UP.

[DaveL59]

22 hours ago, paulastro said:

Thanks Andrew.  No, it was sunny all day, and then clouded up before it was dark enough to try it out.  Will try again as soon as there's a chance and report back.  I can't try both phones on the same night as they require to be aligned with the telescope beforehand of course in daytime.

No reason you can't alight at night on a bright object you know or even a distant street lamp, or just tell the app its still aligned and go from there just to see if its picking up the star field ok 🙂 

[paulastro]

1 hour ago, DaveL59 said:

No reason you can't alight at night on a bright object you know or even a distant street lamp, or just tell the app its still aligned and go from there just to see if its picking up the star field ok 🙂 

Thanks Dave.  I'd thought about this but I don't think it is picking up the starfield ok.  In the few attempts I've managed (due to the weather) its never managed to find it's stellar location.  After a number of attempts it takes a couple of long exposures, (8 seconds at 1600 asa if I recall correctly) and they don't work either.  It them comes up with along message saying it has failed to find it's location and I should contact Celestron. 

In all attempts I aligned the camera to the mirror and the view to that of the scope via the crosshairs in the daytime.

After a week communicating with FLO I had my first communication directly from Celestron yesterday.

All this is with the A52s, more or less the same thing happened in my one attempt with me A40.  Its hard to believe it doesn't work witho ne of the cameras, never mind both?!

Forecast clear all night tonight so I'll be out again.  Not very optimistic, if it hasn't worked up to now I can't think why it should be different.

 

 

  

[DaveL59]

8 minutes ago, paulastro said:

Thanks Dave.  I'd thought about this but I don't think it is picking up the starfield ok.  In the few attempts I've managed (due to the weather) its never managed to find it's stellar location.  After a number of attempts it takes a couple of long exposures, (8 seconds at 1600 asa if I recall correctly) and they don't work either.  It them comes up with along message saying it has failed to find it's location and I should contact Celestron. 

In all attempts I aligned the camera to the mirror and the view to that of the scope via the crosshairs in the daytime.

After a week communicating with FLO I had my first communication directly from Celestron yesterday.

All this is with the A52s, more or less the same thing happened in my one attempt with me A40.  Its hard to believe it doesn't work witho ne of the cameras, never mind both?!

Forecast clear all night tonight so I'll be out again.  Not very optimistic, if it hasn't worked up to now I can't think why it should be different.

 

 

  

fingers crossed then esp now you've been able to get the camera to show an image in the app. Did they ask you to capture any logs or anything to assist with diagnostics? Might be worth doing anyway so you can take a look and see what it reports.

I wonder what spread of phones we have out in the wild and how they're fairing. I'd expect the premium end (iPhone, Sammy S and Note ranges) to work well as they'll have the better spec hardware and sensors, the mid-lower end (Sammy A etc) not sure, perhaps those that have the licensed app can post results? Or we set up a poll maybe? (no idea how we do that tho)

Edited July 9, 2022 by DaveL59

[paulastro]

Thanks Dave, not yet.

Do you know I'd actually thought of starting a thread regarding phones that work well and those that don't.  I  may do it in the next couple of days.  Thinking about it, I'm spending so much time communicating with both FLO and Celestron Id be delighted if someone else is willing to do it, Dave? 🙂

It's also been suggested to me already that an iPhone  (6,7 or8) might be a better bet and I'm thinking of buying a used one if I'm not very soon up and running with what I have.  In fact my wife has come up with a 5 ES today which I'm going to try when a charger arrives from Amazon and I can work out how it works. (Apparantly it's a 6 in disguise 😊)

 

[DaveL59]

56 minutes ago, paulastro said:

Thanks Dave, not yet.

Do you know I'd actually thought of starting a thread regarding phones that work well and those that don't.  I  may do it in the next couple of days.  Thinking about it, I'm spending so much time communicating with both FLO and Celestron Id be delighted if someone else is willing to do it, Dave? 🙂

It's also been suggested to me already that an iPhone  (6,7 or8) might be a better bet and I'm thinking of buying a used one if I'm not very soon up and running with what I have.  In fact my wife has come up with a 5 ES today which I'm going to try when a charger arrives from Amazon and I can work out how it works. (Apparantly it's a 6 in disguise 😊)

 

ok, kicked off a poll so we might get some consensus on what really has been found to work 🙂 

 

 

[Astro_Dad]

Probably worth clarifying in case others read this for info, I think you are possibly referring to an iPhone SE. This was launched in 2016 originally with the same processor as the 6 (an Apple A9). The iPhone 6 is the oldest phone Celestron claim works. The SE should technically as well based on the spec, but is unlikely to give as fast or responsive an experience as newer phones. (Will take longer to find location and plate solve when moving the ‘scope to a target). 
You might also be referring an iPhone 5S which is an older phone still (A7 processor) and is not supported according to Celestron. 

[paulastro]

9 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

ok, kicked off a poll so we might get some consensus on what really has been found to work 🙂 

 

 

That's great Dave, thank you.  Hopefully with a clear night I will have time tonight to try various things on both cameras. Thanks again, Paul

 

[paulastro]

9 minutes ago, Astro_Dad said:

Probably worth clarifying in case others read this for info, I think you are possibly referring to an iPhone SE. This was launched in 2016 originally with the same processor as the 6 (an Apple A9). The iPhone 6 is the oldest phone Celestron claim works. The SE should technically as well based on the spec, but is unlikely to give as fast or responsive an experience as newer phones. (Will take longer to find location and plate solve when moving the ‘scope to a target). 
You might also be referring an iPhone 5S which is an older phone still (A7 processor) and is not supported according to Celestron. 

It's the iphone 5 ES which was also called the 6 something at one time for some reason Andrew.  Supposedly a 6 in the guise of the smaller 5 because some folks wanted a smaller phone - hard to believe nowadays!  It may possibly be on the list under its other name, 6 something.

[Astro_Dad]

For clarification and forum members correct if wrong -  there isn’t such a phone as the iPhone ES. There was a 5, a 5S , a 5C and the SE. The SE was the same generation as the 6 but was never called a 6 something. 
The SE (not 5SE but simply SE). was launched as you say to offer equivalent processing power as the 6 in a smaller form factor. Interestingly the SE was rebooted recently as many still desire a pocketable yet powerful phone. 

 

[paulastro]

45 minutes ago, Astro_Dad said:

For clarification and forum members correct if wrong -  there isn’t such a phone as the iPhone ES. There was a 5, a 5S , a 5C and the SE. The SE was the same generation as the 6 but was never called a 6 something. 
The SE (not 5SE but simply SE). was launched as you say to offer equivalent processing power as the 6 in a smaller form factor. Interestingly the SE was rebooted recently as many still desire a pocketable yet powerful phone. 

 

It was a typo Andrew, I meant to put SE of course.

[paulastro]

ITS WORKING !!!!  

What a relief.  I tried it out last night and it worked fine!  Though there might be an issue with those two screens lighting up (or not)  it doesnt matter anyway as you can bypass it by doing a night alignment which I did last night when cloud briefly intervened a couple of times.  It was also completely clear last night for the first hour or so, which it hadn't been on my previous attempts, so perhaps I had not understood what sky conditions it should work in.

 

Whatever the reason its fine now.

I was out from 11pm to just before 3am. It started working immediately, exactly how it does in all those videos on u-tube, I couldnt believe it.

 

It's bit embarrassing, but I wonder if there may never have been anything wrong with it at all!  Though the mirror/camera and crosshair alighnment screens to me didnt seem to be lit when I thought they should be, perhaps I was wrong.

 

Also when the screen kept coming up with 'cannot find your location', instead of me thinking it wasn't working properly, it was and the conditions were really just not good enough.

 

I may be wrong, but it may be that I'm not the only one who have reported errors when really there's nothing wrong.  I always thought that it's such a simple system, (a phone holder with a mirror stuck on the tube, and an app) that there really shouldn't be a problem.  Except perhaps people like me me who tend to overthink things and create a problem for themselves 😂.

 

Many thanks to all those who have tried to help with my dilemma and offered such good  support and advice, especially DaveL and Andrew.

 

[Astro_Dad]

36 minutes ago, paulastro said:

ITS WORKING !!!!  

What a relief.  I tried it out last night and it worked fine!  Though there might be an issue with those two screens lighting up (or not)  it doesnt matter anyway as you can bypass it by doing a night alignment which I did last night when cloud briefly intervened a couple of times.  It was also completely clear last night for the first hour or so, which it hadn't been on my previous attempts, so perhaps I had not understood what sky conditions it should work in.

 

Whatever the reason its fine now.

I was out from 11pm to just before 3am. It started working immediately, exactly how it does in all those videos on u-tube, I couldnt believe it.

 

It's bit embarrassing, but I wonder if there may never have been anything wrong with it at all!  Though the mirror/camera and crosshair alighnment screens to me didnt seem to be lit when I thought they should be, perhaps I was wrong.

 

Also when the screen kept coming up with 'cannot find your location', instead of me thinking it wasn't working properly, it was and the conditions were really just not good enough.

 

I may be wrong, but it may be that I'm not the only one who have reported errors when really there's nothing wrong.  I always thought that it's such a simple system, (a phone holder with a mirror stuck on the tube, and an app) that there really shouldn't be a problem.  Except perhaps people like me me who tend to overthink things and create a problem for themselves 😂.

 

Many thanks to all those who have tried to help with my dilemma and offered such good  support and advice, especially DaveL and Andrew.

 

Excellent result Paul, great to hear !

[DaveL59]

glad to hear its working well now, in terms of the sky cloud and moon can hamper things for sure tho with the moon it'll usually suggest trying another part of the sky. So long as there's enough clear sky with brighter stars I've found it'll figure it out ok.

Advanced camera controls does seem confusing at first, esp in daylight where you can often get just a white screen till you turn down the gain.

Once you've enabled night mode tho the screen goes red so doesn't much affect your vision, the exiting the app does give you back the regular colour display which of course would do. The thing I find most annoying is the loud chime when you exit, not great late at night with neighbours all having windows open in these hot days, but then I get to be woken by crying babies and barking dogs so one loud bing ain't all that much to me 😉 

[Astro_Dad]

2 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

The thing I find most annoying is the loud chime when you exit

I’ve never noticed this @DaveL59! You’re right it does chime both on starting (Similar to how SkySafari chimes when connecting to a telescope) and existing StarSense. I use mine in silent mode by default so never been an issue. 

Edited July 10, 2022 by Astro_Dad

[bosun21]

23 hours ago, Astro_Dad said:

For clarification and forum members correct if wrong -  there isn’t such a phone as the iPhone ES. There was a 5, a 5S , a 5C and the SE. The SE was the same generation as the 6 but was never called a 6 something. 
The SE (not 5SE but simply SE). was launched as you say to offer equivalent processing power as the 6 in a smaller form factor. Interestingly the SE was rebooted recently as many still desire a pocketable yet powerful phone. 

 

I bought an iPhone SE for myself for just that reason. It’s got all the gizmos and fits in my jacket pocket. It’s the newest version and works with my starsense despite being loose in the clamping mechanism. I decided to just buy a large screen Android for my starsense (Blackview BV9900 pro). This works a treat.

[Daniel-K]

I've made a short video from my night out in the field setting up the Starsense Explorer app. hope it helps.

 

Danski 😊

[Jbn1]

Just over two years ago I purchased a StarSense Explorer telescope.  I was fascinated by the technology and with its ease of use.

However my existing Sony xz1 compact when trying to calibrate would just show a blank screen.  This even though it’s on the compatibility list.  I informed Celestron at the time.  I was most disappointed but bought an Apple iPod 7th gen which worked perfectly and still does.  I use it for lots of other things as well so it’s money well spent.

Anyway I was experimenting with the old phone the other day and found a solution.  It works for me but I can’t promise it will work for you of course.  But here goes:

Go into the setup procedure/press needs alignment/next/next/enable night mode/next/next/next/next(ensure night mode is enabled) and press done. Press ok

then close the app completely.

Open the app again and go into the setup procedure/press needs alignment/next/next  - disable night mode.  This is where my camera begins to work and alignment can be completed.

Basically  it’s enable night mode on first set up and disable it on the second but come out and then go back into the app before the second set up.

Hope this works for anyone having difficulty getting set-up. Of course I can’t promise it will work for everyone.  I’ve shared this as soon as I’ve found out.  I’m pleased I can use more than one camera now.  Apologies if I’ve missed anyone posting this same solution before.  I’ve done it in good faith.  Best wishes. Hope these clouds shift soon!

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Jbn1
Clarity

[Jbn1]

Looks like it’s been fixed for Android/Google phones today with latest software update.  Now works first time.  Good news. You can ignore my previous post now!  Well done Celestron!

Edited August 5, 2022 by Jbn1
Praise

[paulastro]

7 minutes ago, Jbn1 said:

Looks like it’s been fixed for Android/Google phones today with latest software update.  Now works first time.  Good news. You can ignore my previous post now!

Presumably you mean the latest Android update, not an app update?  A friend of mine is having problems and it would be good to give him some good news.  Alas, he lives a long way from me so I can't just pop along and help him sort it out.

[DaveL59]

1 hour ago, paulastro said:

Presumably you mean the latest Android update, not an app update?  A friend of mine is having problems and it would be good to give him some good news.  Alas, he lives a long way from me so I can't just pop along and help him sort it out.

There is a new update to the app, just downloaded and installed it on my note-10+. Perhaps worth your friend having a look on the play store and see if he has the latest version. No clue tho if it'll help get a Sammy A13 to work if it isn't supported...

[Jbn1]

Yes the updated app now works on Sony xz1 first time for me.  I was having difficulties before but found a temporary solution - see my previous post above.  Hope the update works for your friend now

[paulastro]

Many thanks for that, it could be good news.  I presume the app updated automatically?

Can you kindly tell me what version of the app you have now, and I can check it against what version my friend has?

Many thanks for your help.

[paulastro]

Jbn1, I've actually found out the latest update, so I can check with my friend now.  Thanks again.