Upgrading EQ2 mount to smartphone app compatibility

[mojorising]

I have an oldish Saxon 1309 EQ2

130mm reflector
900mm fl (f/6.9)
German Equatorial EQ2 mount

https://www.sirius-optics.com.au/saxon-1309-eq2-velocity-reflector-telescope.html

I would like to add the simplest upgrade to get my smartphone to be able to give me directions to find objects

I don't need motorised assistance

I see that newer telescopes like Celestron StarSense Explorer have a smartphone connection to an Alt-azimuth mount and provides manual steering instructions to the user via the phone screen

Is there a solution I can use with an EQ2 mount that will provide similar functionality?

I want to be able to open an app on my phone that knows my location and the time and then enter a target object and have the phone tell me which way to steer the scope to find that object

Is this possible?

Or is it possible to get a new mount that will allow this kind of arrangement while reusing the tube and optics?

[PeterStudz]

Yes, I do that with an iPhone app called “PS Align Pro” that includes a PushTo feature. You need to align it to at least one known target in the sky and off you go. Some recent discussion of it here towards the end of the thread…

There’s also a web based app called AstroHooper, although I’ve never used it….

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/800486-astrohopper-new-name-for-navigation-app-aka-skyhopper/
 

Edited May 9, 2023 by PeterStudz

[irandar]

Hi folks, There are 3 other iPhone apps from a guy in Singapore. I have been helping him a bit with English text. The simplest called PushToCam involves strapping the phone in any position and aligning with one star. The more complex one involves mounting the phone so the camera and scope point in the same direction, called FinderCam. And the most sophisticated one involves mounting the phone and aligning with 3 stars. It is called PlateSolveCam. All of them will locate unseen objects and point to them with a green line. 

More info is here https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/875631-platesolvecam-ios-app-introducing-and-looking-for-testers/#entry12687388

I made a simulated daytime Youtube also. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3tc7YPv6-I&t=29s

PlateSolveCam: an Alternative to StarSense for Any Telescope

Testers for the app are needed, especially in clear-sky regions.  Thanks and regards, Irving

[irandar]

Hi folks, PlateSolveCam has now been replaced by FinderCam, which features the same plate solving features for finding objects with your telescope. The developer in Singapore is hoping to find experiences astro guys and gals to test his software. While waiting for skies to clear, I have made a youtube that explains what FinderCam does and how to use it. 

 

https://youtu.be/uCnj5vVCvdM

[irandar]

Hi folks, The app FinderCam for iPhone has been improved so you can use it on the normal StarSense mount. It uses plate-solving to find the target from large catalogs, and there are a number of useful features that allow you to use it in light polluted skies. It is available on the App Store and is now free. Here is a simulated daytime use in this photo, showing the green guide line to the object. My iPhone SE2 was in the mount viewing down onto the mirror. I could not get to the screenshot buttons without getting my arm in the way. If you fix up a mount, the app is also useful to find your way in the sky with any scope, or perhaps mounting it on binocs. You can use it handheld as a sky guide. Hope this is useful.