Synscan Wi-Fi

[Neil H]

Hi everyone, does some one know if you have to use a Synscan dongle or is there a different one you can use ?

[happy-kat]

I have a synscan dongle and use it with two different mounts but I'm not understanding your question?

I'll see if I can find the build your own thread 

Edited November 25, 2023 by happy-kat

[Neil H]

Sorry I didn't put enough Info in What I am asking is there any Wi-Fi dongle that can be used with sw heq5pro that's not sky watcher ?

Edited November 25, 2023 by Neil H

[malc-c]

I think it's going to be a proprietary  item as the dongle has the cable to connect where the handset would normally be plugged in.  It's basically a wifi - TTL serial dongle

A google search threw up a DIY version on one of the other astronomy forums 

 

Link here

 

 

[Neil H]

Hi Malc I did look at that yesterday but it's over my pay grade lol . Spoke to Paul wookie1965 and I will pop it in the post to you if you don't mind taking a look for me if it can't be fixed I will have to get a new one but I think the price of £70 is over priced for what it is 

[malc-c]

£70 seems a fair price, about double a Lynx Astro EQDIR cable .   Granted you could probably build a DIY wifi option for around £30,  but using a 3rd party or DIY option could void any warranty on a mount should the main board be damaged as a result.

Having the faulty board in front of me should help me work out the pin outs from the six pin voltage regulator that's blown and hopefuly come up with a suitable replacement.  If the tracks have been damaged then it will be a superglue and jumper wire fix - messy but practical 

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

19 minutes ago, malc-c said:

£70 seems a fair price, about double a Lynx Astro EQDIR cable . 

Check the price of a Celestron wifi dongle as IIRC they cost even more.  

[malc-c]

I've been playing...

I have a "modular" solderless breadboard that is set up so that my usual sensors and output devices are all set up ready for any tweaks to existing projects.  One project was a wifi thermometer that I use to monitor the conditions inside my reptile egg incubator.  It uses a WeMos D1 mini, so this was all ready for use.  The other breadboard is my Skywatcher "mount" that I used for testing the conversions of the SW firmware to HEX so I know it worked and I could form my library of converted firmware files ready for any boards that came my way for repair.

So I downloaded the files from the other forum thread and once I had updated my arduino IDE software uploaded the code.  I connected the Wemos D1's TX and RX pins to the "mounts" TX and RX pins and powered up the boards via the adjacent Nano's USB port.  I tested the "mount" using an FTDI 232 5V module and my mount testing software detected the "mount" and read back all the test codes just fine.  I swapped the TX/RX wires from the FTDI to the WeMos D1 serial port and downloaded the sysnscan android app.  

In my network connections it finds the SW network, and reports back the fixed IP address of 192.168.4.1 etc and shows a status of "connected" (I also get a complaint form the phone that there is no internet access).  But sadly, like one of the other posters who also used a WeMos D1 mini the "mount" isn't found when the phone app searches.  So it's time for a cuppa and a bit more researching.  The voltage levels of the wemos D1 on the TX/RX lines are 3.3v, where as the FTDI runs them at 5v, which is where I feel the issue is, especially as on HEQ5 and EQ6 mounts they don't like low TTL serial levels...   But its all good fun experimenting...

[Neil H]

Wow I would not know were to start with all that 

[malc-c]

Well seems the WeMos D1 mini isn't suited for this task as the serial port is linked to the CH340 chip and thus it's looking at the USB port rather than the two pins marked TX/RX..

Neil, it's not that complicated really...