FAQ: Telescope Control
1. Alignment
1.1 Can I set up and align my telescope from AstroPlanner?
Not in the current version. This is because the various telescope mounts do not typically give programmable access to the alignment procedures.
AstroPlanner assumes you have already set up with the correct site coordinates and time and performed a suitable alignment procedure. It merely retrieves current time and pointing information and requests the telescope slew to given coordinates.
However, you can use the built-in Best Pair functionality to help with choosing the best stars for alt-azimuth alignment on an LX200 or other telescope, or the iterative and drift polar alignment features for polar alignment. Also, if you have an accurately polar-mounted Meade-compatible telescope, there is a one-star alignment procedure you can use to bypass the built-in alignment procedure.
2. ASCOM
2.1 Does AstroPlanner use ASCOM for controlling telescopes?
Not currently. The main reason for this is that ASCOM is a Windows-only technology. AstroPlanner is cross-platform, and hence uses it's own cross-platform telescope control code. ASCOM support is a frequently-requested feature, and will be added to the Windows version of AstroPlanner V2 and after (currently in beta. Release mid-2009).
3. Requirements
3.1 Do I have to connect my computer to my telescope to use AstroPlanner?
No, AstroPlanner works independently of the telescope. Obviously, if you want to control the pointing of your telescope from AstroPlanner, you will need a suitable cable.
If you don't have a suitable telescope that can be controlled, AstroPlanner has built-in "emulated" Go-to and digital setting circle telescopes. These act like real telescopes, and you can try out most of the telescope control features without connecting a real telescope.
3.2 How do I connect a telescope to AstroPlanner?
All communication with telescopes is currently done via a serial cable. You can get the cable from your local dealer (in the case of popular brands like Meade and Celestron), third-party dealers (such as www.scopestuff.com/), or you can make it yourself if you're handy with wirecutters and a soldering iron.
If your computer does not have a built-in serial port, you will probably also need an USB-to-Serial adapter. We recommend the KeySpan adapters (www.keyspan.com/) for both Macintosh and Windows.
Warning: Many of these devices (in particular the Meade-brand USB-to-Serial cable device) do not work on Mac OS X. We recommend the Keyspan devices for Mac OS X.
4. Telescope Support
4.1 Does AstroPlanner support the Bisque Paramount?
No. The protocol used by this mount is undocumented, and the vendor has not made it public. It is, apparently, very low level and requires TheSky software and ASCOM in order to operate it. AstroPlanner V2 will enable ASCOM connectivity on Windows.
4.2 Does AstroPlanner support the Celestron NexRemote application (on Windows)?
(This information is courtesy Drew Sullivan)
Many Celestron scopes can use NexRemote to run all Hand Control (HC) functions from your laptop. This is very convenient for remote use and for imagers. It also allows owners of older NexStar HCs (which do not have upgradeable Flash Memory) to run the latest version of NexStar under NexRemote, even if the firmware version on their HC is much older.
Astroplanner and NexRemote can both run at the same time and both connect to the mount at the same time through the Virtual Port feature of NexRemote. That is important since disconnecting NexRemote (to let Astroplanner, TheSky or any other program access the mount) would lose your alignment when NexRemote terminates.
To connect Astroplanner to NexRemote:
Connect the appropriate serial cable from your laptop to your mount or HC (depending on the model of the mount). Open NexRemote. You will see an image of the HC on your screen. In the uppermost drop down menu set the Serial Port to the (real) serial port that connects to your mount. Set Mount Model and Firmware in the next two drop down menus. In the lowermost dropdown menu labeled "Virtual Port" choose a serial port number for the software to create. This Virtual Serial Port is what Astroplanner will use to connect. Finally click OK and NexRemote will connect to your mount _and_ create the virtual Serial Port.
Then open Astroplanner, go to the Telescopes Menu and select for a Comm Port the number of the Virtual Port you created (which you should see in the drop down menu) and select the type of mount you are using.
Close the Telescopes menu and click on the Connect to Telescope box. In a few seconds Astroplanner should connect and list your current RA and Dec.
Caveat 1:
You have to choose a number for the Virtual Port that is not already in use. Also it must be number 9 or lower. Astroplanner (and many other programs) cannot locate higher numbered serial ports.
Caveat 2:
You have to choose the Virtual Port number connect NexStar to the mount _before_ starting Astroplanner. Astroplanner checks for existing Comm Ports when it initiates. It does not poll continuously for newly created Comm Ports. Therefore it can only locate a Virtual Port if the Virtual Port exists at the time it initiates.
Caveat 3:
Only one program can connect to the Virtual Comm Port at a time. You can connect Astroplanner. You can connect TheSky or other planetarium software. You can connect TheSky, disconnect TheSky, then connect Astroplanner. But you can't connect Astroplanner and TheSky to the Virtual Port simultaneously (even if you are issuing no commands through one of those programs.
4.3 Does AstroPlanner support the Takahashi Temma mount?
No. The protocol used by this mount is quite arcane and the documentation is not easy to interpret, since it's only available in Japanese. Also, we don't have such a mount available to perform testing on. If at some future point more complete documentation becomes available and a beta tester becomes available with access to such a mount, then it is quite possible support will be added.
AstroPlanner V2 will enable ASCOM connectivity to Temma mounts on Windows.
4.4 Exactly what telescope mount controllers does AstroPlanner support?
AstroPlanner currently supports:
- Meade LX200 (Classic) and compatible
- Meade Autostar (ETX, LX90, etc.)
- Meade Autostar II (LX200GPS and RCX400)
- Celestron NexStar 4/60/80/114 or Tasco StarGuide
- Celestron NexStar 5/8
- Celestron NexStar 8/11GPS, 5i/8i, new GT, AS, and CGE
- Celestron Ultima 2000
- Astro-Physics GTO
- Vixen Sky Sensor 2000PC (in LX200 mode only)
- Meade Magellan (DSC)
- Sky Commander (DSC)
- ServoCAT (with Argo Navis)
- Argo Navis (DSC)
- Sky Tracker with Sky Commander
- Orion Intelliscope (with Computerized Object Locator) (DSC)
If you don't see your telescope type listed here, please feel free to enquire. Note that (as of 2006) all Meade and Celestron GoTo telescopes are supported.
If you are still unsure, you can try this from AstroPlanner, with your telescope set up, aligned and connected to the computer:
a. Open Preferences (Edit→Preferences in Windows, AstroPlanner→Preferences on Mac OS X).
b. Go to the Telescope/GPS tab.
c. Click the Auto... button. AstroPlanner will cycle through all known serial ports and telescope types and attempt to find your telescope. If it's successful, you are ready to go.
5. Troubleshooting
5.1 I have connected up my telescope, but AstroPlanner doesn't communicate with it. What do I do?
a. Make sure that your telescope controller is supported. If in doubt, please ask.
b. Make sure you have the correct cable connected. If other applications are working with your telescope, this is a good sign that you have the correct cable.
c. Make sure your telescope is on and aligned.
When you try and connect to your telescope a dialog might appear claiming that AstroPlanner cannot connect. What this means is that AstroPlanner polled the telescope controller and looked for an expected response. If no response was received, or something other than the expected response was received, then AstroPlanner stops and shows the dialog.
The dialog contains an Auto... button. Try clicking that. AstroPlanner will look for all known telescope types on all known serial ports and, hopefully, stop when it finds your telescope.
If you are pretty sure everything should work, open Preferences and go to the Telescope/GPS tab. Set the "Show data flow to and from telescope" checkbox on. Close preferences and try connecting again. A window will appear showing what is being sent to the telescope by AstroPlanner, and what (if anything) is coming back. Use the checkbox at the bottom of this window to store the contents of this window for analysis (in a text file called "Data Flow.txt") by us.