Does anyone know if SkySafari 5 plus/pro for Mac OS X (macOS) allows you to align with the Celestron Starsense camera? (like it does with Skysafari 5 plus/pro on android and ios) - Can't find any information about it on the Skysafari website.
Also does Skysafari 5 /plus/pro connect wirelessly with the Celestron Skyportal wireless module (either direct connection or access point mode)?
SkySafari 5 for Mac only supports StarSense when connected through the hand controller. The Celestron Wi-Fi option is not supported in Mac. So what this means is you can use the StarSense HC to do you alignment and then connect using SkySafari and make use of it.
Thanks for your reply.
Sorry, not sure I understand. So you are saying that you have to connect the mac OS X laptop or computer with a cable to the Starsense hand controller?
Is the Starsense alignment routine included in the Skysafari mac OS X software? (like in the android and ios version), or not?
One more question: does Skysafari Mac OS X work with the latest MacOS (Sierra) operating system?
Many thanks
Yes, you must use a cable just like you do with non-WiFi Celestron mounts. Generally you need a USB-to-RS232 converter (KeySpan recommended) and then plug the RS-232 serial cable into the converter.
No, the StarSense alignment routines are not in Mac.
There are no problems with Sierra that we are aware of.
Ok thanks.
So..., the OS X version only half-baked at the moment ( not as featured as the android and ios versions).
Do you have any plans for a windows version?
Using a tablet or phone with Skysafari is great, but sometimes the option of using a laptop for wireless control (bigger screen, mouse, optional additional monitor) is very nice.
I control my Celestron mount wirelessly with Stellarium and the Skyportal wifi module on my XPS 13 laptop (windows 10), and it's actually really great! (even though Stellarium does not yet have a Starsense align routine).
Hello again Bill,
Sorry to bother you,
You say that "The Celestron Wi-Fi option is not supported in Mac."
But I just received a message from your colleague;
Keiron Smith (Simulation Curriculum Corp.), I quote:
"SkySafari 5 for OS X connects wirelessly to the SkyPortal WiFi module. Use "Celestron WiFi" in the ScopeType Settings."
So, is it yes or no ???
Yes, it does connect wirelessly using Celestron Wi-Fi, but the StarSense alignment is not used. If you want to use StarSense on Mac you have to connect with a cable and align using the HC.
Regarding your comment: "So..., the OS X version only half-baked at the moment ( not as featured as the android and ios versions)."
I would say it is 98% baked. We don't have Celestron's permission to use the StarSense Wi-Fi alignment in the Mac version. That is why it is not there.
No, there is no Windows version planned. We have Starry Night for Windows. The Windows market is already flooded with good, cheap (or free) astronomy software. It makes little business sense to go after that market at this time.
Note that some folks are running the Android version of SkySafari under an Android emulator on Windows. We do not officially support this configuration but it does work well.
Many thanks.
Yes, emulation is Ok, but not perfect.
Cannot get access point connection to work with Bluestacks, also screen definition much less than native.
so if i do a star sense alignment using the hand controller can i then use wifi to do goto functions on the evolution mount with star sense? Or do i have to do a star sense alignment with the hand controller and connect to the mount using usb mini to do goats. Or can i do a star sense alignment using the usb connection to the hand controller and then do go tos from the mac?
I want to be able to use sky safari pro on the mac and be able to at least do go tos, move the scope to center etc. what do i need to do this either mini usb or wifi? I have used the mini usb to star sense connection to update firmware on the evolution mount with no problem so i knows that cable connection works.
Mike Close
To use the alignment model you created with the hand controller you must connect to the scope through the hand controller. The USB cable is the way to go.
Can you use SkySafari for MAC (OS X) and USB cable to the newer Starsense hand control which has a mini USB port and internal USB-RS232 interface?
Yes, that will work.
what scope type needs to be entered for an evolution mount and be able to use a usb cable to the star sense hand controller. Tried wifi celestron, did not work and tried nexstar that did not work?
Celestron Wi-Fi is definitely not the correct on. I would think that one of the NexStar options should work (probably NexStar GPS/SLT/SE).
What do you have specified for the Connection type in the Telescope Setup settings? It needs to be USB, not the default Wi-FI.
i go to telescope , setup choose any of the celestron types and i get only wifi or bluetooth for connection types, no usb. You no when i first tried this i thought it had a selection of connection type of usb , not anymore or maybe I'm in the wrong place. Anyway tried several things and don't see anywhere where usb can be selected.
You need to have a USB cable plugged in and connected to the HC for the USB option to show up. I think, but am not sure that you might need to have the mount powered on.
Bill
Tried the connection again yesterday. Did a solar system alignment on the evolution mount with the star sense hand controller. plugged in a usb cable to the mac and the star sense hand controller. Brought up sky safari pro 5. Selected telescope, settings and then selected usb which now showed in the connection type list. Each telescope type i tried i got a connection failure on. The usb cable i used was one i had used in the past to do firmware updates on the evolution and star sense hand controller. I had updated the mac with the prolific driver for mac prior to doing the evolution firmware update with CFM. The firmware update worked great so I'm pretty sure that cable is ok. Any ideas?
Mike
Let me talk to Celestron about this. I don't have an Evolution mount and I don't have the StarSense hand controller with the USB on the bottom. However I do have a standard NexStar HC with the USB on the bottom and I just verified I can talk to my NexStar SE mount just fine fro my Mac.
Give me a day to get some more info. Sorry this isn't working out of the box for you.
Also, I'm curious why you mentioned the Prolific drivers. Normally those are only used for a USB-to-Serial adapter. You are not using that are you? I'm assuming you have a straight USB cable running from the Mac to the bottom of the hand controller with no other adapters.
One more thing to try. If you have "Set Time & Location" ON in the SkySafari Scope Setup settings, try it with it OFF. It may be that the StarSense HC doesn't like this command.
Bill
i used the prolific drivers to get the cfm to star sense firmware update to work. Tried before that and it would not connect.
i had time and location unchecked.
any news on mac usb?