I have gotten an older model SkyFi (am not sure which model, but the old square one). I simply cannot figure out how to connect neither my computer nor my android phone to this device. It creates a network called "StarSeek" ip address 10.0.0.1 but my computer refuses to connect to this network and I cannot find it on my phone. I have tried to find advice all over the internet, but so far nothing has helped.
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Keiron Smith Kasper,
SkyFi 2 was not designed for use with Android. It was made for iOS only. However, there is hack, of sorts.
From here: Weasner's Meade Autostar Information
ubject: AutoStar controlled directly by SkiFI (WIFI) on android with Skysafari Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 12:38:57 From: joseic_EUE (joseic_EUE@hotmail.com) I`ve read some posts everywhere saying that its hard to control Autostar with SkyFi and android by means of WIFI as Android phones do not support Ad Hoc WIFI. Its true. The solution is: "Alternately, you can join both SkyFi and your Android device to an infrastructure WiFi network, such as provided by a typical home router - but then you'll need to carry that router with you, and find a way to power it, when you go to your remote observing site." as stated on the SkySafari web page. BUT there is another way to control skyfi with Android! And it is very easy: Activate WIFI hot spot on your android mobile and connect Skyfi to hot spot. The only problem I have found is Android cant access to Skyfi configuration at the beginning of the procedure so you need iPhone, iPod or iPad only once. Procedure is the following: You need: -Android mobile with WIFI hotspot capability (very usual) and with SkySafari installed on it. -SkyFi (of course) -iPhone or iPad or iPod (I used an Ipod) with no special software, for the first time. Method: 1. Activate WIFI hot spot on your android mobile (remember the name of the hot spot of your mobile. You can define a password if you want, I didnt) 2. Power on SkyFi. Once powered on, SkyFi creates its own 802.11 wireless network. By default, this is an open wireless network called "SkyFi" 3. Go to WIFI set up menu on Ipod and join to SkyFi network. With Safari (iOS web browser) access to SkyFi page (http://10.0.0.1), change the SkyFi option about WIFI access and select the Android Hot Spot (the name of your mobile hot spot) (if you stated a password in step 1 you have to enter the password now). Now you can exit (you need ipod no more). 4. Start SkySafari on your Android mobile. Access setting option in lower menu. Select "Telescope Set Up" menu and in the window "Scope Setup Settings" select "Connect via WiFi" and "Auto-Detect SkyFi". If everything goes well you mobile has detected SkyFi and then you can connect your Scope as usual in the program SkySafari. Dont forget select Scope Type and Mount Type in Scope setup! When you finish your astronomic session, just power off everything. The next time you power on SkyFi, it will look for your mobile hot spot and youll be able to control your scope again. I hope this information be useful. You need iPod for the first time to access SkyFi network as Android mobile cant. My equipmet is: Samsung Note Android 4.0, iPod 16G iOS 6, StarSeek (exactly the same than SkyFi but purchased from Orion Telescopes) and Autostar #497 on Meade LXD55-75. Jose I.
Sent: Saturday, June 15, 2013 14:27:57 From: joseic_EUE (joseic_EUE@hotmail.com) I sent an e-mail "AutoStar controlled directly by SkiFI (WIFI) on android with Skysafari" in march 2013. Now I can add some more information. Its possible to control autostar with an android device without iPhnoe/iPad at the beginning. You can use a laptop computer with WIFI, instead of iPhone/iPad, if the computer is able to connect to SkyFi adhoc network. I used a laptop with dual boot: windows XP and Windows 7. With the internet explorer (nevermind which OS starts) you can access to http://10.0.0.1 and modify the SkyFi configuration in the same way as with iPhone/iPad. So, the method is exactly the same as I sent in march but using a laptop insted of iPhone/iPad in step 3 of the previous method. I tried to do the same with other laptop with windows 8 but it failed. Although the computer detected the SkyFi adhoc network it was not able to connect to it. I dont know if it was a hardware or a software problem. I hope this information is useful to autostar community. Sincerely José I. Cuende
Start of today's update
Subject: Re: More about "ANDROID SKYSAFARI & SKYFI" Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 12:45:38 From: joseic_EUE (joseic_EUE@hotmail.com) More and more. Ive been looking into new ways to connect android devices to skyfi. Android tablets without mobile capabilities (SIM card) usually do not have hot spot wifi option, so the previous solution is not factible. But there is another wonderful solution to use SkySafari on android tablets in order to get a bigger screen than a mobile screen. WIFI technology allows to use WFI capabilities in only one way at once: direct wifi, adhoc wifi, hotspot wifi (wifi zone) or accessing to a wifi network (the usual way). What happens when my android device has normal wifi capabilities but not hotspot? The solution that figures in SkySafari webpage is to use a(n infraestructure) wifi network. But it is no possible to carry my house router to outdoors. The solution is to create a wifi zone with a mobile and connect skyfi and android tablet to the wifi zone. And Eureka! You can control your telescope with the big screen of a tablet running SkySafari. This solution does not depend on mobile coberture. The mobile can create a zone wifi without a sim card. This solution is so flexible that I have controlled my telescope with to mobiles at the same time: one mobile creating the wifi zone and the other connecting to wifi zone, and both mobiles running skysafari. (Do not ask me why I want to control my telescope with to mobiles, just for fun) Best regards, Jos I. Cuende
Go back to the Autostar Information page.
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Copyright © 2013 Michael L. Weasner / etx@me.com
Submittals Copyright © 2013 by the Submitter
URL = http://www.weasner.com/etx/autostar/2013/android_skyfi.html -
Kasper Dahl I read all the above solutions but I neither own an Apple unit nor am I able to connect with the Wifi dongle from my computer which leaves me stuck without a solution
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Keiron Smith The solution above is for SkyFi 2 + Android. You have these.
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Kasper Dahl Yes I do. I can see the StarSeek wifi on my pc, but I am not able to connect to it. I cannot see it on my android phone at all
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Kasper Dahl I think it is a SkyFi 2. A square box with "Omegon" and SkyFi on the front. No other information
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Keiron Smith StarSeek is SkyFi 2.
I've used the above workaround many times. Sorry, if you can't make it work, maybe the latest versions of Android won't allow.
We now sell SkyFi 3 which is fully compatible with Android, iOS, macOS and Windows 10.
Simulation Curriculum Corp. — SkyFi III Wireless Scope Control
Thanks!
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Kasper Dahl I did the following since I discovered that the virtual network adapter was not working on my pc: I downgraded my network device driver, and this made me reconnect to virtual network adapter which is apparently necesseary in order to connect to an ad hoc netwok like the one the SkyFi creates. I also downloaded and somehow succeed in installing latest firmware for the SkyFi. Now the networ it creates is called "SkyFi". I can see the SkyFi network on my computer and on my android phone now, but I do not know how to connet to it. My phone asks for a password and I guess it is the key I have given it with this command: netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=SkyFi key=xxxxx, but it will not connect.
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Kasper Dahl Aapart from the above mentioned issues: I am supposed to be able to type the ip address in my browser and get access to settings on the SkyFi. This is not possible.
Another issue: The user manual (on the internet) has the information (inserted below) regarding how to connect the SkyFi to the mount, but this is very confusing. I own a Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro mount and I am not able to connect the SkyFi to my mount following these instructions. Shoud I connet the SkyFi directly to the RS-232 connector on my mount, to the RJ-11 connector on my handset??
With serial telescopes, you'll need a serial cable to connect your telescope's RS-232 port to a standard PC DB9 Male serial port. Different telescopes require different serial cables. Contact your telescope manufacturer to obtain the correct serial cable for your telescope. Connect your telescope serial cable to the RS-232 port on your telescope. On most telescopes, the RS-232 port is a 4- or 6-wire modular (“telephoneâ€) jack. On Meade LX-200 and LX-400 telescopes, the RS-232 port is located on the mount base. On almost all others (e.g. Meade telescopes with #497 AutoStar controllers, Celestron telescopes with NexStar controllers, Orion and SkyWatcher telescopes with Synta controllers), the RS-232 port is located on the bottom of the hand controller. See note below.
Connect the other end of your telescope's serial cable to the DB9 male connector on SkyFi's serial adapter. Insert the other end of the serial adapter into SkyFi's RJ-11 serial connector. Make sure the connector clicks into piace securely.
Turn on your telescope, and perform any telescope alignment procedures that you would normally perform. See your telescope user manual for instructions on how to align your telescope.
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