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SkySafari 6 Pro + Evolution 8 + StarSense + SkyFi

Mallincamusa

February 07, 2018 15:06

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I have my SkyFi unit attached to the arm of the Evolution 8 mount and I have a short cable running from it to the mount to charge the SkiFi unit.  I have a second short USB cable to connect the SkyFi unit to the USB connection on the StarSense hand controller.  I have not been connecting the SkyFi unit to the hand controller prior to the completion of the star sense alignment by the mount.  Once the mount is aligned using the Star Sense, I have been connecting the SkyFi unit to it.

In SkySafari, I have the telescope set up as a Celestron Nexstar 5i/8i in alt-az goto mode.

I set my iPad to the SkyFi network and connect SkySafari to it.

I then attempted to have the mount go to a target near when the scope was pointed.  The scope move and stopped tracking.

What is the correct procedure for setting up and controlling an Evolution mount with StarSense with a SkyFi unit and SkySafari?

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22 comments

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  Bill Tschumy February 07, 2018 15:33

  Does the same problem happen if yo are running off the SkyFi's built in battery?  There is a chance there is some loop current when you are charging off th same mount you are controlling.

  To be honest, I don't recall what scope type you should select for the Evolution when connecting through the hand controller.  Have you tried the other Celestron types to see if they work?  I will check with Tim to see what the recommended type is.

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  Bill Tschumy February 07, 2018 15:52

  Tim recommends the NexStar GPS setting.

   

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  Mallincamusa February 07, 2018 23:33

  I have not tried running on the internal SkyFi battery without the SkyFi being connected to the Evolution mount.  I will do so tonight - hopefully.  And I have been using the Nexstar 5i/8i option under SkySafari telescope options.  I do not see a NexStar GPS option.

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  Mallincamusa February 07, 2018 23:34

  Bill,

  One main question is should the SkyFi unit be connected to the Star Sense keypad prior to starting the Star Sense alignment, or should it be connected once the Star Sense alignment has been completed successfully?

  Yours truly,

  Jack

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  Mallincamusa February 07, 2018 23:36

  Bill, I am not using the SkyQ link module(is that the external unit that plus into one of the mount's ports? I did try the mount without the SkyFi unit and Celestron Sky Portal app and connection was sporadic due to the type and position of the antenna used for the internal unit. That is why I would like to use the SkyFi. Jack

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  Bill Tschumy February 07, 2018 23:54

  Jack,

  The NexStar GPS option is right under the 5i/8i one.

  It shouldn't matter if you plug the SkyFi in before or after you do  the StarSense alignment.  However you should only connect from SkySafari after the alignment.

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  Mallincamusa February 08, 2018 02:37

  Bill,

  I used NexStar GPS option tonight and I plugged the SkyFi unit into the hand controller after doing the Star Sense alignment.  Then I connected SkySafari to the mount and it appeared that I could control the mount using my iPhone.  Now I have to learn how to move the scope with SkySafari PRO 6 as the move controls were not visible on the display.   Hopefully the skies will clear up and I can give it a good test.

   

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  Bill Tschumy February 08, 2018 15:33

  Jack,

  I'm surprised to hear you say the slewing controls were not visible.  All I can think of is that you had enable the "Tile to Slew" option.  With that on there is just a small button on the right of the screen to turn the feature on.

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  Mallincamusa February 08, 2018 15:43

  Bill,

  The Tile to Slew option was on and I could not figure out how to get the slew controls up on the iPhone.  I will investigate this today.

  Jack

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  Bill Tschumy February 08, 2018 15:51

  Just turn OFF Tilt to slew and you will then see the standard controls when you connect.

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  Mallincamusa February 08, 2018 15:57

  can I do this without being connected to the mount, or do I have to wait until it clears and I can get the scope aligned.

   

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  Bill Tschumy February 08, 2018 16:00

  Yes, you can do this at any time.  It is in the Telescope Setup settings.

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  Mallincamusa February 08, 2018 20:04

  Bill,

   

  Thanks.  I found it.  Hopefully it will clear here in Florida so I can do further testing before the Winter Star Party

   

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  Mallincamusa February 09, 2018 03:14

  One further question.  The Evolution with Star Sense does not have GPS.  Someone told me tonight that the location in the keypad does not have to be set to the current location because once connected to the iPhone or iPad, the mount will pick up the current location from the connected device.  My StarSense keypad was set for my home in Louisiana last night and I changed it today.  But it has been cloudy.  So - is it critical to set the location in the StarSense keypad when doing the alignment or nt?

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  Bill Tschumy February 09, 2018 14:57

  Jack,

  I'm not that familiar with StarSense and its requirements.  I think that it needs a ballpark location and time to do the initial alignment.

  Yes, SkySafari will set the Time & Location to that of your device if you have enabled that in the Telescope Setup settings.  Celestron mounts don't actually require you to have star aligned the mount before connecting.  I recommend the following:

  1. Connect to the mount from SkySafari (with the "Set Time & Location" option enabled).  This will set the time & location correctly.

  2. Disconnect and do a StarSense (or other) alignment.

  3. Now reconnect and all should be fine.

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  Mallincamusa February 09, 2018 15:04

  Bill, thanks.  I will give this a try the next time it clears enough here

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  Mallincamusa February 14, 2018 21:32

  Bill, every time I connect the SkiFi USB cable to the USB cable on the Evolution Star Sense handpad and connect to the SkyFi network, the mount stops tracking.  I can however move the mount using the direction buttons and can adjust the rate of the movement using the 1 through 4 buttons.

  But I need tracking.  What now?

  Jack

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  Bill Tschumy February 14, 2018 21:52

  Jack,

  This appears to be a problem in the StarSense HC firmware.  Celestron thinks turning off Set Time & Location in the SkySafari Scope Setup settings might be a work around.  Could you try that?   You should also contact Celestron and see if they have a firmware update to fix it.

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  Mallincamusa February 16, 2018 13:34

  Bill,

  i will try that and I will also contact Celestron to see if the have a firmware update that fixes it.

  Jack

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  Mallincamusa February 17, 2018 13:45

  I still have to contact Celestron about a possible firmware update.  But I did try what you suggested and turned off Set Time & Location in the SkySafari Scope Setup about 11 AM yesterday.  I did a solar system alignment on the Sun, plugged the SkyFi into the Evolution's Star Sense hand controller and used SkySafari PRO 6 to control the mount for hours.  I shut down the system and waited for dark.  Last night I did a Star Sense alignment, connected the skyFi unit to the hand controller and had the mount go to M42 - success.  I then had the mount go to the Horsehead.  The mount passed up the HH in altitude and kept moving toward the northern horizon.  I turned off the mount.  Any idea what could have caused this strange behavior?

  Jack

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  Mallincamusa February 21, 2018 03:18

  Celestron did suggest either doing a factory reset on the StarSense or flash update the hand controller and camera.  I will do this as soon as I unpack the mount from the truck.

  Jack

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  Bill Tschumy February 21, 2018 15:22

  Jack,

  I'm not sure what cause the bad slew.  When you turned things back on did you verify that the hand controller retained the correct Time & Location?  Did you do another StarSense alignment when you powered up again?  I'm not sure that the StarSense will retain a previous alignment model if you power it down.