Putting the Universe at Your Fingertips

Products

Controlling Your Telescope

This page explains how to connect to your telescope using SkyFi from our Voyager and SkyVoyager software packages. First, make sure you've done the following:

  1. Turned on your telescope.
  2. Aligned your telescope.
  3. Connected your telescope's serial port to SkyFi's serial port.
  4. Turned on SkyFi.
  5. Joined SkyFi's wireless network.

If you haven't yet done these things, review the instructions on the previous pages.


Voyager's telescope control setup dialog.
Click to enlarge.

Using Voyager on a Mac or PC

These instructions assume you are running Voyager version 4.5.5 or higher on a Mac or PC:

  1. Select Voyager's Telescope menu > Control Setup... command.

  2. Select the correct telescope type from the Telescope Type menu.

  3. Select "Remote Control by TCP/IP: as the Communication Port. A text field will appear, where you can enter SkyFi's IP address and port number. SkyFi's default IP address is 10.0.0.1, and the default port number is 4030.

  4. Click the OK button to connect to your telescope. If everything is working, the Telescope control panel should appear. If there are problems, you'll get an error message.


SkyVoyager's scope communication settings (left) and scope control view (right).
Click to enlarge.

Using SkyVoyager on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

These instructions assume you are running SkyVoyager version 1.2 or higher on an iPhone or iPod Touch:

  1. Go to Settings > Telescope Communication.

  2. Select the correct telescope type.

  3. Enter SkyFi's IP address and port number. SkyFi's default IP address and port number are 10.0.0.1 and 4030.

  4. Tap the Done button to accept changes and return to the main sky chart view.

  5. Tap the Scope button below the main sky chart view to show the Scope Control view.

  6. Tap the Connect button to establish communication with your telescope. If successful, the telescope controls on the iPhone screen will become active, and the telescope's position will appear as a bullseye on the star chart. If there are problems, an error message will appear.

Troubleshooting

If you can't connect to your telescope, here are some things to check:

  • If SkyFi's status LED does not turn on, or does not turn green, check the batteries, or use external power. If the batteries are fresh, a continuous red or blinking red LED indicates a hardware problem; contact Carina Software for help.

  • When SkyFi is sending or receiving wireless data, its status LED will blink green. If the LED does not blink green when you try to join SkyFi's network, or when you try to connect to your telescope, then you probably joined the wrong WiFI network, or entered the wrong WEP key. Make sure there are no nearby WiFi devices with conflicting network names (like other SkyFi units, or computers/iPhones which were previously joined to SkyFi's network).

  • If you've forgotten your SkyFi network SSID or WEP key, poke the reset button on the back of the case with a ballpoint pen or an unbent paperclip. This will restore SkyFi's factory default settings. You can then re-configure your SkyFi unit using the instructions above.

  • By default, SkyFi's IP address is 10.0.0.1, and it should assign an IP address in the range 10.0.0.2 - 10.0.0.100 to your computer or iPhone. Check your computer's TCP/IP network settings to verify that your computer's IP address is in this range. If not, make sure your computer/iPhone is using DHCP. Also try renewing your DHCP lease.

  • If you are running on a Mac or PC which can join SkyFi's wireless network, but you still can't connect to your telescope, you may have other software running on your computer which is blocking the network connection. Firewall software is a likely culprit. Web or E-Mail proxy software is another; for example, the Mac PGP mail proxy creates a 10.0.0.x network which conflicts with SkyFi's. Try turning off such firewall or proxy software. Then browse to http://10.0.0.1/ to see if you can view SkyFi's configuration web page. If that works, open a telnet connection to 10.0.0.1 on port 4030, using the console on Mac OS X, or a telnet program like HyperTerminal or SecureCRT on Windows. If either of these tests fail, something is blocking network access to SkyFi.

  • If you can't connect to your telescope, make sure all cables are connected securely, and that everything is turned on. Make sure your telescope control application is configured to use SkyFi's IP address and port number. Again, these are 10.0.0.1 and 4030 by default.

  • If you can connect, but experience frequent communication dropouts, try reducing the telescope update rate. If you are operating SkyFi in an environment with many nearby wireless networks, and/or many reflective metal surfaces, WiFi interference may be a problem. Try changing the WiFi channel.

  • If you are running SkyVoyager, go to the Telescope Communication settings view. If there is a "Keep Alive" switch, turn it OFF. This setting has been problematic for some users, and has been removed from SkyVoyager 1.5 and higher.

  • If you are running Voyager on a Windows laptop, try updating your laptop's WiFi driver software. For example, HP laptops with Broadcom 43255 WiFi chipsets are known to disconnect frequently; updating to driver version 5.60.48.35 solves this problem.

  • If you have an iPhone 3G or 3GS, go to the main iPhone Settings app, then to the General > Network section, and turn OFF the "Enable 3G" switch. The 3G network seems to bring down the iPhone's WiFi interface periodically. Turning this switch OFF and ON again may clear the problem.

  • If all else fails, turn SkyFi's power off, wait a few seconds, then turn it on again. Rejoin SkyFi's wireless network, then restart your telescope control application.

  • Check for firmware updates which might solve your problem.

| +1 (925) 838-0695 | +1 (800) 493-8555 | fax: +1 (925) 838-0535