SkyCruiser General Description SkyCruiser is software running under the Android operating system, developed for the purpose of controlling telescopes wirelessly employing Bluetooth and GPS. After mount alignment which requires the hand control (HC), SkyCruiser basically replaces the hand control of the telescope mount. The software requires familiarity with the use of the connected telescope mount, its hand control, Android smart phone and basic astronomy. SkyCruiser is designed solely for Celestron NexStar and SkyWatcher SynScan hand controls. Essential Features * Writes coordinates and time to the HC (currently NexStar only) * Writes saved coordinates and system time to the HC * Directional slew in 9 speed rates, parking modes * Azimuthal and equatorial tracking modes * Star chart down to magnitude 6.4 with GoTo * Manual input of equatorial coordinates with GoTo * Object database with GoTo buttons: - 88 Constellations - 3833 Stars with designations (SAO, HIP, HD catalogs) - 224 Binary stars, 261 Variable Stars - 388 Stars with known planets - 110 Messier objects, - 103 Caldwell objects - 580 NGC/IC objects - Solar System objects, Galilean Satellites - Over 200 observable comets * User objects database with separate module for daytime editing * Object identification in scope pointing direction, currently best positioned objects * Display showing RA/Dec, system time, sidereal time and hour angle of scope position * Polar alignment assistant with compass (including Polaris' hour angle and clock position) * Dew point simulator/estimator, Scope calculator with FOV measuring * Screen night mode with adjustable brightness, red light torch * Test Mode for use without a mount microsd card installation, electronic users' manual, Please appreciate that, while in development, all specifications and functions described herein are forward looking statements which may change without advance notice. System Requirements (user supplied) * Smartphone running Android 2.2 or higher with 1GHz CPU, Bluetooth, GPS, Orientation sensors. * Bluetooth serial adapter hardware * Telescope mount with hand control, either... - Celestron NexStar Hand Control running firmware version 4.13 and higher, or - Celestron NexStar GT hand control running firmware version 4.03 and higher or - SkyWatcher SynScan hand control running firmware version 3.28 and higher.
Application Instructions Getting Started At start-up four options are provided. Connect. Ties the application up with the hand control via Bluetooth. Help. Please read the manual when not observing since it opens in Adobe Reader which has no night view mode. No Scope. In this mode the application runs without a mount connected and bypasses all commands and related information. Equatorial coordinates can be entered manually for simulations and access to data, such as rise/set times, the star chart, list of best objects, database, etc. User Objects. Edit the user objects entered during observation at night. Provide GPS Data SkyCruiser is meant to be used after mount alignment, but it can help speed up the alignment process. Power up the mount and start SkyCruiser. Tap on the Menu key/settings and acquire GPS coordinates. As the phone gets a fix on GPS tap on "Set Hand Control GPS" to write both, coordinates and time to the hand control. This function eliminates need for supplying the data manually on the hand control. Then proceed with the alignment in accordance with your equipment manual. After successful alignment, SkyCruiser can take over the helm. Knowing Beforehand When on the main screen (with directional keys) press the audio volume buttons on the phone to adjust screen brightness. The selected brightness will be adopted by all screens. Tap on the display or press on the camera shutter key of the phone to stop a GoTo slew. This is rescue function in case of cord wrapping, etc. SkyCruiser does not accept GoTo commands if an object is currently below horizon. Please do not press any buttons or menus while the mount is slewing. The Main Screen The four directional keys slew the mount in either direction at nine selectable slew rates. The [Status] button is provided for confirmation of the mount's current settings and pointing position. Tap on the [Track mode] button to select the appropriate tracking mode for the mount in use (disabled when a SynScan Hand Control is connected as Equatorial mounts track in R.A. by default). Tap on the [Slew Rate] button to select a rate from 1 (slowest) to 9 (fastest). The display at the top shows current equatorial coordinates at the left plus local time, sidereal time and hour angle at the right hand side. Hand Control type, current selected tracking mode and slew rate are shown at the bottom right. Tap on this line to stop a GoTo slew, if need be. Long tap on the display to toggle backlight simulation.
Function Button Tap on the [Function] button to toggle two sets of four keys each. When visible, each key is assigned a dual function. The additional keys are invisible by default and can be made invisible again after tapping the Function button three times. Press [Function] once Chart Opens a star start centered on the current scope position. Tap on a star or object to center it. Tap on the [Scope] button to reset the chart to scope position. The [GoTo] button slews the scope towards the center of the star chart, however, just roughly as the maximum zoom is on 5 degrees FOV. Zoom in or out using the [+] and [-] buttons. The Volume Up button changes from night view to a colored chart. Press Volume Down to return to night view. Dew Opens a screen for dew point estimation. Set temperature and humidity values using the sliders to check how close the dew point is in the observation site. Tap on the temperature button to toggle C and F scales. Identify Searches the database for objects which lie within a radius of 10 degrees around the scope position. The second line in a list item informs the angular distance from the center. The last three rows inform the pages where to find these objects in popular star atlases. Tap on an object in the list and then on the object name at the top to go to. Input Opens a screen provided for manual selection of equatorial coordinates to have the scope go to. For reference, equatorial coordinates are converted to ecliptic and horizontal coordinates. Press [Function] twice Rise/set Brings up a screen informing today's rise and set times of the Moon and the Sun plus twilight times, moon age, phase and visual magnitude. This comes in handy for planning observations before darkness. User Provided to create a database of user objects. Every new entry defaults to the current scope position. Fill all fields and press on [Save Object] to add. Long-tap on an entry and press [Delete] to remove it. The database can be edited in a separate module for daylight use after disconnecting the scope. Best Shows a screen with a list of Solar System objects plus bright stars and deepsky objects currently best positioned for observation. Tap on an object in the list and then on the object name at the top to go to. Criteria are: Azimuth 90 to 270, Altitude > 30 Stars < 3 visual magnitude Deepsky < 8 visual magnitude FOV (Field of View) Opens a screen where telescope performance in combination with a given eyepiece is calculated upon provision of aperture, focal length and eyepiece focal length and eyepiece FOV. The last selected equipment parameters will be saved. Tap on the menu key if you wish to measure the unknown FOV of an eyepiece. Tap again to remove the panel. Polar [Polar] opens a screen with a polar degree scale and compass. The large white dot marks the current position of Polaris. The top left button toggles equatorial and sidereal scales. The top right button toggles normal and 180 degrees rotated views. Tap on the hour angle display at the bottom right to toggle current hour angle and clock position of Polaris. Press on [Compass] to engage compass mode. The compass automatically compensates for magnetic declination. The compass is not available to phones without directional sensors. Object Database [Database] opens a list of celestial object categories. Tap on any to proceed to the objects in that category. Tap on an object to show relevant data at the top. Tap on the button at the top to GoTo. The GoTo command will be ignored for objects currently below horizon.
Conventional Menu If you do not prefer to use this application with the feel of the hand control then tap on the menu key to open a conventional menu. The invoked functions are identical to those described in the tables above, except for Planets, Galilean Moons, Sky Pointer, Park Scope and Red Light which are placed in the menu only. Planets Computes rise and set times of the solar system planets for the present day. Galilean Moons Computes the positions of Jupiter's primary moons relative to the planet. Time shifts in intervals of 15 minutes and 1 hour are provided for observation planning. An image of Jupiter is shown centered on the central meridian (system II) to check visibility of the GRS. Tap on the satellite display to change viewing orientations. Two display modes are provided, edge-on and top view on Jupiter's north pole (orbit view). The view is updated automatically every minute. Sky Pointer Experimental. Point the phone at an object in the sky, press the camera shutter key to hold the motion sensors and then tap on the [GoTo] button to slew the mount to the target. Press the shutter button again to engage the sensors for a new target. This a very rough pointing function, though. When aiming, point the top of your phone in portrait at a target of interest as if the vertical center axis of your phone virtually extends towards the target. This function is not available to phones without directional sensors. Park Scope Returns the mount to a parking position, near Polaris when using equatorial tracking (near Sigma Octantis in the southern hemisphere) or null azimuth and altitude when using Alt/Az tracking. Red Light Opens an empty dimmed red screen, i.e. a red light torch. Use the volume buttons to adjust brightness. User Objects Database During observations at night the user database records the current scope position in equatorial coordinates and allows to enter essential optical parameters. This database can later be edited without connecting to the mount. Start SkyCruiser and select User Objects. Pick an object from the list at the left. All data in orange can be edited plus the comment field. Tap on a data field to copy it to the edit box. Next tap on the edit box and edit the text. Press [Save Object] when finished. To delete an entry, long tap on its name in the list until the [Delete] button turns red. Then tap on it to remove the entry from the database. There is no undo for deletions. Tap on Comment to expand. Hint: If you wish to document your observation illustrated with a star chart, then tap on [No Scope] on the start-up screen, select Database/User Objects, tap on the object of interest and tap on its name to center it on a star chart. Next, tap on the Menu button to save the chart to the microsd. Remember that you can change the star chart to day mode (color chart) pressing the Volume Up button. Volume Down returns to red.
Compatibility Phone Display and Android OS Because of the large number of different Android devices in the market, SkyCruiser cannot be tested with all models and Android versions. Often, display sizes are not to the Android standard while manufacturers implement the operating system in a different way that may cause compatibility issues beyond the control of application developers. When controlling a mount with SkyCruiser, the smartphone's battery will drain faster because the Bluetooth module is permanently engaged. Make sure to have a spare battery or a charging station with you. Communication Protocol SkyCruiser and the mount communicate using the simplest possible serial protocol, which operates without any control functions, such as handshaking or prefixed data packages. Therefore, some time is needed to allow completion of commands. Please do not tap wildly on buttons but wait until the display shows equatorial coordinates after each scope movement. This applies tentatively to the beta version of this application and may improve with future versions and new Bluetooth modules that may be capable of handling asynchronous, prefixed data packages. Telescope Mounts SkyCruiser is compatible with Celestron's NexStar hand control running firmware version 4.13 or higher and NexStar GT hand controls running firmware version 4.03 and higher. SkyCruiser has been successfully tested with StarWatcher's SynScan firmware Ver 3.28, however, it lacks the commands to set and read location and time data. Serial Bluetooth Adapter The adapter must support the SPP service protocol, while there is no need for security features or handshaking, nor does it need to be paired with the phone. The adapter will function as a slave module that can be detected by the phone's Bluetooth radio. SkyCruiser determines the protocol automatically (9600,N,8,1). In fact, any low-cost adapter should do, however, please confirm with the manufacturer to be sure that the adapter of your choice is supported by your Android smart phone. If you use a SynScan HC the following adapters are a good choice as they provide a power supply input on the D-Sub (pin 9) which can be routed to pin 6 (+12V/300mA) of the HC's RJ11 connector: 1. Free2move Uncord 2. LM Technogies LM048 If you use a NexStar HC, then an adapter that is battery powered will help save a power cable. Support Support is provided only for this software application itself and cannot be extended to any hardware, such as the telescope mount, hand control and Bluetooth adapter. Software support possible in English, Japanese and German. Robert Brenner Requio Web Design Okinawa, Japan robert (atto) requio (dotto) com
Appendix Bluetooth Adapter Interface Cable Pin configurations of cables which connect a serial Bluetooth adapter with a hand control. These cables do not fit hand controls other than specified below in the table. Almost all radio shacks carry the inexpensive parts. Cable for Celestron NexStar Right: Pin configuration of a cable with a RS232 plug and a 4C/4P RJ22 modular plug that connects a serial Bluetooth adapter with a NexStar hand control. Only three wires are required, RxD, TxD (to be crossed) and ground. A battery powered adapter will help save a power cable. Configuration Cable for SkyWatcher SynScan Right: Pin configuration of a cable with a RS232 plug and a 6C/6P RJ11 modular plug that connects a serial Bluetooth adapter with a SynScan hand control. Only three wires are required, RxD, TxD (to be crossed) and ground. If the adapter has a +12V power supply input on pin 9 connect it to pin 6 of the RJ11. Configuration Example of a home-made interface cable Caution NEVER POINT A TELESCOPE DIRECTLY TO THE SUN WITHOUT SAFE PROTECTION! Make sure that protective filters are placed firmly over the aperture of the telescope and any optical accessories, such a finder scopes. Never use eyepiece sun filters as they will definitely break under the tremendous heat gathering near the focal point of optical equipment. Failure will result in permanent damage of eyes -- blindness in a worst case. Do not leave a telescope unattended when observing with an inexperienced group and/or children.