Wifi Control of DSLR from Backyard EOS

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Hikescdnrckys
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Wifi Control of DSLR from Backyard EOS

#1

Post by Hikescdnrckys »


Hi folks.

I have a Canon Rebel T6i connected to my Celestron Evo and have a USB connection to my laptop in my den. I would like to be able to keep the door closed in the winter and control the DSLR from my laptop using wifi. Any suggestions on how this could be done? I am looking for something less expensive than upgrading my T6i to a T7i that has full wifi conenctivity to a computer.

Thanks.
Celestron Evolution 9.25 (affectionately called Clara)
Edmund Scientific Astroscan (Kristin - 25 yrs old and still truckin!)
iOptron SkyGuider with ADM Pier-Zeq Extension (cause I am gettin' old)
Canon t6i Unmodded DSLR
ZWO ASI224MC Camera

Enjoying the dark skies in Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ont.
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Re: Wifi Control of DSLR from Backyard EOS

#2

Post by Baskevo »


You can get a small laptop for acquisition and use a screen sharing app. this is what I do. I hook my laptop up outside and control everything from inside with my iPad or iMac. It works great!

I think some DSLR's have wifi, but I'm not sure what functionality that gives you. I would be surprised it would be anything like what you could do with programs like APT or BackyardEOS.
-James W.

Telescope: Explore Scientific 80mm FCD100 Triplet APO Refractor
Mount: EQ6-R Pro
Cameras: ZWO ASI1600mm Pro (Cooled) | Canon DSLR EOS T7i
Auto-guiding: ZWO ASI120mm-Mini + Astromania 50mm Guidescope

Filters: ZWO 31mm Ha/Oiii/Sii 7nm + LRGB | Orion 2" Skyglow Filter
Accessories: Explore Scientific 2" Field Flattener, ZWO EFW 8 Position
Software: APT, SharpCap Pro, PHD2, CPWI | PixInsight, DeepSkyStacker, Photoshop

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/gp/186194203@N06/18B629
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STEVE333 United States of America
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Re: Wifi Control of DSLR from Backyard EOS

#3

Post by STEVE333 »


How far is it from your laptop to your mount? leave my laptop inside and use 2 active usb cables to connect the laptop to my DSLR camera and the guide camera. I only needed 5 m cables, but, you can buy 10 m cables and can even "daisy chain" a couple of them to extend the length.

I actually take the laptop outside to do the polar alignment and then the 1-star alignment and focus. After that I take the laptop inside and connect it with the active usb cables and do everything from inside.

Don't know if this will help you, but, it works perfectly for me. I did it because someone stole my laptop from outside when i was inside the house for about 15 min!

Steve
Steve King: Light Pollution (Bortle 5)
Telescope + Mount + Guiding: W.O. Star71-ii + iOptron CEM40 EC + Orion Magnificent Mini AutoGuider
Camera: ASI 1600MM Pro + EFW Filter Wheel + Chroma 3nm Siii, Ha, Oiii + ZWO LRGB Filters
Software: PHD2; APT; PixInsight ***** My AP website: www.steveking.pictures
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Re: Wifi Control of DSLR from Backyard EOS

#4

Post by Hikescdnrckys »


Thanks everyone for the tips. My goal though is to not have any cables running from the scope outside into my den through the door, as -20C in the winter and mosquitoes in the summer make it imperative that the door be closed. If I can control the camera via wifi I can use Backyard EOS and do everything from the comfort of my den. I may also look at the ASIAIR PRO as it appears to have support for DSLRs as well as the ZWO cameras.

A Compute stick or Raspberry Pi connected outside and using Teamviewer might also work, but it might be less expensive to just trade in my DSLR.
Celestron Evolution 9.25 (affectionately called Clara)
Edmund Scientific Astroscan (Kristin - 25 yrs old and still truckin!)
iOptron SkyGuider with ADM Pier-Zeq Extension (cause I am gettin' old)
Canon t6i Unmodded DSLR
ZWO ASI224MC Camera

Enjoying the dark skies in Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ont.
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Hikescdnrckys
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Re: Wifi Control of DSLR from Backyard EOS

#5

Post by Hikescdnrckys »


Just as an update, I did trade my T6i for a T7i. Was able to connect the T7i to my laptop and control the camera through BYEOS, but the connection is so slow (click something - wait 5-10 seconds for a response) that it is almost unusable. Things are slightly better through the cellphone. At this point I think a Raspberry Pi or Windows NUC is the way to go. How inexpensive are either and how much power do I need? Does anyone have any links to a good model?

Thanks.
Celestron Evolution 9.25 (affectionately called Clara)
Edmund Scientific Astroscan (Kristin - 25 yrs old and still truckin!)
iOptron SkyGuider with ADM Pier-Zeq Extension (cause I am gettin' old)
Canon t6i Unmodded DSLR
ZWO ASI224MC Camera

Enjoying the dark skies in Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ont.
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Re: Wifi Control of DSLR from Backyard EOS

#6

Post by Mac »


Hikescdnrckys wrote: Sat Jan 25, 2020 4:16 pm Just as an update, I did trade my T6i for a T7i. Was able to connect the T7i to my laptop and control the camera through BYEOS, but the connection is so slow (click something - wait 5-10 seconds for a response) that it is almost unusable. Things are slightly better through the cellphone. At this point I think a Raspberry Pi or Windows NUC is the way to go. How inexpensive are either and how much power do I need? Does anyone have any links to a good model?

Thanks.
I have the Stellarmate and RPi3 which works but it too is slow so I upgraded to the RPi4 and while much faster, it has an issue with my camera when doing plate solving. The issue has been reportedly fixed but still in beta testing. If I were to do it over again I would go with a Windows NUC but you can't beat the price of the Raspberry Pi devices. The RPi3/4 is mounted right on the telescope and works a treat wirelessly but file transfers are very slow unless I use direct ethernet.

The RPi3/4 both run from 5vdc @ 3A maximum with typical draw ~1A and will run for many hours off my Celestron battery pack while controlling the mount.
Steve

Scopes : Explore Scientific ED102 Triplet APO - Radian Raptor Triplet APO - Orion 50mm
Mount : AVX EQ | Software : KStars - EKOS - Stellar OS | Cameras : ZWO ASI533MC ASI1600MM ASI120MM-mini
CPU : Mac Studio, iMac - Kstars-Ekos on Raspberry Rpi4/RPi5 | Misc : Thousand Oaks dew controller - DewNot straps - Optolong L-enhance - ZWO EAF
Image Processing : PixInsight - LightRoom - Photoshop - macOS 14 - Windows 11
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Larry 1969 United States of America
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Re: Wifi Control of DSLR from Backyard EOS

#7

Post by Larry 1969 »


I have a cheap, refurbished windows 10 laptop outside running APT to control everything. I connect that to my desktop wirelessly via Windows Remote Assistant. I can assume complete control of the laptop plus screen sharing to view my subs.

Larry
For visual:
10" Skywatcher collapsible goto dob, various EP's and a Celestron StarSense auto align.

For imaging:
Orion 8" astrograph 800mm @ F3.9
Eq6-R Pro controlled by APT via EQmod with an OTA mounted mini PC
Tele Vue Paracorr Type 2 coma corrector
Altair Hypercam 26C
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