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Alt-Az mode without converting to RA-DEC with NexStar?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2023 5:16 pm
by mattthestrat02
Hello!
I am using a NexStar Celestron telescope mount with Hamlib and gpredict to make a satellite tracking system. I’m using gpredict to track the coordinates, and then hamlib is sending the coordinates to the telescope mount. However, when my celestron telescope mount receives the alt-az coordinates it interprets them as RA-DEC coordinates. In other words, when gpredict tells the mount to go to 0 degrees altitude, my mount looks at 0 degree right ascension (so it looks up at the celestial equator). Does anyone know how to make the telescope mount listen for raw alt-az coordinates (don’t interpret the coordinates as RA and DEC but rather as raw motor angles) or how I could go about converting the coordinates being sent by gpredict into RA-DEC coordinates? Thanks to everyone in advance!
Re: Alt-Az mode without converting to RA-DEC with NexStar?
Posted: Wed May 31, 2023 11:49 pm
by JayTee
I used to track satellites with a program called Satellite Tracker using my Celestron CPC Alt-Az mount. I am not familiar with the titles you are speaking of. I haven't seen anyone else on these forums implement that kind of conversion for the Celestron Alt-Az mount. I think you may be a trailblazer here.
Cheers,
Re: Alt-Az mode without converting to RA-DEC with NexStar?
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:31 am
by mattthestrat02
JayTee wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 11:49 pm
I used to track satellites with a program called Satellite Tracker using my Celestron CPC Alt-Az mount. I am not familiar with the titles you are speaking of. I haven't seen anyone else on these forums implement that kind of conversion for the Celestron Alt-Az mount. I think you may be a trailblazer here.
Cheers,
What did you do to get around your celestron hand controller interpreting az/alt as
ra/
dec coordinates?
Re: Alt-Az mode without converting to RA-DEC with NexStar?
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 1:47 pm
by helicon
Hello matt and Welcome to the Forums. Sounds like an interesting project.
Re: Alt-Az mode without converting to RA-DEC with NexStar?
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:42 pm
by mattthestrat02
helicon wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 1:47 pm
Hello matt and Welcome to the Forums. Sounds like an interesting project.
Thanks man! Yah it’s a little frustrating, I feel like I’m missing something. But my celestron mount hand controller refuses to just listen to ax/alt coordinates. It thinks what I’m sending it is
RA/
DEC coordinates. I’m working on a python script right now to intercept my localhost transmissions and convert the desired position coordinates to
RA and
DEC. BUT, if anyone knows how to make my hand controller stop interpreting coordinates as
RA/
DEC please let me know, because it would save me so much effort. Thanks guys!!
Re: Alt-Az mode without converting to RA-DEC with NexStar?
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:33 pm
by JayTee
mattthestrat02 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:31 am
What did you do to get around your Celestron hand controller interpreting az/alt as ra/dec coordinates?
First off, I have to point out that my CPC plugs into my laptop so I can control all operations of the mount from the laptop. So in that regard, I didn't have to do any interpreting. The Satellite Tracker software did all that work.
Depending on your hand controller (
HC) model, most have a port/socket at the base of the
HC to accept a small (phone-type) plug which then goes to a converter that allows you to have a USB plug that will then give you computer access to your mount.
Satellite Tracker has a database of the current visible satellites. This database was updatable (or used to be). You'd input your location and it would tell you what satellites were above the horizon and then allowed you to select whichever one you wanted to view/image and then it would slew your mount and then track that satellite. It was very cool but actually got a bit boring after the novelty wore off.
You can still find this software on the net. Good luck.
Cheers,
Re: Alt-Az mode without converting to RA-DEC with NexStar?
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:46 pm
by mattthestrat02
JayTee wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:33 pm
mattthestrat02 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:31 am
What did you do to get around your Celestron hand controller interpreting az/alt as ra/dec coordinates?
First off, I have to point out that my CPC plugs into my laptop so I can control all operations of the mount from the laptop. So in that regard, I didn't have to do any interpreting. The Satellite Tracker software did all that work.
Depending on your hand controller (
HC) model, most have a port/socket at the base of the
HC to accept a small (phone-type) plug which then goes to a converter that allows you to have a USB plug that will then give you computer access to your mount.
Satellite Tracker has a database of the current visible satellites. This database was updatable (or used to be). You'd input your location and it would tell you what satellites were above the horizon and then allowed you to select whichever one you wanted to view/image and then it would slew your mount and then track that satellite. It was very cool but actually got a bit boring after the novelty wore off.
You can still find this software on the net. Good luck.
Cheers,
I’m doing exactly what you just described. My issue is once I send the az-alt coordinates to the mount, the hand controller tries to interpret them as
RA-
DEC coordinates, which I don’t want it to do. I just don’t know how to tell it to stop doing that. So thinly work around I can think of is to make a program that converts the coordinates in
RA-
DEC before it is sent to the mount.
Re: Alt-Az mode without converting to RA-DEC with NexStar?
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2023 8:04 pm
by JayTee
mattthestrat02 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:46 pm
I’m doing exactly what you just described. My issue is once I send the az-alt coordinates to the mount, the hand controller tries to interpret them as RA-DEC coordinates, which I don’t want it to do. I just don’t know how to tell it to stop doing that. So the only workaround I can think of is to make a program that converts the coordinates in RA-DEC before it is sent to the mount.
Have you contacted Celestron support to see if they have any ideas, or maybe point you to a third-party company that may have a software title that does the job?
Cheers,