rmollise
Postmaster
Reged: 07/06/07
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Doug D.]
#5036963 - 01/25/12 11:30 AM
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Several outfits, including AstroGizmos, make red filters for the iPad/Pod/Phone that fix the night vision problem but still allow the touch screen to work...
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Doug D.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/05
Loc: Virginia
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: rmollise]
#5037011 - 01/25/12 11:55 AM
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I wondered about that Rod but I was concerned about losing touch sensitivity. I will definitely check it out, thanks for the suggestion.
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BWAZ
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/21/05
Loc: CA
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Doug D.]
#5037191 - 01/25/12 01:39 PM
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My Nexus is on the way and thanks for the encouraging report!
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Tamiji Homma
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/24/07
Loc: California, USA
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: BWAZ]
#5039142 - 01/26/12 01:56 PM
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My Nexus is on the way and thanks for the encouraging report!
Yup. Thanks Doug, for this thread. I think mine is coming today according to EMS tracking.
I'll have similar system (light-weight tripod/HH) to Doug for my binoculars.
Looking forward to it.
Tammy
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Doug D.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/05
Loc: Virginia
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Tamiji Homma]
#5039151 - 01/26/12 02:01 PM
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It will be great to hear how it goes for both of you. And I'm placing my Astrogizmos red film order today!
Serge at AstroDevices has also been really responsive to my questions regarding the Nexus.
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OneDaveT
sage
Reged: 10/24/11
Loc: IL, USA
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: 7331Peg]
#5042187 - 01/28/12 09:46 AM
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Doug, any feel yet for how well the Ipad handles the cold weather and the dampness? I just got one a couple of months ago, but have hesitated to take it outside.
It handles the cold quite well. I've been out down to 25 degrees for several hours and noticed little to no effect. The issue is dew & frost. The large glass display can collect quite a bit. A notebook cover/case takes care of this if the iPad is loose. With the stand display you have a small clothe to cover would work. I would have said a dish towel, but your setup looks too nice for that. :-)
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Tamiji Homma
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/24/07
Loc: California, USA
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Doug D.]
#5042513 - 01/28/12 01:11 PM
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It will be great to hear how it goes for both of you. And I'm placing my Astrogizmos red film order today!
Serge at AstroDevices has also been really responsive to my questions regarding the Nexus.
Nexus delivered as scheduled. But I haven't had a chance to try under sky yet... It has been too windy to take scope out here.
As soon as I got Nexus delivered, Serge@AstroDevice emailed me quick start guide. He must be monitoring delivery confirmation 
I followed his clear instructions and I was about to run the device in a few minutes.
I did try it inside house, setting up iPad, connecting from SkySafari Pro, exercising two star alignment. It seems to work. Well, I'll have to try under night sky of course.
I am waiting for wind to calm down.
I haven't decided how to attach iPad/iPhone along with Half Hitch mount yet. It would be nice to attach iPad on HH SkyCommander mounting plate securely somehow.
Tammy
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7331Peg
Sirius Observer
Reged: 09/01/08
Loc: North coast of Oregon
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: OneDaveT]
#5043602 - 01/29/12 01:48 AM
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Thanks for that info - I appreciate it! I'll give it a try.
John 
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Doug D.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/23/05
Loc: Virginia
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Tamiji Homma]
#5044636 - 01/29/12 05:40 PM
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I haven't decided how to attach iPad/iPhone along with Half Hitch mount yet. It would be nice to attach iPad on HH SkyCommander mounting plate securely somehow.
Tammy
Yes, it is a little tricky. I found placement was really critical to performance, it strongly affects moment arm in some places. I couldn't get it to work at all when attached to the finder bracket, for example. It would be best to mount it somewhere off the scope (or finder bracket) but where it would still turn with Az axis (e.g., the XP-4 mounting plate). I didn't consider the XP-4 mounting plate for the iPad because I wanted to mount the Nexus and Tekkeon there but also because of clearance issues (and plain old "how to mount it there issues"). In many ways though, it would be the best place if weight weight wasn't a concern - clearance can be accomplished with a tripod extension.
I'm not sure the HH 2 is up to the task but I would imagine the newer Super and even beefier planned mounts would be good candidates for a redesigned DSC holder for a tablet. I previously brought up possibility of a design to facilitate iPad/iPhone mounting (either here on CN or the HH Yahoo group - don't recall) but it received a tepid response. There are lots of DIY possibilities of course, but for me at least - the finished product is unlikely to look very pretty...
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Tamiji Homma
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/24/07
Loc: California, USA
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Doug D.]
#5044870 - 01/29/12 07:54 PM
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Hi Doug,
I started thinking of getting smaller Android tablet for this task. iPad is bit too bulky.
I thought Kindle Fire would be a good candidate but Amazon does not allow Kindle Fire to access Android Market... *sigh*
Maybe looking for alternative 7" Android tablet for this task.
Tammy
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swsantos
super member
Reged: 09/29/05
Loc: Rhode Island
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Tamiji Homma]
#5044923 - 01/29/12 08:25 PM
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I bought the 7" Toshiba Thrive and it's not only a great size, but it's case back is nicely textured and sort of rubberized. It's very grippy and easy to handle and deal with outside in the dark. I bought it because I did not want to bring my iPad outside and found it also to bulky and slippery to hold outside.
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Dakota Tobias
super member
Reged: 02/17/05
Loc: SouthCentral PA
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Doug D.]
#5132687 - 03/20/12 08:18 PM
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Hello, just bumping this thread to see whether anyone else who has taken delivery of the Nexus would care to share his/her experiences good or bad... I'm considering ordering one to use on my dob, but where to put that Ipad???
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swsantos
super member
Reged: 09/29/05
Loc: Rhode Island
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Dakota Tobias]
#5133409 - 03/21/12 10:49 AM Attachment (25 downloads)
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I already had an iPad 2 and a Half Hitch but decided to go in a different direction...
Given that the iPad is expensive, relatively large, and slippery to grip sometimes, I purchased the BETI and a 7" Toshiba Thrive to use with the Half Hitch + SkySafari through Bluetooth and it is in my opinion perfection. The BETI + Half Hitch + SkySafari combination is dead accurate.
Why? The smaller 7" tablet is much easier to hold than my iPad and the Thrive specifically has a textured rubbery grippy back. I can hold it in one hand. Try holding an iPad in one hand while looking through an eyepiece while focusing with the other hand - no way! But with this Thrive you can. It is physically slightly smaller that my Pocket Sky Atlas and is very easy to hold outside in the dark and it actually fits inside my eyepiece case. The 7" screen is plenty big for SkySafari. The Thrive was also less expensive than the iPad and I would rather not have my almost $800 iPad outside at night.
Just my opinion on an alternative should anyone be interested.
Steve
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seigell
member
Reged: 11/10/10
Loc: 'Burbs of Phoenix
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: swsantos]
#5150848 - 03/31/12 09:32 PM
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Have you found a Red-Adapted Color Scheme for your Thrive ??
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swsantos
super member
Reged: 09/29/05
Loc: Rhode Island
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: seigell]
#5151523 - 04/01/12 11:05 AM
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I just leave it on the dimmest setting and put SkySafari into night mode when I am using it and its fine. I do not feel the need for anything else. I have several astro widgets running on the home screen and I use a black wall paper background and its plenty dark like that.
Steve
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Mkofski
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/19/11
Loc: Greenfield, Indiana, USA
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: 7331Peg]
#5154090 - 04/03/12 01:16 AM
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Quote:
Doug, any feel yet for how well the Ipad handles the cold weather and the dampness? I just got one a couple of months ago, but have hesitated to take it outside:
John, haven't tried it with my iPad but I had a black Lab that loved to get my iPod at night and take it outside. It spent several nights in the snow and always worked as soon as I dried it off.
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Parallel Rules
newbie
Reged: 08/10/08
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Doug D.]
#5164366 - 04/10/12 12:03 AM
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Hello Doug. Do you have more photos that show the connections with the ipad base and the friction arm as well as the super clamp? Thank you in advancem, David
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stubeeef
journeyman
Reged: 08/06/12
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: Parallel Rules]
#5367027 - 08/13/12 06:17 PM
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Do I understand this right....a difference in SkyFi and Nexus-the Nexus gives DSC feedback to SkySafari+/Pro so that if I had moved a Dob like a XT12g the cursor on my iPad would show the movement?
Sorry but some of this is confusing. A table showing the capabilities of these items would be useful.
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astrodevices
Vendor-Astro Devices
Reged: 10/26/07
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: stubeeef]
#5367095 - 08/13/12 06:53 PM
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The differences between SkyFi and Nexus are:
1. SkyFi provides either WiFi to Serial interface or WiFi to USB interface.
2. Nexus provides (all of them can be used at the same time):
- WiFi to encoders interface
- WiFi to Serial x 2 interface
- WiFi to USB interface
In case of XT12g (which is a GOTO) it will not make any difference what is used as encoders are connected to the control box on XT12g and Nexus or SkyFi would be connected to the serial port on the hand controller and only WiFi to Serial interface functionality Nexus/SkyFi will be used. A two star alignment will have to be performed using the hand controller before the SkySafari Plus/Pro starts showing the telescope position on the screen.
Best Regards,
Serge.
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stubeeef
journeyman
Reged: 08/06/12
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Re: AstroDevices Nexus WiFi DSC, Half Hitch and iPad
[Re: astrodevices]
#5367237 - 08/13/12 08:15 PM
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Does the Nexus then, replace the need for an Argo Navis or Sky Commander if used with something like a servo cat? Where the skyfi would require the AN???
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