Guset
member
Reged: 09/16/08
Posts: 54
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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The question is as you read the title? As SkyAlign is only software, do you think the CG-5 mount could be flashed with SkyAlign capabilities? The CG-5 already knows what the sky looks like at a date and time. Same thing with the SkyAlign. Only the movement of the scope is different, which doesn't matter, as long as the alignment points are the same. Only the destination matters, how you go there is nobody's business. Right?
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Celestron C6-NGT
Celestron PowerSeeker 76
1.25" Eyepieces:
20mm GSO SV Plossl
6mm GSO SV Plossl
20mm Keller
4mm SR4
3x Celestron Barlow (plastic)
2.5x GSO Barlow, FMC, APO
8-24mm Super Zoom from Seben (Germany)
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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I doubt it. "How you get there" is quite important to an EQ mount.
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Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000 
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Patrick
Postmaster
Reged: 05/16/03
Posts: 6789
Loc: Franklin, Ohio
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Hi Guset and welcome to CN!
I agree that it's doubtful that you can mix the two programs. I've found Celestron's NexStar software to be a little better than the Skyscan software, so I'm curious as to why you would want to do that.
If you have the CG5-GT have you seen the NexStar Resource Site? There's a lot of good information there concerning the hand controller and the NexStar software.
Patrick
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Discovery 10" f/6 Split Tube Dob
Celestron C6 SCT
Denk Binoviewers
AT66ED Refractor
Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Binocular
475B Geared Tripod & 501HDV Head
Oberwerk 9x60 Binocular
Celestron Regal 8x42 Binocular
Canon 30D DSLR
Mini EQ1
My Astronomy Pages
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Guset
member
Reged: 09/16/08
Posts: 54
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Quote:
I doubt it. "How you get there" is quite important to an EQ mount.
I disagree. I meant how you get there regarding fixed objects in the sky. On a certain date and time, the objects in the sky are in a particular fixed coordinates. Now it would not matter whether it is a German mount or a Alt azimuth, as long as they both point at the same point in the sky. I am not talking about tracking the object either (it would matter then). But when you ask your telescope to point to a fixed point why does the mount matter?
That is exactly what SkyAlign does. It points to a fixed point in the sky during the alingment with no tracking.
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Guset
member
Reged: 09/16/08
Posts: 54
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Quote:
Hi Guset and welcome to CN!
I agree that it's doubtful that you can mix the two programs. I've found Celestron's NexStar software to be a little better than the Skyscan software, so I'm curious as to why you would want to do that.
If you have the CG5-GT have you seen the NexStar Resource Site? There's a lot of good information there concerning the hand controller and the NexStar software.
Patrick
Hi Patrick! Thanks for the welcome! I still believe that the flash can be done. I don't see why it can't be done.Never the less to answer your question regarding why i would prefer SkyAlign instead of the NexStar, is simply because i am quite amateur and it is quite frustrating for me to have to properly align my telescope every time i want to use it (i move to from my room to the garden outside and back). SkyAlign was probably designed for people like me, where you can align your telescope in minutes by just pointing in 3 bright objects and nothing more.
Thanks for the site information, i didn't know that, but i will sure spend some time in there!
As soon as i find a way of properly aligning my telescope, i am sure the SkyAlign fever will go away...
I have only used the telescope twice so far, so it is quite early yet. I own a 76 PoweSeeker too (quite small and very amateurish) so it is not entirely my first time looking at the stars, but the jump to my C6-NGT was quite big! hehe...
I do hope i will be able to get some nice photos in the future!
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miniventures
Something Else
Reged: 09/13/03
Posts: 11064
Loc: Powell Butte, Central Oregon
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Hi Guset and welcome.
I'm not a techie but I do remember a conversation with someone a couple of weeks ago regarding changing hand controller capabilities. I seem to remember some talk of needing to change a chip in the hand controller to make the switch. At that time I was interested in an old Nextstar telescope.
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LarryC
Volunteer
http://www.sunrivernaturecenter.org
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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"That is exactly what SkyAlign does. It points to a fixed point in the sky during the alingment with no tracking."
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is so good about that? You can align to stars on the cg5-agt and it can tell you what you're pointing at too a bit like mySky. What it can't do is a quite slew mode which I wish Celestron would add
An eq mount is different to a alt/az because it has to be setup pointing at the celestial pole and it has to spin in certain directions depending on which horizon the object is in.
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Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000
Edited by sang33ta (09/21/08 02:08 PM)
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Guset
member
Reged: 09/16/08
Posts: 54
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Quote:
"That is exactly what SkyAlign does. It points to a fixed point in the sky during the alingment with no tracking."
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is so good about that? You can align to stars on the cg5-agt and it can tell you what you're pointing at too a bit like mySky. What it can't do is a quite slew mode which I wish Celestron would add
An eq mount is different to a alt/az because it has to be setup pointing at the celestial pole and it has to spin in certain directions depending on which horizon the object is in.
The only good thing about it is the alignment method, which is extremely quick and requires no knowledge of the stars (unlike the CG-5 mount), no polar alignment, no nothing. You set it up and go! Of course it is not ideal for astrophotography as there is no equatorial tracking.
But for amateurs like me, a quick sky align with no need to know where the equatorial is would be a blessing. But then again you can't use it for photography... so it is a double edge sword. I guess i will just need to learn some stars and manage to properly align the mount before i start tracking.
Regarding the noise, i agree a bit with you... when i started tracking my neighbour climbed over the fence to see what was going on! LOL! But in manual tracking you can set a smaller value and it is quite silent then! 
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Guset
member
Reged: 09/16/08
Posts: 54
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Quote:
Hi Guset and welcome.
I'm not a techie but I do remember a conversation with someone a couple of weeks ago regarding changing hand controller capabilities. I seem to remember some talk of needing to change a chip in the hand controller to make the switch. At that time I was interested in an old Nextstar telescope.
Hi miniventure! I am an Electronics and Computer Engineer so i know that it is very feasible. Now the difficulty of that task may be great, but that does not mean it is impossible. Maybe a chip or something similar needs to be replaced like you said. But the guys in the forum convinced me that the NexStar as it is, is a bit better so i will stick with it. I just need to learn to properly align the mount i guess... oh well...
Still if you ever come across the modification let me know of the site. It would be interesting to see what they have come across.
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Celestron C6-NGT
Celestron PowerSeeker 76
1.25" Eyepieces:
20mm GSO SV Plossl
6mm GSO SV Plossl
20mm Keller
4mm SR4
3x Celestron Barlow (plastic)
2.5x GSO Barlow, FMC, APO
8-24mm Super Zoom from Seben (Germany)
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Patrick
Postmaster
Reged: 05/16/03
Posts: 6789
Loc: Franklin, Ohio
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Quote:
The only good thing about it is the alignment method, which is extremely quick and requires no knowledge of the stars (unlike the CG-5 mount), no polar alignment, no nothing. You set it up and go! Of course it is not ideal for astrophotography as there is no equatorial tracking.
IF you really have a C6N-GT (Celestron CG5-GT equatorial mount) then you will need to do a polar alignment regardless if you are using SkyScan software or NexStar software. Now, if you have a fork mounted scope then all you have to do is level the scope and align on three stars. But otherwise, an EQ mount has to be polar aligned...that's just the nature of the beast. 
As an aside, learning a few alignment stars is part of the fun of the hobby of astronomy, as well as learning a few of the major constellations. It's not as hard as it might seem at first. Get a simple star chart or planisphere with the star names on it. I like the book 'Stars and Planets' by Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion. Different stars are visible at different times of the year which keeps it interesting. I find it fun to just go out with a pair of binoculars and my star atlas and locate the constellations, tracing out their major stars.
Patrick
--------------------
Discovery 10" f/6 Split Tube Dob
Celestron C6 SCT
Denk Binoviewers
AT66ED Refractor
Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Binocular
475B Geared Tripod & 501HDV Head
Oberwerk 9x60 Binocular
Celestron Regal 8x42 Binocular
Canon 30D DSLR
Mini EQ1
My Astronomy Pages
|
Guset
member
Reged: 09/16/08
Posts: 54
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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|
Quote:
Quote:
The only good thing about it is the alignment method, which is extremely quick and requires no knowledge of the stars (unlike the CG-5 mount), no polar alignment, no nothing. You set it up and go! Of course it is not ideal for astrophotography as there is no equatorial tracking.
IF you really have a C6N-GT (Celestron CG5-GT equatorial mount) then you will need to do a polar alignment regardless if you are using SkyScan software or NexStar software. Now, if you have a fork mounted scope then all you have to do is level the scope and align on three stars. But otherwise, an EQ mount has to be polar aligned...that's just the nature of the beast.
As an aside, learning a few alignment stars is part of the fun of the hobby of astronomy, as well as learning a few of the major constellations. It's not as hard as it might seem at first. Get a simple star chart or planisphere with the star names on it. I like the book 'Stars and Planets' by Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion. Different stars are visible at different times of the year which keeps it interesting. I find it fun to just go out with a pair of binoculars and my star atlas and locate the constellations, tracing out their major stars.
Patrick
I agree Patrick! I have come to terms to having to learn a few stars and constellations whether i like it or not. That is part of being an amateur astronomer in the first place. Yes i do have the C6N-GT so i will have to learn to align it properly. We might not be lucky enough to have Polaris like in the Northern hemisphere, but i read about aligning using the Crux and i can't wait to test it!
I will also use a copy of Stellarium on a laptop to find my way around and see in real time what the sky should look like! Beats the charts anytime!
Just search for Stellarium and download it! Best part... it is free!
--------------------
Celestron C6-NGT
Celestron PowerSeeker 76
1.25" Eyepieces:
20mm GSO SV Plossl
6mm GSO SV Plossl
20mm Keller
4mm SR4
3x Celestron Barlow (plastic)
2.5x GSO Barlow, FMC, APO
8-24mm Super Zoom from Seben (Germany)
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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You only have to learn 6 things. Your latitude, which direction is north, and the brightest star in each of the four horizons for star-align.
You could probably take a degree in polar alignment though if you really wanted ultimate accuracy. LOL I've no idea how to use those dials on the back of my polar scope but I've never found I needed it.
--------------------
Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000
|
Guset
member
Reged: 09/16/08
Posts: 54
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Quote:
You only have to learn 6 things. Your latitude, which direction is north, and the brightest star in each of the four horizons for star-align.
You could probably take a degree in polar alignment though if you really wanted ultimate accuracy. LOL I've no idea how to use those dials on the back of my polar scope but I've never found I needed it.
True! I was wondering what they are for too! They have "R.A" on it and some numbers. I guess they are to be used with a polar alignment scope (which i don't have anyway) but i think that is what they are there for. Also they are not mentioned in the manual anywhere. It is like either that stuff is implied (go figure), or the manual was written for a different mount!
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Celestron C6-NGT
Celestron PowerSeeker 76
1.25" Eyepieces:
20mm GSO SV Plossl
6mm GSO SV Plossl
20mm Keller
4mm SR4
3x Celestron Barlow (plastic)
2.5x GSO Barlow, FMC, APO
8-24mm Super Zoom from Seben (Germany)
|
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