Start Here

To set up the scope, find a dark location with few obstructions. This may be your back yard or it may be miles from available power. The first release of the scope came with a 35W GAN charger that requires proximity to a mains power source. To use this scope in the field, consider buying a USB-C power pack with at least 10,000 mAh of capacity, more if you intend to capture many shots during a session.

Make sure the mount is firmly screwed onto the tripod, and raise the central lift by about 5" or 125mm so that the swinging camera tube can clear the tripod legs. 

Mount the telescope dovetail bar into the mount and slide it until the balance point of the tube is about even with the set screw, then tighten the set screw. It is more important for the weight of the tube to be centered than for the set screw to fit into the "easy set up dimple" on the dovetail bar. Ignore the dimple if you can,
 as it is machined in a way that allows the tube to slip a bit.

Lift the tripod and mount and orient the entire assembly so that the telescope points roughly North. Polar alignment is not necessary. Watch the bubble level on the tripod and adjust the legs one at a time until the bubble is centered. Providing a level reference is the most important adjustment you can make for an Alt/Az type scope like this.

The scope comes with two PD-certified USB-C cables. Plug one into the camera/mirror box unit and connect it to the indicated camera USB port on the mount. This cable sends power to the camera, and the camera sends tracking information to the mount in ST-4 fashion.

Plug the second cable into the indicated power USB port on the mount. This cable negotiates the power and voltage from its power source. The "ON" switch is basically to finish attaching this cable to your power source, whether GAN charger or hefty USB-C power bank. Red LED indicators near these ports should indicate they are being powered.

As the scope powers up, it nods right/left and up/down to take out gear backlash.

Now look at the available Wi-Fi networks for your phone. You should see one that starts with "EDU_xxx...". This is your scope; it connects by Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth. Allow this connection on your phone or tablet.

Note that a prompt may appear reminding you that you are no longer on the internet, but proceed. (Be aware that VPNs can prevent the direct Wi-Fi connection to the access point built into the telescope.) At this point, the app should request to connect with the hardware. Allow it. Now you should be able to use the motion control widget to move the telescope up and down, left and right.

See "Finding a target" to learn how to navigate to terrestrial or celestial targets.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I really want this concept to succeed!

Image
Wisdom of the crowd for an intriguing product idea I was an early backer for the EduSnap 53ED 2-in-1 OSC smart telescope project. Astrophotography is one of my hobbies, and I hoped this project would help me transition from planetary to deep sky imaging. I received my scope late in the first tranche of US deliveries and dawdled in the dearth of how-to information to get started. Then I downloaded a more recent app, had some successful imaging sessions, and am now on my way to making sensible use of the scope. This scope is neither a spotting scope nor a ubiquitous 70mm short scope with awful pointing. It is actually a good first implementation of a cheaper-targeted smart telescope designed primarily for deep sky astrophotography. This means it has plate-solving tracking like PHD2, live stacking like SharpCap, a celestial database and sky view like Stellarium, and the ability to actually turn out a decent entry-level expectation of a deep sky object. I mean, dayum... I'm hooked on t...
Read more

Open Letter to EduSnap Developers

 Greetings to the EduSnap development team! Many backers like myself have received our rewards, and are starting to learn how to use this unique product you have designed. Thank you for the outstanding design and production effort we know you have put into this unique project. But I want to speak on behalf of many backers who are concerned about the lack of information about late deliveries, reported issues, and questions about the use of the product. We need to hear from you that the project is still supported and that our questions have been heard. Concerning support, I have created this site to help those who have received the rewards to get up to speed more quickly on enjoying your product. Several other informal support channels are starting to gain traction as well. This is all to help you on supporting new users with their "how to" questions. In return, I hope you can concentrate on helping those who need repairs or help with their missing shipments.  Whoever has been ...
Read more

Site Updates #1

 See anything different here? I have converted the site from a primarily blogging tool to a topic-driven organization of fixed pages that are not part of the blog itself. Within this new organization, look for a Topics widget on the side, and a set of category links at the top. Each category will link to pages related to that category, and so forth. Finally, I applied a new responsive theme, which means that this information should be equally accessible and readable whether you are viewing on a phone, tablet, or desktop. Enjoy!
Read more