PA With Synscan?

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hatflyer avatar
Can I do polar align and track with Synscan via laptop (I have no handheld)? Does it not use plate solving?

Thanks
Andy Wray avatar
Yes, you can do polar alignment and tracking with Synscan.  It has its own database of stars built-in and you would typically do two or three star alignment. 

On its own it does not do platesolving.

All that said:  I believe all Synscan mounts are what is called ASCOM-compatible and are therefore able to be controlled from a PC (I do so with my HEQ5 Pro).  You can then, with a suitable astro-imaging camera, do accurate polar alignment, platesolving, gotos, guiding etc..

It sounds like you are quite new to this, so please feel free to let us know why you asked that question, what you have equipment-wise or what you are thinking of doing.
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hatflyer avatar
Andy Wray:
Yes, you can do polar alignment and tracking with Synscan.  It has its own database of stars built-in and you would typically do two or three star alignment. 

On its own it does not do platesolving.

All that said:  I believe all Synscan mounts are what is called ASCOM-compatible and are therefore able to be controlled from a PC (I do so with my HEQ5 Pro).  You can then, with a suitable astro-imaging camera, do accurate polar alignment, platesolving, gotos, guiding etc..

It sounds like you are quite new to this, so please feel free to let us know why you asked that question, what you have equipment-wise or what you are thinking of doing.

I had things running with NINA but have run into issues. I had Synscan talking to NINA. I'm using a laptop in a wifi coneection with the AZ-GTi mount in EQ mode.  So I'm trying to PA and track without NINA. Does Synscan offer data on the mount coordinates (az/alt or DEC/RA)? Can u go to a specified direction?
kuechlew avatar
Hi, I have an AZ-GTI and it works well together with NINA. Unfortunately I seem to have one of the worser copies of the AZ/GTI so I don't use it any longer and would not even dare to sell it to anyone. First you have to start your mount and let it create the wifi. Then start the SynScanPro Application on your laptop and connect it via Wifi to your AZ/GTI. At this step you can choose whether you intend to use the AZ/GTI in equatorial mode or in ALT/AT mode. You have to have the proper firmware on your mount to get this option (Version 3.4). For best experience with NINA you have to use the equatorial mode. Some options like "slew and centre" will not work in Alt/AZ mode (at least this was the case when I tried several months ago). Now you can start NINA and connect to the SynScanPro Application via the SynScan App Driver in NINA. At this point you can use the polar alignment routine in NINA.

You can run your mount without NINA and use a planetarium app like Stellarium. Prerequisites are the same as for NINA. See e.g.  here: Elegant Operation of AZ-GTi with Stellarium. - YouTube

Clear skies
Wolfgang
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