Remotely control the Telescopes using SkyMap on your PC:

After you have registered for a username, password, paid your membership fee and downloaded the client program, you can control the pointing ("GOTO") of all the telescopes, directly from a planetarium program from your PC! After you have pointed ("SLEWED") the telescope, you then just use the SkyLive client to take your CCD images.

This is how to do it:

bulletDownload the SkyMap Pro 9 Demo software from:
http://www.skylive.it/800x600w/smp9eval.exe
 
bulletDownload the driver to control the SkyLive Telescopes from:
http://www.skylive.it/800x600w/skydriver.zip
Unzip the file and run the skydriver.exe program. Your will see the following:

 
 
bulletClick on the icon that looks like a telescope sitting on the earth, just to the left of the "help" tab (as shown above).
 
bulletClick the "OpenDirectory" tab and browse to C:\Program Files\SkymapMap Pro 9 Demo\Drivers directory. Then click the "save" button, to the right of the directory path. The program will then display "The file lx200.drv has now been copied to: C:\Program Files\SkymapMap Pro 9 Demo\Drivers\" 
 
bulletMost modern laptops do not have a serial port. A serial port is required by the planetarium software. Also, this serial port needs to be "mapped" to the telescope control server in Italy. You can create a "virtual serial port" to do this, by using a free program available over the internet. Download the following:
http://www.hw-group.com/products/hw_vsp/index_en.html

Run it and click "create com". If you get an error, move to next higher com port number and click create again. Once the port is successfully connected (you will get the standard USB connection sound on Windows), make a note of the com port you create as you will need to use the same com port to connect to remote telescopes, via the SkyMap software. "The Charon Virtual Port Manager" will run on your taskbar and display the virtual serial port you have created. No other options need to be set in this program, so don't play :-)
 
bulletRun and logon to the SkyLive client software. For an example, we will select Telescope 6 (14" Celestron C-14 at Grove Creek). You will use this client program to take your CCD images and the SkyMap software to slew the telescope. You must be connected and have selected a telescope in the Skylive client, with your username and password, before you start SkyMap, otherwise the software will not know what telescope to control.
 
bulletLoad Skymap Pro v9 Demo. Click the world icon on the left task bar (under the Z) and for Telescope 5 & 6, enter in the following for Grove Creek:

Latitude: 33° 49' 46" S
Longitude: 149° 21' 58" E
Height: 936 metres above sea-level
Time Zone: 600 minutes ahead of UT

Or for Telescopes 1-4 in Scilly:

Latitude: 37° 36' 09" N
Longitude: 15° 04' 15" East
Height: 495 metres above sea-level
Time Zone: 120 minutes ahead of UT

Note:  The above coordinates are rounded off.
          Time Zones do not take into account Daylight Savings - please check.
          Ignore the "weather conditions" input area.
 
bulletGo to the "telescope" top menu and select "configure". Select "Skylivepro2.0". Enter in the same com port number that you created with the virtual serial port program.
 
bulletGo to the "telescope" top menu again and select "open connection". If you have configured the virtual or local serial port correctly, it will say "telescope now under computer control" and you will see a flashing cross where the telescope is currently pointing.
 
bulletYou can then use the search menu to find your objects or click on the star field. If the telescope is free or if you have booked it, you can move straight away - if not, please ask first in the chat box, just in case the telescope is being used by another user....
 
bulletRight click on your desired object and select "slew to" command - this will slew the telescope from within the software to your object!
 
bullet

Once you have slewed to the object you want, center it on the preview screen in the SkyLive client by right clicking on the spot you want the object to center too. Then you simply select the exposure time, filter, bin and repeat check items in the SkyLive client. Telescope 6 also supports auto-guiding, so you can tick the "guide" box and it will autoguide the image for you.

Using Skymap with the Skylive telescopes is really fun, so give it a go!

(Drivers for other Planetarium software packages are in development)

If you like using Skymap and would like the full version, click on the following icon:


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