Nexus User Manual 1.2
Contents
1. 5V Channel A of Altitude or Declination encoder 00 Ni OD 01 Go RO Ground WARNING Nexus s encoders inputs do NOT have input protection care must be taken not to exceed the maximum input voltage of 5V DC on any input and the inputs should never be driven to negative voltages below GROUND This will cause permanent damage to the internal circuits of Nexus Nexus only works with TTL Transistor Transistor Logic rotary encoders with quadrature output Nexus User Manual firmware version 1 0 RS232 ports Port and Port Il Nexus has two RS 232 ports It uses a standard RJ 12 connector The pins are numbered according to the following diagram PIN 1 PIN 6 PIN 1 PIN 6 PORTI PORT Il The pins description is as follows Port Pin Description Ground TxD transmitted data output RxD received data input Ground Ground 3 3V up to 500mA Port Ground TxD transmitted data output RxD received data input Ground Ground No connection Port Il O 01 amp GO NO 0 01 BGO RO gt Auxiliary Port The port can be used to control the shutter release of DSLRs The port uses a standard 3 5mm TRS jack The following diagram shows the pin numbering for the 3 5mm TRS plug to be used with the port 3 2 1 The pins description t2. M i ES ust WO DEVICES Altitude Encoder cable Azimuth Encoder cable Nexus constantly detects pulses sent by the encoders and translates them into absolute angular positions Planetarium software periodically depending on the settings requests current encoders position and converts it to real sky coordinates Then the position of the telescope is usually reflected on the screen by a cross hair An alignment procedure needs to be performed before the planetarium software can start showing where the telescope is pointing Please refer to the user manual of the planetarium software for details on performing the alignment procedure Nexus User Manual firmware version 1 0 Please note that the connection to a telescope mounted on equatorial mount is the same except the Azimuth cable is connected to the RA right ascension encoder while the Altitude cable is connected to the Declination encoder Wireless DSC with ServoCAT The following diagram shows how Nexus should be connected when used together with ServoCAT DSC PC port astro DEVICES PORTI PORT Il PUDO Encoders USB ENCODERS www astrodevices com Where DSC and PC Port are the names of the ports on ServoCAT Please note that a two star alignment should be performed before ServoCAT can track and execute goto commands Wireless DSC and S
3. ABN 75 270 616 917 E Mail support astrodevices com Website http www astrodevices com Thank you Thank you for purchasing Nexus WiFi electronic telescope interface We hope you enjoy it This user manual will get you started and help you make the most of your Nexus Introduction Nexus is a computerised WiFi wireless adapter for your telescope It works with most popular telescopes on equatorial or Alt Azimuth mounts Nexus can be configured to function as a DSC and or RS232 to WiFi adapter Nexus a 9V battery two optical encoders cable and a tablet or computer will transform your telescope into a computerised telescope making locating all those hard to find objects an easy task Also Nexus communicates wirelessly with your tablet or personal computer so you will find no wires to trip over in the darkness You will need planetarium software in order to use Nexus Product Features Below is a short outline of main features of your Nexus e Supports extended Ouranos Bbox Sky Commander and ServoCAT communication protocols e Handles TTL quadrature optical encoders with practically unlimited number of pulses per second Dual power source internal 9V battery or external 9 25V DC Operating temperature range from 20 C to 50 C 5 F to 120 F Humidity 10 90 non condensing FCC CE IC certified 2 4GHz IEEE 802 11b g transceiver Supports Adhoc and infrastructure WiFi networks Supports WPS WiFi Protected Se
4. e Turn Nexus OFF Press and hold the Factory Setting button Turn Nexus ON the status LED will start flashing Release the button The WiFi settings are restored as soon as the status LED will start pulsating blinking Connecting Nexus to a WLAN using WPS You may connect Nexus to a WLAN using WPS It simplifies connection of Nexus to your WLAN significantly there is no need to specify SSID password etc Your WLAN router access point must support WPS Please follow these steps e Turn Nexus ON e Press the WPS button on your network router or consult the user manual on how to activate WPS on your router Press and hold Factory Setting WPS button for at least 2 seconds The status LED will start flashing Release Factory Setting WPS button Press and release Factory Setting WPS button again Wait until the status LED will start pulsating blinking Please consult the user manual of your network router access point on how to determine the IP address it assigned to Nexus In most cases the router access point will list all devices with their assigned IP addresses on one of the status pages Your Nexus will appear on that page as AD_Nexus_XXXXX where XXXXX is the serial number of your Nexus 9 firmware version 1 Nexus User Manual List of Compatible Planetarium Software Nexus is compatible with most planetarium software packages that support Ouranos or Bbox protocols You can also use planetarium software th
5. for the virtual port 0 5 The connection type can be equal to one of the following values 0 Astro Devices communication protocol 1 SkyCommander communication protocol 2 ServoCat communication protocol 3 Configuration communication protocol 4 Connect to Portl 5 Connect to Portll 6 Connect to USB 7 no connection Digital Setting Circles AZENCRES 128 4294967296 Specifies the azimuth RA encoder resolution The default value set AZENCRES 10000 lt cr gt RAENCRES is set to 10000 The value specified is in ticks per revolution get RAENCRES lt cr gt Please note that both commands AZENCRES and RAENCRES set the same value ALTENCRES 128 4294967296 Specifies the altitude declination encoder resolution The default set DECENCRES 8192 lt cr gt DECENCRES value is set to 10000 The value specified is in ticks per get ALTENCRES lt cr gt revolution The value specified is in ticks per revolution Please note that both commands ALTENCRES and DECENCRES set the same value MOUNTERR Z1 Z2 Z3 Specifies the mount fabrication errors in degrees set MOUNTERR 0 12 0 3 0 1 lt cr gt get MOUNTERR lt cr gt MOUNTTYPE 0 Alt Az set MOUNTTYPE O lt cr gt 1 Equatorial get MOUNTTYPE lt cr gt CONFIGURE Saves the configuration into flash memory set CONFIGURE lt cr gt Nexus User Manual firmware version 1 0 14 Agencies Approvals Nexus uses a WiFi module that has the following qualifications approvals 1 FCC Nexu
6. manual of the devices and the OS The TCP IP port used for configuration is always 4070 and b cannot be changed Please refer to the user manual of your planetarium software for the explanation on setting up the communications with telescope Some software is designed to operate a telescope directly through a serial port You can use a special utility virtual serial port driver for you computer A number of utilities of this type is available with many of them free COM2TCP with a 45 day free trial by AstroGeeks HW VSP 3 Free for personal use Nexus User Manual firmware version 1 0 Operating Nexus Updating Firmware Nexus s firmware can be updated using a USB memory stick Please download the latest firmware from the support section of our website and copy it to the root folder of the USB memory stick Please follow these steps e Turn Nexus OFF e Insert the USB memory stick into USB connector of Nexus Press and hold the Factory Setting button Turn Nexus ON Wait for two seconds Release the Factory Setting button e The firmware will be updated Once the update is complete the Status LED will start pulsating blinking e Turn Nexus OFF e Remove the USB memory stick Please note that Nexus will reset all settings with every firmware update Restoring WiFi factory settings From time to time you may need to restore the WiFi settings of your Nexus The following steps will allow you to reset them
7. not saved into flash R10000 lt tab gt 9000 lt CR gt R R lt tab gt lt CR gt memory and will be reset upon a power cycle Set encoders resolution Z lt CR gt Please note that the values set or are not saved into flash Z10000 9000 lt CR gt i Z lt tab gt lt CR gt memory and will be reset upon a power cycle HH or Set initial encoders positions 10 lt tab gt 0 lt CR gt R l lt tab gt lt CR gt Q Query encoders positions Q 1888 2190 lt CR gt H or Query encoders resolutions H 8192 8192 lt CR gt r Align on an object Please note A lt 0 1 gt _ lt RA gt _ lt Dec gt lt cr gt that the coordinates should be A0_ 45 123 78 245 lt cr gt Y success using epoch 2000 if Nexus is E error used with ServoCat Initial telescope alignment at 0 a suictess Al_ lt 0 90 gt lt cr gt degrees horizontal or at 90 AI_0 lt cr gt E i error degrees vertical O Release shutter O lt cr gt O Close shutter o lt cr gt F Activate focus F lt cr gt f Deactivate focus f lt cr gt Query the current position The lt CR gt current position will be valid lt CR gt 12 345_67 890 lt CR gt only once the star alignment is performed Where lt CR gt carriage return or Enter character with a decimal value of 13 lt tab gt tab character with a decimal value of 9 Nexus Configuration Protocol space character with a decimal value of 32 Nexus can be configur
8. RS232 RJ12 connector 5 Factory settings WPS button 6 Status LED 7 ON OFF push button 8 2 1mm DC connector 9 auxiliary 3 5mm port remote shutter control STATUS I USB ENCODERS Nexus www astrodevices com 9 25V O ano wo WARNING Do not connect Nexus to an external power source that is not within the specified voltage range Nexus has internal over current protection but it is safer to use it with the power source specified The USB port can be used to charge your portable computing device and Nexus can provide up to 1A Do not charge your portable device from the USB port while Nexus is powered by 9V internal battery 3 firmware version 1 0 Nexus User Manual The status LED reports different states of Nexus Blinking type Description Fast pulsating blinking A computing device is connected to Nexus or once a second Nexus is connected to a WLAN Slow pulsating blinking Nexus is not connected once every two seconds ON Updating firmware Flashing Error Change Mode once a second Connecting Nexus to Your Telescope Other Devices Nexus can operate in various modes Wireless DSC Wireless DSC connected to ServoCat Wireless DSC and Serial to WiFi adapter Serial to WiFi adapter Wireless DSC The following diagram illustrates how Nexus is connected to a telescope WIRELESS CONNECTION TO TABLET PC MAC
9. Rechargeable Lithium batteries Li Poly are not recommended as Nexus does not the required low voltage cut out level and they can be discharged below the recommended level Q Can use non optical encoders A Yes the firmware processes pulses from standard quadrature encoders They can be optical capacitive or magnetic encoders Any of them can be used as long as they provide TTL level quadrature output Q Does Nexus use external power when both external power and the battery are inserted A Nexus uses only external power source if the 2 1mm DC plug is inserted into the external power connector Q Does Nexus have a built in charger for the installed battery A No Nexus does not charge the battery when the external power is connected to it Q How can determine the resolution of my encoder A Just multiply the CPR counts per revolution of your encoder by four and then multiply the result by the ratio of the gears it is connected to your telescope if you have any firmware version 1 0 Nexus User Manual 11 Communication Protocols Astro Devices Protocol The following table lists the main command set supported communication protocol by Nexus DSC Command Description Example of input Returns Li Return the firmware version or V Astro Devices Nexus v1 0 lt CR gt v information Set encoders resolution R lt CR gt Please note that the values set or are
10. USER MANUAL astro mn MICII DEVICES PORTI PORT Il O ON OFF www astrodevices com astro DEVICES User Guide for Nexus Version 1 2 Firmware version 1 X Last revised on January 12 2012 Printed in Australia Copyright Copyright 2012 Astro Devices All rights reserved No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form for any purpose other than the purchaser s personal use without the express written permission of Astro Devices Astro Devices reserves the right to make changes and improvements to its product without providing a notice Precautions and Safety Electricity Do not handle power plug and adapter with wet hands Electrical shock may result Immediately power off the product and unplug the DC adapter and or batteries if smoke or odours emit from the product Immediately power off the product and unplug the DC adapter and or batteries if water or other liquids are present Product Do not drop or subject the device to impact Keep it away from harsh environments including humid dusty and smoky areas Do not use excessive force on the connectors or attempt to disassemble the device Do not place heavy objects on the product Damage to your products may result from improper use Technical Support Astro Devices 198 The Esplanade SYLVANIA NSW 2224 AUSTRALIA
11. at supports ASCOM platform http ascom standards org The table below lists just a few software packages that Nexus was tested with Software Name Platform Protocol Website Astromist iOS Ouranos http www astromist com Cartes du Ciel Windows Orion IntelliScope Mounts http sourceforge net projects skychart ASCOM platform DeepSky Windows Orion IntelliScope Mounts http www deepsky2000 net ASCOM platform Hallo northern sky Windows Orion IntelliScope Mounts http www hnsky orqg ASCOM platform Megastar Windows Bbox Sky Wizard CTI http www willbell com SkySafari Plus Pro Android Basic Encoder System http Awww southernstars com iOS MacOS X Starry Night Windows Orion IntelliScope Mounts http Avww starrynightstore com ASCOM platform TheSky 6 Windows BBox http www bisque com Voyager 4 5 Windows Basic Encoder System http www carinasoft com MacOS X Suppliers of Encoders Telescope Encoder kits Nexus is compatible with most quadrature rotary encoders with TTL level outputs and powered with 5V The following table lists just some of suppliers selling encoders or telescope encoder kits Supplier Hardware Country Website Wildcard Pneogers E Telescope Australia http www wildcard innovations com au Innovations encoder kits Telescope i SUPRA Praha encoder kits Czech Republic http www celes
12. ed to operate in different modes The configuration is performed by communicating with Nexus using TCP IP port number 4070 Each command has the following syntax lt set get gt _ lt parameter 1 gt _ lt parameter 2 gt _ lt value gt lt CR gt Nexus will send back the value requested or OK in case of a set command The returned packet will be equal ERR in case of invalid requests The return packets are always terminated with lt CR gt The following table lists all command parameters Nexus User Manual firmware version 1 0 12 13 Parameter 1 Parameter 2 Value Description Examples WiFi configuration CHANNEL 0 14 Specifies the WiFi channel to be used Please note that the set CHANNEL 7 lt cr gt value of 0 should only be used when Nexus is setup to operate get CHANNEL lt cr gt in infrastructure mode DHCP 0 1 Specifies whether to use DHCP 0 disabled 1 enabled set DHCP 0 lt cr gt get DHCP lt cr gt IPADDRESS XXX XXX XXX XXX Specifies the IP address to be used The IP address will only be set IPADDRESS 169 254 1 1 lt cr gt used when DHCP is disabled IPMASK XXX XXX XXX XXX Specifies the IP mask set IPMASK 255 255 0 0 lt cr gt NTYPE O infrastructure Specifies the network mode to be used by Nexus 4 adhoc PASSWORD up to 32 bytes Specifies the password to be used to connect to a WiFi network set PASSWORD Pass123 lt cr gt get PASWORD l
13. erial to WiFi adapter Nexus can be used as a wireless DSC and serial to WIFi adapter In this mode Nexus is used for a push to DSC on a telescope while Port and Port Il can be connected to other telescopes devices Telescope N 2 other device Telescope N 3 other device astro DEVICES PORTI PORTII um Encoders 7 Telescope N21 USB ENCODERS www astrodevices com 5 firmware version 1 0 Nexus User Manual Serial to WiFi adapter In this mode the Encoders port is not used Port and Port Il can be connected to telescope s other device s and Nexus functions as a serial to WiFi adapter Telescope N21 other device Telescope N 2 other device astro DEVICES PORTI PORTII USB ENCODERS a z N j si Cale 5 NE Su www astrodevices com Ports Pin Descriptions Encoders Nexus has a standard RJ 45 connector to connect it to rotary encoders of your telescope The pins are numbered according to the following diagram PIN 1 PIN 8 q q q q USB ENCODERS The pin descriptions are in the following table Pin Description Channel B of Azimuth or RA encoder 5 V Channel A of Azimuth or RA encoder Ground Channel B of Altitude or Declination encoder
14. o shutter control is as follows Pin Description 1 Ground 2 Focus 3 Shutter release 7 firmware version 1 0 Nexus User Manual Connecting To Tablet PC Mac Nexus communicates with planetarium software using one or more TCP IP ports Nexus s default TCP IP ports configuration is described in the following table TCP IP Port Connection Serial port parameters port baudrate data bits stop bits parity DSC mode 4060 Astro Devices communication protocol 4061 Sky Commander communication protocol 4062 ServoCAT communication protocol 4070 Configuration protocol Port Sky Commander 19200 8 1 no communication protocol Port Il ServoCAT communication 19200 8 1 no protocol USB ServoCAT communication 19200 8 1 no protocol DSC Serial to WiFi 4060 Astro Devices communication protocol 4061 Port 9600 8 1 no 4062 Port Il 9600 8 1 no 4063 USB 9600 8 1 no 4070 Configuration protocol Nexus is operating in ad hoc mode by default The default SSID of Nexus is AD_Nexus_XXXXX where XXXXX is the serial number of your Nexus The serial number is printed of the back of your Nexus The SSID can be changed using the configuration utility The default IP address of your Nexus is 169 254 1 1 Note The WiFi Configuration setup may differ based on the HHHH brand of the computer used and on the OS running on that device Please refer to the user
15. s contains Transmitter Module FCC IDENTIFIER T9J RN171 2 CE Registration Number U9M21103 4249 C 3 Canada Certification No 6514A RN171 Warranty Nexus is covered by a one year limited warranty Please refer to the enclosed warranty certificate for full details 15 Nexus User Manual Technical Support You can find the latest version of the manual and firmware in the support section of our website Please feel free to e mail us should you require further technical assistance Technical Support You can find software updates and user documentation on the Astro Devices website http www astrodevices com e mail mailto support astrodevices com subject Nexus support Nexus User Manual 16 Glossary Ad hoc mode is a method for wireless devices to directly communicate with each other CPR stands for Counts Per Revolution PC is a personal computer It includes computers running Windows Linux or Mac OS SSID Service Set Identifier is the name of a wireless local area network WLAN Standby mode is when the Nexus is passively waiting for a connection with a Tablet PC TTL stands for Transistor Transistor Logic WPS stands for WiFi Protected Setup 17 Nexus User Manual Printed in Australia
16. t cr gt SSID up to 64 bytes Specifies SSID set SSID MyNexus lt cr gt get SSID lt cr gt TRANSPOWER 1 12 Specifies the transmission power to be used by the WiFi module Please note that the value of 1 specifies the minimum power and the battery will last longer at that level Physical Port baudrate 9600 230400 Sets the baud rate to be used on the port specified The value set PORTI baudrate 19200 lt cr gt PORTI specified is in bits per second get PORTII baudrate lt cr gt PORTII databits 8 9 Sets the number of data bits set PORTII databits 8 lt cr gt USB get PORTI databits lt cr gt parity 0 1 2 Sets the parity to be used on the ports specified set PORTII parity O lt cr gt 0 none get PORTI parity lt cr gt 1 odd 2 even protocol 0 2 Specifies the communication protocol to be connected to the set PORTI protocol 1 lt cr gt physical port get PORTI protocol lt cr gt 0 Astro Devices communication protocol 1 SkyCommander communication protocol 2 ServoCat communication protocol stopbits 1 2 Specifies the number of stop bits set PORTI stopbits 8 lt cr gt firmware version 1 0 Nexus User Manual Parameter 1 Parameter 2 Value Description Examples get PORTII stopbits lt cr gt Port Routing PORT 0 5 1024 65535 Sets the TCP IP port number to be used with virtual port 0 5 set PORT 0 4060 lt cr gt get PORT 5 lt cr gt PORTCONNECT 0 5 0 7 Specifies the connection type
17. tron cz Encoders France Galileo Telescope Switzerland http www galileo cc encoder kits Intercon Encoders S Telescope Germany http www intercon spacetec de pacetec encoder kits Aurora Astro ridad Telescope USA http AuroraAstro com Products f encoder kits JMI Encoders Telescope USA http www jmitelescopes com Telescopes encoder kits Sky Encoders Engineering Telescope USA http skyeng com Inc encoder kits US Digital Encoders USA http www usdigital com Nexus User Manual firmware version 1 0 10 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FAQ Q How long does the battery last A That depends on a number of different factors type of encoders used operating temperature the type of the battery It also depends on the mode Nexus is running in For example the 9V Duracell Coppertop battery will last 4 5 hours with Nexus operating as a Serial to WiFi adapter However the same battery will last only two hours when Nexus is used as a wireless DSC with S2 optical encoders each encoder draws up to 57mA from 5V source Q Can use a rechargeable battery A Yes Nexus will operate with rechargeable 9V batteries the actual voltage for them is usually 8 4V Q What type of batteries is recommended for operating in cold conditions A The most economical type of batteries is 12V SLA sealed lead acid Lithium batteries have very good performance in cold conditions but they are quite expensive
18. tup Secure Wi Fi authentication schemes WEP WPA WPA2 Class WiFi device up to 150 meters Uses 2412 2484MHz Unlicensed ISM band channels 1 14 Two RS232 ports USB providing up to 1A 5V power Uses a 32 bit MIPS CPU Power consumption without encoders connected 45 mA from 9V batteries or 35 mA from 12V DC external power e Reverse polarity protection e ROHS compliant System Requirements Nexus uses a WiFi communication module and requires one of the following to be connected to e iOS devices iPhone iPad iPod touch running OS 3 0 e Android devices with WiFi that support Ad hoc connection or have support for WiFi access point running Android 2 2 Nexus User Manual _ firmware version 1 0 e PC with WiFi support running Windows XP or Windows 7 e Apple computers with WiFi support running Mac OS X Please also refer to the system requirements for your favourite planetarium software Package Content The package contains Nexus User manual Wall mount panel with screws RJ45 to DBY converter RJ45 to RJ12 cable DC 2 1mm to cigarette lighter power cable For using Nexus in the field we advise on using rechargeable batteries or external power source Controls All controls are situated on front panel of Nexus 3 4 e A acta TM DEVICES lt _ 1 USB PORTI PORTNI 2 Encoders RJ45 connector 3 RS232 RJ12 with 3 3V connector 4
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