StarGPS-NX Instructions
Contents
1. Finishing is followed by the Align Easy Auto menu prompt or with LNT Select Object Press the ENTER key to continue with alignment or with LNT first navigate to Align Auto You can press and hold the MODE key for two seconds and then use the up down scroll keys to view the UTC date time latitude and longitude The Time Zone is set to zero and Daylight Savings is set to NO If your handset does not display the messages in steps 4 to 6 then use the following instead 4 5 Turn on the telescope and complete these steps within 30 seconds a Ifyou are asked to Press 0 to Align or MODE for Menu then press the MODE key b If you see Align Automatic proceed to step 5 below otherwise c Use the handset keypad to skip past any messages or date time prompts and reach the Align Easy prompt make sure to select NO for Daylight Savings if prompted Wait until the GPS LED flashes once every 2 seconds IMPORTANT Please check the software version of your handset by watching the top right corner of the display just after turning on the power The following original Meade versions have a bug in at least one LX200 command such as set latitude or set date Autostar 497 27 30 35 40 41 42 Autostar 497EP all versions Audiostar all versions prior to A3S4 If your handset displays any of these version numbers eg 40E 5EC1 you must update your handset using StarPatch see http www stargps ca StarPatch htm2. Site menu item to see the UTC date time latitude and longitude For StarSense you can use Menu gt Time and Location gt View Mod Location and then press the Option button to display Lon amp Lat The Time Zone is set to Universal Time with Standard Time Lo NOTE Mounts that support the CN16 GPS Accessory Kit CGE AS GT SLT SE iSeries have a Utilities GPS on off menu item that allows the CN16 GPS to be turned on or off This menu item is not applicable to StarGPS NX and will return No GPS detected it looks for a CN16 For use with Gemini Level 1 or 2 Make sure the Gemini is turned off Connect the GPS receiver to the supplied cable Plug one end of the cable into the Gemini RS232 port Turn on the Gemini Plug the other end of the cable into the Gemini power output The GPS LED should turn on at this point Wait until the GPS LED flashes once every 2 seconds Turn off the Gemini wait 5 seconds and then turn it back on Disconnect the GPS from the Gemini 0 Select Cold Start if your observing location has moved by more than 500 km if you changed the internal battery or did a Reset Default 11 Proceed with setup alignment as usual 12 Note that the local date and time are set to UTC Coordinated Universal Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 For use with Gemini 2 or with Gemini Level 3 or 4 StarGPS NX works with Gemini 2 or with Gemini Level 3 V1 10 or newer firmware by
3. With the free trial version of StarPatch you must uncheck the GPS Setup option before doing an Update Handset For use with Meade 494 Autostar DS ETX StarGPS NX requires a Meade 506 cable not included to communicate with the 494 Autostar The 506 is a special adapter cable normally used to connect the telescope to a computer Turn on the telescope Use the Autostar MODE key and scroll arrows to select Setup Daylight Saving gt NO Turn the telescope off Plug the included line splitter into the AUX port on the mount to provide 2 AUX ports Plug the Meade 506 cable into one side of the splitter Plug the GPS 494 cable into the other side of the splitter Connect the GPS 494 cable to the 506 cable Connect the GPS receiver to the GPS 494 cable Turn on the telescope and within 20 seconds the handset displays Please wait 0 The current time in UTC is shown while the GPS calculates your location 1 The message Finishing is followed by the Align Easy Auto menu prompt 2 Press the ENTER key to continue with alignment 3 You can press and hold the MODE key for two seconds and then use the up down scroll keys to view the UTC date time latitude and longitude The Time Zone is set to zero and Daylight Savings is set to NO If your handset does not display the messages in steps 9 to 11 then use the following instead 9 Turn on the telescope and complete these steps within 30 second
4. receiver to the supplied cable you can leave these connected Attach the DB9 connector to an RS232 port on the GTO Turn on the GTO The keypad should display the following message External Startup Press MENU to cancel external startup DO NOT PRESS MENU unless you will not be using StarGPS Plug the 3 5mm plug into the 6V jack on the GTO The GPS LED should turn on to indicate that it is receiving power Wait until the GPS LED flashes once every 2 seconds The GTO will display the Main Menu once it receives the date time latitude and longitude from the GPS Proceed as usual with the alignment process For use with Meade Autostar 495 497 497EP Audiostar ETX LXD LX90 LX80 LT DS 1 2 3 OOS For LX90GPS SC ACF you must disable the built in GPS via Select Item Utilities gt GPS gt OFF Turn the telescope off Connect the GPS receiver to the handset and telescope using the GPS ASTAR cable The long lead connects to the RS232 port on the bottom of the handset and can optionally be routed up the center of the coiled handset cable wind the coil around the long lead The short lead plugs into an AUX port on the telescope to supply power to the GPS WARNING DO NOT REVERSE THE CABLE CONNECTIONS since this can cause damage to the telescope or handset Turn on the telescope and within 15 to 30 seconds the handset displays Please wait The current time in UTC is shown while the GPS calculates your location The message
5. StarGPS NX Instructions www stargps ca General Information StarGPS NX includes a high performance GPS receiver and one adapter cable specific to the telescope mount This can be used with Celestron NexStar NexStar StarSense Meade Autostar Audiostar LX200 Classic Autostar II Losmandy Gemini Gemini 2 Vixen StarBook Astro Physics GTO and Synta Orion Atlas Sirius Sky Watcher SynScan 1 The GPS NX01 and GPS NX02 receiver status LED indicates a Solid on power turned on b Short off blink every second determined telescope type c Rapid sustained blinking detected old NexStar firmware requires update d Rapid blinking for 5 seconds no telescope found switching to 4800 baud NMEA output e Short on blink every second determined date time latitude and longitude This may not work indoors and normally takes about one minute outdoors f Short on blink every 2 seconds telescope has accepted GPS data 2 After the telescope has accepted the GPS data it can be disconnected It is recommended to leave the GPS connected for at least twenty minutes following its first use this allows it time to download and update the almanac and ephemeris data used to locate satellites resulting in better performance 3 Note that the local date and time are set to UTC Coordinated Universal Time Early model GPS NX01 and GPS NX02 receivers may specify 9600 baud For use with Celestron NexStar NexStar or StarSense hand control
6. StarGPS NX requires a NexStar firmware version 2 3 104 0 or 4 0 as displayed using the hand control Utilities Version menu item or any NexStar or StarSense hand control If you have a CGE Series mount you must use the Utilities RTC menu item to disable use of the real time clock This must be set to OFF otherwise the CGE may get the time from the RTC instead of the GPS 1 Make sure the telescope is turned off 2 Connect the GPS receiver to the hand control and telescope using the supplied cable The long lead connects to the RS232 port on the bottom of the hand control and can be routed up the center of the coiled cable if desired it takes a few minutes to wind the coil around the long lead The short lead plugs into an AUX port on the telescope to supply power to the GPS 3 If you do not have an AUX port GT AS GT CG5 mount you can plug the included 6p6c jack splitter into the Hand Control jack and then plug the short lead and hand control cable into the splitter WARNING Do not plug the GPS or splitter into the Autoguider port as this may damage the drive circuit Turn on the telescope 5 If using a StarSense hand control if prompted to enter the time quickly press the ENTER key 9 times to bypass the time date zone and DST settings leaving you at the Set Align Start prompt Wait until the GPS LED flashes once every 2 seconds Proceed with setup alignment as usual For NexStar you can use the View Time
7. as above If using a Vixen StarBook select the IP checkbox and enter the IP address of the StarBook this can be found using the About StarBook menu item 9 With Gemini Level 3 plug the GPS into the GPS USB cable wait until the GPS LED flashes once every 2 seconds press Connect turn on the Gemini and go to step 13 Turn on the telescope Press Connect to establish the connection between the telescope and GPS Plug the GPS into the GPS USB cable Follow the normal operating StarGPS NX instructions for your telescope type as found in this document subsequent to Turn on the telescope eg Step 4 for Celestron NexStar 14 Press Exit to disconnect and exit from redirect exe 15 Continue as usual with your PC and planetarium software GAO AE LN 10 11 12 13 KS SY a
8. culation of the meridian overhead hour angle and the horizons While these issues will not affect normal go to operation during a night of observing they can affect syncs done very close to the meridian and they will affect park position calculations adversely Either of these situations can result in the scope being driven into the mount so it is important that you follow these instructions To easily solve this potential problem ALWAYS keep your keypad set to Universal Time or GMT if you will be using StarGPS When you enter time into the GTO keypad simply input the GMT as your local time and keep the Daylight Savings setting at 0 Be sure that you put the correct UT date into the keypad as well For example for those of us in the US who might be setting up in the evening UT may already be into tomorrow so tomorrow s date could be the correct entry Likewise an Australian setting up his or her keypad in the morning might need to remember that it is still yesterday in UT You can still have locations entered into the keypad for quick setup at home without using StarGPS but your time zone for ALL of your entered locations in the keypad must be set to 00 since the entered local time is UT You will also need to remember that the keypad will now only show UT as the local time This should not really pose a problem for astronomers since we are quite used to converting local time to UT and vice versa Accurate local time is not necessary
9. he whole point of having a StarGPS in the first place Please be sure to read the first page of these instructions before proceeding Specific Instructions 1 2 Turn the GTO on Configure the GTO for use with StarGPS instructions are for keypad firmware v 4 xx a From the Main Menu select 2 Setup and press 3 KeyPad Options Menu b Press 1 to toggle to AUTO CONNECT EXT external startup sequence c Press the Menu button to go back to the Setup menu d From the Setup Menu press 1 Locations amp Time e Press 1 Site Location Data f Enter a location number for which you have previously entered data starting with location 1 and then press GO TO g Press the lt PREV button to back up to the Time Zone line and change the time zone to zero Press GO TO The keypad will beep to confirm that it has been saved h Repeat steps d g for ALL of your saved locations From the Setup Menu press 2 Set Date amp Time j Enter the Universal Time UT or GMT in 24 hour format as your local time k Enter the correct UT date keeping in mind that it may not necessarily be the same as the date in local time see http www timeanddate com l Set Daylight Savings to 0O Winter m Press GO TO to save n Press Menu to back out to the main menu Turn off the power to the GTO for 10 to 15 seconds You only need to do the above steps once before using StarGPS The GTO will remember these settings for future use Connect the GPS
10. in the keypad as long as the keypad can correctly calculate UT which it does with StarGPS The instructions below will have you set your Auto Connect to EXT This means that StarGPS will be initializing your mount not the keypad You should be aware that there are additional parts of the initialization sequence that StarGPS cannot perform Fortunately the keypad supplies these parameters even in the External Startup Mode These parameters include the tracking guiding and slew rates the backlash compensation settings for both RA and Dec reticle brightness and focus speed and the PEM state Also if you are not using StarGPS you can still proceed through the start up by pressing the menu button as instructed on the keypad s display and then proceeding to enter a location number and resuming from park or polar aligning Finally a word of caution if you are using planetarium software along with StarGPS and the GTO Keypad DO NOT re initialize the mount from any program on your PC once you have initialized with the StarGPS GTO Keypad combination You can certainly use your favorite software just like you normally would You can change individual parameters that are part of the initialization like backlash compensation or tracking rate but DO NOT send time and location data from the computer and do not do a full initialization Doing so will overwrite the StarGPS data and may cause the same timing issues that were mentioned above It also spoils t
11. k adapter by sliding the power switch from 0 to R The GPS receiver LED indicates the receiver status see General Information above Wait until the GPS LED flashes once every 2 seconds Rapid sustained blinking indicates that the StarBook is in a non INIT state turn off the StarBook and the GPS StarBook adapter and then proceed to step 6 do not use the StarBook until step 8 is complete Turn off the GPS StarBook adapter and if desired disconnect it from the StarBook 9 10 Proceed with setup alignment as usual 11 You can use the Location menu item to view the latitude and longitude These settings can be permanently saved by using the Save Setting menu item For use with Synta Orion Atlas Sirius GoTo SkyWatcher SynScan StarGPS NX requires a hand control with firmware version 3 10 or AZ 3 03 1 Make sure the telescope is turned off Connect the GPS receiver to the supplied cable you can leave these connected Plug the other end of the cable into the RS232 port on the hand control Turn on the telescope Use the ENTER key to skip ahead until the hand control displays Initializing Once the GPS is recognized you are prompted for time zone and daylight saving these are only used to calculate the local time display The display shows GPS Fixing until a satellite fix is obtained The hand control then bypasses the normal location time zone date time and daylight saving prompts Pr
12. oceed with setup alignment as usual You can use the Utility Func gt GPS menu item to view detailed GPS information LARU lt oc USB PC connected for use as a standard GPS with NMEA output If you wish to use the GPS with any PC software that expects standard GPS NMEA output then 1 Refer to http Avww stargps ca gps htm gqpsview to install and test the GPS USB cable 2 You can then choose to either a Leave the GPS in its default telescope mode and wait 45 seconds after power on before it switches to NMEA output at 4800 baud or b Use the GPSView utility to configure the GPS for NMEA output immediately at power on USB PC connected for use as a StarGPS NX If your telescope is connected to a Windows PC you may choose to connect the GPS receiver to the PC and have it forward data from the GPS to your telescope as described below This has the advantage of using your existing PC to Telescope serial cable or LAN cable for Vixen StarBook This procedure will not work with a Synta handset eg SynScan 1 Download the Redirect utility program from hitp www stargps ca pub redirect exe Make sure the telescope is turned off Connect the telescope to the PC using your existing PC to Telescope cable Plug the GPS USB cable into the PC without the GPS attached Run redirect exe Select the GPS COM port and a baud rate of 4800 Gemini Level 3 or 9600 all others Select the Telescope COM port and the same baud rate
13. s a Ifyou are asked to Press 0 to Align or MODE for Menu then press the MODE key b If you see Align Automatic proceed to step 10 below otherwise c Use the handset keypad to skip past any messages or date time prompts and reach the Align Easy prompt make sure to select NO for Daylight Savings if prompted 10 Wait until the GPS LED flashes once every 2 seconds For use with Meade LX200 Classic 9 Turn the telescope off 10 Connect the GPS receiver to the GPS LX200 cable you can leave these connected 11 Plug the other end of the cable into the RS232 port on the LX200 control panel 12 Turn on the telescope and wait until the GPS LED flashes once every 2 seconds 13 Unplug the GPS from the RS232 port 14 Proceed with setup alignment as usual For use with Meade LX200GPS LX200R LX200ACF LX400ACF RCX400 A GPS NX02 with firmware version 1 1 and newer is required This can be used to replace the built in GPS in any of the above models and is useful in cases where the internal GPS is not operating properly For example an external GPS NX02 can be mounted outside an observatory dome and connected via a PS2 keyboard extension cable of up to 50 ft 15m 1 Disable the built in GPS via Select Item Setup gt Telescope gt GPS Alignment gt OFF Turn the telescope off Connect the GPS receiver to the GPS LX200 cable you can leave these connected Plug the other end of the cable into an RS232 port on the con
14. sending standard GPS NMEA data to the Gemini 2 or Gemini at a rate of 4800 baud Make sure the Gemini is turned off Connect the GPS receiver to the supplied cable Plug one end of the cable into the Gemini RS232 port Plug the other end of the cable into the Gemini power output The GPS LED should turn on at this point Wait until the LED flashes rapidly for 5 seconds indicating that the GPS has switched to NMEA output This will occur after 30 or 45 seconds Wait until the LED flashes every two seconds to indicate that it has a satellite fix Turn on the Gemini you will see a welcome message and then the Gemini will look for a GPS receiver 9 The Gemini displays SRAM RTC Updated if it was successful 10 Disconnect the GPS from the Gemini 11 Proceed with setup alignment as usual OOF Oly eS NOTE if the GPS is not recognized please try setting the Gemini GPS serial port speed to 9600 baud early model GPS NX01 and GPS NX02 receivers output NMEA at 9600 baud whereas the factory default setting on the Gemini GPS serial port is 4800 baud For use with Astro Physics GTO StarGPS NX uses the Meade LX200 Command Set to send GPS data to the GTO Note For the most efficient use of StarGPS with your Astro Physics GTO system we recommend that you change the way you have your keypad set up Since the GPS uses Universal Time and the keypad starts from local time there is the potential for timing issues that affect precise cal
15. trol panel Turn on the telescope and within 45 seconds the handset displays Please wait The current time in UTC is shown while the GPS calculates your location The message Finishing is followed by the Select Item Object menu prompt Proceed to Select Item Setup gt Align to continue with alignment You can press and hold the MODE key for two seconds and then use the up down scroll keys to view the UTC date time latitude and longitude The Time Zone is set to zero and Daylight Savings is set to NO SO OS OOS CON Note If the telescope will be unparked using the I command versus a full power off on then you ll need to update the Autostar II firmware using StarPatch and selecting the Allow StarGPS Reboot on Soft boot patch The free trial version of StarPatch can be used as described at http Awww stargps ca manual htm starpatch For use with Vixen StarBook A StarBook controller with firmware version 1 2 build 31 or newer is required see the About StarBook menu item and then update the firmware if necessary 1 AOS ek D Make sure that the StarBook is turned off Plug one end of the blue crossover cable into the StarBook Ethernet port Plug the other end of the blue crossover cable into the GPS StarBook adapter Plug the GPS USB cable into the GPS StarBook adapter Connect the GPS receiver to the GPS USB cable Turn on the StarBook this must be done before step 7 Turn on the GPS StarBoo
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