FULLY automated remote telescope idea

How cool would this be?
Hook ETX or similar autostar telescope to laptop with wi-fi card and CCD camera attached to telescope- leave outside. Meanwhile, warm and indoors use your desktop PC to remotely connect to your laptop- hey presto! remote, taskable telescope! I suppose the focus might be a problem but I bet you can get a little motor to take care of this.

Theoretically, you could control your telescope over the internet- so if you were sitting in work late you could still go stargazing!!

I think I've found a new project to keep me busy- I have most of the components...

Anyone actually done this?? I'd love to see one.

How cool would this be?
Hook ETX or similar autostar telescope to laptop with wi-fi card and CCD camera attached to telescope- leave outside. Meanwhile, warm and indoors use your desktop PC to remotely connect to your laptop- hey presto! remote, taskable telescope! I suppose the focus might be a problem but I bet you can get a little motor to take care of this.

Theoretically, you could control your telescope over the internet- so if you were sitting in work late you could still go stargazing!!

I think I've found a new project to keep me busy- I have most of the components...

Anyone actually done this?? I'd love to see one.

Working on it

I was thinking of having a webcam permanently in it, so once its focussed it stays focussed.

The problem is with the accurace of the tracking on the ETX. If left even in the home position over a few days and nights will it still be hitting targets and tracking properly or would it need to be re-calibrated every few days.

Cheers,
~Al

I can do it already with my setup of Autostar Suite and LPI.

The LPI connects to a PC via USB as does the Autostar controller. There is a virtual Autostar controller in the suite. I can control and view through my scope via a laptop next to the machine. I have a desktop with WiFi in the house.

The Canon 300D can be downloaded from via USB too. I will build an observatory (when Zeus/Jupiter) stops throwing the weather at me in the new year so I can have a permanent network and ready to go scope.

Call me a gadget freak.

Focus will change depending on temperature - watch out! You will need an automated temp controled focusing gizmo.

www.optecinc.com/astronomy/products/tcf-s.html

The LPI connects to a PC via USB as does the Autostar controller. There is a virtual Autostar controller in the suite. I can control and view through my scope via a laptop next to the machine. I have a desktop with WiFi in the house.

If you had a laptop connected to the scope and you were inside how do you control it?

I suppose VNC windows remote desktop would allow some control but thats not going to work online. (eg. observing sunspots from your scope while at work!).

It would be possible to write a web app that had an image of an autostar on it and a webcam display. click on say the left arrow, this gets sent to to your home PC, which sends it to a client on the laptop at the scope over TCP/IP/wifi and the laptop client converts that to the RS232 instruction for the autostar.

Sorry, I'm looking at network code in work today

Cheers,
~Al

I can do it already with my setup of Autostar Suite and LPI.

Wow, I am impressed!!
Perhaps someday people could remotely control a telescope via this website- now that would really be something! If I can get this up and running and get broadband in the house I'll definitely do it. Should be simple enough.