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Avalon Instruments StarGo2 Pro User Manual

All-in-one astrophotografic control system for: mount - ccd cameras - focuser
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StarGo2 Pro
All-in-one astrophotografic Control System for:
Mount - CCD cameras - Focuser
User's Manual
Rev. 1.1.0 - January 2022
All the pictures and contents here included are property of AVALON INSTRUMENTS. The content may bot be
reproduced, published, copied or transmitted in any way, including the internet, without the written permission
of AVALON INSTRUMENTS

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Summary of Contents for Avalon Instruments StarGo2 Pro

  • Page 1 User’s Manual Rev. 1.1.0 - January 2022 All the pictures and contents here included are property of AVALON INSTRUMENTS. The content may bot be reproduced, published, copied or transmitted in any way, including the internet, without the written permission of AVALON INSTRUMENTS...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Introduction..........................3 The StarGO2 Controller........................3 The StarGO2 On-Device Display (SODD)................4 2.1.1. The Primary Main Screen (Fig. 2.1)................4 2.1.2. The Secondary Main Screens..................5 2.1.4. The Mount Setup Screen (Figures 2.4).................6 2.2. The External Display......................6 2.2.1. Connection to the external device................6 2.2.2. Cable Connection......................7 2.2.3.

  • Page 3: Introduction

    Alpaca communication protocol that allows the use of traditional ASCOM platform drivers for native INDI devices. So, the StarGo2 Pro can be used mainly as a Standalone system or as a GoTo Control System only. 1. Used as Standalone system...

  • Page 4: The Stargo2 Controller

    COMMANDS EXECUTOR (for N.I.N.A., SGP habitual users) This method is similar to the previous one as regards the equipment involved and the connection method to the StarGo2 Pro. The basic difference is that this time the managing software for both telescope control and astrophotography actions are residing in the remote computer and not in the internal Raspberry.

  • Page 5: The Stargo2 On-Device Display (Sodd)

    The StarGO2 On-Device Display (SODD) The SODD allows to interact with the StarGO2 hardware directly on the mount controller itself. It is a 7” touch screen that is capable to set all important parameters of the mount and the way to communicate with it.
  • Page 6 Hour Angle of the Polaris. The coordinates in Alt/Az format are provided in the third sector whereas the last one reports the actual status of the mount. The last Secondary Main Screen (Figure 2.2b) reports the location where the observation site is located on the Earth map.

  • Page 7: The Mount Setup Screen (Figures 2.4)

    the next chapters. The IP address, the Gateway and the DNS address are inserted in the below fields. The selection possibility of the two kinds of IP addressing is repeated below in case of Ethernet wired connection to an external network. 2.1.4.The Mount Setup Screen (Figures 2.4) This screen (Fig.

  • Page 8: Connection To The External Device

    2.2.1. Connection to the external device The connection can be wired (Ethernet) or wireless (WiFi). The very first decision to be done once the StarGO 2 has been powered on is the kind of connection desired. If we want to be completely free in the movements or an ethernet connection to a LAN is not available, we can only choose the wireless connection.

  • Page 9: Use Of The Stargo2 External Display (Sed)

    button: after few seconds the mode will become active and, in the dropdown menu, we can select the chosen WiFi network. Then we will insert the password to access to that network and, after closing the screen, we will get the new IP address assigned, by the network DHCP server, to our StarGO2.
  • Page 10  Choose the speed at which the telescope moves.  Select the tracking speed (Terrestrial, Lunar, Solar, Sidereal)  Report the Time information (UTC, LST) Through the TELESCOPE ADVANCED panel (Figure 2.6c) is possible to perform the operations for defining a correct position the telescope when parked and the Home position, usually matching the Counter Weight Down position (CDW - North Pole pointing) before to start the GOTO actions.
  • Page 11 The SWITCHES panel (Figure 2.7b) contains the controls of the power supply and the USB signals. In particular, the first two (OUT) will switches on/off the 12 V DC fixed voltage supply to devices such as CCD, Filter Wheels, Rotators, etc. The third switch (PWM) regulate the voltage from 0 to 12 VDC, essentially for the anti-dewing band.

  • Page 12: Telescope Operations With The Stargo2

    7. In the M section it is possible to perform all the needed operation regarding the ANAGEMENT StarGO2 hardware / software. In particular:  Update the software with the provided file.  Export and Import the SW configuration.  Installing optional SW. ...
  • Page 13 By default, on the StarGo2 Pro, is already installed the VNC server, so, in order to establish the connection from a remote device such as a laptop or a PC, it must be downloaded and installed the VNC viewer.
  • Page 14 A window asking the I.P. address required for the connection will pop up. In order to establish the connection, both the device must be connected on the same network. In the corresponding field, write the I.P. (in our sample is 192.168.1.136, as shown in the pictures below) and press Enter.
  • Page 15 After pressing the OK button it will be possible to get inside the StarGo2 Pro Operative System. 2.4.2. KStars, EKOS The first planetarium application we will take into consideration for using the StarGO2 with this method is KStars. It is an integral part of the INDI environment inside the LINUX and MAC operation systems, which is the correspondent of ASCOM for Windows OS.
  • Page 16 Figure 3.2 – Raspberry Desktop At the VNC request enter the Raspberry credential pi and AvalonInstruments. Once entered the desktop, double click on the kStars icon (the first on top left): 1) Enter in EKOS environment: Launch KStars and, in the main menu (see Figure 3.2) click on “Toggle EKOS”...
  • Page 17 Figure 3.3 – KStar Wizard Window Figure 3.4 – EKOS – KStar window 2) From the EKOS – KStar window we can setup the StarGO2 profile and, once done, we can launch the EKOS session clicking on the triangle icon. The Profile Editor window is opened by clicking the pencil icon between + and -.
  • Page 18 It is also convenient to fill the Primary and Guide Telescope types by clicking the bottom right + icon and filling the next windows with the needed information. These parameters are important because they are used during plate solving operations that can be done during the pointing of the telescope and for the guiding operations.
  • Page 19 Figure 3.6a – StarGO2 Main Control Tab Figure 3.6b – StarGO2 General Info Tab...
  • Page 20 Figure 3.6c – StarGO Option Tab Figure 3.6d – StarGO2 Connection Tab...
  • Page 21 Figure 3.6e – StarGO2 Site Management Tab Figure 3.6f – StarGO2 Motion Control Tab...
  • Page 22 4) Once we are satisfied with our controls and sets, we can close the INDI Control Panel. We will note that now, the EKOS – KStars Panel has been renamed EKOS – StarGO2 Profile – KStars and its top is now populated with a long raw of colorful icons, each related to the tabs necessary to operate the single pieces of equipment in our profile (se figure 3.7).
  • Page 23 Figure 3.8 – Mount Control window 6) Finally, an important function for the mount movement is the Virtual Keypad that is activated by clicking the button on the upper right corner of the window (Figure 3.9 – Mount Virtual Keypad). Figure 3.9 –...
  • Page 24 2.4.3. Using Cart du Ciel (or Sky Chart) as Planetary app instead of kStars. Cart du Ciel (CdC) or Sky Chart is probably the most know planetarium application, often used in conjunction with astrophotography software such as Sequence Generator Pro, N.I.N.A, CCD Ciel and others.
  • Page 25 Figure 3.12 – Connect Telescope icon 5. In the INDI Driver window that appears (Figure 3.13), Select the StarGO2 Telescope by clicking the Get button (this is needed only at the first access). Fill the Observatory coordinates if not already set before, and press Connect. Leave all other field with the default values. Figure 3.13 –...
  • Page 26 6. After the connection, the Connect indicators goes green (Figure 3.14). The RA and DEC fields will be populated with the actual telescope position and a simple telescope virtual keypad will appear with a new dropdown menu to select the telescope movement speed. The frame below the virtual keypad will be filled with all the telescope operation information.
  • Page 27 Figure 3.15 – INDI – StarGO2 Telescope panel in EKOS 8. After the unparking, it is possible to move the telescope using all the CdC planetarium commands highlighted in Figure 3.16. Figure 3.16 – CdC telescope commands...
  • Page 28 3.2.3 Using Stellarium Planetary app instead of kStars Stellarium is another Planetarium app used especially by the visualists. It is much more scenic than CdC and is a bit more demanding in term of computer resource. However, it run smoothly on the modern Raspberry Pi 4 mounted on the StarGO2 and therefore may be used also by the astrophotographers.
  • Page 29 3. Click on the “Configure Telescope” bar. An additional empty window will appear, named “Telescopes” (Figure 3.19). Figure 3.19 4. Press the “Add”. This will make to appear another window named “Add New Telescope” in which all the information related to our StarGO2 will be inserted.

  • Page 30: Use Of Phd2 Instead Of The Internal Ekos Guiding Tool

    Figure 3.20 5. Enter the information as shown in Figure3.20 but using the actual IP address as shown in the StarGO2 Main Display and inserting in the last line the diameter in degrees of the desired telescope indication circles, separated by a comma. At the end press ok. All the inserted set information is memorized in Stellarium to be loaded at the next restarting.
  • Page 31 The installation is very simple. Open Add /Remove Software window from the Preferences Main menu. Enter PHD2 word in the search box and press Enter. After a while a list of applications is shown. The only needed is the first but also the others (log na debug may be useful and don’t require a lot of Raspberry resources to be installed so, up to you to choose all the listed apps.
  • Page 32 2.5. Used as Goto Control System Only SETUP MANAGING SOFTWARE RESIDING IN EXTERNAL PC. STARGO2 AS A MERE COMMANDS EXECUTOR (for N.I.N.A., SGP habitual users) The method described above involves, as said at the beginning, the use of a tablet or a computer but only as a way to access to the Raspberry desktop, to perform all the described operations with kStars, EKOS and all other applications directly on the Raspberry.

  • Page 33: Use Of Cdc From An External Computers

    3.3.1 Use of CDC from a computers CDC is the most used planetary application used by the astrophotographers to the gross control of the telescope. It is available also for Apple Macintosh computers and for Linux based PCs. The procedure to connect the StarGO2 to CdC is the following: 1.
  • Page 34 The IP address to be used is retrieved from the StarGO2 on the Device Display (ODD) and the other pieces of information are the default (IP Port 11111, Remote Device Number 0 and User name StarGO2). The required Password is “AvalonInstruments”. The observatory coordinates are retrieved by the program an inserted during the preliminary CdC setup.

  • Page 35: Connection To Stargo2 Of Stellarium Residing On An External Computer

    Figure 3.25a - Windows Figure 3.25b - Mac Figure 3.25a - Linux 3.3.2 Connection to StarGO2 of Stellarium residing on an external computer The procedure to connect the StarGO2 to Stellarium for Mac is similar to that shown in section 3.2.3.
  • Page 36 1. Once launched the app on the Mac click the Setup item under the Telescope main menu (Figure 3.26). Figure 3.26 2. The Setup panel will open on the top left of the main window. Fill all the fields with the information provided in Figure 3.27, with the only exception of the IP address that will be taken from the main ODD (see Figure 2.5 of section 2).

  • Page 37: Connecting The Stargo To External Astrophotography Software

    Figure 3.28 4. Use the directional keys to move around the telescope, the GoTo to slew the telescope to the selected object and the Align button to synchronize the telescope to the object centered in the eyepiece to increase the pointing precision. Connecting the StarGO to external astrophotography software.

  • Page 38: Accessing The Ascom Chooser From Several Applications

    3.4.1 Accessing the ASCOM Chooser from several applications Sequence Generator Pro One of the most popular sequencer applications for astrophotography is SGP. The connection of SGP to the mount is performed using the “Equipment” section of the Sequence window that can be accessed by the Main Menu (See figure 3.4.1a). Figure 3.4.1a In this window select ASCOM in the “Telescope”...
  • Page 39 Figure 3.4.1c Repeat the operation but finally selecting the Setting… sub-menu in Fig. 3.4.1c, (green arrow). The ASCOM Telescope Chooser panel will open as needed. Voyager Voyager is a very good shareware program, with a nice, unusual graphical interface that can be intimidating at the beginning but with the use it shows to be a very powerful and complete application for astrophotography.
  • Page 40 Figure 3.4.1e Nighttime Imaging ‘N’ Astronomy (N.I.N.A.) N.I.N.A. is also a very good application for advance astro photographer. It is very complete, allowing many advanced functions. The program starts with the Chooser Profiler panel opened (see Fig. 3.4.1f). Close it because the profile may be set in a second moment. Figure 3.4.1f Click the Telescope icon on the left of the screen to open the Telescope setup windows and on this open the dropdown menu and choose ASCOM.
  • Page 41 This is the companion program of the CartduCiel planetary, written by the same developer. The resemblances between the two are really evident. To access the ASCOM Chooser in this program, after its launch, click the menu items “Edit/Devices Setup…” (figure 3.4.1g) to open the homonymous window.

  • Page 42: Choosing The Stargo2 Driver

    3.4.2. Choosing the StarGO2 driver We have seen that any of the analyzed application has a different approach to get the ASCOM Chooser panel. Once this is available, the procedure to connect the application to the mount is the same for each one. There is a small difference between the first and the subsequent connections.
  • Page 43 Figure 3.4.2c In the first raw it is highlighted the new discovered device, which is our StarGO2, with the indication of the related parameters. Click on the line to select and connect the StarGO2 telescope to the software in use. Note that the above two figure may be the last time you see them because the next times you will invoke the chooser, it will automatically detect the StarGO2.
  • Page 44 StarGo2 as a Visual 2.6. Smart Device Direct Operations This method of telescope control is especially suitable for a light visual use of the telescope. It requires that the Park and Home positions have been set as described in the “ADVANCED TELESCOPE”...
  • Page 45 3.1.1 Smart Device Direct Operations with SkySafari 6 Pro and 7 Pro. SkySafari 6 Pro: This app is available in the Apple and Google stores and are available in two version 6 and 7 Pro. These are the operations to connect the StarGO to Skysafari 6: 1 Connect the device to the StarGO 2 using the WiFi as explained in section 2.2.3.
  • Page 46 become active (see figure 3.1c). The telescope position indicator will be placed over the North Pole. 5 Select a bright star close to the object you want to visit and press the GOTO button. The telescope will move to the object but probably will non center it. 6 Using the side controls, eventually with the help of a finder-scope, bring the star at the center of the ocular field of view (FOV).
  • Page 47 Fig. 3.1.1d Fig. 3.1.1e Fig. 3.1.1f 4 The first time the app is used the “Demo Interface” is the only presets available for testing. Click on + Add Preset button below (see Figure 3.1f). 5 In the next page (Figure 3.1.1g) four types of connections are proposed. The first two are important for us.
  • Page 48 Fig. 3.1.1g Fig. 3.1.1h Fig. 3.1.1i Fig. 3.1.1l Fig. 3.1.1m Fig. 3.1.1n...
  • Page 49 b. INDI: The procedure for INDI is like that for Alpaca. However, some parameters are different and therefore we prefer to repeat here all the procedure so that the INDI user will have a specific mini guide. Start choosing INDI clicking on the INDI button (See figure 3.1.1g) to get the Network Connection and Device Selection page and here (Figure 3.1.1i) press the Check IP and Port for Devices button.
  • Page 50 For connecting the device to the StarGO swipe the left screen border. A side panel will appear with a menu (see figure 3.1.2b). Choose “INDI Control Panel. In the new page (see figure 3.1.2c) insert the IP address of the StarGO as given in the SODD and don’t change the default ports. Press CONNECT button and press the back arrow to return to the main screen.
  • Page 51 Fig 3.1.2f Fig 3.1.2g On the page reached by pressing the INDI control Panel menu item, you will note that there are other menu items which are related to the other devices eventually connected to the StarGO via the USB ports (CDD, guide CCD, Focuser, etc).
  • Page 52 APPENDIX A A.1 - System Update Download the StarGo2 Pro update file from Support Page on Avalon website Click on the FILE button available inside the CONFIGURATION tab StarGo2 Pro WebApp...
  • Page 53 Browse inside your PC to find the downloaded file required for the system update NOTE: if you don’t see the downloaded file inside the download folder, select the *.* All file option in the dropdown file menù. Click on the UPDATE SYSTEM button...
  • Page 54 A security warning pop-up will show up. Click on the Ok button. After few seconds, when the operation will be completed, a warning message will advice about the System update successful operation.
  • Page 55 In order to have the new release running, it is required the system reboot. To restart the system press the REBOOT button. NOTE: After the reboot, to make the update run properly, it is required to clear the browser cache. Normally this operation it is made pressing together Ctrl + shift + canc on the PC keyboard.

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