Telescope to Ipad

[Banjoman]

I have a old Vision VT-50 telescope  in unused condition. Do you have a way I can connect it to my Ipad so I can view what the telescope has in focus. It is hard for me to use the eyepiece that came with it. 
Thanks

[AaronSmall]

Banjoman,

BYE/BYN is a .NET program so it does not run on iPad.  I don't know of another Canon/Nikon viewing program that runs on iOS.

[Banjoman]

Thanks Aaron. How about some adaptor that will allow me to hook up my Iphone directly to the telescope and I could see that display? Is that at all possible?

[admin]

BYE/BYN is software to control Canon and Nikon cameras.  I'm not sure you will get the traction you require to control your telescope from an iPad in this forum.

Most will have a mini PC (mostly Windows mini PC) close to their telescope with full control over their astronomy gear.  Then they would use remote desktop software live AnyDesk (or others) to remotely connect into that PC.

Regards,

[astroman133]

To avoid looking through an eyepiece, you would need to replace the eyepiece and diagonal with a camera and adapters. To control the telescope from BYE, you would need to use ASCOM and an ASCOM telescope driver for your telescope.

BYE/BYN and ASCOM are both Windows only so neither would work with an iPad. 

INDI is like ASCOM, but runs on Linux and macOS, but not iOS.

Sky Safari runs on iOS and with SkyFi can wirelessly enable several mounts, however not your Vision mount. EOS Remote is a free app available from the App store for controlling Canon EOS cameras that support WiFi connectivity.

If you want to use BYE or BYN and ASCOM, you need a Windows PC and a GOTO mount with an ASCOM driver. I could find no information about your telescope, so I will just say that if it is a Newtonian, that you may need to be able to adjust the position of the primary mirror in order to reach focus when you replace the eyepiece with a camera because of the limited focuser adjustment.

[AaronSmall]

20 hours ago, astroman133 said:

EOS Remote is a free app available from the App store for controlling Canon EOS cameras that support WiFi connectivity.

Banjoman,

I think Rick hit it on the head for what I believe you are trying to do.  You could use the EOS remote and your iPad to achieve a rough focus (this is called EAA - Electronic Assisted Astronomy), then you would use BYE (assuming you're using Canon) on your Windows PC to perform actual detailed focusing, framing, and imaging (a much better choice IMHO).

EAA is becoming pretty big especially as it can easily work at public outreach to show folks what we see.  There is a whole forum dedicated to it at CloudyNights (https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/73-electronically-assisted-astronomy-eaa/).

[astroman133]

I missed your previous question about hooking your iPhone directly to the telescope.

I have such a device and it has been a big hit at public star parties. Here is a link to what I have: https://www.ioptron.com/product-p/8432.htm. I looked in the O'Telescope Store first, but did not find the product here.

It is only a viewing device; it does not control/point the telescope. It is also flexible enough to work with most smartphones. 

There are two issues, however. 1) the bracket clamps to the sides of the phone and there is limited flexibility in where the padded clamps grab the phone. So if where the clamps need to be positioned happens to be over the power button, it won't work for that phone. 2) for most phones, the camera is not sensitive enough for dark sky photography. However, I have spent an entire star party with people lined up to lend me their phone so that I could mount it in the bracket to take pictures of the moon.

If you want to show dim nebulae and galaxies on a larger display, you need a camera/software that does additive real-time stacking of individual sub-exposures. I have a Mallincam camera that does that, but I got it just before the pandemic arrived, so have not been able to use it for over a year. However, it can do what I believe you have in mind. You would have to verify whether the software works in the macOS, iOS world. I am strongly in the Windows world where it appears to work as advertised, but does take some familiarization in order to be able to use effectively in a public setting.

[Banjoman]

Thank you to all who kindly replied. I would be happy to use my Iphone or Ipad. I would just like to step outside and easily view the main planets and stars on a screen, as I can not use a small telescope eyepiece very easily. I will try some of these suggestions.

Thanks again,

Banjoman