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Hi all,
I just joined the group. I am considering buying the G11G mount, to be controlled by my PC via a USB cable (I don't use asi air). I use Sharpcap and Stellarium.? Can someone please indicate the correct PC control software I would need to download (Gemini II)? And are there instructions on how to use this software for mount control?? Is it compatible with Sharpcap and Stellarium, and how well do they work together- any issues??

If there are any introductory tutorial videos on PC control of the G11G, using sharpcap and stellarium, can you send a link, or let me know where I can find one??

Thanks!

John,

I use the ASCOM Gemini Telecope.Net driver - (Under the Ascom section)
??????? Video here -

SharpCap just needs the ASCOM Gemini Telescope.net installed and you can set it up in the Settings area -
Stellarium - /g/Gemini-II/topic/trying_to_control_gemini_2/82816694?p=

Good luck,
Ken

Thanks Ken. This is very helpful!

Question... in the sharpcap settings page, any idea which tabs I would need to enter info into? Maybe the hardware tab? I can look at each tab if/when I get the mount; just curious. Also, I think the mount needs to be connected to the PC for it to show up in sharpcap, correct?

Enter in the hardware tab and the Gemini.Net should be available in the roll down selection per below. The Properties button allows you to set what interface you are using to the Gemini.Net setting and I use the Ethernet setting. If you are using the ethernet connection then SharpCap does not have to be on the same PC that the Gemini.Net driver is on.

For Stellarium and others you may want to see if it supports ASCOM's Alpaca server so that you can also run the Stellarium on another system to the Gemini.Net driver. Alpaca is a newish server/client model for ASCOM that does not require .Net (i.e. install Alpaca Server on the PC with the Gemini.Net driver and as long as the Stellarium has the Alpaca client then it can communicate to the Server syste with Gemini.Net - see

Ken

Thanks again Ken-? the screen shot really helps. From the picture it looks like I will need to use a baud rate of 9600 with the G11G. My Skywatcher EQ6 mount/EQMOD uses a baud rate of 115200. Hopefully in Sharpcap I can just input all the data for the G11G, and in the future when I choose that mount its settings will automatically come up. That way I won't have to reprogram sharpcap every time I change a mount.

Thanks everyone- I really appreciate the info.

Hi John,
? ?Considering all the responses and that I am late to the party; I think you have a lot of useful information. Actually, I may be able to learn something too.

On Sun, Jan 7, 2024 at 03:59 AM, John Natale wrote:

Thanks again Ken-? the screen shot really helps. From the picture it looks like I will need to use a baud rate of 9600 with the G11G. My Skywatcher EQ6 mount/EQMOD uses a baud rate of 115200. Hopefully in Sharpcap I can just input all the data for the G11G, and in the future when I choose that mount its settings will automatically come up. That way I won't have to reprogram sharpcap every time I change a mount.

John - the baud rate is just for use with the non-ethernet connections. Once you connect with ethernet it is just what the nic card supports (10mb I expect)

Good luck,
Ken

Ken,
I am going to admit my ignorance here... I have never used an ethernet connection before, and know nothing about how it works. I currently use a USB connection between my current mount (EQ6) and PC. Should I switch to ethernet? Is it faster? In the case of the G11G, what cables would I need and where do they plug in???

There is an Ethernet port on the Gemini box itself.? The advantage of ethernet is that it puts your gemini on your home or other local network, and then you can 'log in' to it with the Gemini.net software/driver.? So you don't necessarily need to be hard wired from your work station to the mount itself.??

To do this, you'd either run an ethernet cable from the mount to your home network router.? Or, you could get a wifi router to put by the mount, and link that to your existing home network.? The camera and focuser etc generally do not connect via ethernet, so to be fully remote like this you generally have a mini PC or something at the mount anyway.? ?and then you can remote log in to it all from inside where its warm.?

?

Alternately if you set up in the field you can get a direct ethernet connection from the mount to your laptop.? There is not much of an advantage over using it via USB in this case, at least not that I know of.? I never do it.? If you are using an ASI Air, it has an ethernet port but it is not really well implemented for connecting directly to the mount.? So resist the urge and just use USB with it.??

Brian

On Tue, Jan 9, 2024 at 04:05 AM, John Natale wrote:

Ken,
I am going to admit my ignorance here... I have never used an ethernet connection before, and know nothing about how it works. I currently use a USB connection between my current mount (EQ6) and PC. Should I switch to ethernet? Is it faster? In the case of the G11G, what cables would I need and where do they plug in???

Hi John, if you've not seen this yet, there's a whole website dedicated to Gemini that could help answer a lot of your questions, including detailed guides, FAQs, screen shots, photos, etc.:



Regards,

? ?-Paul

Hi John,

I’m a bit late to the party but here’s my 2 cents.

Stellarium works very nicely with the Gemini via USB. You just need to configure the mount control plugin in Stellarium, install your ascom platform and gemini.net drivers and fire it all up. Just make sure you make a mental note of what number your losmandy mount is for the time you want to issue the slew from within stelarium. I can’t tell about sharpcap as I haven’t used that software to control the mount but, once you have all your drivers setup on your computer, every other piece of software will use those to communicate with the mount, so I see no issues there.?

If you are just starting and have your computer next to the mount I’d suggest you start with USB. It’s as simple as plug and play and it’s fully functional. If you want to go remote then ethernet might be the better option or, like Brian said, a minicomputer (NUC, asi air, mele etc) may be another option, in which case usb or ethernet can be used.

hope this helps

jonathan

I just watched this today, very informative about a lot of the above