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Hello My Friends:
Purchased Losmandy G-II/Gemini II from Scott 4 years ago.? Have used twice due to move to Dallas, but now back to Oklahoma, Bortle 5 skies.? So rolling again.? ±á²¹¡
Losmany G-II, AstroTech 111 Main, Stellarvue 80 Guidescope, Stellarvue Finder, Orion Star Shoot Guider, Canon T2i modded, (Gary Honis), Backyard EOS, PHD2.? Use Canon Software and Photoshop for any post processing.? All my DSLR is done with Canon¡¯s great auto dark subtract feature. ?I take one shot up to 5 minutes, 800 ISO, no stacking multiple subs.? I¡¯m not real fancy, just looking for descent images.
Eventually migrating to ZWO camera, and keeping my beloved DSLR. Also SharpCap with? integrated stacking, plate solving etc. looks great.? I?watch lots of NSN broadcasts.? Very informative.
Had Skyshed POD before, but sold when moved to Dallas, ordered new one yesterday.? Be here in early April according to Wayne. I really like these and hold value very well.? Great for wind, but do have occasional small leaks, but simple garbage bag, or cheap scope cover provides extra level of protection.? Bays don¡¯t leak at all, so folks who need computer etc. in POD use bays.? I will have all computers etc. in house.? Thus not getting any bays.? They are very heavy, and tied down would take wind over 120 mph to budge them.
Pouring concrete slab in March with new steel pier attached.? I will run lines below new pad to house with pier centered 9 feet away from house under new POD.? View unobstructed will be 300 degrees to 120 degrees, not perfect, but scope will be on East side of house, out of wind etc.? Objects 50 degrees altitude and above will be able to be seen from 120 degrees to about 160 degrees.? Example Orion in winter.
Due to close proximity of scope housed in POD to inside my house (9 ft), I can use Gemini II hand controller/box.? Use Autostar Suite as Object reference etc. for now.??Ultimately would like to go to Ethernet control with Stellarium or similar software.
In process of updating computer, latest ASCOM, Gemini etc.? G-II has Feb. 2014 firmware, updating that also.? Found the firmware update program on Gemini II site, hopefully I can make it work.? I¡¯m 72 now and fairly computer literate, but Ethernet items tend to exasperate me.? ±á²¹¡Retired corporate pilot¡can take you to Cairo in a LearJet, but this Imaging is much more difficult¡.? Ha
Up to now, I have just been tinkering and not much Imaging.? Hope to change that with permanent setup.? I need to keep my mind busy.? You seniors will understand...Ha !
Appreciate your thoughts or ideas on cabling and or software or anything etc.?
?
My thoughts on cabling:
¡¤?????? Cat 6 cable? ( maybe run 2 just in case )
¡¤?????? AC power line
¡¤?????? USB 3 cable? ( maybe run 2 just in case )
¡¤?????? Gemini II handbox cord (14¡¯ ¨C tested longer cord, works well )
°Õ³ó²¹²Ô°ì²õ¡? ( Northeast of Oklahoma City 20 miles-Bortle 5 )
Gary? ¡°Semper Fi¡±
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Hi Gary,
I am a newbie with a recent G11G (Nov '19) and have been working to get a decent remote AP setup going. Some things I had to do:
I started with a 16' USB3 Extender cable to with a local 12vdc powered USB hub on the leg of the tripod running into the house.
(It also had a Ethernet to USB3 adapter with the G11 plugged into it.)
Although that worked to get the basic signals into the PC in the house, I found that with everything open at once,? (A couple instances of Sharpcap, PHD2, and Stellarium (latest version with ASCOM telescope support),?
the PC was running at 100% CPU the entire time, and Stellarium was practically unusable from the lag.
I also found that the USB bandwidth was an issue, where I had to slow down the USB speed on all three ZWO USB3 cameras?
(ASI071 main camera, ASI224 finder scope camera, ASI120 guide scope camera)
By placing the laptop out at the scope, and splitting the camera USB load across 2 PC USB ports, I am able to increase the USB speed without issues.
Also I configured a little TPLink Travel router in 'Client' mode to connect the G11G directly to the home WIFI. This allowed me to:
1. Connect to the scope using RDP from a desktop (more powerful) computer in the house,
2. Allow the inside desktop computer to not only connect to the outside 'telescope' computer, but also directly run Stellarium (with ASCOM and the Gemini.Net ASCOM driver installed) and also run the Gemini web client
to provide scope control.
3. a modern RDP connection has the ability to display the remote PC on multiple monitors as well, allowing flexible display configurations,
(on a 2 screen desktop PC, 1 screen is the remote RDP screen, and the other is a full screen Stellarium display, sometimes even a third screen is useful to dedicate to the remote Gemini web client.
The software and the G11G doesn't seem to care that there are 2 Gemini ASCOM and web client instances running and never have generated conflicts yet.
This reduces the burden on the 'telescope' computer to the point that Stellarium runs very fast while still reliably connected to the scope. (the outside computer only runs at 65% CPU now with cameras and guiding active.)
We have tried other various configurations, and found limitations, such as the maximum number of USB3 hubs that can be connected in series for instance in a Windows 10 environment, that so far has made this the ideal configuration for us.
I also have found that a 'telescope/observatory' camera (I am using an old StellaCamEx) on a tripod, pointing at the mount using the wide angle lens that came with the ZWO ASI224/120? cameras to give us a view of not only the telescope position and movement, but also a decent 'partial-sky' view as well. This is also routed inside (is has a composite video output, so it is plugged into a TV for convenience) to provide comfort of knowing what is really happening to the scope during remote sessions.
I am still refining, but this seems to be a solution that is working for me...
Natalie
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Thank you Natalie, that is all very helpful.? I just need a little time to digest it.? Ha...As I stated, I'm 72, and things, including my mind have slowed down somewhat...LOL.
I'll get back with you soon.? Thanks again.? Gary
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Hi Gary, nice to meet you!
I'll be 70 this March, so I can relate.
When I started my adventure 4-5 years ago, I did a lot of figuring out how to get what I was after. Unfortunately I put my trust into brands I remembered from my childhood and younger years. And those had evolved and gone to China.
I can understand the unloading, many businesses were. Unfortunately it has come back to bite us in the butt, or wallet.
After 5 months of grooming lists, I finally pulled the trigger on my best list and here came the boxes. After my first year of failures, I began to find fruition. But it took until July of 2017 to realize I was doing things right after all, when I got a used Atik Infinity camera and got for the first time.
Along the way, I met a friend in North Carolina who has handicaps from a childhood fall from a tree. He wrote about his setting up, then retiring to his "Bat Cave" in the basement to run his mount remotely.? Well that was a quantum leap I had long wanted to make, so we talked about it. He uses a commercial version that can tie to computers together. I found if frustrating because the free version always dropped out to try and get you to pay $840 for the paid version.
But I found something called that is open sourced (FREE) and works great to WiFi connect my outside computer, to my inside computer.
In my case, my 2005 Toshiba laptop was too weak to WiFi reliably, and it died trying (It was also 12 years old). So several more stumbles and I had a Dell 2 in 1 tablet/laptop. (I call it my Baby Dell). It was working fairly well, and my router died. So I got a new one that has dual band. And here I finally sat with the baby dell running my mount and all outside, while controlling it all from inside. All Wireless over my Home Network. The connection gives the outside computers desktop to the inside computer. So it's like sitting out there, but you stay warm. ;^)
So you might like to approach running your new Mount wirelessly. And not be limited by wiring. Thus being able to set your G11 further out if it gains you sky real estate.
Mine sets out near the back block wall and WiFi's about 60 feet through stucco walls and interior walls to my Belkin router in my home office/mancave.
I mount my telescope and connect 5 wires, and two power connections to my big battery, and a single USB to my Baby Dell. Then check my polar Alignment, do an alignment, check Vnc's address, and come inside to connect and start my evening's imaging. I've done remote alignments, too. But find I like to be at the mount for alignments. Helps to check operations before going fully remote.
I'm headed to Losmandy in February for my new Losmandy mount in February. Probably a GM811G HD, but to be determined at the factory, Maybe a G11G. Like Deric sez, it's only a little more for the extra capacity, and bigger DEC gear. (I don't need it, but it couldn't hurt.)
I set it, and cover between sessions. Not a tear-down kind of guy. More of a retain my Polar Alignment lazy guy. LOL!
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Sonny, like you I am just getting started. The mount was first. I made a list from my research and could have gone with a Astrophysics Mach 1 but it would have cost about $6500.00 a Mach 2 at about $8,000.00 to get going, a Losmandy G11G came
in at around $4200.00 with all the bells and whistles. I dont regret one bit on the choice I Made with Losmandy's G11G or should I say I regret it so much I also want a Losmandy GM8 for a grab & go rig LOL.. I dont want to buy a used mount unless it came from
someone like Michael Herman. I bought a BlueTooth adapter from a group out of the Ukraine, it will connect to my Android tablet but that is all. It was cheap. I will probably need to buy a Microsoft or iPad and get a Wifi adapter. I have a HP 8.1 laptop that
is not really in use I will try to use this for astronomy stuff only. Or pick up a PC with a tower for more power, we will see what comes. I plan to start with a DSLR astro moded camera first and start the learning from there. Their is a Astronomy club here
but not very active so I Am pretty much on my own. Through my research I found a middle ground on settings for the camera and will have to adjust things from there. One nice thing about digital is you will not waste alot of film LOL... I may at some point
I take your advice going remote. I love being outside viewing the stars, Nebulae, the moon, and planets in real time. A PVS14 nightvision device is amazing you can see soooooo much more. It is a WOW factor Item.As far as the mount 10 more pounds of lift could
come in handy. I started out with a Celestron Evolution 6 Nexstar. Good little scope horrible mount though. Then Highpoint Scientific had a NEAF demo sale of a Celestron Advanced AVX with a Celestron 8 edge HD at around $1599.00 I dont think it was a mistake,
learned alot from this rig until one night last October everything was fine for a few hours then it went up in smoke. Anyway The telescope is amazing. I guess I paid full price for the telescope and $150.00 for that mount so I really was not upset I new it
was time to buy a real mount. And here I am. Happy Skies Sonny.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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-------- Original message --------
From: sonnyedmonds@...
Date: 1/26/20 1:12 PM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Astro-Imaging, the incurable disease !
Hi Gary, nice to meet you!
I'll be 70 this March, so I can relate.
When I started my adventure 4-5 years ago, I did a lot of figuring out how to get what I was after. Unfortunately I put my trust into brands I remembered from my childhood and younger years. And those had evolved and gone to China.
I can understand the unloading, many businesses were. Unfortunately it has come back to bite us in the butt, or wallet.
After 5 months of grooming lists, I finally pulled the trigger on my best list and here came the boxes. After my first year of failures, I began to find fruition. But it took until July of 2017 to realize I was doing things right after all, when I got a used
Atik Infinity camera and got for the first time.
Along the way, I met a friend in North Carolina who has handicaps from a childhood fall from a tree. He wrote about his setting up, then retiring to his "Bat Cave" in the basement to run his mount remotely.? Well that was a quantum leap I had long wanted to
make, so we talked about it. He uses a commercial version that can tie to computers together. I found if frustrating because the free version always dropped out to try and get you to pay $840 for the paid version.
But I found something called that is open sourced (FREE) and works great to WiFi connect my outside computer, to my inside computer.
In my case, my 2005 Toshiba laptop was too weak to WiFi reliably, and it died trying (It was also 12 years old). So several more stumbles and I had a Dell 2 in 1 tablet/laptop. (I call it my Baby Dell). It was working fairly well, and my router died. So I got
a new one that has dual band. And here I finally sat with the baby dell running my mount and all outside, while controlling it all from inside.
All Wireless over my Home Network. The connection gives the outside computers desktop to the inside computer. So it's like sitting out there, but you stay warm. ;^)
So you might like to approach running your new Mount wirelessly. And not be limited by wiring. Thus being able to set your G11 further out if it gains you sky real estate.
Mine sets out near the back block wall and WiFi's about 60 feet through stucco walls and interior walls to my Belkin router in my home office/mancave.
I mount my telescope and connect 5 wires, and two power connections to my big battery, and a single USB to my Baby Dell. Then check my polar Alignment, do an alignment, check Vnc's address, and come inside to connect and start my evening's imaging. I've done
remote alignments, too. But find I like to be at the mount for alignments. Helps to check operations before going fully remote.
I'm headed to Losmandy in February for my new Losmandy mount in February. Probably a GM811G HD, but to be determined at the factory, Maybe a G11G. Like Deric sez, it's only a little more for the extra capacity, and bigger DEC gear. (I don't need it, but it
couldn't hurt.)
I set it, and cover between sessions. Not a tear-down kind of guy. More of a retain my Polar Alignment lazy guy. LOL!
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I hope you have a better experience with your Bluetooth than I have. My Bluetooth devices seem to get stopped by the walls of my house. Stucco, like 80% of Los Angeles.
But WiFi was a bugger, too. The new Baby Dell 2 in 1 and a new router finally fixed those woes.
My wife has been interested in nightvison devices. But we never went further than curiosity. I've long been a refractor nut. Although, when it came down to the wire, my first two wish lists were the refractor I have, and a 10" Astrograph. Both aimed at Astrophotography. I've known guys with the Edge HD and they liked them. But I'm a bit hesitant about reflectors. I'm considering a Mak-Newt as a next telescope because like my refractor, it can do both visual and camera work. I'm leaning towards a visual to get the Grand-kids interested. A friend of mine in Canada states his Mak-Newt will be the last of his he will sell off.
So I suppose I am justifying to myself ways to put the new Losmandy mount to work. LOL!
All it takes is to throw money into the black hole. ;^)
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Sonny, the bluetooth does work but it is a much weaker signal than Wifi. As for Nightvision Your device needs to be high specs what will work for navgating around the property wont work for visual astronomy. I think you can get into it for around
$ 3000.00? and like anything else with this hobby, you can spend as much as you like. LOL.. and a couple of High end filters a 610nm? Long pass filter and a 12nm Ha filter by Astronomik or Badder this device like the G11 is a total game changer. Check out
the threads on CN's EEA forum. And the YouTube videos by Carpe? Nocturnum, he goes by Cnoct on CN. As for SCT telescopes the Celestron Edge HD's can do so many things well. Large Aperture. Long focal length with a corrector lens. At f10 it works well in light
polluted areas. As for imaging not the best to start out with . I will purchase a small aperture? wide field fast APO to start out the Wild West adventure we call Astro imaging. Newts are the best bang for the buck for aperture no doubt about it and they can
be very fast. By all means get the young ones interested I loved doing Astronomy as a kid but forgot about it for too many years but I am back now. Happy Skies to you Sonny.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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-------- Original message --------
From: sonnyedmonds@...
Date: 1/27/20 11:27 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Astro-Imaging, the incurable disease !
I hope you have a better experience with your Bluetooth than I have. My Bluetooth devices seem to get stopped by the walls of my house. Stucco, like 80% of Los Angeles.
But WiFi was a bugger, too. The new Baby Dell 2 in 1 and a new router finally fixed those woes.
My wife has been interested in nightvison devices. But we never went further than curiosity. I've long been a refractor nut. Although, when it came down to the wire, my first two wish lists were the refractor I have, and a 10" Astrograph. Both aimed at Astrophotography.
I've known guys with the Edge HD and they liked them. But I'm a bit hesitant about reflectors. I'm considering a Mak-Newt as a next telescope because like my refractor, it can do both visual and camera work. I'm leaning towards a visual to get the Grand-kids
interested. A friend of mine in Canada states his Mak-Newt will be the last of his he will sell off.
So I suppose I am justifying to myself ways to put the new Losmandy mount to work. LOL!
All it takes is to throw money into the black hole. ;^)
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Natalie, Sonny, Deric:
Thanks much for all your thoughts and comments.? I am now starting to setup my initial configuration in my house for testing.? Going to start with Direct Ethernet Crossover Cat 5 connection between G-II Mount and my Computer.? We'll see how that goes.
Gary in Oklahoma City
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I worked around CAT 5 and 6 systems, but not directly with them.
My understanding from follow Electrical Mechanics was you can go up to 1500 feet of wire with CAT 6, maybe with CAT 5.
But for us home remote operators, I can't imagine someone running 500 yards of wire for their observatory.
I have too many obstacles to fool with when I considered do wire to the outside. Hard scapes, walkways, and the biggie... a pool.
Do let us know how it comes out and what you think of the speed and reliability, Gary. It should be good, really good.
I'm in Bortle 5-6 skies. I use a Badder Sky Glow filter all the time as a rule. Works good.
But I have an empty hole in my filter wheel in the hope someday I can find a dark site. Or the lights go out....
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Everything will work as planned, I can feel it in the Force Gary.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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-------- Original message --------
From: "Gary C. via Groups.Io" <glcrealty@...>
Date: 1/28/20 6:13 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Astro-Imaging, the incurable disease !
Natalie, Sonny, Deric:
Thanks much for all your thoughts and comments.? I am now starting to setup my initial configuration in my house for testing.? Going to start with
Direct Ethernet Crossover Cat 5 connection between G-II Mount and my Computer.? We'll see how that goes.
Gary in Oklahoma City
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Thanks folks for comments.? I've abandoned crossover initial connection.? Trying to setup with Ethernet connection.? Gemini II site is some helpful, maybe...
Have Win 10, AT&T internet, combo modem/router.? Plugged Ethernet cable to mount, thinking/praying for auto connection.? Of course that did not happen.? No Plug and Play---- Ha..
.
My IP address in hand controller is standard ( 192.168.0.111 ),? Checked my IP address in modem/router and of course different.? Went thru multiple scenarios to assign new IP address per You Tube Video showing step by step, etc., etc.? Net Bios is on.? Changed block values in Browser.? NO JOY.
Getting Crossover Cable today from Amazon.? Maybe I can get that to work, and at least update Firmware.? Have Firmware Program downloaded, but of course cannot update as Gemini II is not communicating thru Ethernet.
Only spent 7 hours on it yesterday...ha.? No big deal, I'm old and retired.
Gary
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Thanks? Gary
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Let¡¯s see if I can shed some light on the networking¡
I wish I could respond simply by say ¡°oh, just do _____ and it will work¡±. ?But the answer isn¡¯t so easy. ?I¡¯m going to try to reduce the amount of learning necessary to make this work, but there will still be a bit of work involved.
When you set up the network with the Gemini II (telescope mount) you have a choice to connect EVERYTHING to your router (or switch, etc.) ¡ OR ¡ you can connect the Gemini directly to your PC. ?
Here¡¯s a diagram I drew up:
It is MUCH easier?¡ to connect the Gemini to your router as depicted in example?¡®A¡¯. ?
Unless you have a good understanding of networking, I STRONGLY encourage this option. ?I would only recommend option B if there is a reason you can¡¯t make option A work (e.g. no way to run another network cable, etc.) ?But even then there are often work-arounds that are much easier (like putting a small switch in the observatory to connect back to the router and then you can cascade both the PC and the Gemini off that switch).
Assuming you choose option?¡®A¡¯ you will: - Connect your computer to your network router (via wired or wirless connection¡ it does not matter)
- Connect your Gemini II to your network router (typically via wired because Gemini doesn¡¯t have built-in WiFi)
- On your Gemini II, navigate to the network menu and enable DHCP (there¡¯s a check box to enable it)
- Each time you turn on the Gemini, it will automatically request an IP address from your router. ?The network menu will let you view which IP address was assigned.
- Most of time this IP address wont change (unless you reboot your router). ?But if you want to make sure it doesn¡¯t change, use your router¡¯s admin console to create a ¡°DHCP Reservation¡± for your Gemini. ?
This setup is fairly easy.
If you *can* do option A, do it. ?If you DO use option A, you can stop reading now and enjoy the rest of your evening.
But if you *really* want to do option B?¡ things get a little harder.
Option B gets a tricky because it requires a new subnet. ?You wont be able to use DHCP because the Gemini wont be able to communicate with the router (and the IP address assignment wouldn¡¯t be valid anyway). ?This means you will need to use STATIC IP address assignments and that means you will need to know the rules for how to know what static IP addresses will work.
Again, I can¡¯t just say?¡°use this as your new subnet value¡± because there are too many variations on home routers. ?If all routers used the same primary subnet, then it would be easy.
We have to delve into the topic of how subnets work in IP networking. ?This explanation might be long.
If you want a thorough understanding, pick up this book:
TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols (2nd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
Learn more:
The Internet allows computers around the world to interconnect. ?Each computer or device gets an IP address and, for purposes of simplifying things, I¡¯ll just stick to IPv4 addresses.
If two devices use the same IP address it creates a conflict, so this has to be avoided. ?
On the public Internet, there is an organization that hands out IP address ranges to make sure no two publicly accessible computers have conflicting addresses. ?For example, an IP address range would have been issued to your Internet service provider (ISP). ?But these are?¡°public¡± IP addresses. ?In theory, any?¡°public¡± addresses is reachable by anyone (there are nuances to this but again¡ I¡¯ll leave those out for purposes of simplifying things.)
But this hypothetically creates a problem for ordinary end-users like us. ?How do WE know what IP addresses we can safely use to avoid these conflicts? ?
To solve this, there¡¯s an Internet standard called RFC-1918. ?
You can learn about it here: ? If you want to read the official RFC as maintained by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force is the body that maintains these standards) you can read it here: ?
But basically RFC-1918 reserves some IP addresses ranges for private use (such as folks like us). ?
Based on RFC-1918, you can use the IP ranges defined by the spec and be confident that no public IP address on the Internet is using the same IP address. ?Sure¡ there are other private nets using those same networks, but those are?¡®private¡¯ networks that you can¡¯t reach?¡ª they don¡¯t affect you. ?Your?¡®router¡¯ gets a single public IP address assigned by your ISP, but it uses?¡®private¡¯ IP addresses for everything else (following the rules of RFC-1918).
Subnetting:
Your IP address appears to be four numbers seperated by decimal points. ?E.g. 192.168.0.10 is an example. ?Each number is in the range of 0 to 255. ? But part of this address is the?¡°network¡± number and part of the address is the?¡°host¡± number. ?Which bits represent the network vs. the host can vary and this is controlled by something called a?¡°network mask¡± (I did warn you that some knowledge of networks is necessary to make option?¡®B¡¯ work.)?
MOST of the time, the network mask for home users is 255.255.255.0 (it¡¯s unusual for it to be anything else, but I *have* seen other masks). ?
The mask makes more sense if you write it in binary instead of decimal notation.
If binary, the digit in each space is either a 0 or a 1. ?But it turns out the value 255 is written in binary as a series of eight 1¡¯s. ?Since it¡¯s hard to read so many 1¡¯s in a row and not lose position, it¡¯s common to put a gap after the 4th digit to make it easier on the eyes. ?
So 255 is written as 11111111 but to be easy on the eyes it might be written as "1111 1111¡± because you can see the groupings of four digits more easily.
So back to the network mask¡
The mask of 255.255.255.0 is written in binary as 1111 1111.1111 1111.1111 1111.0000 0000
Basically it¡¯s a series of 1¡¯s (and only 1¡¯s) followed by a series of 0¡¯s (and only 0¡¯s)?¡ we don¡¯t intermingle 0¡¯s in our 1¡¯s and vice versa.
Every digit that is a?¡°1¡± is part of the?¡°network¡± number. ?Every digit that is a?¡°0¡± is part of the host number (in the mask?¡ remember this is a?¡°mask¡± and not the actual IP address).
So what this REALLY says is that for a sample address like ¡°192.168.1.10¡± that the?¡°192.168.1¡± part is the network number and the?¡°.10¡± at the end is the computer number.
Or another way to read this is?¡°find computer with address?¡¯10¡¯ on the subnet number?¡®192.168.0¡¯¡±.
You might not be using a 192.168.0.x network with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. ?You *might* be using a 10.x.x.x network with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. ?Or you might be using a 192.168.1.x subnet with a subnet mask of 255.255.254.0?¡ or 255.255.255.192. ? This is why it gets ugly. ?This is why I can¡¯t just tell you a safe value to use. ?If I knew both your primary network address *and* your subnet mask, I could tell you what a safe value would be for the 2nd network and for the Gemini.
You CANNOT use just any IP address you want for the Gemini. ?It needs to be an address that follows the RFC-1918 rules *and* it must be a DIFFERENT subnet number than the one being used by your router (and your computer¡¯s primary network).
I¡¯ll try to simplify a little by making the (possibly invalid) *assumption* that you are using a 192.168.0 subnet with a mask of 255.255.255.0 (and if you use ANY other values then you cannot just take my advice?¡ it wont work.)
Suppose the PC has an IP address 192.168.0.10 and the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 (If you open a?¡®cmd¡¯ window on the PC and type?¡°ipconfig¡± you¡¯ll see this information displayed).
Based on this, we could use a new subnet number such as?¡°192.168.1¡± ?¡ actually that third digit can be anything we want in the range of 0 to 255?¡ as long as it IS NOT the same as the primary network. ?So it CANNOT be a?¡®0¡¯ or the setup wont work.
You would configure the network on your computer to give your second network card a?¡¯ static' IP address (DHCP wont work here) and use 192.168.1.2 as the IP address. ?Set the network mask (subnet mask) to 255.255.255.0. ?A?¡¯static¡¯ IP address means you manually entered the value and it will never change (unless you manually change it).
Meanwhile, over on the Gemini II, make sure you ALSO set the subnet mask to match 255.255.255.0 (it probably already is) and then set the IP address to 192.168.1.3. ?The rules here are that the?¡°network¡± number MUST be the SAME network number used by your PC on this new subnet. ?Every device on this subnet (even though we only plan to have two devices¡ your computer and your Gemini) must use the SAME subnet number. ?Also they must use DIFFERENT host numbers. ?If the PC is using the?¡°.2¡± address, then the Gemini can (almost) use any IP address you want in the range of 0-255?¡ as long as it isn¡¯t the same address as the PC (don¡¯t use the .2). ?BUT¡ keep reading.
There is a reason I said you can?¡°almost¡± use any address. ?By convention there are a few addresses that are?¡°special¡±. ?Normally the?¡°.1¡± address is reserved for the default router on the subnet?¡ there¡¯s no rule that it has to use .1?¡ but most of the time that¡¯s what people use (and what most hardware vendors who make routers will use by default). ?I said?¡°default¡± router because subnets can have more than one router. ?Your new subnet technically doesn¡¯t even have a router. ?So avoid the?¡°.1¡± address.
Also¡ you should avoid using both the?¡°.0¡± and the?¡°.255¡± addresses. ?This varies by network but MOST of the time the?¡°.255¡± address is also reserved as the?¡°broadcast¡± address. ?I wont go into what a broadcast address is?¡ but suffice it to say that it is already reserved for a special reason and therefore you shouldn¡¯t use it. ?The reason I said that?¡°MOST of the time¡± it¡¯s the .255 address used for broadcast¡ is because SOME of the time it¡¯s the .0 address that is reserved for broadcast. ?Without inspecting the network, it isn¡¯t safe to assume it¡¯s .255 or .0?¡ so avoid both of those (because it could be using either of them.)
Is that all?
That¡¯s mostly all¡ there is something called a routing table. ?All computers have one. ?For THIS particular purpose you wont need to worry about (but there are cases where a person would need to modify the routing table?¡ but those are more complicated networks.)
All this subnetting and IP address knowledge is only required for opiton?¡®B¡¯. ?If you do option?¡®A¡¯ you don¡¯t need to know any of this. ?
This is why I discourage this solution for those who are not network savvy. ?
Clear Skies, Tim
On Jan 30, 2020, at 7:38 PM, Gary C. via Groups.Io < glcrealty@...> wrote:
[Edited Message Follows]
Thanks folks for comments.? I've abandoned crossover initial connection.? Trying to setup with Ethernet connection.? Gemini II site is some helpful, maybe... Have Win 10, AT&T internet, combo modem/router.? Plugged Ethernet cable to mount, thinking/praying for auto connection.? Of course that did not happen.? No Plug and Play---- Ha... My IP address in hand controller is standard ( 192.168.0.111 ),? Checked my IP address in modem/router and of course different.? Went thru multiple scenarios to assign new IP address per You Tube Video showing step by step, etc., etc.? Net Bios is on.? Changed block values in Browser.? NO JOY. Getting Crossover Cable today from Amazon.? Maybe I can get that to work, and at least update Firmware.? Have Firmware Program downloaded, but of course cannot update as Gemini II is not communicating thru Ethernet. Only spent 7 hours on it yesterday...ha.? No big deal, I'm old and retired. Gary ? Thanks? Gary
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Thanks Tim:? I have 4 Win 10 computers.? None of them will auto detect Gemini II.? Net Bios is on.? Auto detect on, DHCP etc.?
Have tried multiple scenarios, numbers inserted IP, Gateway etc. etc.? Nothing works.? Interestingly when I change these protocols, not only does Gemini not work, my entire network goes off line.? If I then reboot auto detect brings back defaults again and of course all fine.
I am a computer nut, even though old.? I build computers sometimes, but ones I'm using are all Dell.? I have a dozen or more devices, printers, scanners etc., all of which work.? Of course none are set up thru Ethernet or WiFi.
I have At&T hi-speed with combo modem/router with 4 Cat cable outlets and WiFi.? None work for Gemini.? Ha...
Gary
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Gary
I had the same experience because Microsoft? 10 has tried to prevent intrusions into the OS.?? So I found two ways around Microsoft.? First,? manually add the IP address of the mount via one of the tools in the lan/wireless interface. The problem there is you have to do it every so often as windows "forgets" your manual setup.?? The one I have used for two years is I had an old DSL wireless router from at&t that was rendered useless when they converted to uverse.?? So I went in and set up in the router a set of IP addresses,? say 192.130.0.050 to 192.130.0.253 (why explained below) or just one address 192.130.0.050.? The wireless at&t router worked on 12v,? a plus.? So,? to get it to work,? I set my windows to recognize the at&t router (which may require a lan cable to set up at first)? then made sure,? via the mount hand controller,? that the IP address is set to 192.130.0.050. Since windows is designed to accept valid wireless routers,? it makes easier.?
You may have to use did ping to validate the address is connecting to the router or ipconfig. Why?? If you get one used and don't know what the original IP setup at the factory for the gateway,? you will have some fun finding it.?? Most are set to 192.168.xxx.xxx.? Once you find it and this usually requires a lan cable,? you access the router IP table via a web page set to the router gateway address.? A further complication is a different IP address will be set for wireless or for language in windows,? so keep that in mind.?? That's why your router table should have more than one IP address.? I may not use the appropriate terminology as I am not a computer science guy. So,? once you have everything setup correctly,? you can access the Geminii web page with the knowledge that the IP address will be different depending on if wireless or lan.
Chuck
On Saturday, February 1, 2020 Gary C. via Groups.Io <[email protected]> wrote:Thanks Tim:? I have 4 Win 10 computers.? None of them will auto detect Gemini II.? Net Bios is on.? Auto detect on, DHCP etc.?
Have tried multiple scenarios, numbers inserted IP, Gateway etc. etc.? Nothing works.? Interestingly when I change these protocols, not only does Gemini not work, my entire network goes off line.? If I then reboot auto detect brings back defaults again and of course all fine.
I am a computer nut, even though old.? I build computers sometimes, but ones I'm using are all Dell.? I have a dozen or more devices, printers, scanners etc., all of which work.? Of course none are set up thru Ethernet or WiFi.
I have At&T hi-speed with combo modem/router with 4 Cat cable outlets and WiFi.? None work for Gemini.? Ha...
Gary
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Thanks Chuck:? I got hooked up earlier today.? Then I ran Gemini updater program.? That was a disaster.? It proceeded correctly, but when flash should have started, got bunch of error messages.? Originally I had 2014 firmware, think it is now 2017, but then started saying update main board.? Read Tom's how to on that, but file he listed to get started never came up on computer.? Another disaster.
Now Nothing hooks up as before.? ha...Oh well.
Gary
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OK, Ethernet hooks up then later will not.? HC firmware updated to 2017, and no further.? Think I will just go USB for now.? Obviously Ethernet connection is not reliable.? Gemini II site states it is more reliable than USB.? That is funny.
Been using USB for 20 years on Celestron and Meade mounts.? Never a problem.? Hooked it up in 5 minutes and works fine on my GII also.? Maybe it is Win 10 compatibility, don't know, but Imaging is hard enough without having to spend hours on a Ethernet connection setup that does not work.
Thanks? ?Gary?
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Gary C.
Timothy Campbell