I really like the wireless connection between my StellarMate controller and my iOptron HAE29EC. I had it working, at one point, so that the mount would sign on to the SM’s access point, so all I had to do was fire everything up and then VNC in from my laptop or tablet. Now, when I try to get the mount to connect, the “stellarmate” SSID never appears in the list, no matter how many times I rescan. It’s not a signal-strength problem – my laptop can see both from much farther away than they are from each other. The SM access point is definitely active, I can see the “stellarmate” SSID from the laptop. I haven’t changed anything on the mount, so it has to be the SM, which I’ve updated to the latest stable stuff.
Any ideas? I can put the mount in AP mode and just connect everything to it, I suppose, instead of using the SM’s. Still, it’s much more convenient to have the SM either in AP mode or, if I’m home, connected to the house wifi, so that I can connect with it in either case without needing the mount.
Hello Rick,
I think it’s the same old bug the PI5 suffers from since a few weeks.
I gave up using the PI’s AP and use my mobile phone instead, to which both my mount and the PI connect.
Rgrds,
Hey thanks Jean-Luc! I do have a Pi4 rather than a 5, but heck, maybe I’ll just let the mount do it. The only issue is that I don’t necessarily know what IP the mount hands out to the Pi so that I can VNC into it, but it seems pretty consistent.
So it’s a PI4 and it doesn’t suffer this bug.
For once, Google was my friend and let me find this topic which describes the same behaviour with an Asiair, but that should help.
Keep your fingers crossed…
Yeah, that thread covers the two cases of (1) using the mount as the AP and connecting the Pi to it, and (2) connecting both the Pi and the mount to an existing WiFi network. I actually do use case (2) as well, but I was hoping to turn case (1) on its head and use the Pi as the AP and have the mount connect to it in STA mode.
As I noted, the IP numbers given out by the mount seem to be stable, so it’s probably OK. And there’s always arp -a to find all the addresses on the network if the Pi gets a different IP for whatever reason.
It’s just really irritating that the SSID for the Pi never shows up when the mount is in STA mode and looking for a network to connect to. I’ll have to try it sometime when I’m out at the observatory and there are no other WiFi networks available.
I usually advise against connecting to mount over WiFi unless there is a very good reason.
If StellarMate is sitting less than a meter away from the mount, why not use a cable? You’re already using cable to connect to your camera, focuser, filter wheel..etc. One more cable doesn’t hurt.
Actually the WiFi connection has worked beautifully since I got the mount almost a year ago. Never had any issues till now.
Specifically in my case, the USB goes to the hand controller, not the mount. So it’s another cable, but one that goes from the stationary to the moving part of the rig. The power cable does too, but I can’t bundle the two (see: hand controller). And that’s apart from tugging on a cable connectedto the telescope every time I use the HC.
Well, in fact, one less cable doesn’t hurt either, but I agree with you : the wifi of the mount is the weakest part of the setup.
I first thought it would be a good thing to use the mount’s AP to connect my setup to, but I had to suffer too many lags and hangs that made many sessions turn into nightmare.
The good old usb cable saved me.
BTW : the wifi of the SA GTI hangs after less than 5 min of inactivity. Or lasts many hours, it depends on I-don’t-know-what.