Re: Connecting SCT to desktop
From: Steve Maddison (steve_at_cosam.org)
Date: 10/05/04
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Date: Tue, 05 Oct 2004 17:26:10 +0200
Dennis Allen wrote:
> Well, the serial/parallel ports on the laptop are used, but we could use
> the USB to do ethernet (see
> http://store.yahoo.com/priceshock/smc2206usbeth.html )
Sorry: I heard CAT-5 and assumed you already had Ethernet up and
running. I'd imagine that USB adapter would work, but you're probably
just as well off with a cheap PCMCIA (PC Card) Ethernet adapter which
most notebooks take.
> Question. Could we controll the telescope directly with one ethernet
> cable and run the web cam with the other? We have two cat5 lines...Dennis
You should be able to run RS-232 (serial) over CAT-5, USB is however
another matter as it doesn't work too well over long distances. Shielded
cable may help. I've never tried it myself, but I don't have much faith
in it working. What kind of distance are we talking about?
The easiest solution is probably what was mentioned already: Remote
desktop over Ethernet. As long as you understand the implications of
such a set-up (i.e. the webcam and scope are connected to and controlled
by the notebook and not directly accessible from the desktop PC), you
should be fine.
--Steve
> "Steve Maddison" <steve@cosam.org> wrote in message
> news:cjtm94$9cq$1@news.cistron.nl...
>
>> Chris L Peterson wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 22:56:50 -0400, "Dennis Allen"
>>> <dennis@dennisallen.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi. Our club just finished a new observatory. It houses a
>>>> Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a wedge and permanent mount. We
>>>> got the scope connected to a laptop using the serial port to run the
>>>> scope and the parallel port for the web cam.
>>>>
>>>> We want to hook the telescope to the desktop computer in a nearby
>>>> building. We have two 100' cat5 lines from the new observatory to
>>>> the building with the desktop. Question. What's the best way to
>>>> control the scope and web cam from the desktop?
>>>>
>>>> Could we hook the desktop to the laptop? The laptop's ports are
>>>> used up, but could we hook up one of the cat5 lines to the USB
>>>> port? Could we remote control the laptop from the desktop? Both
>>>> computers are XP and both have USB ports. Any advice would be
>>>> greatly appreciated...Dennis
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Is the laptop in the observatory running XP Pro? If so, all you need
>>> to do is set up a local area network and use Remote Desktop (client
>>> on the desktop machine, server on the laptop) to remote the laptop
>>> to the desktop. It's very simple, and works great. No need for USB
>>> anywhere in the solution, just Ethernet.
>>>
>>> It would also be simple to convert the mount's serial port to
>>> Ethernet and control it directly from the remote computer, bypassing
>>> the laptop completely. But the webcam is probably always going to
>>> require a local computer.
>>>
>>
>> Yes, I'd definitely go the Ethernet way - much more reliable, especially
>> over any distance more than a couple of meters. Even if the machines
>> aren't running XP Pro, you can get the same effect using VNC - a free
>> version is available at http://www.realvnc.com/
>>
>> Another advantage is that you can share files and directories between
>> the laptop and the desktop (or even other computers) which would make
>> copying images, etc. a breeze.
>>
>> --Steve
>
>
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