Help Please: Vixen SXW + TP Link Router + SkySafari

[GC - South Aus]

G'day Everyone

Just bought a Vixen SXW and I am having no end of trouble getting it connected to SkySafari on my iPad.

The set up is as follows:

Vixen SXW Mount ---> Starbook ---> Cat 5 Cable (ethernet port) ---> TP Link Nano Router

I have attempted to connect the router up to the StarBook under default settings, as well as various other settings by connecting and setting up through the web browser using admin login.

When I check the StarBook information it states that the IP address is 169.254.1.1, this is different to the router that has an IP of 192.168.0.1.

I have attempted to set the SkySafari up under both Vixen Starbook and Sphinx German EQ Mounts. But neither work. I have also put both IP of router and of StarBook into IP settings at different times in SkySafari also without luck.

So far I am able to connect to the TP Link Router from my iPad through the normal IOS settings area, when I attempt to connect through SkySafari I get the following message:

"SkySafari Plus can make a wireless network connection to the scope, but the scope is not responding. Make sure it is connected and powered on. Also check that your scope type is correct."


If it’s not the settings on the router, I am starting to think that it could be the Ethernet port on the StarBook is no good/broken and isn’t communicating.

Any assistance anyone could give on this would be greatly appreciated, it is driving me crazy! :mad2:

Cheers

Gav

[rrussell1962]

The IP address you need to use is the one displayed on the starbook when you click on the LAN settings after it shows connected. Not the 162...etc address of the Starbook. I only used mine on a mac and it was Port 60. Just to double check..you are connecting to the router wireless network?

[GC - South Aus]

Thanks Russell will give it another go! :thumbsup:

Cheers

Gav

[LewisM]

Several guides:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/archive/index.php/t-135652.html

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/579019-is-there-a-conversion-from-original-starbook-to-starbook10/#entry7909416

Richard's original tutorial from a while ago (this is Starbook TEN but the setup is identical):

...I bought a little travel router with a built in battery. The one I got is the TPLink MR3040, but I am sure there are others that would work equally well. Go through the instructions to install and configure the router. I left the DCHP range as the defaults, type set as wisp (whatever that means!). Charge battery in router. Connect LAN port on router to LAN port of Starbook Ten. You need to use a straight through cable for this - not a crossover cable. Turn on router. Turn on Starbook Ten and do alignment as normal. Go to System menu on Starbook Ten and note the IP address, mine is something in the range 192.168.0.100 to 192.168.0.199, which is the default address range for the router. Next, open up the WiFi settings on your laptop, iPad etc, The TPLink network should be clearly visible, join the network (note password is on the back of the router if you need it.) Open SkySafari, go to Telescope>Setup. Scope Type - seems to work as either Vixen Starbook or Vixen Sphinx. Connection Type is WiFi / Ethernet. Set auto detect SkyFi to off i.e. uncheck box. Set IP address to the same as the Starbook Ten is showing. Port 80. Readout rate does not seem critical, I left mine at 10 per second. Press Connect and with any luck......Just note that you need to exit the system menu on Starbook Ten before SkySafari will control the telescope. Well, it worked for me, but obviously it's your equipment and you connect things to it at your own risk!

[GC - South Aus]

Right, well that didn't work.

What I have found is that the IP listed in the LAN area is the 192.168.0.1, I have tried that before and still get the same message. However, when I try that IP it literally takes one second to give the message. When I try any other (for example the one listed on StarBook as 169.254.1.1) it takes several seconds.

This leads me to think that the IP to use is the 192.168.0.1. I have also tried the following port numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 90 & 100 without luck.

I am not sure what you mean by connected to the router. If you mean is the iPad connected to the wireless router through the IOS Wifi Settings - then Yes.

Gav

[GC - South Aus]

G'day Lewis

I have looked through this post previously and followed steps.

It doesn't work for me.

I note that it appears that StarBook 10 actually changes its IP to be within the range supplied by the router. Where as with this StarBook it stays as 169.254.1.1. This is why I think there is something wrong with the ethernet port on the StarBook!

Gav

[GC - South Aus]

G'day again Russell

I get what you are saying now.

The IP address on the StarBook is not changing!

It stays as the actual StarBook IP of 169.254.1.1 (this is the same number even when the router is not connected).

However, the router stops flashing and gives a solid green LED light (when the mount is turned on) which signifies that there should be a connection.

Looks like I might have a StarBook with a busted ethernet port perhaps?

Gav

[rrussell1962]

OK, try connecting the cable with everything turned off. Turn on Starbook then the router. If that does not work try turning on in the reverse order. Double check you are using straight through cable and not a crossover one - crossover is only for updating Starbook.

[GC - South Aus]

Ok Russell

Thanks for the advice.

Yep using a straight through CAT 5 cable, have tried 3 different cables just in case it was faulty.

Will try the things you suggested tomorrow, as I am giving it a rest now as it is driving me nuts! :screwy:

Cheers

Gav

[GC - South Aus]

I know I said I would wait until tomorrow, but curiosity got the better of me and I had another go.

Neither way made any difference, StatBook IP stayed at 169.254.1.1. So it is either the router isn't giving the StarBook an IP address or the Ethernet port on the StarBook is buggered!

:shrug:

Gav

[LewisM]

Just remember to restart the Starbook settings, then see if the IP changes, and THEN get out of Settings (go back to scope mode or chart mode) - this is vital in ANY of the Starbooks as NOTHING takes effect until you are back on the main screens.

If all else fails, perhaps reflashing the firmwre might be a good idea. Never had a single issue connecting that Starbook to the laptop to do updates etc.

A snippet:
b) Connection via LAN or Router

If connected to a LAN or a router that has DHCP enabled, the controller will acquire a network address from the DHCP server automatically. Use either the “About Star Book” menu option on the controller or the LAN or router administration software to determine the IP address that has been allocated. Now follow the procedure to upgrade the firmware as if using a direct PC connection and enter the automatically assigned IP address when prompted by the upgrade program.

If you are unsure of the network settings, contact your network administrator.

If DHCP is not enabled, follow the procedure for direct PC connection.

Or, just use Starbook - it does everything Skysafari and Stellarium does. In all the years I used Starbook, I never used anything BUT the Starbook itself, including imaging.

There is also a bunch of ideas you could try from Vixen themselves. Most is about the update procedure, but may give some hints, as you need to remember, these Starbooks were not designed from the outset to be WIFI driven (WIFI dongles were not even available commercially back then) - the fact they can be is a nice-to-have:

https://www.vixen.co.jp/en/at/update/sb.html

http://www.vixenamerica.com/technical/techdoc_starbookupdates.asp

https://www.vixenoptics.co.uk/Pages/sb_firmware_update.html

[rrussell1962]

Hi Gav, OK, 2 more things to check. On the side of the router there should be a slider that needs to be set to WISP - I don't actually know what that means but that is how mine worked. Also mine connected through port 80. You could also try aligning through Starbook first then connecting the router.

[LewisM]

I was speaking with my IT tech guy, and because I did and was continually able to update the Starbook, the port /wifi onboard the Starbook is fine. If the Starbook works with the cross-over, it most assuredly will with a straight through, and unless the router is misconfigured, will auto switch. Sounds like the router is still not configured correctly.

So there is something between the chair and the Starbook :P :)

[redbeard]

The issue I think is the way you are setting up your IP addresses.

Different IP's simply just don't work, they have to be on the same subnet.

For example, if your router's IP address is 192.168.0.1, then you need to have 2 other IP addresses, 1 for the ipad and 1 for the skybook.

If your router is set to issue IP addresses via DHCP then most IP devices that connect to it will automatically get an IP address if the device is set to receive an IP via DHCP.

So if that is the case,
Your router is 192.168.0.1
Your iPad IP may be 192.168.0.2
Your skybook may be 192.168.0.3

Depending how your router is setup, will depend on which IP address will be assigned but they will all be on a common subnet, eg 192.168.0.x

So, what is the IP address of your iPad? Did it automatically get an IP address from the router via DHCP? If so, then you may need to setup the skybook to get an IP address via DHCP, (look in the settings and set to get IP via DHCP).

If your router is not assigning IP addresses via DHCP, then it's a manual setup.

Which means the router is 192.168.0.1, you gave your iPad a manual IP address and you need to give the manual IP address to the skybook as well.

You will also need a subnet mask when setting IP addresses. In your case it will most likely be 255.255.255.0

So is your router set to DHCP or manual? In a lot of cases, it will be DHCP.

Use a straight (normal) Ethernet cable, not a crossover.

Cheers,

Damien.

[multiweb]

Just looking at your IPs, one looks external and the other internal so I'd say 169.254.1.1 is incorrect. Damien's on the money.

[redbeard]

Once you have the IP's setup, a good test is simply pinging all the IP addresses to ensure that they are all contactable, because, if they are not, no point going any further until they do. This checks that the network part is setup correctly, worry about the app setup later. The network must be correct for any devices to communicate correctly.

Cheers,

Damien.

[rrussell1962]

I am genuinely baffled by this. When I connected a wireless modem router to my Starbook Ten and Sky Safari it worked perfectly first time - and I know absolutely nothing about any of this stuff.

[redbeard]

Me again,

Another thing to check is the router has DHCP turned on for wireless and cable connections and also check the DHCP range. It looks like some info in the manual online states that the Ethernet port might be set to manual by default.

If all else fails: You could also do a backwards check and set the router's IP address to 169.254.1.15, leave on DHCP, (in case you get stuck and your access is only wireless), and see if you can ping the starbook's IP address as all devices should be on the same subnet, DHCP for iPad and manual for starbook. Reset your iPad's wireless IP first so it gets a new IP in the new IP range.



What is your current iPad IP address?
In the router what are the settings for the Ethernet port? eg: DHCP or manual/static, range?
In the router what are the settings for the Wireless? eg: DHCP or manual/static, range?

Can you plug another device into your router like a wired PC or wired Mac to see if it gets an IP address assigned automatically on Ethernet cable? This could be a quick test that answers all!

Cheers,

Damien.

[LewisM]

It is all getting confusing now.

I never once tried connecting this via WIFI - only directly to my PC for Starbook updates (last done about 2 months ago so know the ethernet port works), so I have NIL direct experience in doing this. You need to remember, this is a third party "add on/feature" never designed for this (as the technology did NOT exist when this was made), that just happens to usually work. The Starbook does everything Skysafari/Stellarium does, so honestly, this all seems redundant to actually do. But I digress.

There are a multitude of factors to make sure this works, not to mention the simple fact Starbook simply won't do ANYTHING until you exit out of the menus and back to Chart or Scope. Even the Starbook 10 - the latest one - does this (nothing is executed or actioned until the menus are closed)

The one VITAL thing is in Skysafari to TURN OFF SKYFI searching - otherwise, it simply will NOT connect or search for anything else, period. This step is absolutely vital! Even I could not connect to the new Starbook 10 SXP I have UNTIL I made that de-selection.

Start again, doing it in the order advised by multiple persons, and make sure of all the checks and tick marks.

[LewisM]

I just ran my SkySafari.

Under equipment selection, make sure you select Equatorial GoTo (German), then in com settings, set Auto-Detect SkyFi OFF. I also note my Skysafari re-reverted to the default Port number 4030, so you need to make sure that is corrected

[GC - South Aus]

G'day Everyone

Thanks for all the responses, it is going to take me a while to read through and try the suggestions.

Thanks to Lewis, for lots of tips.

Will let you all know how I go.

Cheers

Gav

[rrussell1962]

Found this on Cloudy Nights. May be of some help.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/266022-mount-control-with-iphoneipod/page-2

Richard

[redbeard]

You could also simply change the IP address in the starbook, (if it lets you), to static - '192.168.0.6' for example, and reboot it and see if you can ping that IP from your iPad, assuming your iPad is on that same network/subnet. If you get a ping response, you know the network port is OK and that you have communication with the starbook.

In general the IP to use for the app is the one allocated to the starbook.
In this case, '192.168.0.6' or if you get the DHCP fixed, then whatever 192.... the router hands out.
The routers IP is generally only used as a gateway IP. Used when accessing the internet etc.

Of course this all assumes the hardware is all working as it should.

Cheers,

Damien.

[rrussell1962]

You can't change the IP address in Starbook. Gav, I noticed that on the list of ports you tried in Sky Safari you didn't list Port 80 - that is the one that my Starbook Ten connected to Sky Safari with using the Wi Fi modem / router. In the telescope settings of Sky Safari - Scope Type Starbook or Vixen Sphinx, Mount German Eq, IP the 192.168.....number, Port 80, Auto detect OFF, Readout rate did not seem critical.

[GC - South Aus]

G'day Everyone

Well thanks for the assistance so far.

I tried, then I tried again that in the end I had to try so hard to not throw the thing through the window.

But, late last night I started to formulate an opinion that it may actually be the router which is the issue. So I did a little research and found an interesting comment in the manual (which you can only get online) that the DHCP function needs any device (i.e. computer) attached to accept IP from the router.

It says:

Note:
To use the DHCP server function of the Router, you must configure all computers on the LAN as "Obtain an IP Address automatically".

So I started to think maybe the StarBook can't do this, or perhaps it is just too difficult to setup the DHCP for this router.

I thought maybe I could grab an old NetGear router from an old junk box in the garage to test to see if with this connected it will perhaps change the IP on the StarBook.

So I just connected it up turned it on and within 2 seconds the IP on the StarBook changed to that of the NetGear router but serial '2' at the end of the address instead of '1'.

Looks like it is some kind of issue in setting up the Nano Router with the StarBook, which is weird because I have read about other people using it ok with StarBook.

I got home late tonight so haven't had the time to go any further, will try and set everything up with the iPad tomorrow to test.

But, (touch wood) so far it is looking good! :thumbsup:

Thanks again

Gav

[GC - South Aus]

G'day Russell

Thanks mate the Port 80 was the first I tried, but it will be the first I try again with the new router tomorrow.

Cheers

Gav

[rrussell1962]

Yes, it's very odd Gav. My TP Link worked first time with Starbook Ten - Lewis kindly posted my description of how I did it earlier in the thread.

[GC - South Aus]

Yeah I had read your thread some days ago, before I had even posted a request for help. Because I was at wits end with it!

I have tried the auto factory default settings, reset it many times, even tried changing IP addresses and adding the StarBook IP address to the router. All without any luck whatsoever.

With the NetGear I didn't even have to do an alignment, it recognised it straight away on the very first menu when you turn it on.

I will continue trying to figure out the Nano router though, as the NetGear is quite large in comparison.

Cheers

Gav

[LewisM]

Not sure if you have seen this:

http://skysafariastronomy.com/products/skyfi/files/VixenWirelessSetup.pdf

and it is also specified by Sysafari that : "You also need to configure SkySafari to communicate with the StarBook controller at 169.254.1.1 on port 80." AND the router.

If the router I gave is not configured in the Vixen range, it won't work.

[LewisM]

Gawd, one other VITAL thing I now remember after setting up my SXP this way is that in Skysafari, you MUST CONNECT as follows:

Telescope
Setup: Vixen Sphinx

NOT Vixen Starbook!!! Even mine if you select Vixen Starboook gives the cannot connect error.

Also, I simply entered the IP given by the STARBOOK into the Skysafari, and assigned Port 80.

If you reconfig the router to the Starbook 169.254.x.x range, and then enter that into Skysafari, then it should work.

As Richard said, you need to have it in WISP mode (Wireless Internet Service Provider) AND DHCP, AND NOT assigned to your home internet/mobile internet etc (just do NOT do that step in the setup at all!!!)

[GC - South Aus]

G'day Lewis

Yeah I have attempted to reconfigure the router. I think it is purely an operator error (maybe :lol:)! Maybe it's just me, but I don't find the control menu of the TP-Link Nano Router very intuitive.

The good news though, I have it working first time on the NetGear router as of this morning. Just put the new IP address listed on the StarBook (192.168.0.2) port 80, and it connected first time. Albeit the NetGear router is a lot bigger than the Nano Router, I think I will keep playing with the Nano until I can figure out the correct settings. Strange because I didn't have to do anything with the NetGear, simply plug in and play!

I showed it to my little lad this morning with the iPad using SkySafari, and he thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread!

Thanks again to everyone for their help, it is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Gav

[LewisM]

Just to make it clear, once you have configured that router purely as a DHCP/WISP - NOT connecting to internet etc, just configured as a provider, disconnect the router from the computer. Connect via straight through cable to the Starbook, read the Starbook LAN. Copy that LAN into Skysafari settings (as a VIXEN SPHINX), and port 80.

You need to wait for the router to FULLY boot, and then turn on Starbook, and THEN wait up to a minute as it refreshes it's LAN. THEN copy that to SkySafari.

Now don't ask Stellarium....as I DO NOT USE IT

[LewisM]

LOL. Yeah, Richard provided me with a TP-Link mini with the built in battery when I bought his SXP, and it took 4 minutes to config it all lol.

Glad it's up and going. You had me worried.

Yes, the common failure mode usually lies somewhere between the chair and the equipment :P

[GC - South Aus]

It's weird because I just had another go with the Nano reset (again) to default factory settings, turned it on and waited.

Then plugged it into StarBook, and for the first time ever the IP changed on the StarBook. But, it was 0.0.0.0. I got out of that part of the menu and went back in later and it had returned to the StarBook default 169.254.1.1.

I have never had the router connected to my computer or home ISP router network, only the StarBook through the LAN port with all settings being changed through the iPad. I can't find anything about WISP/WSP in the menu for the router and it is setup for DHCP by default.

Anyways I now consider the matter closed, I have managed to get some kind of connection with the NetGear Router (so much simpler!). But, will continue to plod on with the Nano in my own time.

Thanks again everyone.

Regards

Gav

[LewisM]

OK, if the Starbook NULLS (0.0.0.0) and then gives the 169.254... THAT is the LAN IP you give to Skysafari (manually enter it) and Port 80. Then all should work on that nano.

The 0.0.0.0 means it is refreshing.