Skywire or Skyfi for my iPad/iPhone?

[TH0MAS]

Hey guys, I've been debating this with myself for weeks and need to just buy one or the other.

I like the Skywire because I don't need batteries and it'll probably never break meaning I can keep it for many, many years. The downside is that it tethers me to my telescope (although a long tether).

I like the SKyfi because it's completely wireless. That leaves me completely free to wander around and point my ipad/iphone freely without having a wire hanging off it. The downside is the need for batteries and also the electronics which means it may one day fail me.

Any thoughts either way, especially from people that have one or the other?

Thanks!

[budman1961]

I like the wireless idea, because from what I have read other programs can then take advantage of the interface, you aren't locked into 1 program. Its double the price, but worth it in my opinion.

Andy

[TH0MAS]

Just to update this thread, I went with the Skywire. I just didn't want to have to deal with batteries when I go out to observe.

[Anotheryahoo]

I was going to say skyfi for a wireless observatory with that fancy scope you got. Let us know how well it works for you.

[DrNature]

Just to update this thread, I went with the Skywire. I just didn't want to have to deal with batteries when I go out to observe.

I am on the fence about this - would love to know how it works for you and your telescope control.

I would like to try using it with my ETX-125.

[TH0MAS]

I'll let you know how it works as soon as it arrives. I plan on using it with both my SkyWatcher Dob and my daughter's Celestron Nexstar 130SLT so I should be able to put it through its paces. I'm not expecting any issues and expect it should work fine.

[denodan]

I went with the skyfi, the biggest advantage is with a wireless webcam and skyfi you can control your telescope remotely from inside. This alone makes Skyfi worth it.

I also use lithium batteries they last in the cold and will last many times more then ordinary batteries. wires break after awhile, so no ipad attacted to wires means will last, also being able to move the ipad around with no wires is great and allows freedom from wires.

[denodan]

I went with the skyfi, the biggest advantage is with a wireless webcam and skyfi you can control your telescope remotely from inside. This alone makes Skyfi worth it.

I also use lithium batteries they last in the cold and will last many times more then ordinary batteries. wires break after awhile, so no ipad attacted to wires means will last, also being able to move the ipad around with no wires is great and allows freedom from wires.

[TH0MAS]

I've got the skywire and tried it out indoors on my dob. The weather here has been very poor and I'm getting antsy to try it outside.

So far I like it, the cable is thin and not in the way. I'll hopefully get to try it out over the next few months and decide whether I want to buy another one for my daughter to have or give her my skywire and buy the sky-fi.

I'll update this thread once I've had some time to play with it outside a few times but so far I'm quite happy with it.

[TH0MAS]

Ok I've had a chance to use the skywire on my dob and it works like a charm. The cable never gets in the way and it's pretty cool to use Sky Safari on the iPad to point up in the sky and select something and click the goto button. This is nice because I'm mostly observing from my backyard and when I was just using the handset, I would sometimes select something blocked by my house or too low on the horizon. With the iPad I get to spend more time observing which is the goal.

I did try using it last night on my daughter's Celestron 130SLT and the cable isn't the correct cable. I thought it would go into the aux port but it apparently is supposed to go into the handset just like my dob. The handset on her scope uses an RJ10 4p4c connector so I'm either going to have to buy that cable somewhere or make my own so I can try it out on her telescope.