TeensyDSC: WiFi enabled Digital Setting Circles
Important Note
As of Nov 16, 2014 I've been able to order a PCB from OSHPark using the
Simple-DSC
design and with the latest code from
master.
I seem to have a working solution using SkySafari Pro on my iPad with
US Digital S2-2500
10,000 step optical encoders.
For more information, please see the TeensyDSC Wiki
There is also this thread on CloudyNights
Basic Features
I wanted to do my own digital setting circles (DSC) for my
Apertura AD12.
The main goals were:
- Tested to support 40,000 resolution via quadurature decoding using US Digital S2-10000-250-IE-D-D encoders
- Should support resolutions in excess of 100K
- Built in WiFi access point to allow wirelessly interfacing to an Apple iPad or Android tablet
- Supporting at least SkySafari Plus/Pro
- Powered via USB connection or external 7-24V battery source
- Using industry standard RJ45 connection to encoders
- Open source software & PCB design (GPLv3)
- Small 2"x3"x1" enclosure
- Inexpensive! All the components should be available for < $100.
That will be version 1.0. Future versions will hopefully support other features,
but for now that will be enough for it to work for me.
Why Teensy 3.1
Why the Teensy 3.1 and not Arduino?
- It is much faster then the Arduino Uno or Mega (32bit 72Mhz CPU vs 16bit 16Mhz)
- Small footprint and only costs $20!
- Runs at 3.3V, but handles 5V just fine which simplifies talking to WiFi chipsets and encoders
- It supports interrupts on all digital pins which allows for higher resolution encoders
- Has 3 hardware serial ports which allows interfacing with GoTo hardware, etc
- More memory & flash allows for a lot more features
Required Libraries & Software
TeensyDSC requires some additional Arduino libraries to compile/run:
The following libraries are included with the TeensyDSC source code, but you
will need to import them into the Arduino IDE:
- AnySerial - Serial port abstraction layer for Arduino
- WiFi_Shield - Customized to use AnySerial
- Flash - Easy access to EEPROM flash memory
Supported DSC Software
Please note that I have limited access to software, so this may not be a
complete list. If you have tested TeensyDSC with some software, I'd love
to hear if it worked or not. If it did not work, hopefully we can work
together to make it work!
- SkySafari (OSX, iOS)
- Scope Type: Basic Encoder System
- For "Encoder Steps per Revolution" click "Get Automatically"
Similar Projects
There are a bunch of similar projects to TeensyDSC which you should be aware of:
Similar Commercial Products
There are two commercial products which shares many of the same features of TeensyDSC:
DSC to WiFi adapters
These commercial products connect your DSC adapter (Sky Commander, etc) to Sky Safari: