Starlight Focuser Boss

Hi folks -

I have 3 telescopes I’m thinking of setting up for plug and play (NOT simultaneous, I would just swap out scopes at different imaging sessions) and I want to use a single controller:

http://starlightinstruments.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=96&product_id=305

I was on the phone with Starlight, but he was unfamiliar with SGP (Sequence Generator Pro).

My scopes would require 3 different Feathertouch focusers on three different scopes, each would have their own Starlight stepper motor (I would have 1 x HSM20 and 2x HSM30 it looks like, each HSM30 has slightly different stepper settings I’m hoping can be managed through SGP)

I’m currently using a Rigel autofocuser for two scopes with SGP, and this is very easy - SGP keeps unique stepper instructions in an equipment profile I can use independently with whatever scope I want. But I’m confused (and so was the Starlight fellow on the phone) if I can do this with the Starlight Boss controller -

Is anyone using the Focuser Boss with SGP? Can you confirm I can do this? The Starlight rep wasn’t sure, he was only familiar with SkyX. He was making it sound like I need a different controller board inside the controller box for each stepper motor, and they only can support 2 unique controller boards in the box. I think I can do this with two controller boards (they can support up to 2), one would be setup for the HSM20, the other would control the two HSM30s, and SGP would send the different stepper config/commands to the two HSM30s yes? Again - not simultaneous - this is swapping out scopes, I want to permanently mount the stepper motors to each focuser but just easily have a single cable I can plug in for whatever scope for that night.

Thanks

The short answer is “yes”.

I use the Optec FocusLynx which is the exact same as the Starlight FocusBoss. I use two scopes simultaneously and it works great.

I don’t know what this means. Both HSM30 motors will have the same characteristics no matter what scope they are on. Step size is a fixed physical characteristic of the motor. But SGP will control the critical settings for the motors. I never look at the motor driver software itself, SGP takes care of it all. There might be some settings related to temperature compensation that need to be changed in the driver software that SGP does not control, and that will change with different scopes but only if the scopes are very different from each other. I don’t use Temp Comp so I hardly ever even look at the motor driver software.

Technically speaking, if you are only going to be using one motor at a time then you do not need the second board in the controller at all. In that case you would need to change the controller driver to whichever motor you are using each time you switch motors, but that isn’t hard to do, takes a few seconds. However your strategy is a good one to have both boards installed and us “Focuser 1” for the HSM20 and “Focuser 2” for the HSM30 motors. But the “Focuser 2” controller driver itself will not need to be changed for the two HSM30 motors. Just set up an SGP equipment profile for each scope/HSM30 and you should be good to go.

I’m no expert either so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Yes, the Optec FocusLynx and Starlight FocusBoss are exactly the same thing. I forget exactly what the relationship is but I think Starlight makes the metal cases and Optec supplies the electronics. Then they each use their own brand logo.

First, I was wrong about needing to change the motor option in the FocusBoss software. Take a look at the settings picture below. This is the settings for “Focuser 2” in the Optec ASCOM software (will be the same as FocusBoss). Next to Focuser Type is says “QuickSync Hi-Torque”. This is the type I use for both my motors (Optec Quicksync = Starlight HSM). So if you would look at my settings for Focuser 1 this field would be the same, no need to change it.

I don’t really understand what Wayne is saying either. The physical step size of the HSM30 motor is going to be constant no matter what scope you put it on. The only thing I can think of that Wayne is referring to is the total number of steps the focuser will physically allow. So for example my SV80ST with FTF2535 focuser will only allow for a maximum of 68800 steps or 3.5". The motor cannot physically go beyond this number. However, if I would have a different length focuser, say the FTF3015, then the number of steps the motor could move would be a different number, perhaps around 25000 or 1.5".

This “maximum number” field will determine how many steps the motor will go regardless of the physical constraints of the focuser. Lets’ say you have a 3.5" drawtube, which can physically move 68800 steps. If this maximum position field is set at 20000 steps, then once the motor gets to 20000 steps it will stop, even though there is plenty of travel left in the focuser. Make sense? So what you could do is set this number at the maximum steps for your longest focuser drawtube and leave it at that. Then your shorter focuser drawtubes will be able to go all the way out even though the step count will not go all the way to 68800.

This all sounds very confusing but in actuality it is not. If I am understanding your question accurately you only need one controller board for one focus motor at a time. But you might as well get the second board anyway!

I have done this. They key is that you need to order the 2nd Focus Boss (Optec FocusLynx) from Optec and tell them what you are doing and that you need it ID set appropriately. If you just plug two controllers into your USB ports, your computer will not be able to control them both as they will have the same USB ID. The guy at Optec I talked to 3 or 4 years ago (Sorry, I don’t remember his name) said its trivial to do; he just has to flash the controller with a modified firmware with a different USB ID and it’s no problem. You can ask Wayne at Starlight Instruments if he can do that, but he couldn’t when I needed it and he is the one that referred my directly to Optec.
Hope that helps - Shane

I guess I should also say that the setup I described in last post was for a system that needed all three scopes to be connected all the time.

For my home system, I still have three scopes, but I don’t use them all at the same time. Two are f/8 and one is f/5. Since the f-number is all that matters for the focussing, I just have one controller with the 2nd board installed. Focusser 1 set at f/8 and focusser 2 set at f/5. I just plug whatever scope I’m using into the appropriate socket. Since I will never use both f/8 scopes at the same time, I don’t have to change any setting in the focusser driver. I do, of course, have different equipment profiles in SGP for the two f/8 scopes. The profiles have different autofocus settings, but are set to use the same focusser.

I hope that makes sense. Shane