Welcome to SkyFi - Wireless Telescope Control

SkyFi is Carina Software's patent-pending WiFi-to-Serial adapter, designed for wireless telescope control. If you have a computer-controlled GoTo telescope, SkyFi can use the WiFi capabilities built into your Mac, PC, iPhone, or iPod Touch to point your telescope in the sky.

Overview

SkyFi is the only WiFi device on the market specifically designed for telescope control. Unlike bluetooth devices, SkyFi requires no pairing, and no special drivers. Its uses standard TCP/IP networking protocols. Because TCP/IP is the language of the internet, SkyFi can enable your telescope to be remotely controlled over the internet. This is a capability that bluetooth simply was never designed for.

You can use SkyFi with your WiFi-enabled laptop or desktop computer as well as an iPhone or iPod Touch.

SkyFi is very compact, barely larger than an iPhone. It can be easily attached to your telescope's mount or tripod; a strip of double-sided Velcro is included for that purpose.

SkyFi accepts four AA batteries, and has a typical battery life of 8 to 12 hours under continuous use. SkyFi can also be powered from an external source, like a car battery or a wall socket. Power adapters for both AC (120V, 60Hz) wall socket input and DC (9-12V, 1.2A) cigarette-lighter socket input are available.

Once powered on, SkyFi creates its own 802.11 wireless network. By default, this is an open wireless network called "SkyFi", but you can rename and secure it later on. Join this network from your iPhone, laptop, or other computer, and - voila! - you're ready to use SkyFi. As long as your computer or iPhone gets its IP address by DHCP, no additional network configuration is required.

SkyFi provides a standard DB9M serial connector to interface with your telescope. That means you can use your existing telescope serial cable - you don't need to buy (or build!) another. If you don't already have a telescope serial cable, Carina Software can supply one at additional charge; please specify your telescope model when ordering.

Finally, you'll also need a telescope control application running on your computer, iPhone, or iPod Touch. SkyFi works seamlessly with Voyager 4.5 software running on Mac OS X and Windows, as well as our SkyVoyager iPhone app.

Where Third-Party Adapters Fail

We built our own WiFi-to-serial adapter even though others already exist on the market. Most other WiFi-to-serial adapters are designed for industrial applications, and hence difficult to use, and/or prohibitively expensive. None of them are battery-powered, and therefore not appropriate for field use.