Orion StarSeek Instruction Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Orion® StarSeek™ Wi-Fi Serial Interface

Addendum to Instruction Manual #399

This page contains instructions for connecting your telescope’s
serial (RS-232) port to StarSeek Wi-Fi’s serial port. To do this,
you’ll need a serial cable. The StarSeek Wi-Fi module comes
with cables that provide the proper connectivity for all Orion
motor-driven GoTo mounts. The cables work with some other
telescope brands as well, but it is very possible that you will
need an additional serial cable that’s specific to your non-Ori­on scope. This is the case for Meade telescopes, for example.
Different telescopes require different serial cables, and many
GoTo telescopes come with one. But if yours did not, contact
your telescope’s manufacturer to obtain the correct serial cable
for your telescope. Several suppliers that can be found on the
internet also carry serial cables for other brands of computer­controlled telescopes.

If you have an Orion GoTo telescope, use the supplied cable(s)
indicated in the table below for your particular model:

Telesco pe / Mount Hand Controller Wi-Fi Box

Orion Atlas EQ-G RJ -14 RJ -14

Orion Sirius EQ-G RJ -14 RJ -14

Orion SkyV iew Pro GoTo RJ -14 RJ -14

Orion X Tg / XXg GoTo Dobsonians RJ -14 RJ -14

Orion StarSeeker handset* ** RJ -14

One of the serial cables included with the StarSeek Wi-Fi
module is a DB-9 to RJ-14 (or RJ-11) cable. This cable can
be coupled to the serial cable included with many non-Orion
brand telescopes to provide the connection you need to use
the StarSeek Wi-Fi with your telescope.

Once you’ve obtained the correct serial cable for your tele­scope:

1. Connect your telescope serial cable to the RS-232 port
on your telescope. On most telescopes, the RS-232 port
is a modular (“telephone”) jack. On some telescopes, the
RS-232 port is located on the mount base; on others, it is
located on the hand controller. See note below.

2. Connect the other (DB-9 female) end of your telescope’s
serial cable to the DB-9 male connector on StarSeek
Wi-Fi’s serial cable. Insert the other (RJ-14) end of the
cable into StarSeek Wi-Fi’s serial port. Make sure the con­nector clicks into place securely.

Figure 1 shows the connection between a Meade Autostar
controller and the StarSeek Wi-Fi module.

IMPORTANT: Do not connect StarSeek Wi-Fi to the AUX
port, handbox port, autoguider port, or any port on your
telescope (or its hand controller) other than its RS-232
serial port. Doing so may damage StarSeek Wi-Fi and/or
your telescope hardware. Make sure you know where the
RS-232 serial port on your telescope is located, and only
connect StarSeek Wi-Fi to that port.

For Orion and SkyWatcher telescopes, the serial port is also
located on the bottom of the hand controller. For Meade
LX-200 and LX-400 telescopes, the RS-232 port is located
on the mount base. For Meade telescopes that use the #497

Meade serial cable
(not sold by Orion)

RJ-14 to DB-9M
cable (included)

Figure 1.

controller requires a serial cable for that brand/model.

Connecting the Wi-Fi Module to a non-Orion GoTo

Autostar controller, like the ETX and LX-90, the serial port is
located on the bottom of the Autostar. For all Celestron tele­scopes using the NexStar hand controller, the serial port is
located on the bottom of the NexStar hand controller.

You don’t need to use the mini null-modem adapter supplied
with StarSeek Wi-Fi when connecting it to a telescope. The
null-modem adapter is only needed when connecting StarSeek
Wi-Fi to a PC serial port for firmware updates.

Making Custom Serial Cables

Connecting the StarSeek Wi-Fi Module to your computerized
telescope requires a serial cable that has the correct pinout
scheme. The cables we include for use with Orion telescopes
also work with some other brands of telescope, but only when
the pinout scheme of the telescope’s serial (RS-232) port
matches that of an Orion telescope.

Like the StarSeek Wi-Fi module, most telescope serial ports
also use 4- or 6-wire modular jacks. Unfortunately, telescope
manufacturers have not standardized on a common serial port
pinout. In other words, pin 1 on the serial jack for a Meade
LX-200 may carry a different serial signal than pin 1 on the
serial jack for a Celestron NexStar GPS.

If your mount requires a different serial cable from those
included with the Wi-Fi module, and your telescope manufac­turer cannot supply a “telescope to PC” serial cable such as
the one shown in the picture above, you can make a custom

IN 441 Rev. A 01/12

serial cable yourself if you’re handy with electrical things. It’s
really just a simple “telephone” type cable, which will connect
the StarSeek Wi-Fi module’s serial port directly to your tele­scope’s serial port. If you don’t want to make one yourself,
perhaps you could have one made by an electronics shop
that does custom cables.

In any case, you’ll need the pinout diagram for your tele­scope’s serial port. Figure 2 shows the meaning of the pins
on StarSeek Wi-Fi module’s serial adapter cable.

Figure 2, combined with your telescope’s serial pinout

Figure 2. Pinout diagram of the RJ-11 (or RJ-14) to DB-9M serial

adapter cable.

scheme, will be sufficient to construct the needed cable. The
tables below and at left list the pinouts for the StarSeek Wi-Fi’s
DB-9M cable adapter, and for some common telescope mod-

Manufacturer: Orion Orion Orion Orion

Model:

Connector:

Manufacturer: SkyWatcher Celestron Meade Meade Losmandy StellarCAT Wildcard Starmaster

Model:

Connector:

StarSeek
Wi-Fi
Module

6-pin
RJ -11 (or
RJ -14)

2 3 5 4

3 4 3

4 5 3 2

5 2 2 1

SynScan NexStar, CGE, CGEM,

6-pin
RJ -11

5 4 4 5 3 2 3 5

4 3 2 3 1 4 5 3

3 2 1 2 2 5 4 2

2 1 3 4 4 3 2 4

StarSeek
Wi-Fi
Module

DB-9
Male

CPC, SLT, SE

4-pin
modular

Sirius EQ-G, Atls EQ-G,
SkyView Pro GoTo,
SkyQuest XTg, XXg

6- pin RJ -11 4-pin

StarSeeker

modular

ETX, LX-9 0, LXD55/ 75 LX-200 Classic, GPS Gemini Ser voCAT Argo Navis Sk yTrac ker

4-pin
modular

els/brands. Note that some telescope serial ports use a 6-pin
RJ-11 (or RJ-14) connector similar to the StarSeek Wi-Fi
module’s, while others use the smaller 4-pin modular “hand­set” connector. Check your telescope manual for details, and
expect some trial and error.

Pins are numbered 1 to 6 from left to right when facing the
connector with the pins down and plastic clip up, as pictured
above. Note that the outermost pins (1 and 6) are not used on
any 6-pin RJ-11 (or RJ-14) connector.

Please note that Orion does not provide support for
building custom serial cables.

6-pin
RJ -11

4-pin
modular

6-pin
RJ -11

6-pin
RJ -11

6-pin
RJ -11

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