To connect the Telescope via serial port you need the following:
Please note: Those devices that have only an USB port can not connect. The USB-to-serial converters avaliable for the PC will not help here, because the Palm USB port is something different than the PC USB.
For the handheld do not just buy a serial Hotsync cable! This might work well with the PC, but not with the telescope. The reason is that many Palm devices have serial ports with digital voltage levels only. They need level converters to bring the signals to proper RS232 levels, and these are usually built into the serial cable. But they need power, and Hotsync cables usually take this power from the PC side (from the RTS signal for example). This makes sense to save the Battery of the handheld. However, when connecting to the telescope we only have three lines. There is no RTS or similar signal where the level converters could take their power. So what you need is a cable that takes the power for the level converter electronics from the PDA side.
Very old Palms have the level converters built into the device, and a serial hotsync cable or cradle will work well for them.
This is a good source for serial cables: http://www.pcables.com/index.htmlConnection:
To connect to the handheld you need a serial cable for your telescope. This is a standard accessory that is intended to connect the telescope directly with the PC or Laptop. To get such a cable contact your telescope dealer.
The null modem crosses the serial data lines, so that the telescope and the handheld do not both talk on the same line while listening on the other.
The gender changer is needed to let you plug the two female cables together.
The following telescope drivers are available:
| LX200.zip | Meade LX200 and ETX. |
| NexStarM.zip | Celestron NexStar 5,8, 4/60/80/114GT, N8GPS, N11GPS and Ultima |
| skycmd.zip | SkyCommander and ServoCAT |
| LosGem.zip | Losmandy Gemini |
Download the appropriate file and install it on your Palm.
Please note: You need an AutoStar or Hand Controller device!
You must not connect the Telescope directly to the Palm without the AutoStar or Hand Controller in between, this might damage your Palm or the telescope!
Here is some information from a user who tested various Meade and Celestron telescope configurations.
The Tungsten T3 (and possibly other models) have a bug in its serial port software. This causes the T3 to require hardware handshake even if Planetarium said it should not. The result is that the Palm waits for a CTS signal that it does not get from the telescope and therefore it does not send any characters. Hopefully PalmOne will bring out an update patch one day.
There are two solutions for this currently:
1) Search for a software called "SerialFix" by Larson Computing. This is a small shareware program that fixes this.
2) Use a little adapter that routes the RTS signal of the T3 back to its own CTS input, so that it gets the signal it needs. If you have experience with soldering, you can make one yourself. Here is the wiring diagram:
In this wiring diagram I put the bridge on both sides, so it will work with any setup, but in fact you will need it only on the Palm side. Put this adapter just after the Palm cable, before any null modem or gender changer.
If the telescope driver is installed properly, the telescope button 
shows up in the sky view tool bar. Tapping this button opens a popup menu with the available functions.
The "Serial port communication error" appears when Planetarium does not receive back any data from the telescope. There are several possible reasons for this situation:
Most probably it is the first one.
You can rule out the last two items if you can control the telescope from the PC.
To rule out items 2 and 3, you could try to connect the Palm to the PC and make a Hotsync via the serial cable. You will have to set the Hotsync manager on the desktop accordingly and change some settings on the Palm as well. (Note that if you need a null modem for connecting to the PC, you don't need one for connecting to the telescope, and vice versa. ) If you can make a hotsync, the cable is working and the handheld as well. However, it might still be the wrong cable (e.g. when it takes its power from the PC, not the Palm.)
To connect the Telescope via Bluetooth you need the following:
The following devices are natively Bluetooth capable:
Devices runnung PalmOS 4 can add a Bluetooth SD card. Google for Palm Solutions Group Bluetooth SD Card to get information or find a store. Also check ebay!
At the time of writing (November 2004) no Bluetooth add-on solution for PalmOS 5 is known to the author.
Check http://www.palm.com/bluetooth for up-to date information.
I tested the setup with the AIRcable. It is a bit tricky to get running, so please read all of their website if you have problems.
It also works with the Aircable sold by www.astrocables.com.
There are other Bluetooth to serial converters around. I have not yet tested it with them (and they may be tricky to configure just as well).
Problems to solve when you want to use the AIRcable:
The following Bluetooth telescope drivers are available:
| LX200BT.zip | Meade LX200 and ETX |
| NexStarBT.zip | Celestron NexStar 5,8, 4/60/80/114GT, N8GPS, N11GPS and Ultima |
Download the appropriate file and install it on your Palm.
Here is some information from a user who tested various Meade and Celestron telescope configurations.
Set up your telescope, align it and switch on the Bluetooth to serial converter.
Start Planetarium. If the telescope driver is installed properly, the telescope button shows up in the sky view tool bar. Tapping this button opens a popup menu with the available functions.
At the first time you issue a command the program tries to establish connection via Bluetooth. You are prompted to select a nearby Bluetooth device. Select your Bluetooth to serial converter. You might have to enter the PIN code. Once connection is established, the commands are sent to the telescope. The Bluetooth link is held active for subsequent commands.
If the Palm is switched off either manually or automatically the Bluetooth connection is dropped and has to be reestablished when you switch the Palm on again and want to send another command. The program will automatically try to reconnect to the device you selected previously. If the Bluetooth-serial converter is switched off, connection is lost and you will have to reenter the PIN code to establish it again (unless you have configured it not to require authenitfication).
If you find the auto-off switching of the Palm annoying you can try out this little program that lets you specify a longer auto-off time:
http://home.vrweb.de/~jswi/SoftPalm/AutoOff.html
There is a bug in the T3 that prevents the T3 from accepting a correct PIN to the Bluetooth-serial converter. It stays in the dialog and keeps asking for the PIN.
The best solution to this is to check in the manual of your Bluetooth-serial converter if it is possible to configure it not to require autihentification: The T3 won't ask you for the PIN any more.
If this is not possible, then the following procedure is necessary:
Note: This will have to be repeated every time you switch off and on your Bluetooth-serial converter.