SkyWatcher USB-Adapter

Normally available for pickup or shipping approx. 2-3 business days from your order

Open your Sky-Watcher GOTO mount to an entire new world of advanced planetarium and telescope control software with the SkyWatcher USB-Adapter

The Sky-Watcher Synscan Hand Controller is great - but wait until you see what your telescope can do once connected to a PC with this low-cost connector.

The Sky-Watcher USB PC Direct Connector allows PC control of most Sky-Watcher mounts via a simple USB B cable.

This replaces your Synscan Hand Controller and let’s a PC to control your telescope instead.

It retrofits the PC-Direct mode feature being rolled in new Sky-Watcher mounts such as the new Sky-Watcher EQ8-R series to older Sky-Watcher mounts.

The Sky-Watcher USB-Adapter plugs into almost any Sky-Watcher mount in place of the Syncan Hand Controller. It doesn’t provide any new connectivity functionality compared to other third party solutions already available, however it solves these connection hassles with a single, easy to use Sky-Watcher device.

Both Sky-Watcher EQ mounts as well as AZ mounts like the Sky-Watcher Goto Dobsonian telescopes are supported.

The Synscan Hand Controller offers a wide range of functions aimed to telescope control and guiding for both visual use and imaging. There is also a vast range of third-party astronomy apps that the Sky-Watcher USB PC Direct Connector gives you easy access to.

Most of these apps communicate through a standard interface called ASCOM. (https://ascom-standards.org/)

Some of the app that run on a Windows PC connected to a Sky-Watcher include:

Planetariums:

• Cartes du Ciel
• Stellarium
• STAR Atlas:PRO Planetarium
• Starry Night family
• TheSky Astronomy Software
• EasySky Pro Planetarium and Astrometry
• The Earth Centered Universe

Observing planning:

• AstroPlanner
• Hyperion PRISM
• Deep-Sky Planner
• SkyTools

Guiding:

• Open PHD Guiding
• SkyGuider Pro

INDI for Linux and Mac

The Sky-Watcher USB PC Direct Connector is also supported by the INDI Library telescope and device control platform. A list of supported clients can be found here:

https://indilib.org/about/clients.html

SkyWatcher USB-Adapter Specifications:

Included: 1 x Sky-Watcher USB PC Direct Connector, 2 x link cable (1 x 6 pin RJ45, 1 x 8 pin RJ 45)

Output: USB “B” connector (The same type as a common USB printer cable)

Supported mounts:

HEQ5, AZ/EQ5, EQ6, NEQ6, EQ6 R, AZ/EQ6, EQ8, EQ8 R Pro, EQ8 RH Pro.

Note: If you have a newer version 5 Synscan Hand Controller with a USB C connector of the bottom of the unit, you do not need this USB Connector. (See tech note here on using the Synscan PC-Direct mode)