SynScan app has two variants:
Features: (PDF Manual)
Feedbacks are appreciated: [email protected]
Release Notes
## 2025-04-24 v2.5.19
• Update that should allow Samsung Android camera exposure time to work properly
• Mac: fix not requesting location permission
• AutoAlign: fixed problem where camera image can pan and zoom on the UI, but the new position is not updated on the text label, and is also not saved. Problem introduced in 2.5.16
• Fix crash when slewTo to ground target. Crash introduced in 2.5.16
• Avoid problem where, if ASCOM client starts a slewTo then immediately read Slewing property, then it gets the wrong value.
## 2025-03-22 v2.5.16
• Avoid app hang when using a disconnected USB serial adapter
• Fix broken mac serial port enumeration introduced in 2.5.14
• SlewTo update to improve precision. No longer have a minium allowed slewTo error
## 2025-01-24 v2.5.15
• PM Sharing: changed broadcast interval from every 60 sec to every 3 sec. Make more robust.
• Mac: fix the packaged PlateSolver not running due to wrong LC_RPATH
• Windows/Mac: Avoid UI crash on desktop: open object detail list or show info list and scroll to bottom. Then close app using close window button, app closes but crash dialog also shows.
• Mac: use IOKit API to enumerate serial devices
• Connect popup: fix problem with multiple popup (connect, choose mode, restore from park) not showing in right order
• AZ tracking: not use trail points to track when aux encoder is enabled
• AutoAlign: ensure screen awake
• AutoAlign: allow page to open when mount not connected
• Fix ASCOM server not responding due to receiving zero length UDP packet.
• AutoAlign: make page work better with touch screen (pinch gesture, single or double finger drag)
• Android: Work around star catalog list bug. Where if text search box has keyboard focus, leaving the page causes app to freeze.
• Tonight's best page: not reset tab or search text when leaving
• Android: fix USB permission problem
• Fix crash when going to polar alignment page while disconnected but have EQ mount alignment
• Alignment routine: fix centering UI incorrectly closing when centering failed
• Mac/iOS: camera permission not reliable
• Android: Fix screen awake crash introduced in 2.5.2
• SynScan App protocol server: add support for getting mount axis: 'telescope.Action("AxisCoordinatesGet", "")' -> degree string eg "45.0,15.0". No need to update "SynScan App" ASCOM driver.
• Plate solving: Add index download page
• Camera exposure group: ensure to keep screen awake
• AutoAlign: az mode: second star alt will not be over 75 deg
## 2024-08-10 v2.5.2
Changes compared to v2.4.33
• Android: target Android 14. Minimum supported to Android 8.
• SynMatrix AutoAlign: add (except iOS)
• Auto home: support AZ-EQ mount that has home index.
• Newer mount AZ tracking: make it less likely to fail when using Bluetooth LE
## 2024-06-25 v2.4.33
Changes compared to v2.4.31
• Serial port: list port names on Mac. Adjust combobox layout
## 2024-06-10 v2.4.31
Changes compared to v2.4.29
• Fix problem introduced in 2.4.27, where connection fails with mounts that don't support setting guide speed.
## 2024-05-15 v2.4.29
Changes compared to v2.4.27
• Updated user manual/ help page
• AutoHome: fix crash when communication error occured
• Set minimum Android version to 7 from 6
• PAE: ignore samples that cause conflict (leading to eg AZ tracking hang). When two samples conflict, the more recent one is kept.
## 2024-04-23 v2.4.27
Changes compared to v2.4.18
• Android serial: updated version of third party library
• Serial: same timeout value (default 200ms) for all bytes (originally: 10ms for bytes after first). Affects Windows, Android, Mac.
• Location page: when manual entering, show 3 decimal places
• Android: system status bar and navigation bar to black
• Fix problem introduced in 2.4.15 where after hibernate, data is immediately removed
• Speed compensation ppm: not show decimal places
• Desktop app default size to 480x640
• Sun warning: fix night mode. Only show in main menu
• Advanced page: guide rate, dual encoder. Ensure synced with mount. Handle failure when writing to mount.
• Alignment compensation: fix data not saved if using default alignment but with non-default NP/CH
• Speed adjustment resolution ppm: ensure 32 bit command mount uses 32 bit command ppm calculation
• Alignment menu: new Sync Samples icon
• Connect popup: Fix: when changing from network to serial connection, popup UI is not updated
## 2024-02-08 v2.4.18
Changes compared to v2.4.16
• Fix app servers not starting
## 2024-01-24 v2.4.16
Changes compared to v2.4.11
• Handle keyboard hotkey F10, F11, +, - as described in user manual
• Speed Compensation ppm: adjusted display
• Location: input elevation
• Alignment stars: fix problem where there's very few stars for southern hemisphere EQ mount
• Updated SharpCap scripts
• Night mode updates
## 2023-12-13 v2.4.11
Changes compared to v2.4.8
• Fix broken night mode.
• Android SDK to 33 (Android 13)
## 2023-09-19 v2.4.8
Changes compared to v2.4.5
• Fixed set guiding speed. Affected ASCOM "GuideRateRightAscension" and "GuideRateDeclination"
• Windows: bundle SharpCap AutoAlign scripts under "SharpCap scripts"
• Serial connection: improve baud detection and upgrade
• Serial connection: add "Max upgrade baud" to Connect Setting. Default is 115200. App will not attempt to upgrade to a baud above this value. This does not affect baud detection at connection.
## 2023-09-02 v2.4.5
Changes compared to v2.3.9
• Serial: will try to upgrade to 921600. If failed will try 115200
• User object: fix not able to add while disconnected
• Re-enabled PAE, where were disabled from 2.3.4 to 2.3.9
• Replaced "Align with Sync" page with "Sync samples" page.
• Multi-star alignment, where performing any of the following adds a sync sample:
• Using one of the alignment methods from the Alignment page
• Centering on a celestial object at the prompt after any catalog object GOTO
• Receiving a `SyncTo` command from ASCOM with a plate-solving software
## 2023-07-11 v2.3.9
• Fix: ASCOM SideOfPier failed "Conform" test in southern hemisphere
## 2023-06-09 v2.3.8
• Fix: serial connect: change baud for both axes to work with older mounts
## 2023-06-01 v2.3.7
Changes compared to v2.3.6
• Fix: Android not loading star database in some situations
• Fix: broken application-wide handling of direction keys and back key
## 2023-05-28 v2.3.6
Changes compared to v2.3.5
• Fix: crash when displaying alignment star
## 2023-05-27 v2.3.5
Changes compared to v2.3.3
• Android: Respect system auto rotation lock. Changed screenOrientation from "fullSensor" to "fullUser".
• Manual: add gamepad note
• Translation: add Polish
• Sun warning: don't warn again for 12 hours after dismiss
• PM Sharing: allow set remote port
• Trail Points: fix progress going over 100%
• Catalog List: reduce processing by only loading when list is shown.
• Fix: app crash at app closing due to net server problem.
• ASCOM: add missing `SetPark`
• Sync: remove old PAE implementation
• Fix: broken set polar scope light command
## 2023-04-18 v2.3.3
Changes compared to v2.3.0
• UI: more update for landscape
• Keep screen on by default
• In Connect Settings: allow setting app server TCP/UDP port
## 2023-04-04 v2.3.0
Changes compared to v2.2.0
• Serial: try connect new baud rate 921600
• Shutter control fix
• Android BLE fixe
• iOS: use multicast entitement
• Android vibrate fix
• Update UI for gamepad navigation
• Fix: communication fail if using BLE and set polar scope light brightness
• Fix: user object cannot enter value between -1 and 0
• Allow landscape (wide) UI
• Mac sign and notarize. User no longer need to make security exception for app.
## 2023-02-14 v2.2.0
Changes compared to v2.1.12
• Mac: fix settings not saved due to default writable dir not exist.
• Fixed align star list display stars outside of user specified alt range.
• Windows: remove unnecessary dll. Much smaller package.
• Windows: add MSVC redistributable in case it is not already installed.
• Windows: allow run on Windows 7 and 32 bit machine (Windows on ARM).
• Trail points meridian flipping:
• No longer depend on EQ flipping setting. First point always uses auto flipping.
• Depend on two new settings in Advanced settings page
• "Trail Points Meridian Flip": When enabled, EQ mount will flip.
• "Threshold (deg)": how many degrees past meridian to flip.
• Bluetooth LE (BLE) improvements
## 2023-12-12 v2.1.12
Changes compared to v2.1.11
• Mac version
• Windows/Mac: open help in external browser
• Bluetooth LE (BLE) permission improvements
## 2022-12-05 v2.1.11
Changes compared to v2.1.8
• TrailPoints: improvement for when EQ mount flipping mode is not auto
• EQ axis 1: update to new convention (different from SynScan Hand Controller)
• ASCOM: Fix SlewToAltAzAsync crash
## 2022-11-17 v2.1.8
Changes compared to v2.0.13
• iOS enable screen rotation according to store requirement
• Align Star: apply basic filter rule for star 2, 4 to star 1
• Identify page: remove hard-coded star vmag > 2.2 filter
• User object page: allow list to be rearranged
• Sun with solar telescope warning banner
• Font: fix Chinese fonts on Windows
• Orientation sensor: fix unnecessarily reading sensor in background
• Catalog filter: star/planet use star vmag limit, dso/comet/double star use other vmag limit
• Catalog filter: always show objects above lower limit
• Sun: fix incorrect location on Android
• Catalog filter: adjust
• Show Information page: ensure update works if mount connects after page show
• Solar system: fix missing Neptune
• Polar alignment: fix no tracking
• Improve Bluetooth LE
• Fix backlash compensation broken in 2.0.13
• Numbered Deep Sky object: fix wrong data in object info page
• Android: add USB OTG
• Require Android 6.0, iOS 13. Previously require Android 5.0
## 2022-09-19 v2.0.13
Changes compared to v2.0.12
• Bluetooth LE support. Works with Star Adventurer GTi
• Corrected ASCOM SideOfPier
## 2022-09-08 v2.0.12
Changes compared to v2.0.11
• Corrected implementation of ASCOM MoveAxis
• Use 32 bit motor command if firmware is 3.39 or above (instead of 3.22 or above)
## 2022-09-01 v2.0.11
Changes compared to v2.0.6
• User object: fix wrong value read when UI has negative value
• Trail points: faster slewTo. Improve UI
• Trail points: fix incorrect data being loaded on Windows for some system timezone
• Connection fix: problem when connecting to Star Adventurer GTi Wi-Fi. (newer ESP32)
• AZ tracking: implement with trail points command if firmware supports it
• Trail points: allow slew from tracking UI
• Motor command: when available, use 32 bit command for axis position and motion control related command. Improves performance for mounts that support it.
• Serial port: make it work on Windows
• Connection settings page: List available serial ports (only works for Windows)
• Android: further improvement to make send work correctly while mobile network is connected (ConnectivityManager.bindProcessToNetwork())
• Android: Use Android API to download comet file over https. This allows download to work when ConnectivityManager API is used.
## 2022-06-20 v1.19.20
• Workaround: accept RA Dec values from ASCOM being out of range
## 2022-05-27 v2.0.6
• Android: when in background, continue to handle request from other apps
• Android: work around problem where when mobile network is enabled, connection to mount fails
## 2022-01-19 v1.19.16
• Workaround for Android 12 crashing when reading location sensor. For Android:
• not read location sensor during app startup
• not use location sensor by default, and ignore previous read location sensor settings
• ensure location sensor works before saving the setting to use it automatically
## 2021-11-29 v1.19.15
• Removed backlash logic in PulseGuide for better compatibility with autoguiding software
## 2020-10-08 v1.19.10
• Add Keyboard shortcut (hotkey) for slewing
• Add detailed manual (English)
• Can connect automatically when app starts
• Fix: crash on Android 11
• Fix: Avoid briefly showing a white screen while changing page
• Fix: reliability problem with Satellite Tracker
• Fix: some UI problem in night mode
## 2020-05-26 v1.19.0
• Rearranged menu
• Added alignment sharing
• Added comet catalog
## 2020-02-06 v1.18.0
• Android: fixed problem where Point and Go always disabled (no tilt/compass)
• When connect by serial port, try upgrade motorboard baud rate
• Update tracking speed if tracking rate is set after tracking has started
## 2019-07-24 v1.17.0
• Added speed compensation
• Improved Android USB OTG speed
## 2019-07-02 v1.16.7
• This is a test version
• Improved two-star, three-star, and polar alignment
• Fixed an issue involving autoguiding the dec axis
• Support Stellarium Telescope Server Protocol
## 2019-04-03 v1.16.0
• Fixed alignment not accurate problem introduced in 1.15.0
• Windows: Fix crash at startup if apps setting cause it to try to read location service
## 2019-03-04 v1.15.0
• iOS: Fix problem where locking screen would interrupt connection
• Show how many stars in the next page for a given star selected in this page
## 2019-01-11 v1.14.0
• Target Android 8 (API26)
• Correct text problem in polar scope page
## 2019-01-03 v1.13.0
• Android: supports Prolific serial
• Connect settings: Show UI for all platforms, list COM ports on windows
• Renamed "Sync Encoder" to "Recover Alignment"
• Align with Sync: Added feature
## 2018-11-15 v1.12.0
• iOS: Handle Connect request from SSML
• Android: Fix cannot input negative number in User Object
• Fixed Point and track not showing Unicode object name
## 2018-09-09 v1.11.0
• iOS version can output alignment data to third-party app
• Android version dialog style changed to avoid problem
## 2018-08-29 v1.10.0
• Use a new format to save alignment data.
• Fixed problem where app caused third party app using compass/tilt to malfunction
• Updated AZ tracking algorithm
• Fixed catalog error on Turkish iOS
• On Android: can save diagnostic log in Settings > Diagnostics menu
• Improved connection error reporting
• Fixed a crash involving hibernate
• Allow setting SynScan Wi-Fi's 2.4G channel
• Sync encoder: made more accurate and allow performing on mount without aux encoder.
## 2018-04-10 v1.9.0
• Updated translation
• UI Settings: added an option to keep iOS screen unlocked
• Elevation limit: allow go to to -10 degree altitude.
• Auto home: Fix problem with dec offset
• Control polar scope light for EQ6 and HEQ5
• Orientation sensor: avoid keeping sensor activated
• Added Observe sun option
• Save PAE data to file, restore it on connect along with alignment data
• SynScanMobile ASCOM: improve conformance
• Pro: Added sun and moon to 1-star alignment list
## 1.8.0
- Mobile only - fixed slewing while tracking issue
## 1.7.0
- Android only - Resolved status bar covering app content on x86 Atom device
- Windows only - Improved device search reliability
- Improved performance for pulse guiding ASCOM command and low speed slewing.
- UI adjustments
- Use location sensor sensor by default. Refresh location at app start.