ASTRO DEVICES Nexus DSC Pro User manual

Nexus DSC Pro
USER MANUAL
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Nexus Pro

User Manual for Nexus DSC Pro
Version 1.0
Firmware version 1.x.x
Last revised on February 4th, 2021
Printed in Australia
Copyright
Copyright © 2021, Astro Devices. All rights reserved.
No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form for any purpose other than
the purchaser’s personal use, without the express written permission of Astro Devices.
Astro Devices reserves the right to make changes and improvements to its product without
providing a notice.
Precautions and Safety
Electricity
Nexus DSC Pro contains a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion
batteries can explode or cause a fire if they are used incorrectly or if they
are defective. Therefore, you are recommended to read the following
instructions very carefully:
NEVER leave Nexus DSC Pro where it is subjected to extremes in temperatures.
This includes low levels as well as high.
DO NOT leave Nexus DSC Pro where it is in direct sunlight or in an enclosed
space, such as a car, that can become extremely hot very rapidly.
Do not drop or subject the Nexus DSC Pro to impact.
Use only approved power adapter to charge your Nexus DSC Pro.
Do not handle power plug and adapter with wet hands. Electrical shock may
result. Immediately power off the product and unplug the DC adapter and/or
batteries if smoke or odours emit from the product. Immediately power off the
product and unplug the DC adapter if water or other liquids are present.
Product
Keep it away from harsh environments including humid, dusty, and smoky
areas.
Do not use excessive force on the connectors.
Do not attempt to disassemble the device without prior consultation with Astro
Devices.
Do not place heavy objects on the product. Damage to your products may result
from improper use.
Technical Support
Astro Devices
198 The Esplanade,
SYLVANIA, NSW 2224
AUSTRALIA
ABN 75 270 616 917
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Website: http://www.astrodevices.com

Nexus DSC Pro User Manual
Thank You!
Thank you for purchasing Nexus DSC Pro digital setting circles telescope computer. We hope
you enjoy it!
You have purchased one of the most advanced Digital Setting Circles computers. It will allow you
to located celestial objects quickly and easily. Nexus DSC Pro has a huge database of objects –
planets, galaxies, star clusters, globular clusters, nebulae and others. It also provides extensive
descriptions for those objects – magnitudes, sizes, common names, alternative designators,
surface brightness, separations for double stars, spectral class, galaxy morphology. It is all
available at a press of a button!
This user manual will get you started and help you make the most of your Nexus DSC Pro.

Nexus DSC Pro User Manual
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TABLE of CONTENTS!
TABLE&of&CONTENTS!...............................................!1
Introduction!.............................................................!2
Product!Features!....................................................!2
Technical specifications................................................. 2
Digital setting circles specifications ............................... 2
Package Content ........................................................... 2
Unpacking ..................................................................... 2
Controls ........................................................................ 3
Charge the battery ........................................................ 3
User interface ............................................................... 4
Main menu ............................................................... 4
Status Bar ................................................................. 4
Keypad ..................................................................... 4
Initial Setup................................................................... 4
Setting the time and date.......................................... 4
Connecting to your telescope .................................... 5
Telescope Settings .................................................... 5
Two star alignment ................................................... 6
Alignment object screen ............................................ 7
Pointing accuracy ..................................................... 7
Locating an object .................................................... 8
Improving pointing accuracy ..................................... 8
Nexus!DSC!Pro’s!menus!.........................................!9
Settings ......................................................................... 9
Telescope .................................................................. 9
Align ....................................................................... 10
Find ........................................................................ 10
Other Parameters ................................................... 11
AstroLock ................................................................ 12
Communications ..................................................... 12
Time and Date ........................................................ 13
WiFi ........................................................................ 13
Sound ..................................................................... 13
Display/Keypad ....................................................... 14
Align ........................................................................... 14
Altitude Reference .................................................. 14
First Object Alignment ............................................ 15
Second Object Alignment ........................................ 15
Alignment Status .................................................... 15
Mpoint Start ........................................................... 15
Mpoint Parameters ................................................. 17
Mpoint Edit Points .................................................. 18
Mpoint Analyse ....................................................... 18
Equatorial Timer ..................................................... 18
Find ............................................................................ 19
From Catalogues ..................................................... 19
From Observation List ............................................. 23
Object at RA/Dec .................................................... 24
From Planetarium ................................................... 24
Identify ....................................................................... 25
Tour ............................................................................ 26
Test............................................................................. 27
Encoders ................................................................. 27
WiFi ........................................................................ 28
USB......................................................................... 28
Serial ...................................................................... 28
Info ............................................................................. 28
About Nexus DSC Pro .............................................. 28
Time ....................................................................... 28
Environment ........................................................... 29
Battery ................................................................... 29
GPS ......................................................................... 29
Settings for Motorised Telescopes .............................. 30
AZ-EQ5 & AZ-EQ6 ................................................... 30
ScopeDog ............................................................... 31
ServoCAT ................................................................ 31
SiTech ..................................................................... 31
SkyTracker .............................................................. 31
Advanced!Topics..................................................!31
Daylight Testing .......................................................... 31
Firmware!and!Catalogues!Update!..................!32
Apendix!..................................................................!33
Ports Pinouts .............................................................. 33
Serial Port ................................................................... 33
Encoders Port ............................................................. 33
List of Compatible Planetarium Software .................... 34
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) ....................... 34
Troubleshooting!..................................................!34
Warranty!...............................................................!36
Technical!Support!...............................................!36

Nexus DSC Pro User Manual
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Introduction
Nexus DSC Pro is a digital setting circles
computer with optional WiFi interface for your
telescope. It works with most popular telescopes
– on equatorial or Alt-Azimuth mounts.
Nexus DSC Pro is a very sophisticated device
for locating celestial object in the sky. Only two
rotary encoders are required to be fitted to your
telescope in order to be able to locate celestial
object with Nexus DSC Pro.
Product Features
Below is a short outline of main features of your
Nexus DSC Pro.
Technical specifications
• CPU – 32 bit, Cortex M7 running at 400MHz
• Memory – 32MB internal FLASH
• External memory – up to 512GB on micro SD card
• 3.12” Red OLED screen (256x64 pixels) with 256
levels of brightness
• Full numeric keypad with adjustable back light
• Real time clock with thermal compensation
• Built-in GPS receiver with support for GPS and
GLONASS
• Built-in 5200mAh rechargeable Lithium battery
• Operating temperature range from -20 oC to +50 oC
(-5 oF to +120 oF)
• Humidity 10%-90% non-condensing
• Optional WiFi interface
• FCC / CE/ IC certified 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11b/g
transceiver
o Supports Access Point and infrastructure WiFi
networks
o Secure Wi-Fi authentication schemes
o Class I WiFi device (up to 150 meters)
o Uses 2412 ~ 2484MHz Unlicensed ISM band
(channels 1-14)
o Output power 0.08W
• One RS232 port
• One USB port
• Upgradeable firmware and catalogues (firmware is
upgraded using a USB memory stick)
• Can be charged/powered by an external power
source of 5-16V DC; can be charged from a
cigarette lighter socket in a car
• Reverse polarity protection
• RoHS compliant
• Size: 140 x 120 x 30mm (5.5” x 4.7” x 1.2”)
• Weight: 260g (9oz)
Digital setting circles specifications
• Intuitive graphical user interface
• Supports Alt-Az mounts, Equatorial Mounts,
Equatorial Platforms
• Supports a two star alignment
• Filter objects by magnitude, constellation and object
type
• Displayed angular resolution is 0.001 of a degree
• Internal FLASH memory contains a database of
more than 90000 objects:
o Named stars
o Bright stars, Flamsteed, Bayer, Asterisms
o Planets, Sun, Moon
o Common named objects
o Full catalogues of popular catalogues.
• Around 2.5 million objects are located on optional
microSD card
• Displays object’s information: magnitude, size,
surface brightness, spectral class, double star
separations, galaxies morphology, alternative
names, rise time, set time, transit time etc.
• Identify function; can also display up to 256 nearby
objects
• Tour modes: within a radius and within a
constellation
• Supports a multi point telescope pointing analysis
system for telescope pointing corrections
• Supports rotary encoders with up to 999999 steps
per revolution
• Shows internal battery status – remaining capacity,
current power consumption and percentage of
charge remaining
• Can be interfaced to a tablet/smartphone/computer
using a standard RS232 interface or optional WiFi
interface
• Internal real-time clock can be synchronised with
GPS time automatically
• Time display of local time, UTC and local sidereal
time
• Supports LX200 emulation
• Supports ServoCAT, SiTech, SkyTracker and
ScopeDog motor controllers
Package Content
The package contains:
• Nexus DSC Pro
• User manual
• DC 2.1mm to cigarette lighter power
cable
• USB to DC 2.1mm cable (for charging
only)
• Optional serial cable
• Optional power adapter Introduction
Unpacking
Nexus DSC Pro has a protective film covering
the front panel. Please peel it off to be able to
see the display clearly.

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Controls
All controls are situated on front panel of Nexus
DSC Pro:
– power switch
– keypad
– display
– external power connector (DC 2.1mm)
– charging status LED
– USB connector
– Serial (RS232) port
– Encoders port
– Micro SD socket
is used to charge the battery; can be
connected to a power adapter or to a cigarette
lighter socket (using the supplied cable)
indicates the charging status of the battery
Blinking
type
Description
Solid ON
The internal battery charging is in progress
OFF
The internal battery has been fully charged
Flashing
Flashing LED is indicating an error (power
source is not supplying sufficient voltage
and or current)
The USB port acts as a USB host. It cannot
be used to connect Nexus DSC Pro to a
computer directly.
The USB port on Nexus DSC Pro is used for:
• To interface Nexus DSC Pro to ServoCAT
• To interface Nexus DSC Pro to SiTech motor
controller
The USB port is not intended for charging Nexus
DSC Pro. Never connect any power source to the
USB port. This will void the warranty
Serial port is a standard RS232 port, 6P6C
RJ connector. It is used for the following
purposes:
• To connect Nexus DSC Pro to a computer
• To connect Nexus DSC Pro to motor
controller
Encoder port is used to connect encoders
using an 8P8C RJ connector
microSD socket is push-in push-out type
Charge the battery
The battery may not be fully charged at first. It is
advised to fully charge the battery.
Please use either the provided power adapter or
one of the recommended power adapters to
charge the battery.
Power source must have the following
minimum ratings:
- 5-6 V DC – 2A is recommended
- 9-12 V DC – 1.5A is recommended
Some inexpensive power adapters do
not have an over-current protection and
when connected to Nexus DSC Pro will
fail and damage the unit and that will
void the warranty
It is also possible to use the supplied USB to DC
2.1mm cable to charge the battery from a power
adapter with a USB socket. The power adapter
should be capable of supplying at least 1.5A at
5V otherwise it will take much longer to fully
charge the battery in Nexus DSC Pro.
Connect the power adapter to Nexus DSC Pro
and plug the adapter into a power point.
It is recommended to keep Nexus DSC Pro
turned off during charging to reduce charging
time.
WARNING:
Do not connect Nexus DSC Pro to an
external power source that is not within
the specified voltage range. Nexus DSC
Pro has internal over-current protection
but it is safer to use it with the power
source specified.
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The internal Lithium battery can only be charged at a
temperature range of 0 oC to +30 oC (32 oF to 86 oF)
In order to keep the battery lasting a long time it is
best to keep it charged at around 60% especially if
leaving Nexus DSC Pro unused for long periods of
time.
We advise to check the battery charge level every
three months and charge it to around 60% level.
Never leave the battery charged to 100% for long
periods of time (greater than two weeks)
User interface
Main menu
The main screen consists of a status bar,
horizontal menu with icons and a text description
of the currently selected menu item:
– Status bar
– Main menu
– Menu description
Status Bar
The status bar shows basic information about
battery state, current time, GPS receiver status
and WiFi. The status bar has the following
elements:
WiFi status is only shown if the WiFi is enabled
GPS fix status - the dot in the centre is flashing until
the GPS receiver acquires the current location
Current time in 24 hour format
Battery charge level in %
Keypad
Nexus DSC Pro has a full numeric (0-9) keypad
with directional keys ( , , , ),
and to allow an easy method of
control.
The keys have the following functions:
• to keys are used to specify a
numeric information to Nexus DSC Pro
• and keys on the keypad move
between previous and next menu item, they
are also used to move between control fields
(edit value, list, check box, on-screen
buttons) in a dialogue screen. The key
also acts as a backspace when editing a
value in edit fields.
• and keys are used to select an
item from a list, to adjust value in numeric
fields with predefined steps (like ‘Time Zone’)
or to change a character in an edit field; they
can also be used to go to the previous/next
menu level.
• The key activates the selected menu
item (on-screen button press, accepts a
selection from a list, finish editing a text or
numeric value).
• The key goes back to the previous
menu level/screen.
Special note about the and the
keys: in all settings pressing the key
accepts the changes that you see on the
screen while pressing the key cancels
the changes and switches back to the
previous screen discarding the new values.
Initial Setup
This section describes how to setup Nexus DSC
Pro to start locating celestial objects. The
following sections will describe all features of
Nexus DSC Pro in detail.
In order to be able to use Nexus DSC Pro for
locating celestial object it is necessary to set a
few parameters first:
• Time and date
• Mount Type
• Encoders’ resolution
Setting the time and date
Please select ‘Settings’ from the main menu:
Then select ‘Time and Date’:
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It will show the current time and date that can be
changed:
If all parameters are set correctly then pressing
the key can be used to avoid changing any
parameter.
If the time zone, time and date need to be
changed then and keys can be used
to select the parameter that needs to be
adjusted. and keys are used to
change the value.
Setting the time and date is only required if time
synchronisation with GPS is disabled. However,
the time zone and date need to be set for Nexus
DSC Pro to show the local time correctly.
It usually takes 30 to 60 seconds for the
GPS receiver to get a fix on the location
(under open sky conditions). Nexus DSC
Pro will update the internal real-time clock
with the time received by the GPS receiver
at this time. The GPS receiver will
automatically be switched into a power
saving mode after it acquired the location to
conserve the battery power.
Connecting to your telescope
Nexus DSC Pro requires only encoders
connected to operate. Please plug the encoder
cable into Encoders port on Nexus DSC Pro.
For operating Nexus DSC Pro with a motorised
telescope either the serial port or the USB port
or both ports need to be connected to motor
controller. A special cable may be required for
the connection(s). Please refer to Settings for
motorised telescope for additional information
on how to setup Nexus DSC Pro to work
correctly with the motor controller installed on
your telescope.
To make sure that encoders are functioning
correctly Nexus DSC Pro has a test mode to test
the encoders. Selecting Test from the main
menu activates it:
Then select Encoders:
will show the current angles and encoder steps:
In order for Nexus DSC Pro to function correctly
it is required to adjust the encoder steps to make
sure that:
• the RA/AZ current position in degrees is
increasing when rotating the telescope
clockwise around RA/AZ axis
• the Dec/Alt current position in degrees is
increasing when moving the telescope up in
declination/altitude
If either of those values is decreasing then set
the encoder steps’ sign for that axis to a negative
sign in the Telescope Settings:
Telescope Settings
Nexus DSC Pro needs the mount type and
encoder steps to be set correctly before it can be
used to locate celestial object precisely.
The mount type and encoder steps are set in the
Telescope Settings that can be accessed by
selecting ‘Setting’ from the main menu:
then by selecting ‘Telescope’:
Then you need to select the telescope:
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Nexus DSC Pro allows to have up to five
different telescope configurations. and
keys are used to switch between telescope
configurations. You can also rename
TELESCOPE 1 to your telescope’s name. You
just need to activate the Rename button by
using and then press the key. A text
cursor now appears under the name:
You will now be able to edit the name and
change it to your telescope name:
Now you need to set other parameters for your
telescope:
where the mount type can be selected by using
and keys. The encoder steps are set
to 10000 steps by default and should be set to
the number of steps corresponding to the
number of steps of the encoder installed on your
telescope. Encoder steps can be set by using
the numeric keys on the keypad. Please change
the sign in front of encoder steps for either one
or both encoders if required as described
previously:
Two star alignment
Nexus DSC Pro needs to be aligned on two star
before it can locate celestial objects.
Your telescope does not need to be levelled
for Nexus DSC Pro to locate celestial
objects accurately unless a one star
alignment method is used.
The two star alignment is performed in three
steps.
Please go to the Align menu:
Then select Altitude Reference:
Adjust the altitude reference angle if required:
Now move the telescope into position depending
on the mount type (for 90 degrees reference):
Telescopes on Alt-Azimuth mount should be
positioned vertically:
The same rule applies to telescopes installed on
equatorial platforms. Please note that the
telescope should be at 90 degrees to the ground
board, not the ground.
For equatorial mounts 0 degrees altitude
reference is more convenient.
Telescopes on an Equatorial Fork for a 0
degrees altitude reference then be positioned as
below:
The telescope does not have to be
positioned exactly at the angle specified,
but it should be within ±10°.
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