PushToCam Manual

Thank you for using PushToCam iOS app. It is an easy way to find your way in the space. 

PushToCam is different from FinderCam in a significant way. It does not use camera to align to the star or to guide telescope to target. Without needing the phone camera, you will not need to bent your body or neck awkwardly to look at the app when your phone is attached to the telescope.

The phone can be attached to the telescope or binocular in any orientation. It can be along the optical tube or at an angle to the tube. However, it must be aligned so that the app can accurately point to objects in the night sky. Align means that the phone and telescope are pointing to the same object. 

First Alignment:

The app is designed to use out of the box. The idea is to select a bright star on your phone and point the telescope to the same star. A star is selected when a white circle appears on the star.

1. Raise the phone to point at a bright star in the sky. 
2. Tap the bright star in the phone. The object name will be displayed. 

3. Attach phone to telescope. 
3. Move telescope to point at the same star. Centred it in the eyepiece view. 

4. Tap Align. “Alignment done.” is displayed. 

Subsequence Quick Alignment:

Once aligned,  the app displays a model of the sky where the telescope is pointing. It is accuracy for that part of the sky. Move the telescope so that the cross hair overlays on a nearby faint object and start observing. When the telescope points to another part of the sky, quick alignment is required to make the pointing accurate. To do a quick alignment, 

1. Tap a bright star on the phone. 

2. Move telescope until target is in telescope eyepiece.  

3. Tap align. 

4. "Alignment is done." appears.  

Bright Star List Alignment:

If you know the name of the bright star in the sky, you can choose it from a list of bright stars and align the telescope to it. 

1. Tap menu icon.
2. Tap Bright Star List Alignment. 
3. Only 1.5 magnitude and brighter stars are listed with the 4 planets. Select one for alignment object. 
4. Move telescope until target is in telescope eyepiece.  

5 Tap Align button. 

Reset Alignment:

After some use or change of equipment from telescope to binocular, you may need to reset to default alignment. By default, the phone is pointing from the back of the phone to the sky. 

1. Goto menu.

2. Select reset alignment. 

3. The pointing of the phone will reset to the back of the phone. 

Read about the differences between PushToCam and FinderCam here. 

Please do not hesitate to write to ustransit74@gmail.com for more help. Thank again.