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Interfacing With Other Software

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  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementBase::execute($args = [], $options = []) should either be compatible with PDOStatement::execute(?array $params = null): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2244 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::current() should either be compatible with Iterator::current(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::next() should either be compatible with Iterator::next(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::key() should either be compatible with Iterator::key(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::valid() should either be compatible with Iterator::valid(): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::rewind() should either be compatible with Iterator::rewind(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: strlen(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in drupal_random_bytes() (line 2268 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/bootstrap.inc).
  • Deprecated function: rtrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in url() (line 2349 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/common.inc).
  • Deprecated function: strpos(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($haystack) of type string is deprecated in url_is_external() (line 2393 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/common.inc).
  • Deprecated function: str_replace(): Passing null to parameter #3 ($subject) of type array|string is deprecated in url_is_external() (line 2395 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/common.inc).
  • Deprecated function: ltrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in url() (line 2311 of /home1/dhulse/public_html/_eqmac/includes/common.inc).

As of v1.1.0, EQMac provides an LX200 emulation mode via TCP/IP, which other software can use to interface with your mount. EQMac will listen on TCP port 4030 for incoming connections. Once software has connected to your Mac on TCP port 4030, it can send LX200 commands over the connection and EQMac will convert these to native commands to control the mount. This allows at least the following popular applications to interface with EQMac:

  • Sky Safari (iPhone, iPad, and Mac versions)
  • Equinox Pro
  • Starmap Pro (iOS application)

However, generally speaking, any application that can be configured to communicate with an LX200 device over a TCP/IP connection can be used to interface with EQMac. The above applications are the only ones I have personally tested and use.

If the application you wish to interface with is on your Mac, then it will likely ask you for an IP Address or Hostname to connect with. You should configure either localhost or the IP address 127.0.0.1. If a port number is requested, you should enter port 4030.

If you would like to connect an application running on another device, such as a mobile phone, the trick to making this work is arranging for your Mac and the other device to be on the same network. If both devices can connect to the same WiFi router, this is easy, but if no such router is available, you can tell your Mac to Create Network... in the wireless networking menu bar icon. Getting this setup is beyond the scope of this documentation, but I am sure there are many tutorials on how to do this available via Google search.

Once you do have the Mac and your device on the same network, you will need to know the IP address of your Mac. You can determine this by opening System Preferences and selecting Network. Then choose Wi-Fi from the list on the left. It will show your IP address at the top right where the status is displayed.

One thing to watch out for is the built-in Mac firewall. If you are having problems making things work, it could be that the firewall is blocking the incoming connections. Since firewalls are a whole topic unto themselves, I do not have space here to go into more detail about this, other than to warn you to check the firewall settings if things are not working correctly.