Table of Contents

Troubleshooting

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First search in the Search Box top right corner of this page. If that doesn't answer your question, ask AI for help. They're suprising helpful (although occasionally wrong).

Before you use one of them, ask it how new its training data is. If, say, it's current only up to 2022 it won't know anything about Seestar. Nevertheless, in general, AI knows a hell of a lot about astronomy and astrophotography.

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Seestar saves videos in MP4 and AVI format but I can't find the AVI files

In solar or lunar video mode you have to tap the RAW button to get AVI files. If you didn't then all you'll have are MP4 videos

Seestar has been in hibernation for three months and now it won't power up except with an external source

Open the battery tray on the bottom, disconnect the internal battery (gently!), which will force a reset. Internal battery should show full charge and should start right up after a long push until two beeps.

Seestar is balanced, but after it centers a target it jumps to the Settings page (currently mislabeled as Log In). What's up with that?

Try connecting directly to your Seestar's built-in WiFi hub (IOW, turn off Station Mode). If that fixes it, the problem was that you were losing WiFi connectivity on your home network. Turn Station Mode back on, and stay close to one of your home WiFi hubs.

Can I change the SSID (name) and password on my S50?

Sure, just don't forget or lose the password. The password has to be at least 8 characters with no spaces.

Can I charge my Seestar while it's on and in use?

Yes. The scope is designed to be used either on battery or plugged in. In fact, if you use a power bank (a cell-phone-size battery pack), the Seestar battery will get charged up until it's full and then it will use the power bank until it is used up and then sgtarft using the onboard battery.

I keep losing the Wi-Fi connection

The problem may simply be that you're too far away from your Seestar, but you probably already thought of that.

If you enabled Station Mode and were able to work with your scope from anywhere you had a good signal from your home Wi-Fi, but now you can't, the problem may be that you actually are connected to the Seestar's Wi-Fi hotspot instead of your home network.

The lens on my Seestar is dirty, How do i clean it?

  1. Don't! Unless it's very dirty, dust on the lens won't hurt anything
  2. If it is very dirty, blow the dust off with an air bulb
  3. Fingerprints can be removed with very gentle use of lens tissue and lens cleaner
  4. If you use a lens brush never clean the brush by rubbing it on your oily finger (yes it is!)



Seestar won't turn on

  1. Hold the on/off button down for two seconds or until you hear two beeps
  2. Plug in power and check battery is charged
  3. The Seestar is cold and wants to go inside (temperture below -10ºC)
  4. I'd have trouble getting turned on if it was that cold, too



How do I turn the Seestar off?

  1. Press the Me button at the bottom of the Home screen. Scroll all the down
  2. There is a Slide to Shut Down button off the screen at the very bottom



Problems connecting VLC?

If you're having trouble connecting VLC to your Seestar's RTSP stream. Here's a troubleshooting guide:

1. Verify Seestar Setup:

Station Mode: Make sure your Seestar is in Station Mode and connected to your Wi-Fi network. This allows for remote access to the RTSP stream.

RTSP Address: Obtain the correct RTSP address from your Seestar's settings. Go to Advanced Features > RTSP Address and click “Get” to retrieve it.

2. VLC Configuration:

Network Streaming: Open VLC and go to Media > Open Network Stream.

RTSP Address: Paste the RTSP address from Seestar into the network URL field.

Play: Click “Play” to start the stream.

3. Network Considerations:

Same Network: Ensure your computer running VLC and the Seestar are on the same Wi-Fi network.

Firewall: Check your firewall settings on your computer and router. You may need to allow VLC to communicate on the network and potentially open port 4554 (the default RTSP port).

4. Additional Tips:

Restart: Try restarting both VLC and your Seestar. It really does work.

VLC Caching: Increase the network caching in VLC's preferences: Preferences > Input / Codecs > Network caching (ms).

Community Help: Check the Cloudy Nights forum for Seestar users for further assistance: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/904991-need-some-help-with-rtsp-on-the-seestar/



Can't find my pictures



Seestar can't find Sun|Moon|DSOs



Tracking in Scenery mode dosn't work



Won't connect to Wi-Fi



Which is better Wi-Fi, 2.8GHz or 5GHz?



Can't use the Internet when using Seestar

  1. Station Mode must be enabled
  2. Go to the Wi-Fi tab on the Seetings page (tap the Me button on Home screen)



Seestar voice is driving me nuts, how do I turn it off?



The Seestar voice is too quiet, how do i turn it up?



Inconcistent tracking



Stars are streaks in corner of images



Meridian flip doesn't work

  1. An alt/az mount like the Seestar's doesn't do that



There's a lot of backlash in my azimuth|altitude axis



When I use Solar Mode I can't get past the solar filter warning

There is a small button at the bottom of the screen labeled Installed & GoTo.

If you seem to be stuck there, quit and restart your Seestar mobile app.

If that doesn't work, shutdown your Seestar using the on/off button, then restart

If that doesn't work, press the Reset button on the bottom of the Seestar

After a firmware update the app freezes

Restart trhe app. If that doesn't work restart your mobile device.

The Wi-Fi connection to the Seestar keeps dropping out

  1. You may be too far away. Max is about feet without Station Mode enabled
  2. Is the battery very low?
  3. - The fancy solar protector you created may be blocking the Wi-Fi signal



How do I enable Station Mode



The Seestar doesn't have a lot of the features that ASIair has

  1. Patience grasshopper. Just remeber that ASIair is for EQ mounts and Seestar is Alt/Az
  2. There is some evidence all the code is already in Seestar but some features have beem disabled, presumably to create a growth path



The Auto Focus won't work. The image stays blurry

  1. The focus is too far from the right spot, use manual focus to get close to the default number



How do I use manual focus?



ZWO's customer support is very slow

  1. Yes



How do I polar align the Seestar?

  1. You don't. It has an alt/az mount that does need to be polar aligned.
  2. A reasonably level Seestar helps it find Sun and Moon
  3. Horizontal Calibration, done automatically when you starting shooting DSOs (Stargazing Mode) will help tracking, so don't turn it off in Settings.



Where do I turn on/off Horizontal Calibration

  1. In settings. Tap the Me button on the Home screen



How do I avoid star streaks?



Can I use external narrowband filters with Seestar?

  1. Yes, if you buy an adapter that plugs into the front opening.
  2. Keep in mind that the UV / IR Cut filter is always in place unless the LP filter is in use



Why does the DSO Mode (Stargazing) skip frames?

  1. The quality algorthym looks for clouds, rapid changes in SNR, wind jiggles, etc., and doesn't add the subframe



What is SNR

SNR is Signal to Noise Ratio. There are seveal sources of noise. Fortunately, stacking images increases signal and noise, but noise increases slower, so the longer you image a target the better the image will be. But there is a definite “dimisnish returns” issue. Beyond about three hours you'll have trouble seeing much difference.

Note that no matter how much you reduce the noise, the 50mm Seestar optics maximum theoretical resolving power in perfect conditions is 2.32 arcseconds. The 5000mm Hale Telescope at Mt.Palomar Observatory Dawes limit is 0,02“. It dosen't just collect more light, it also make it possible to resolve teeny tiny, teeny tiny details

Why can't I take long expsoures such as 60 or 120 seconds



Can I use a wedge to create an equatorial mount?

  1. Yes, or even a ball-head on a tripod if you're careful
  2. But how that will effect the gears in the longrun is unknown



How do I find "What's Fresh" to see what has been added at the latest firmware update?

  1. Tap Me at the bottom of the Home screen, then tap the cogwheel at the top right, then tap About then What's Fresh



Why is the timer on the Home screen stuck?

The time shown is the total time of all the exposures that were good enough to be used for stacking, not clock time. If clouds interfere or wind makes the Seestar wiggle, the exposures will be rejected and the time shown won't increase. If clouds roll in the timer will appear stuck because none of the frames will be saved.