tried to connect SMP to mount

I was thinking I could not test Stellarium Mobile Plus (SMP) with driving a mount...

No modern wifi mount. No wifi dongle. No standard mount.

Then a little light bulb went off somewhere... I think it was when I was reading the online help for SMP and saw something about control through a network. Wait. What?

StellariumScope.

On the laptop.

With a Bluetooth connection between the phone and the laptop!

Crazy.

9:40. Wired up and started the Vixen Super Polaris supercharged with the IDEA GoToStar system (still sitting beside my workstation). One-star aligned with Aldebaran, as usual.

Uninstalled 64-bit Stellarium 0.21.0 while downloading 32-bit. Along the way, added a bookmark into the bookmark bar.

(Huh, the 21 uninstaller didn't ask about "keeping files" or not.)

Paired the phone and computer.

9:45. Installed Stell v21-32b.

The installer said it found a Stellarium folder. Uh huh.

9:49. Launched Stellarium.

Will it have previous settings, I wondered... Yep. All the active buttons and plug-ins. Star catalogue 5 loaded. But nothing in the mount profiles list.

Loaner USB at COM4.

Made a (an ASCOM) profile for the Vixen-IDEA rig. Connected.

9:56. Good slew to Betelgeuse.

OK. Stage 1 done...

10:00. StellariumScope running and configured with ASCOM.

First attempt in SMP.

Instruments menu. Turned on Telescope toggle... 

Oops.

It's trying to go through the Network but the IP host is wrong. Fixed that.

10:02. Attempt 2.

No luck. I saw a "probing" message with references to NexStar and LX200 but I think that's like "direct" support on the full app.

10:04. Trying Bluetooth.

Nothing on the device scan. Sheesh.

Phone doesn't seem to want to connect to the computer...

10:10. Initiated the Pair new device on the phone again. It saw (again) the laptop. Saw the common key. And Windows show it as paired (again).

10:14. Sent a file from the laptop to the phone successfully...

10:17. But I can't seem to send a file from the phone...

Went to Receive Files on Windoze. Working now.

10:20. Laptop appeared now in phone.

But then message Connected to service failed (5/5) appeared and it disconnected.

Guess I should read the manual... 

10:37. Found a Starry Night BlueStar Telescope adapter (with the NexStar cable)...

10:46. Tested with Stellarium 0.18.0 on desktop via laptop via StellariumScope work (as before).

Reset the BlueStar and paired with phone.

11:00. Cycled thru 5 times but then disconnect. I think it's looking for connected hand controller...

11:02. Plugged the BT adapter into the GoToStar. Triggered the connect on the phone. The red LED went out on the BT device. Something happening. Phone went to through the device types...

Nope.

Dang, I thought the GoToStar hand controller might answer to LX200 commands...

11:11. Tried the Intelliscope cable with the BlueStar. Nope.

Back to the network solution...

Maybe I can try one of those LX200 drivers that... kinda worked.

Activated AdvancedLX200 ASCOM driver in StellariumScope. Nope.

Oh. Tried again and watched the Staples USB-serial adapter. Lots of activity!

And the AdvancedLX driver causes all sorts of other issues...

11:35. Tried everything I can think of.

Hmm. I have an OTG cable...

§

Well. At least I got newest Stellarium correctly installed.

I keep thinking though, why is the network method looking for a type of mount? My impression from the support text is that it will just work through the network. I dunno.