steppenwolf

Have you placed the nylon washer on top of the top half of the tube ring directly underneath the hand bolt or is it sandwiched between the two halves of the ring? It should not be sandwiched between the two halves.

I haven't tried it yet - with clear skies at such a premium at the moment, I'm trying to finish existing projects but it's great to have this region brought to my attention for the second time.

This is a very nice mosaic, Barry - so much going on and well worth the effort you've put into it.

Thanks for the confirmation, William.

OK, so this isn't a USB to RS232 adaptor with screw terminals then? I don't know enough about the difference in protocol between RS 232 and RS 485 only that the latter can be used over a greater length - be careful not to add another variable! It just clouded over, the dome has closed so I'm off back to bed!

I can't think of any reason why not.

..... and an independent confirmation - note the warning in red:-

Bingo, I've got it! Again, the 9 pin end is not relevant as we would be using a USB to serial adaptor.

Please scrub that quote from Sitech above, the Sitech II Controller clearly has a 4 pin RS232 Connector - we need the pinouts for that. The lead you have shown doesn't match I'm afraid, Tom:-

That's a great pity that the problem continues with the total change of USB port. I agree - I was thinking that we would use a different port to 'A' for this but your test above pretty much rules that out......... This RS232 lead will require a special connection at the Sitech end, to quote:- SERIAL PORT CONNECTION: The serial port is an 8 position modular jack. Please do not confuse this connector with the motor connectors. It is adjacent to the power connector/terminal block, and on the opposite end of the controller from the motor connectors. Even if you don't intend to use a computer to control your telescope, you will need a serial cable to configure the unit. Pin 3 of a laptop or PC is the transmit signal and pin 3 of the controller is the receive signal, so the cable can be wired, pin 2 to pin 2, pin 3 to pin 3, and pin 5 to pin 5. It is a good idea to jumper pins 1,4 and 6 together, and jumper pins 7 and 8 together (at the 9 pin female connector) in case special software uses the handshaking on the PC serial port. See appendix D for a wiring diagram. If you would like to connect two or more Dual Servo Controllers on the same RS232 communication bus, simply make up a cable as described above, but parallel another 8 position modular jack in parallel with the existing jack. This will require some soldering. This cable can also be ordered from Sidereal Technology (or it's representatives). Also you will have to “give” the second controller another address. This is described later in the manual. Note: Mel Bartels Scope II software or Sidereal Technology's ASCOM driver and ServoConfig software do not use hardware handshaking, but if you create special software for the controller, you may have to install the jumpers in the 9 pin female connector listed above. I can't even be sure that this description pertains exactly to the Sitech II controller but it does have a modular jack. References to '9 Pin' female connector should be ignored as, of course, the Eagle does not have an actual RS232 socket, hence the need for a USB to serial adaptor. I hope Olly doesn't read this:- what we really need is for Olly to install the Sitech software on his laptop PC and connect it to your mount so that we can for now take the Eagle out of the equation to simply confirm that the mount is working OK. However, that is a big ask as Olly is a self-confessed non-computer kinda guy!

I have been having a useful discussion with William (Oddsocks) about this issue and he has suggested an interesting test. You could try using a third party FTDI USB/Serial converter plugged into the RS232 port on the Sitech, thus taking one part out of the equation. This would still leave you connected to a USB port on the Eagle but it could prove useful as the data rate would be reduced making the system more 'noise' resilient. Further, it was suggested that an external powered USB hub could be used as an alternative to give a potentially stronger comms signal with the normal connection. Sorry, Tom, just kicking ideas around in the hope that something get the mount to act normally at a low level.

I have potential good news on this. I have done some research and it could be that the 'low voltage' is not an issue here as this extract from a SiTech manual indicates:- POWER: The controller has a power connector/terminal block. Please provide a regulated supply or battery, 4 amp minimum (if full torque is needed) 12 to 24 volt D.C. Supply. A 7 amp hour Gel Cell battery is the best portable way to power the unit. This should last 2 or 3 observing nights before recharging is necessary, if you have a low friction, balanced telescope. Please observe polarity. The internal protection diode is not wired in series with the power lead as is typical, because the extra .6 volts is crucial to operation of the servo when running at 12 volts. It is wired in parallel, after the fuse. If you hook the power up backwards, you will surely blow the fuse, and possibly damage other components. Please don't be the second person to test this!!!!

Funnily enough, we did discuss power as I felt that the 12.4v from the Eagle was on the low side.

We're not beaten yet but, Olly, this is my own solution too - I even run Windows XP!!! It is rather sad to learn that issues with 'scope-top computers' appear to be commonplace.

Sadly, this was a long-shot but the first thing the manufacturers advise is to use the latest drivers so it was worth a go and it was a potential quick option. We are still stuck with the patchy comms issue and I really feel that until this is resolved there is little point in moving further up the control chain - sadly we don't currently have a reliable 'basic mount' but we'll get there! Let me know how the USB swap goes, Tom.

That would be ideal as I need to help you get the mount just working reliably as just a basic mount before we use it on the sky and I am not sure that it is doing that yet! I'm sure we will both have something to offer here and when we (hopefully) get to the integration with SG Pro stage, it'll be over to you as I only know how to use it for the dome control! Hear from you soon, Tom.

Hi Tom, I am available all day, just give me a call.

Always a good start!

Thanks, Olly and the same to you and Monique - we are an hour behind you, what is 2019 looking like?

Hi Olly, TeamViewer is pretty solid - any issues are normally down to the Internet link (not a problem at your place I suspect) or one of the PCs and the Eagle doesn't seem that stable?

I agree, if you have faulty CalStar Inits in place, the system will respond to them - CalStar Inits should only be saved after a successful alignment (visual or by plate solve) carried out while the mount is tracking correctly otherwise they are meaningless!

How far to the north is it moving Tom? If you did an Offset Init followed by a re-slew then, of course, it could easily move north to make the correction but it shouldn't just do this automatically.

Absolutely! Not heard any more - I think he's still down the pub ?

This is going to sound a little pedantic but it is important to understand the differences between 'CalStar Inits' and 'Offset Inits' especially when you progress to using a sky model as I do - the Offset Init is not 'persisting' in the true sense of the word because it is transient and its data is lost at switch off of the mount, whereas CalStar Inits are recorded and re-loaded from a data file at start-up. However, because you have parked your mount while the offset was in play, the offset is 'remembered' by the mechanical position of the parked mount. If you are not going to ever use a sky model then this is a moot point unless the mount's Park position is disturbed between sessions. I hope that makes sense! ?

I need to warn you of my bias here as I am a very happy owner of an Esprit 150. As you already know, Es Reid rates these very highly and so he should, they are truly excellent instruments! I can't see much advantage in going for the TAK 130 from an aperture point of view and if you are going to invest in this way, increased aperture should be part of the equation. The Tec 140 is excellent and the increase in aperture would be worthwhile but with the Esprit's proven pedigree, why not go for the 150 aperture? The mount becomes very significant here and if you go for a larger telescope like any of those you mention, the EQ6 would be the mount of choice unless you want to invest in something much more expensive. I envy you being in this wonderful position and luckily, you have plenty of time to make the right, informed choice - good luck!