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jaygpoo

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Everything posted by jaygpoo

  1. Thank you for your reply but I still dont understand how the celestron hand set can control the focuser. It has a focuser section . Are you saying that without the usb connected to something the unit will not operate. So I have the laptop on and SGP open. The focuser is selected and I can control the focuser but its almost impossible to look in the eye piece and contol the focuser on the laptop at the same time. Hence the reason I want to use the handset.
  2. I need some help please. I have a celestron 9.25 on a NEQ6 mount and I control it by SGP through a laptop . Now I want to start using the scope to image the moon but the issue is the focuser. If I use sharpcap I can not control the focuser to get focus unless I use sgp on the laptop. I have an evolution mount an I am told I can use the hand set to control the focuser. If the focuser is powered and I plug in the handset it does not power on? so just how are you supposed to use the focuser with the handset if you do not have a celestron mount. I do not want to use the evolution as it only made for 8" scopes.
  3. Help needed after the worst night in my astronomy journey. I have invested in a new microsoft surface laptop and just got a new zw 294mm camera. Over the last few weeks I have installed all software needed and lastest drives. Also latest ascom platform. The other night I used the laptop to connect to the new camera and do my dark library. Last night for the first time I connected via a long usb3 cable that I always use to the pier and scope. So far so good. Now the bad bit. I can connect to the camera. I can connect to the focuser and the FW and the guide cam all down the cable that enters the laptop via a usbc port but Eqmod can not find a com port ????? . In the devices section no com ports show. So how can Eqmod work? I find that you can install com ports but how do you activate them. Now in frustration I get my old laptop out and fire up. My old ZW1600 worked on it and to my horror . The eqmod connected as did the other bits but NO CAMERA!!!!. I down load the latest drivers but still no joy. The only camera it sees it the zw120 guide cam. I disconnect it and restart the laptop. STill no zw294mm!!!. At 2am I sit there with 2 laptops. One that can not find my mount and the other that can not find the camera 🤬🤬🤬🤬
  4. Hi all out there. Has anyone got a celestron 9.25 and a celestron auto focus unit fitted. Also running SGP software. I have just fitted mine but up to now have not succeeded in getting sgp auto focus to run. There is obviously alot of back lash in the scope due to the mirror and that has a big effect on the auto focus settings. If you run one with SGP could you please pass on your back lash setting number and your focus step size number as that would help a great deal in getting me back on track. Gratefull to all in advance. jay
  5. Hi to you out there. I have a celestron 9.25 scope and a matched reducer. However I am confused by the back space for the reducer. If you google it you are informed that the distance is 104mm . Look further and I read an article from an informed source that its 85mm? SO JUST WHAT IS IT? as at times my images look like I an staring down a tunnel. Jay
  6. Ok I own up. After much changing of cables and usb leads FLO suggested that most asiair issues come down to power. I found the cable feeding the mount had a break in it which was making and breaking as I moved it about and when the mount moved. New stronger cable made and problem ceased . Thanks for you input but sorry I was so dumb.
  7. No nothing happens and yes I have used all the usb ports too. Power supply bang on too. Will investigate youtube group. Thanks.
  8. I am using an ipad to control the asiair. So yesterday I unpluged all power cables and usb's from the asiair and started from scratch. I plugged in the unit power supply an switched on.Then pluged in the mount eqmod cable. Then the camera bits. Connected to the ipad. All was working. I sent it to a target and the mount responded. No platesolving as it was daylight. I manuallymoved the mount an it all worked and the parked. I repeated this serveral times and no problem. Night time arrived and I switched on. It went to M97 amd centered and I started imaging. a while later the clouds rolled in so I decided to pack up[ and park the scope. OH DEAR no. No mount control at all and back to square one. I have no idea what is going on. The old asiair never gave me this trouble an I used the same eqmod cable.
  9. I can do but is this against the whole reason I brought it to be wifi and not cabled?
  10. I am going mad at present after recieving my ASIAIR PRO. Lovely unit but hell it has a mind of its own. I am using a eq5 mount with an eqmod cable. This cable was used to connect it to my laptop so I am guessing that the cable chip chose a com port and that was that. When I connected it to the asiair I am again guessing that as a new connection to the asiair it assigned a com port and all was working as it should. Then I reconnected the eqmod cable back to my laptop and it could not find the mount? A computor buff suggested that I look at devises / comports and see where t was connected. The comport was noted / I entered it in eqmod toolbox and I was connected and all worked. Now later I use the asiair again an need the only eqmod cable I have but the com port is now changed and the asiair connected to start with but after going to a target it would not park. Sometimes it work all as it should and then I lose control of the mount and it may move to the target but it looks like it is still moving slowly as the 10 sec image has massive star trails. DO INEED TO BUY another eqmod cable solely for the asiair as I have no way of assigning the com port like in the laptop?
  11. Thanks for replies but the eqmod cable I am using is the correct one for the eq5 mount and I was using it prior to this issue. The cable finds a com port and uses it all the time which ever port you put it in. So if I was in the asiair control box is that different from my laptop and the chip has got confused (like me)
  12. I have an EQ5 goto and its been working with eqmod on my laptop with windows 10 fine. I brought an asiair last year and swapped between that and a cable using different scopes and all has been fine. Now I take my portable setuo to Haw Wood Farm star week and using the asiair the mount was fine. THEN I swapped the scope and used a eqmod cablle to my laptop an to my horror it would not connect. SO if the asiair is controlling the mount using the same eqmod cable from the control box to the asiair and then I remove the cable from the asiair and put it in the laptop why is it that all of a sudden the laptop can not find it/ The devices section in windows shows the cable connected and says its working? The handset works the mount but if I use an old serial cable from the handset to the laptop in pc mode that does not connect either. I have tried a new eqmod cable but no joy. I am at a loss as I want to use sgp. ANY IDEAS OUT THERE??????
  13. Hi, I have a celestron 9.25 scope and a 6.3 reducer . Using my ZWO1600mm with a ZWO OAG what is the back space required as I can not get the OAG in focus an I have shadows on the corners of my images using the suggested distance of 105mm jay
  14. Hi gang out there. I have brought a S/H eq5 mount and connected to it using a synscan wifi dongle. It worked fine for over 2 weeks. Then with out warning the mount would start moving and the after it had stopped and I asked it to park or move else where it stopped and went no futher. If I use the up down left right commarns on the app it moves but nothimg else works. So having had enough of that I brought a lynx cable from FLO and thought that was the end of my troubles. NO , it connected the first time and then while I was waiting for the dark sky it disconnected and after that refused to connect again. All I get is it can not find it. It is using com port 5 and no matter which usb I use it is still com5 so the cable is working as it shold.. In hard ware device the com port and driver are working. I have the lastest driver. Now here is the silly bit. If I open eqmod and select com port 5 rather than letting it look for it. Then click ok and open ascom the window opens as it should and I am connected. So why cant if find the mount iis it say all is ok. Why did it disconnect. Its driving me mad. PS has anyone had wifi issuse with the synscan app?
  15. running on windows xp on one laptop an windows 10 on another both have same issue
  16. Hi gang. I have just brought a eq5 goto mount an have a wifi dongle that I want to use. I have downloaded the app and ascom driver to my laptop and the app works as it should. However when I connect it to SGP it connects and all seems ok but when you select a target an click slew to nothing happens. Unpark in SGP and try again it may work? Sometimes it slews and if you do slew to a target and then want to move to a new target it refuses. You can always press park in SGP and it works so have any of you got a dongle and had similar problems. I so want to use it through SGP as I plate solve and recentre quite a lot..
  17. Sorry for the delay in responding to your helpful replies. I did what Alan showed and on my Beelink it suddenly went searching for a driver which it appeared to find and bingo. I think I did not download the serial driver??? . Anyway I now have it working as it should but have missed the clear weather and now we have snow etc. It must get better so will be hoping to get down to some imaging soon. Jay
  18. Good reply but I am not that computor good so assigning ports is not a strong point. I am using the latest FTDI cable from FLO. The beelink looks to be a good machine so disappointed with the linkup so far but I am sure I will get there if my frustration holds out. Jay
  19. I have shut it all down but will address it again when I calm down??? thanks fpor replies and I will check port and driver versions
  20. HELP, I have no hair left to pull out. I have been trying for weeks to get my pier connected to my laptop by a single cable. I have brought a mini beelink pc and downloaded all software needed. I have downloaded ascom platform/ ascom telescope driver and eqmod. I have a NEQ6 mount with the latest eqmod cable. All this works on my laptop BUT will it work on the Mini pc OF COURSE NOT. EQMOD will not connect to the mount. I have tried different cables and the hand control but still no good. I have reinstalled ascom etc again and used different usb ports but no. Now my laptop is having trouble finding the mount and the download speed of images is shocking. When you try to do a loop to focus the image does not change as you adjust you just sit waiting.. Any ideas as to what is going on would help. Up to know I have never had any problem with eqmod on the laptop and downloads have been fine. I have set up a pc from scratch more than once and had no problems before so I remain baffled as to what I have done wrong??? The Mini pc is connected to the laptop by cat6 cable and running teamviewer on a lan line.
  21. Hi , hope you are well and doing some astronomy. I am out with my gear for the first proper session since the star weekend. I have been playing with the skysafari pro and thought I was ready for go. How wrong can you be. So I need a little help if you can spare me 5 mins. I polar aligned my mount using eqmod and then put the mount in park. I then attached the skyfi and connected. So far so good. Now the skifi shows the scope below the horizon not where it reallly is. When I ask it to go to to a star its Miles out and says the scope is to far away from the intended object. if I follow the instructions for aligning the scope to safari I get no where. Then I find that if I unlock the scope and place the scope on a star. Then align in EP and press align it works. Could you just tell me your method from polar alignment to safari alignment. Other than that its very nice but I need to know that DSO are where the scope is pointing.  Jay

    1. cjdawson

      cjdawson

      Hi Jay.  That sounds really strange to me.   I might hazard one guess.  In my SkySafari settings, I have it update my Autostar location and date and time.  Bascially when I turn on the scope, I set to the home position, then turn on the scope.  Cancel the initial alignment (as this asks for the date and time).  Next I connect SkySafari which sets both the date&time and the location.  After this is done, I do a normal alignment with the scope.  This then applies the alignment correction to the autostar and everything sync's up properly.

       

      I don't really do anything special to make it other than making sure that SkySafari supplies the location date and time.  I'm sure that I could even do that manually as well and it would still work, but I'm lazy and want to type in at little as possible. ;-)   Just a silly thought, here... my SkyFi connects to my hand controller, I've just looked up what EQMOD is and isn't that a hand controller replacement?  Why not have SkySafari connect to EQMOD as though it's a hand controller?  I have no idea how to do this, but when it's controlling the scope, all that mine is doing is communicating with the handbox.  You connect SkySafari to your EQMOD in the same way that you would with programs like Stellarium or Starry Night Pro.

    2. jaygpoo

      jaygpoo

      Hi and thanks for your time and energy in replying to me. I have it sorted. I setup and polar align. Then star align and at that point I connect to skyfi and safari. The software is now located on my last star and the rest is fun. I have an NEQ6 pro mount. DO you have the same? I should remember but it was dark. The safari software will only star align on a few mount setups and the NEQ6 is not one of them. Ah I have just remembered that you have that autostar setup that I could not see with my eyesight.  Thanks and keep in touch. Will be going to Kelling Heath next week on friday night so hope the clouds have a holiday. Jay

    3. cjdawson

      cjdawson

      Hi Jay.   Glad you figured it out.  Yep. I've got a Meade LX-90 which uses the Autostar #497.  Sounds like the set up sequence for you is roughly the same as for my scope.   Have fun at Kelling Heath.

  22. Hi, I am the guy the you showed your gear to in the dark. I have downloaded the new version of sky safari 5pro but it seems a little hard to look at first time. I have adjusted various things like star names and amounts. Removed the milky way and the anything else that the screen does not need but could I trouble you for just a few of the settings that you have settled on. Horizon & sky/ appearance & behavior/ solar system . Hope you had a good weekend and trip home and many thanks for the equipment tour that may costs me as a result but it was fun and eye opening.  Jay 

    1. cjdawson

      cjdawson

      Hiya

      I've attached the settings that I use on my copy of Sky Safari Pro 5.  I've not tried this before, so it's a bit of an experiment.  You should be able to load the file on your iPad and will do the setting for you.  Failing that, try copying the file to iCloud drive.  There should be a Sky Safari Pro folder, put it in there and it'll sync with your iPad.

      If you can't get it to work, I can always take photos of all the settings post them,  I can't do that until friday (I'm a busy bee :))

      Current Settings.skyset

    2. jaygpoo

      jaygpoo

      Hi, I put my ipad online and opened SGL. I clicked your link and by magic the screen requested that I open sky safari and your settings were installed. HOW DID YOU DO THAT??? Some times its all over my head. Many thanks it looks better and I can now see the difference a few tweeks can make. Skyfi on its way.  Jay

    3. cjdawson

      cjdawson

      Hiya.  In Sky safari there is an option to save the settings.  The file that I posted above was output from Sky Safari. :)  Glad it's working.  I love my skyFi, makes finding stuff so much easier than with the handbox alone, or with a program on a laptop that's away from the scope.

  23. jaygpoo

    pleides

    From the album: Deep space oblects

  24. jaygpoo

    Ursa major

    From the album: Deep space oblects

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