PeterC65

It might be possible to automate the time lapse capture process using the new planetary live stacking tool in SharpCap. I've created much shorter time lapse videos of Jupiter, just 10 minutes so far, but it's possible to record for longer and capture frames over longer intervals.

As your video shows, its a great way to get real perspective on the rotation of the planet and the moon transits.

Last night was the first properly clear night I've had since the AZ-EQ5 and Explorer 200 arrived and it was worth the wait. I set up for EAA with the 72mm refractor alongside the 8" Newtonian, initially fitted with a x2.4 Barlow as I've been determined to get a good look at Jupiter. The clear night and lack of Moon made all the difference I think. Plus I'd just taken delivery of a 10m active USB 3.0 cable which meant I could sit further away from the slightly ajar patio door, and keep warn.

I started on Jupiter and seem to have finally figured out the right camera settings (gain at the LCG / HCG switching point and a 10+ms exposure). With the camera settings sorted out, SharpCap's new planetary live stacking tool gave me a great view of the planet ...

Just a pity he GRS wasn't on display.

With galaxy season upon us I had a look at some smaller examples, NGC470, NGC520, NGC488, M74, NGC1055, M77, all of which were showing some form even though they are small and faint. The Explorer 200 seems to make quite a difference with this sort of object, even compared with the Explorer 150 which was my biggest scope prior to the mount upgrade.

M1 was looking spectacular, the best I've seen it ...

but then some thin cloud rolled in. I know when this is happening as the sky starts to look noisy and I start thinking I'm doing something wrong.

The highlight of the session was observing Vesta. To be fair, I didn't realise I had seen it until I reviewed the snapshots this afternoon. The solar system data in Stellarium had been out of date and so I was looking in the wrong place, but in the cold light of day Vesta was obviously the big bright "star" that wasn't listed in Stellarium!

I finally managed to get a good image of Jupiter last night with the Explorer 200 and x2.4 Barlow. That gives me F12 which is x4.1 my cameras pixel size, so the recommended method. Previously I'd been using too high a gain and too short an exposure.

Last night I set the gain to x210 which is my cameras LCG / HCG switching point and set the exposure just below the white clipping point at 28ms. I was using a 1000 frame stack and adjusted the fine sharpening and wavelet sharpening controls.

Here is the result ...

It's just a pity it wasn't from the night before when the GRS was on display and two moons were transiting!

6 hours ago, malc-c said:

Risky... Anything 3m and above should be an active cable to ensure signal voltage doesn't drop out

The 5m USB 2.0 cable was fine but slow. I could not get a 5m standard USB 3.0 cable to work, but the active version works fine.

What do you use the Baader zoom for?

When I first started doing EAA I felt like I was peering at objects through a keyhole as the camera field of view was so small, and not adjustable like it is with an eyepiece (by changing the FL). I started trying to align the mount with an eyepiece (and finderscope), but now I start the mount from a well defined home position so it is close to being aligned, then do an alignment with the camera as I can set that to show cross hairs.

After further testing the problem has returned and I still need to 'pipe clean' the communications pathway by first attempting to set the Properties of the SkyWatcher Telescope driver from the ASCOM Device Hub. Looking at Windows Device Manager, it looks like the Prolific driver may have been automatically updated, but in any case, something is changing the state of the driver and stopping it from connecting to SynScan Pro without first carrying out this 'pipe cleaning' step. It only takes a minute to do and is only needed once, after a reboot, so I will just live with it.

On the plus side, I've just received a 10m long active USB 3.0 cable from LINDY which is long enough for me to connect to the mount outside without having to move the laptop and second monitor from their usual spot on office desk. I took a chance and bought a USB 3.0 cable (I had been using a 5m long non-active USB 2.0 cable) and the new cable supports the faster USB 3.0 data rates which should be better for lunar and planetary observing.

Nice! This looks a better specked scope than the other smart scopes, and at F2.2 its ideal for EAA.

The magnification of a Barlow Lens depends on the distance between the Barlow lens and the lowest lens in the eyepiece barrel. So where the Barlow Lens is located with respect to the eyepiece matters. The location of the lowest lens also varies between eyepieces, so the quoted magnification of a Barlow Lens is not generally exact. Some Barlow Lenses are designed for use with particular eyepieces and only then will you get the specified magnification.

Yes, collimation of a Newtonian using a laser collimator is straightforward, providing you only need to adjust the primary mirror and / or make small adjustments to the secondary mirror, as you have done. It gets much harder if you try to make bigger adjustments of the secondary mirror, to centre it under the focuser for example, and to do that you need something like a Cheshire Collimating Eyepiece. Doing what you've done is usually sufficient though, and usually only the primary will need minor adjustment prior to a session (I always check it).

After some more testing this morning, it seems that the correct Prolific driver is v5.2.3.0 which is the one installed by the PL23XX Prolific Driver Installer v4.0.8. This Driver Installer is the current version of the installer downloaded from the Prolific website. Interestingly, it doesn't install the very latest version of the driver itself, which is v5.2.6.0, and instead actually removes this version if it is present.

Fingers crossed this setup will keep working. I'm doing more testing this afternoon.

Well ...

After uninstalling and re-installing various Prolific drivers, I'm now back on v5.2.6.0, which is the latest version and the one I've been using all along, and SynScan Pro is connecting successfully to the mount. I have no idea what I've done to make this work!

40 minutes ago, malc-c said:

This may or may not resolve the issue with the Prolific driver.  I've attached an older driver that worked with a USB to Serial chipset under XP/ Win7 and win10 

PL2303_64bit_Installer.zip 431.24 kB · 0 downloads

Thanks. I'm currently looking at using a different, possibly older, version of this driver. I'm struggling with selecting a particular version in Device Manager though. I can get as far as "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer" but getting the driver on that list seems to need a CAB file.

5 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

Or after a quick google for your issue I found this old thread on SGL which may be worth a look.  It appeared that the driver linked to the serial port was using a previous installed version. When fixed SynScan did open the port on start up.

Thanks for pointing out this other thread. The issue with administrator privileges is something I've seen. It can be overcome by running SynScan Pro from a directory for which it has access. I think it is the Prolific driver that is causing my problem as the thread also mentions. I've tried removing it completely from the laptop and letting Windows find and install it again when I plug in the mount (this was suggested by OVL) but it just installs the same, most recent, version that I've been using all along, and there seems to be no way to select a different version.

5 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

Reading your explanation of the pipe cleaning I think your conclusion that it is resetting (cleaning) is possibly wrong.  In software terms it's more likely that ASCOM starts or loads a process when it searches for a com port and then SynScan app works as that process is already running. If you start SynScan first then it does not see the process or start it itself.

When I say "pipe cleaning" what I mean is that starting the ASCOM software is doing something that is needed to make the communications pathway work, something that SynScan Pro is not doing. I think we are both saying the same thing. I have some mount test software from a guy in Australia and that also does the required "pipe cleaning", whatever it is. He says that his software just polls the COM ports and maybe that is enough to wake them up.

I now have a workable setup, although I do have to pipe clean the communications using the ASCOM Device Hub before I can get SynScan Pro to work.

As things stand ...

• I'm able to connect to the mount using the USB port on the mount head.
• I'm able to connect to and control the mount (in AZ mode) over USB from the SynScan Pro Windows software.
• I can leave the hand controller plugged in to the mount and control it with it at the same time. I think the hand controller may have a different pointing model from SynScan Pro, so I'm just using it for manual slewing.
• Through SynScan Pro, I'm able to connect to and control the mount from SharpCap by using the ASCOM Platform and the SynScan App Driver.
• Through SynScan Pro, I'm able to connect to and control the mount from Stellarium by using the TCP port that is provided by SynScan Pro. The alternative connection method via the ASCOM Platform and the SynScan App Driver was unstable when connected to both SharpCap and Stellarium.

I'm hoping that OVL will get back to me about the need for pipe cleaning before SynScan Pro will work.

28 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Wouldn’t the addition of the virtual port splitter software render this step unnecessary? It splits COM3 into two virtual ports. One for the app and one for the mount.

I'm not sure. I've never used one. I think the one remaining problem is this need to pipe clean which just shouldn't be the case. Hopefully OVL will get back to me with a solution.

I'm almost there now I think. It's just that I need to do this pipe cleaning step which should be unneccessary.

12 hours ago, malc-c said:

Remove the power form the mount and then remove the handset form the equation  Plug in the USB cable to the mount and PC.  Power up the mount and boot the PC.  Check Device Manager to confirm the COM port still remains at 115200 baud.

Yes that's what I've been doing. Device Manager shows COM3 appearing and disappearing as I make and break the USB connection, and the baud rate is set to 115200.

12 hours ago, malc-c said:

When you say "Ascom" are you referring to EQMOD or GSS?

I mean the ASCOM Platform and Drivers. I have two drivers installed, one called SkyWatcher Telescope and the other called SynScan App Driver, both downloaded from the Sky-Watcher website. The first is meant to control the mount via the hand controller, the second via the SynScan app.

When I say the SynScan app, what I mean is the SynScan Pro Windows applications software. This is a Windows version of the tablet app that many people use. So I'm running all of the software on the same laptop.

12 hours ago, malc-c said:

If you don't have these installed then download and install EQMOD.  Once installed open up the TOOLBOX application (from the start menu > all programms > EQMOD > EQASCOM ).  In the window that opens up, under the central set up section click on the Driver Setup.  A new window will appear.  Left hand middle section EQMOD Port Details.  Within that section you can select the port and speed.  Select COM4 and set it to 115200 and click OK.  The window will close, leaving the toolbox window open.  Under the setup section, make sure eqmod.exe is selected, and then click ASCOM connect  button.  This should open EQMOD, connect to the mount and show it as parked.    This confirms that the PC has connection with the mount. You can then unpark the mount, set the slew rate to 4 (dropdown between the RA and DEC sliders, and the clicking on the NSEW buttons should move the mount.  Finally click on the ASCOM disconnect button and then close the Toolbox application.  

Now EQMOD can only be used when the mount is set in an EQ configuration.  But we are only using it here to rule out both the hardware and / or the driver as being the cause of the issue.  If you can connect to the mount without EQMOD constantly cycling with a time out error, then that means the hardware and drivers are fine and working correctly, and the issue is with the Synscan software.

The ASCOM Platform has a simple client called the ASCOM Device Hub which does what I think you are suggesting I do with the EQMOD software (another ASCOM client). In the ASCOM Device Hub I cannot see the COM3 port, or indeed any COM port, and I expect it would be the same with EQMOD (or with GSS).

I have discovered this morning that when I use the mount head USB port, from reboot I cannot connect via the SynScan Pro app, but if I first try to connet via the ASCOM Device Hub (and fail to do so because it cannot see the COM port), then afterwards the SynScan Pro app WILL connect as it should. I've tried this a few times and it is repeatable.

It feels like trying to connect via ASCOM somehow pipe cleans the communications pathway so that SynScan Pro then works.

This does give me a way to do what I need, but with what should be the unnecessary rigmarole of first having to try and fail to connect via ASCOM.

I store my Skymax 127 in a slightly smaller MAX case, the MAX505. It fits in this case with the 9x50 right angled finderscope still attached.

I've installed the latest Prolific driver (4.0.8) from the Prolific website.

For good measure, I've also updated the hand controller firmware to 4.39.21.

When I plug the USB cable in to the hand controller and check Device Manager it shows that COM3 is active and I have set this to 9600 baud.

When I plug the USB cable in to the mount head and check Device Manager is shows that COM4 is active and I have set this to 115200 baud.

So I think I have working USB communications via both USB ports, both set to their correct baud rates.

Via the hand controller USB port I can reliably communicate with the mount via ASCOM with the hand controller in standby. I can also communicate with the mount using the SynScan app with the hand controller in PC Direct mode, PROVIDED that I first connect to it via ASCOM, then disconnect. Try explaining that!

Via the mount USB port I cannot connect with the mount via either ASCOM or with the SynScan app, even though Device Manager says the USB connection is just fine.

As I type, I'm also testing the SynScan app - ASCOM - SharpCap & Stellarium setup and that seems to be stable with the SynScan app in emulation mode. On the rare occasions when I've managed to get the SynScan app to connect to the mount, this combination falls over after a while.

Any ideas?

1 hour ago, ONIKKINEN said:

This was early 2022, and have since put all USB troubles behind me and moved back to an EQMOD cable so im afraid i dont remember all the specifics.

I do remember that once i got it working it could work from both USB plugs, and i was specifically interested in the hand controller route of running the mount so almost entirely went with that. I did download the Synscan ap but only ever really used the mount with NINA using the Skywatcher driver - which i dont think is the same as the ASCOM one. The chipset driver was the missing link and once sorted i could see the COM port in device manager and so any application could communicate with it.

I've checked the websites and the Sky-Watcher site has a 2018 Prolific driver which is the one I have, whereas the one on the Prolific website is dated 2022. I might try updating it.

Do you happen to remember if the mount USB port worked with the hand controller also plugged in? I have been wondering whether it needs to be disconnected.

You said that you now use an EQMOD cable without any problems. Are you using this with the mount in AZ mode? Are you using it with the EQMOD software or with other software?

I have the Prolific driver installed, the one from the Sky-Watcher website. This driver is used to connect to the USB port on the hand controller and with that it works fine.

@ONIKKINEN, have you used the driver from the Prolific website successfully with the hand controller too? It seems unlikely that different drivers would be needed for the mount and for the hand controller. Have you used the mount USB port with the SynScan app? This should only need the Prolific driver and no ASCOM.

@StevieDvd, @malc-c, the issue for me is that the USB port on the mount is not working when I try using it with the exact same setup that does work with the USB port on the hand controller. As usual, there is no proper documentation for any of this. FLO says the mount USB port is only usable in EQ mode, but the mount head doesn't know whether its in EQ or AZ mode so that doesn't make any sense, and others seem to have used the mount USB port when in AZ mode.

I've had a Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 mount for a couple of months now. I mostly operate it in AZ mode, sometimes controlled by the hand controller, sometimes by a laptop. When I control it with the laptop I connect the hand controller to the laptop via USB and use ASCOM. That works reliably, but there is another USB port on the mount head.

Has anyone used this port, and if so, what does it do?

The manual says "The USB port connects to an internal USB-to-Serial device (Baud rate 115200bps). It can be used to control the mount directly from a host PC. It is also used to update the firmware of the motor controller."

When I try to use it with the SynScan App it will not connect.

I have a couple of Geoptik bags for my 6" and 8" Newtonian and they seem pretty good. They do one for a 12" as well, here.

I use Stellarium for GOTO and tracking, not just to see a sky map, and the tablet version of Stellarium is very different and much less functional than the PC version.

I'm not using the latest ASCOM Platform (SP2) as the installer fails on my laptop, so I have the previous version (6.6 SP1). That might just make a difference, but it seems to be adding in Stellarium that causes the ASCOM driver for the SynScan App to stop working.

Too much software!

I managed to get the SynScan Pro app working for long enough to figure out that it does support Pulse Guiding and so dithering via SharpCap. Unfortunately the ASCOM driver for SynScan Pro looses connection with SynScan Pro after a short period, usually a few minutes, when both SharpCap and Stellarium are connected to ASCOM. So unless someone can suggest another way to use Pule Guiding I am giving up with trying dithering.