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USB EQDir for under £4


12dstring

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In the olden days after the demise of valves and trannies - a minutes silence - I seem to recollect that TTL was initially 5V. It became 3.3V for speed/quicker pulse rise times but within a pcb or within a system. I cannot recall 3.3V being used for transmission along external cables and this was left to RS232C +/-12.5V or meaty 5v drivers.

But then, that was a long time ago and perhaps too long for an original nerd.:)

Hi Dave. Just to say, your web site is but a key away and was instrumental in the mod of my 350D. Look forward to future posts.

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  • 2 weeks later...

That setup will allow you to autoguide the mount, but you won't have any GOTO capabilities. Those motors are only for tracking and slow movements.

You'll need the Synscan motor upgrade kit if you want to use EQMOD and be able to point the telescope with a computer.

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  • 3 months later...

Resurrecting this old thread as my EQDir USB adapter has stopped working and I'd rather not pay another £25 for a new one. Will the following be suitable if I connect it to the 9-pin D plug from the EQDir adapter ? (this is for an EQ6) ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FTDI-TTL232R-PCB-USB-to-RS232-5v-3-3v-convertor-/130720322700?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item1e6f89d48c#ht_500wt_1413

Thanks.

Neil.

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Thanks for the confirmation. I was going to set it at 5v having read the other posts in this thread that suggest that using a 3.3v level may not be reliable. The thing that worried me was that there was a lot of discussion concerning modding a 3.3v device to be 5v when there of lots of 5v devices already available. I couldn'd understand why you would bother doing the mod unless I was missing something - I don't want to damage my mount.

As an aside, the reason my eqdir module has stopped working is because I had it connected to a powered USB hub. I then inadvertently connected a 12v supply to the hub. This didn't break the hub but since then the eqdir module hasn't worked.

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk 2

Edited by pilkinn
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  • 3 weeks later...

With R1 in place it is 5v, with R2 in place its 3.3v, this one looks like its the 5v setting, but easily changed.

You could get this one with a moulded lead attached for you, next day delivery too.

Don't get it from these rip off merchants

I've got an EQ5 mount with the Synscan upgrade and Handset. If I bought one of the leads above, I guess I would just need to attach an RJ45 to the end of it and wire it up like the drawing in the first post? But the lead in the link as a 7th wire, "Shield", where should this get connected to?

2.jpg

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I am a bit lost in all this but is this cable to take the place of the HitecAstro cable? I am not one for soldering resistors an suchlike but I do put cables together and am interested in putting this together but just in a simple form without any extras. So is it a case of cutting two cables and stitching them together in the order in the first photographs, I have an NEQ6 Pro so will be different.

Jim

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Hi danielbb, thanks for that reply, now if someone could elaborate, what does this cable do that I cannot already do using EQdir from my computer. As said I have a NEQ6 Pro and it has a serial plug, has this mount already got this cable attached already?

Jim

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Jim

Yes, this mod replaces the serial EQDIR module and allows a direct USB connection to the HEQ5.

In the first post, there is a link to the pin-out for the EQ6 (http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/eqdirect_232.png - look at the 'To EQ6 mount bit')

Am interested in this myself as I have an EQDIR and a USB-SERIAL in my train, and this would simply things....

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With that in mind, could someone clearly list the best lead to use please? I have no idea what the TTL and FTDI thingies mean.....!!

I only need a short lead as my USB hub is on the side of the mount.

Ta

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It works!

I have an EQ5 mount with the Synscan EQ5 upgrade. I bought the cable posted above by Auntystaic, crimped an RJ45 cable onto the end (got the RX & TX mixed up first time round) and went through the EQMOD quickstart guide.

I've now got it connecting and controlling through Stellarium, happy days!

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I just want to check before I blow the mount up ....

If I get the 5v FTDI lead as posted above, I just need to wire the cable to the right pins on the serial d-type for my EQ6. I DON'T need to do the extra bits with the transistor/resistor - that was only to bring the 3.3v to 5v

Thx

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  • 1 month later...

I have tried to make USB EQDIR, according to your post, and failed. The PCB is exactly as yours - PL2303HX Rev.A. I connect the wires exactly as you, but every time i connect my EQ5 Pro to the laptop (Win XP with the latest Prolific driver) a message is popup - "Port Not Available"!

Where did i got wrong?! Help please...

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