EQMod Direct pc connection EQ6 Pro

[Layor]

Correct. Pins 4&5 to black (0v) pin 6 orange (Tx) pin 9 yellow (Rx) No problem.

Cable correct, voltages correct. Start Stellarium, connect scope, connected. No joy when pressing ctrl +1 or alt

+ 1 (or any other keys come to that! )

Tried ascom 'toolbox' to connect, click on 'register' get small window that says 'success', but on top of that comes two other small windows that both say 'unexpected error, quitting'. I get rid of them both and am left with the 'success' window, which I duly click 'ok'. click on 'Driver setup' check everything is okay and click 'connect'. I either get 'error - timeout' or 'port not available as' I go through the routine for each port from 1 to 10.

It has got to be something stupid I've overlooked or just not done. In a perverse way it's got me hooked

Why, for instance, does the CPC800 work fine when connected to Stellarium using nexremote and yet will not work when trying to use ASCOM where it says the scope is neither recognised or connected. Yet exactly the same settings are in use?

You are not the only one dying to know what the problem is, NC :grin: :grin:

Colin

[Layor]

Tinker, welcome to the club!!!!

Colin

[Tinker1947]

Tinker, welcome to the club!!!!

Colin

Shame its not by invitation only ... i will get some testing done (maybe 32 bit only) sorted out the PC Connected to the Hub Wirelessly but no Internet access, 4 other PC types (laptop, Tablet, Mobile Phone, Wife's Notebook )working fine ended up a Hub reboot, simple cure but not easy when its got other stuff working.

[ncjunk]

Starting to sound more software issue than hardware.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Tapatalk 2

[Layor]

Totally agree. Must be software. Just have to find out where! Still have a gut feeling it could be 64 bit problem. Shame really because I installed the 64 bit thinking it would make for a better computer, and I don't think you can revert to the 32bit after installing the 64bit.

Unless anyone knows any different..........

Colin

[ncjunk]

Totally agree. Must be software. Just have to find out where! Still have a gut feeling it could be 64 bit problem. Shame really because I installed the 64 bit thinking it would make for a better computer, and I don't think you can revert to the 32bit after installing the 64bit.

Unless anyone knows any different..........

Colin

I agree, my gut feeling is 64bit driver problem.

I have just installed eqmod 1.24g and loaded everything and it works fine on windows 7 32 bit, ftdi driver version 2.8.14.0 dated 3/18/2011.

Would be worth checking the system event log under administrator tools and see what errors are logged there.

Sent from my GT-P5110 using Tapatalk 2

[malc-c]

If you open up device manager and look under PORTS it should list all the serial ports available. Removing the RS232-5v cable should identify which COM port reference has been assigned. Once identified and if no exclamation marks are shown against the device then with the mount powered up open up eqmod ascom setup. Make sure the port selected matches that of the port identified above and that both the details for the port in device manager and that set in the ascom set up are set to the same settings (normally baud rate of 9600, non parity and 1 stop bit). Once this has been saved, try connecting to the mount via eqmod toolbox.

There is a lot of info on the EQAscom site or similar to this site I found http://ukastroimaging.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=55743.15

[Layor]

Thanks Neil, I've had a quick check of the event files, yes, there are many that refer to 'toolbox.exe' but it will take a far better computer wiz that me to decipher what is going on!

I think what I may try is, using the old xp drive and see if I can get it to work from there. If I succeed then I'll know it's a 64bit problem for sure.

In fact, thinking about it, why take the drive out of the old machine, why not use it as is. I know it's slow but, hey, who cares as long as it works!

Right, that will be my task for later, right now I have to go to my amateur radio club. So, come tomorrow.......

I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks again, all.

Colin.

[Layor]

Hi Malc,

Yes, I did a double check on the ports, it is definitely COM 10. Yet when I try to start EQMOD I just get a brief flash of the window before it disappears from the screen, only to reappear 10 seconds later before disappearing again. It does this until I shut down and restart the computer.

Software prob???

Colin

[Layor]

Oh, and if, after applying all the settings, I start 'toolbox', I get 'port not available'.

Colin

[malc-c]

Is the eqdirect cable plugged into a hub or straight into the PC?

This is very strange.....hopefully Chris might be able to jump in with some further assistance

[Lonestar70]

Hi All,

I have eqascom/eqmod installed on my window 7x 64bit pro laptop and am also using eqdir to my HEQ5 pro.

Ascom, Eqmod, Eqdir are all installed (by default... by the ascom installer file) as win32 programme files and it uses the 32bit drivers.

I also run all these packages as ADMINISTRATOR... which often helps with such problems.

I was always under the impression that ASCOM et al were 32 bit programmes by default, have yours installed as 64 bit? if so then this could be the problem.

Hope this sheds some possible light.

Best regards.

[Lonestar70]

OOp's...I should have also stated, the whole lot runs just fine on my machine.

Hope you find the problem with yours.

[chrisshillito]

Hi Malc,

Yes, I did a double check on the ports, it is definitely COM 10. Yet when I try to start EQMOD I just get a brief flash of the window before it disappears from the screen, only to reappear 10 seconds later before disappearing again. It does this until I shut down and restart the computer.

Software prob???

Colin

Hi Colin,

Flashing EQMOD windows are usually the result of the client program that is starting EQMOD first asking it to connect and when it fails (due to a comms problem) shutting it down and trying again. CDC does this - the EQMOD toolbox however behaves a little better and leaves EQMOD up and running so you can see the error message.

If you are getting "port not available" rather than "Port not found" or "Timeout" then that would imply that EQMOD found the port on your system but was unable to open it - perhaps because something else has already nabbed it? Of the three errors "Timeout" means your getting closest - as that means EQMOD has found the port, successfully opened it, sent out a message but didn't get a reply.

With regard to the Toolbox throwing up errors when you register - registration involves two steps - registering the driver with the ASCOM platform and registering the driver with windows. It may be that when windows registration is failing due to the toolbox having insufficient rights. As Sandy has said make sure everything that you're attempting to have talk to each other is set to run as administrator .

I note at one point above you mention trying to use stellarium - have you installed stellariumscope? Stellarium by itself doesn't support ASCOM at all. You need stellariumscope to provide a link any ASCOM driver use.

Chris.

Chris.

[Layor]

Hi All,

Just finished in the garden had a shower and read all the recent posts.

Will now go and try the sugestions!

Yes, I have installed 'Stellariumscope', can't remember what was happening to it though. I'll have a run through in a while and post back.

Cheers, Colin.

[Layor]

Okay, I have uninstalled everything telescope related, Ascom, EQMod, Stellarium, Stellariumscope, and anything else I could think of!

I've cleaned the registry of any leftovers and re-booted. So now I should have a clean machine.

The EQ6 is connected directly to the computer via the RS232 socket and the TTL 232R 5v. There is 5v on each of pins 6 and 9, they are connected up the right way.

Would someone like to tell me which programs, versions, etc, to install and if necessary, what order to install them in? Perhaps then, with no other programs to conflict with them I might be able to get things working.

Hi All,

I have eqascom/eqmod installed on my window 7x 64bit pro laptop and am also using eqdir to my HEQ5 pro.

Ascom, Eqmod, Eqdir are all installed (by default... by the ascom installer file) as win32 programme files and it uses the 32bit drivers.

I also run all these packages as ADMINISTRATOR... which often helps with such problems.

I was always under the impression that ASCOM et al were 32 bit programmes by default, have yours installed as 64 bit? if so then this could be the problem.

Hope this sheds some possible light.

Best regards.

Sandy,

I watched ascom as it intalled and it appears to load 32 and 64 bit files.

I also tried installing some of the older versions of Stellarium and Stellariomscope just in case, but still no go!

Colin

[chrisshillito]

Colin,

If you go to the shoestring astronomy store website you will find a standalone diagnostic program called eqdircheck. You can use this to verify direct coonection to the mount without requiring ASCOM or any thing else. If you're cable doesn't work with eqdircheck then the fault can only lie with the driver or the cable.

Chris.

[Layor]

Chris,

I may have found the problem.

I've just connected the hand controller but get no response. The H.C. comes up with 'No connection to MC. which, I presume means mount control.

There is obviously something gone short or open circuit in the mount. Is there a circuit diagram of the mount?

Colin

[chrisshillito]

No circuit diagram I know of. The 12V RX and TX lines have all have inductors in series these have been known to act as a 'fuse's so you may be lucky. Take a look at the board and see if anything looks damaged. Unfortunately there isn't much in the way of protection - after the inductors the TX/RX lines go straight to the PIC microprocessor pins.

Chris.

[Layor]

Oh, *!%**,

Okay, I'm not going to start on it now, so I'll have a good nights sleep and start afresh in the morning.

Thanks for your help Chris.

I'll let you know how it goes, if at all

Cheers, Colin

[Layor]

P.S.

As a point of interest. I connected the TTL232R to the computer and the yellow wire was only showing millivolts, the orange was 5v, but I checked the othe wires and the green was showing 5v. I cannot open the USB as it appears to be a one-piece unit. Otherwise I'd check the connections.

[malc-c]

Chris,

I may have found the problem.

I've just connected the hand controller but get no response. The H.C. comes up with 'No connection to MC. which, I presume means mount control.

There is obviously something gone short or open circuit in the mount. Is there a circuit diagram of the mount?

Colin

Oh Rubbish that don;t sound too good. If I follow Chris's post correctly the comms are controlled directly via the built in RS 232 UART on the PIC micro, rather than via a MAX232 chip. If that's the case then you could be looking at a new control board or if the HEX code is readable and the PIC is otherwise undamaged it might be possible to burn the code to a new PIC and replace that. I'll let Chris advise on that possibility as I don't know what PIC the EQ6 uses, or if the HEX code is readable or available for download. If the PIC is in a DIL package and either a 12F, 16F or 18F family (5v not the 3.3v variant) , and the code is available I have the ability to program it via my EasyPIC development board.

Colin, let us know what you find. Chris care to advise on the PIC and HEX option

[malc-c]

LOL - love the way the forum now replaces a non acceptable word ( alternative 4 letter word for poo) with rubbish.

[chrisshillito]

Oh Rubbish that don;t sound too good. If I follow Chris's post correctly the comms are controlled directly via the built in RS 232 UART on the PIC micro, rather than via a MAX232 chip. If that's the case then you could be looking at a new control board or if the HEX code is readable and the PIC is otherwise undamaged it might be possible to burn the code to a new PIC and replace that. I'll let Chris advise on that possibility as I don't know what PIC the EQ6 uses, or if the HEX code is readable or available for download. If the PIC is in a DIL package and either a 12F, 16F or 18F family (5v not the 3.3v variant) , and the code is available I have the ability to program it via my EasyPIC development board.

Colin, let us know what you find. Chris care to advise on the PIC and HEX option

That's correct - the RX/TX lines just go straight to the two PICS (one for each axis) Both PICs receive the data only the one that the protocol message addresses responds. There is no buffering on the comms lines at all - its just 5v CMOS which is why I warn folks about their plans to extend handcontroller leads (they don't listen though!).

My own mount is an old one and uses PIC16F73 (I think). For the latest revision boards the sywatchersite does have a firwmware download available so they must have added a bootloader. Not sure about availability of hex files but there is a guy on the EQMOD and EQ6 yahoo groups - Jeff Machesky, who I believe has upgraded his old board to a new one by fitting new pics and has stepped through the code.

Chris.

[malc-c]

Cheers Chris,

It's a shame they didn't use a MAX chip to bring the 5v TTL lines up to normal RS232 - at least that would provide some protection. The 16F73 is supported by my board (again provided it's a DIL package). If the firmware is for the board then I'm assuming that it would be a complete HEX file as it would upload the code sequentially from the base of the memory map ? If so I'll do some investigation. Do you know if the control board in the HEQ5 is the same as the EQ6 ?