Connection Issues with Meade ETX-125 and Stellarium

[jestroem]

Greetings all,

Over the last few days I have been struggling with a particular issue related to connecting my Meade ETX-125 to Stellarium and having it function.

My telescope has been sitting idle for a few years, due an addition to the familiy, but it seems I will once again have enough time to bring it out of  its temporary retirement.

In my excitement to be back on the gazing track I decided to try using my telescope in combination with Stellarium as I have heard great things about how intuitive this software can be.  It is important to mention that I know very little about telescopes and stellar navigation in general which was why I purchased a "Go-To" telescope to begin with.  My ability to navigate the sky without technology is, unfortunately, quite terrible - something I hope to improve in the future.

So my situation is as follows:

1) I have a Windows 7 Professional PC 64bit on which I have Stellarium installed (version 0.12.4).

2) My Meade ETX 125 (running #497 Autostar) is connected to the PC using a compatible serial cable adapter via the Meade #505 cable connector set that came with the telescope - Connected via the hand controller on the telescope.

3) The COM port has been verified as being COM3 (which I entered into the Stellarium telescope configuration window).

4) Before connecting the the telescope to the PC I made sure that it is aligned.

5) When I click "Start" status on the Stellarium elescope configuration window shows that it is connected but it does not appear on screen (crosshairs), not am I able to slew it.

I tried setting up the telescope using all three Meade drivers in Stellarium but ended up with the same result. Drivers tried: Meade AutoStar compatible, Meade ETX70 (#494 Autostar, #506 CCS), and Meade LX200 (Compatible).

Oddly enough it appears I can turn off the telescope and just leave the serial cable connected to the computer and still get the same result.  I have read/watched all the information I could find on this matter to no avail.

At this point I am running out of ideas and hope someone here might have a clue as to what steps I am missing.

Very best regards and happy gazing,

Jan

[Cornelius Varley]

Have you tried the telescope on Carte du Ceil ? 

[jestroem]

Hello Peter,

Thanks for your unput!

I had not tried Cartes Du Ciel until you suggested it and I now have it installed along with the the ASCOM platform and the proopriate ASCOM driver for my telescope.

When I try to connect my telescope in the Cartes Du Ciel control panel I get the following message: "Error: There does not seem to be abything connected to the COM port".  I have checked that the COM ports match both in Cartes Du Ciel and the Device manager on the PC.

My telescope is aligned and connected to the PC.

I am starting to think I may have a faulty #505 connector or serial port adapter.  Do you think it would be wise for me to order new cables and then see if that helps? At least then I can eliminate those options as the culprits.

Thanks again,

Jan

[jestroem]

Hello again Peter,

So, while I was pondering ordering a new set of cables for the telescope I decided to try one last thing: Hook up the telescope with the power supply in stead of using batteries.

This actually worked and I am able to connect my telescope to both Stellarium and Cartes Du Ciel.

I feel pretty stupid right now but happy that my problem is solved.

Now; would you mind sharing your thoghts on whether I should start using Stellarium or Cartes Du Ciel for my sky viewing?

From what I have read I understand that CDS has more options and can do much more than Stellarium, but I really favor the user interface with Stellarium.

I am a complete novice and think, for now, I would be more than satisfied with being able to just "see what I can see" but ultimately want to be able to do more.

Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks again for replying to my post in the first place!

I am looking forward to learning much more from people in these forums and am looking forward to some clear skies!

Very best regards,

Jan