Meade LXD-650 classic autoguiding problems (connectivity issues)

[joelsfallon]

Hey, 

I picked up a second hand LXD-650 mount not too long ago, and I'm having some connectivity issues.

This setup came with the computer add-on pre-installed, and it is identical to the LX2000 classic computer system (including internal hardware).

My setup is as follows: Laptop USB cable -> ZWO ASI120MC imaging camera as an autoguider -> Camera ST4 port to ST4 input on mount with cable

I have all of the necessary software installed such as ASCOM, eqmod, Net framework, etc..

Occasionally I have used PHD guiding successfully with no issues - graph shows it is all working well and talking to the mount as it should, however, most of the times the mount becomes unresponsive to commands/guiding & the graph shows a flat line. I cannot use the keypad to slew the mount, because sometimes it seems to "interrupt" the connection to the laptop without any error messages, and I have to switch the mount on/off to sort it out. This doesn't always fix the problem, and when it does fix it, the problem reappears not too soon after. Also, the keypad slew buttons become unresponsive for a moment until they decide to come back alive on their own. I feel as though the keypad interferes with ZWO autoguider, and cancels one part of the connection out. I have thoroughly checked all cables, swapped them around and it has not affected the problem at all.

Could this problem simply be caused by out of date equipment? Is there any .txts I can attach to help expand on my issues?

Furthermore, I cannot use Stellariumscope with Stellarium. I get a bountiful plethora of error messages one after, forcing me to close the programs from the task manager. Perhaps this incompatibility may also be related to the autoguiding issues.

Many thanks, 

Joel.

[Cornelius Varley]

EQMOD doesn't work with Meade mounts so why have you got it installed ?

[joelsfallon]

EQMOD doesn't work with Meade mounts so why have you got it installed ?

I wasn't aware of that, I installed a bunch of things that a lot of people here suggested for equatorial mounts.

I uninstalled EQMOD, gave the mount a quick test and it made no difference.

[joelsfallon]

Bump

[Cornelius Varley]

You might have more luck on Cloudy Nights or the LXD55 yahoo group.