My kingdom for a Com Port that works

[TraderBoo]

So first of Hi all first time so bear with me

I have just upgraded my machines to Windows 10 and now I'm having all kinds of problems!!! So far I have uninstalled and reinstalled all the driver's and some that I shouldn't WHOOPs but I digress. I'm running a 64 bit windows 10  system does this matter????? 

Oh i'm using a Sky watcher allview mount with a SYNSCAN version 4 hand controller.

Process 

1. In the off state I set the clutches to 0'0 position and face the scope north check level and turn the mount on.

2. I go through the sky aline process first manually moving to the first star and centering it in the eyepiece, then pressing enter. the others are automatically done by the scope with myself having to just check eyepiece alignment.

3. after alignment in the menu I put the hand control into computer control mode and plug in the cable from the USB to Serial port, always plugging it into the same port ( COM3) .

And then NOTHING, NADA, ZIP 

 

Greatfull for any help

TraderBoo

 

 

[Merlin66]

TraderBoo,

I understand your frustration...........

I assume you have a USB>Serial adaptor to allow the Skywatcher serial cable to be connected to your PC.

Unfortunately not all USB>Serial adaptors are born the same - some are good (Keyspan etc.) and some are no good (non-bidirectional)

In Device manager (Settings/devices) you should see the adaptor listed with the Comm port it connects to - check this first.

What planetarium will you use to control the mount? I use Cartes du Ciel and the "Celestron Scope Driver" option.

On the subsequent preferences menu select "Synta SW mount" then OK

This should allow you to effectively control the mount from the PC.

Hope this helps.

 

 

[NigeB]

Hello,

Like Merlin, I share your frustration - I think many of us have been this way before - I certainly have.

First question: are you using the serial cable that came with your mount, or an aftermarket one? If it came with the mount, that's probably fine. If it's aftermarket, be aware that different serial cables can have different wiring configurations - different pin assignments - and that can cause problems.

If the cable is correct, then the USB-Serial adaptor comes under suspicion. The most common adaptors tend to have one of two chipsets:  Keyspan, and Prolific. As Merlin66 has said, Keyspans tend to be more reliable - but many of the lower cost devices use Prolific chipsets. Mine does - it came from a UK Electronics shop, Maplin, but looks like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00425S1H8

They tend to come in for some heavy criticism; my adaptor resolutely refused to play, and I was about to buy one of the more expensive Keyspans. But in many cases the problem is not the hardware, but the drivers. After a couple of weeks of failure, I found updated drivers online - different to the ones bundled with the adaptor, and different to the ones Windows used by default. This did the trick. 

I suggest a bit of time searching for a few different drivers (make sure you're pointing your software to the right com port as well, of course!). Fully uninstall the existing driver before you try the next one.

For example:

http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProduct.aspx?p_id=225&pcid=41

http://www.serialgear.com/usb-serial-adapter-drivers-windows-mac-linux.cfm

There are more. I'm sorry, I can't remember exactly which one worked for me, but it didn't take many attempts before my green "Connected" light finally came on in EQMOD.

Hope that helps.

Nigel

[Cornelius Varley]

9 hours ago, TraderBoo said:

So first of Hi all first time so bear with me

I have just upgraded my machines to Windows 10 and now I'm having all kinds of problems!!! So far I have uninstalled and reinstalled all the driver's and some that I shouldn't WHOOPs but I digress. I'm running a 64 bit windows 10  system does this matter????? 

Oh i'm using a Sky watcher allview mount with a SYNSCAN version 4 hand controller.

Process 

1. In the off state I set the clutches to 0'0 position and face the scope north check level and turn the mount on.

2. I go through the sky aline process first manually moving to the first star and centering it in the eyepiece, then pressing enter. the others are automatically done by the scope with myself having to just check eyepiece alignment.

3. after alignment in the menu I put the hand control into computer control mode and plug in the cable from the USB to Serial port, always plugging it into the same port ( COM3) .

And then NOTHING, NADA, ZIP 

 

Greatfull for any help

TraderBoo

 

 

Putting the handset into "PC Mode" usually results in an apparent loss of connection. Most planetaria programmes don't recognise the "PC Mode" option on the handset so the programme appears to stop working. 

[Merlin66]

Good news is that it's recognised by CdC and the ASCOM Celestron/ SW drivers........

[TraderBoo]

On 4/9/2016 at 18:32, Merlin66 said:

TraderBoo,

I understand your frustration...........

I assume you have a USB>Serial adaptor to allow the Skywatcher serial cable to be connected to your PC.

Unfortunately not all USB>Serial adaptors are born the same - some are good (Keyspan etc.) and some are no good (non-bidirectional)

In Device manager (Settings/devices) you should see the adaptor listed with the Comm port it connects to - check this first.

What planetarium will you use to control the mount? I use Cartes du Ciel and the "Celestron Scope Driver" option.

On the subsequent preferences menu select "Synta SW mount" then OK

This should allow you to effectively control the mount from the PC.

Hope this helps.

 

 

thanks all a few thing to try!!

While I'm going, has anyone ever had any luck controlling the Orion StarBlast Autotracker mount with a direct PC connection and software, rather than having to spend $420 on a Synscan hand controller for it??

[maknut]

I sruggled for a while. My laptop is 64 bit, and could never get things to work properly. 

Eventually I downloaded the 32 bit version (stellarium) then I scrapped stellariumscope , afterwards using the telescope icon in stellarium. Instant success.