Will USB1 do? (& how I nearly broke the mount)

[Demonperformer]

It has been a while since I have had the scope out (mostly binos with these recent crystal-clear mornings), but I want to start working more productively again and so decided to get out the mount indoors and make sure everything still worked (rather than trying to work out why things didn't in the cold and dark with hordes of kids standing around saying "wot cher doin'?").

The mount (NEQ6) was sat on the tripod, but not screwed on and, as I moved past it, it overbalanced and crashed onto the floor.

"Oh, how unfortunate," I said (or words to that effect) and started to investigate the damage. One of the plastic levers that lock the axes was completely snapped off (not fatal, it still turns, and worst-case-scenario can unscrew the bit that is still attached and use a spanner - it may even be possible to buy a replacement). Apart from that it looked ok ... on the outside.

Fitted it (firmly) to the tripod and plugged it in ... the light came on ... a good start.

One of the issues I wanted to address was the dodgy usb I hub I have been using in the past. Now that I can push a lot of stuff through the camera, I shouldn't need to use it. So, plugged the EQmod cable into the socket and ... nothing. EQmod could not find the scope and USBview showed no connection. Not promising.

Back to basics. I plugged in the hub and it duly appeared on USBview. I plugged in the EQmod cable and it now duly appeared on USBview and connected itself to COM12. That was a relief. But unplugged the hub, plugged in the cable to the lappy and ... nothing. Tried plugging it into the other spare USB socket (which is only USB1) and it connected (COM3). There is clearly something about the connection (or lack thereof) between the spare USB2 socket on the lappy and the USB plug on the EQmod cable that is not working. No idea why and do not have the expertise to go chasing it.

So, the question arises ... will my imaging be impaired by having the mount connected to USB1?

Long-term, I am thinking of getting a new laptop with USB2 for the mount and USB3 for the camera, but that isn't going to happen this year.

I can't think of anything that needs a particularly fast communication with the mount, but I could be missing something (lappy>mount: slewing, guiding; mount>lappy: what point in the sky I am pointing at). The camera, guide camera and filter wheel will all be run through the USB2 port and hub in the camera.

Can anyone think of any good reason why USB1 would be insufficient?

Thanks.

[David Smith]

For a mount I can't imagine it being a problem. The volume of data back and forth must be pretty small.