Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg


R26 oldtimer

Recommended Posts

4 minutes ago, R26 oldtimer said:

Take a look at this thread to check your connections and DB9 pinout

 

Thx, I'll check. I think it's OK, I tried with a multimeter to be sure not to burn everything... maybe I forgot something.

 

Quote

What R26 means is that your mount is NOT compatible with the £5 device as he thinks it uses RS232c voltage levels which are 12-25v and is something completely different to the TTL levels the £5 adapter uses (3.3v or 5v). However it would seem the DB9 on the mount is the same as EQ6 so that may be wrong. If so ,and you need to check , then the £5 adapter should work if connected ,has the correct voltage (3.3 or 5v) and you have wired it correctly - maybe this site will help you http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/prerequisites.html

 

OK, yes my mount is exactly the same as the EQ6 (reseller's parts can be used for one or the other trademark) even handset and mainboards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found it ! I found a topic about DB9 and Rj45 were someone said that there are crossed and straight wires, one wire communicates one way, the other one is the opposite. So I tried with RXD and TXD inverted, and now it's working great :)

So with my Orion Atlas EQG and the pinouts found out there, I had to invert RDX and TXD wires to make it works. 

I don't know if it's the same with EQ6 Pro mounts, but it can be so. 

Thank again for your help. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/10/2019 at 23:15, Fixoo said:

Found it ! I found a topic about DB9 and Rj45 were someone said that there are crossed and straight wires, one wire communicates one way, the other one is the opposite. So I tried with RXD and TXD inverted, and now it's working great :)

So with my Orion Atlas EQG and the pinouts found out there, I had to invert RDX and TXD wires to make it works. 

I don't know if it's the same with EQ6 Pro mounts, but it can be so. 

Thank again for your help. 

Its the same on all serial connections - std is to quote std pins - e.g. TX means transmit only , RX means recv only - thats why you have to connect TX - RX and RX - TX. Well nearly all ways -  some only have 1 wire which acts as both TX/RX but thats another story.

Obvious if you know but well done for spotting it 🙂

Its been like this for some +40yrs 🙂

Glad you got sorted. 🙂

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I have all the parts in hand as the slow boat from China has finally arrived about a month later, but what I'm looking for is a pinout for the Skywatcher Az-Goto mount. The handset connects using an RJ45 (handset end) to RJ12 (mount end) cable and I need the RJ12 pinout.

Can anyone point me the right way?

Note that the manual and the web have diagrams showing the pinouts for the RJ11 handset to PC connector, but that is not what I am seeking.

Edited by IanL
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, IanL said:

I have all the parts in hand as the slow boat from China has finally arrived about a month later, but what I'm looking for is a pinout for the Skywatcher Az-Goto mount. The handset connects using an RJ45 (handset end) to RJ12 (mount end) cable and I need the RJ12 pinout.

Can anyone point me the right way?

Note that the manual and the web have diagrams showing the pinouts for the RJ11 handset to PC connector, but that is not what I am seeking.

I plug the synscan handset from my old az-goto into my new(ish) az-gti, so that would suggest the pinouts are the same. 

Ady

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, adyj1 said:

I plug the synscan handset from my old az-goto into my new(ish) az-gti, so that would suggest the pinouts are the same. 

Ady

Yes from what I've seen they're the same cable and pinout for the two.

From what I can see so far (RJ12 connector, clip facing away, pin one one the left):

Pin 1 not connected

Pins 2 and 4 are RX and TX, which are connected inside the mount, so could connect one or the other to both  RXD and TXD on the WiFi board. Have seen posts about people seeing outgoing commands reflected straight back, so presumably correct.

Pin 3 is +12V so goes to IN+ on the buck converter.

Pin 5 is GND so goes to GND on buck converter and WiFi board.

Pin 6 is Flow Control (from other post). Not sure what to do with that one? Any ideas welcome.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah here we go, given AZ-Goto and AZ-GTi can use same cable, and presumably same pinouts at handset end, this thread (and manual) give the RJ12 pinouts. I'll give that a whirl and post a wiring diagram when I have it working. Cheers all.

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/327773-diy-ftdi-eqdir-usb-adapter-rj12-wiring/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, IanL said:

Pins 2 and 4 are RX and TX, which are connected inside the mount, so could connect one or the other to both  RXD and TXD on the WiFi board. Have seen posts about people seeing outgoing commands reflected straight back, so presumably correct.

The mount is more likely to be echoing the commands, a way of confirming that they have been received correctly.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

The mount is more likely to be echoing the commands, a way of confirming that they have been received correctly.

I haven't taken mine apart, but other AZ-Goto users report that the RX and TX lines are connected on the mount board, so it's a half duplex setup. Hence my wondering about the potential flow control line as usually for bi-directional comms on half duplex you need a control line to ensure that both ends aren't trying to send at once. On the other hand the AZ-GTi wiring diagram suggests that only the power and RX/TX lines are actually connected. I do wonder if the AZ-GTi is full duplex, but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, IanL said:

I haven't taken mine apart, but other AZ-Goto users report that the RX and TX lines are connected on the mount board, so it's a half duplex setup. Hence my wondering about the potential flow control line as usually for bi-directional comms on half duplex you need a control line to ensure that both ends aren't trying to send at once. On the other hand the AZ-GTi wiring diagram suggests that only the power and RX/TX lines are actually connected. I do wonder if the AZ-GTi is full duplex, but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Interesting, pretty sure the mounts  all use  a 5V version of RS232 (the  hideously expensive PC-mount leads can be replaced by a cheap as chips USB-RS232 converter lead plus a suitable plug). My impression was that the  HEQ5 uses bi-directional communication, but I may be wrong and it's just the wired in connection that confirms the lead is connected! If it does then  at least one RTS/CTS  lead would need to be connected.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok well that was a complete disaster.

Tested the mount output and found GND and 12V in the pins as shown in the AZ-GTi manual.

Wired up the buck converter and tested fine. Was only getting 4.3V maximum on the output side after adjusting the trimmer. The battery pack was only putting out 11.4V so not too concerned.

Wired the WiFi chip to the converter and TX and RX lines. Triple checked for shorts, solder bridges, etc.

Plugged it in, powered on mount, small puff of smoke and now have a dead mount board (no response on both axes error).

Will have a look in the morning when less annoyed, but cannot see what I got so wrong. Will take a look at the board tomorrow to see if anything can be repaired but doubt it, otherwise it's 50 quid for a new board and still no WiFi 

:(

  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Interesting, pretty sure the mounts  all use  a 5V version of RS232 (the  hideously expensive PC-mount leads can be replaced by a cheap as chips USB-RS232 converter lead plus a suitable plug). My impression was that the  HEQ5 uses bi-directional communication, but I may be wrong and it's just the wired in connection that confirms the lead is connected! If it does then  at least one RTS/CTS  lead would need to be connected.

No some use 3.3v but are tolerent of 5v - e.g. azeq6gt

Some share the RX/TX - especially older kit SWAZ GOTO and require a 1k(if memory serves me) resistor to pull up the line especially after reset. This is how it decides who is "master". Tech Info here https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/270834/pull-up-resistors-on-uart 

You dont need RTS/CTS now days CPU/Memory speeds are faster enough when we are talking about 9600bps. Even in the "old days" there was Xon/Xoff protocol which didn't require more than 3 wires.

I doubt full duplex is even needed just use Gnd,RX/TX and 12v if you must - all other settings should be needed.

IMO echoing of commands would suggest you pins are connected wrongly e.g. tx - tx when it should be tx - rx.  This link gives you all the info on what is sent and what is replied https://skywatcher.com/download/manual/application-development/ depending what you connection method is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, IanL said:

Plugged it in, powered on mount, small puff of smoke and now have a dead mount board (no response on both axes error).

That is very ☹️ unfortunate. Do you have any photos and wiring diagram of the connections you've made? What puzzles me is that as the wifi board is 3.3v ttl, then worst case scenario would be not to sent a logical 1, and not fry a 5v ttl motherboard. Are you sure you've used the above mentioned 3.3v wifi board and not a standard RS232 one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, R26 oldtimer said:

That is very ☹️ unfortunate. Do you have any photos and wiring diagram of the connections you've made? What puzzles me is that as the wifi board is 3.3v ttl, then worst case scenario would be not to sent a logical 1, and not fry a 5v ttl motherboard. Are you sure you've used the above mentioned 3.3v wifi board and not a standard RS232 one?

Absolutely certain which is why I am just as surprised. Can only think there is a short somewhere or the pinout on the mount connector isn't as I'd assumed. Will figure it tomorrow when I open up the mount to see what's what. Suspect one or more of the chips will be fried though, so likely to require a swap out.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23/01/2019 at 11:26, R26 oldtimer said:

Yesterday, the postman dropped off one of these:

Captur.JPG.f0b621b58d11d57b1d1487034b7a5b6a.JPG

I 'll use the step down buck converter to power the DT-06 board through the mount 11-16V, wired like this:

1878339716_IMG_20181129_095339-Copy.thumb.jpg.8102180bbca5c910b7a56b6d36975edc.jpg

I think we 're still bellow the £5 budget??

Hi

A quick Q regarding the step down buck convertor as its not clear from the instructions above. Its the first time I've used one of these too. Did you have to do anything else to the buck other than wire it up to the DT-06 and RJ45 cable? In one of your later pictures (where it shows it wired up (outside the kinder container), the back of the board where you have ADJ,..... 5v..3v etc, there seems to be additional soldering work done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have to adjust the output voltage. This can be done either using the small potensiometer located on the board, or by bridging (soldering) the pair of the corresponding contacts at the rear end of the board for a specific voltage ( I think it has contacts for 3.3 , 5 , 9 & 12 volts). Whatever you choose check the output voltage with a voltmeter, before connecting to the board, although I found mine to be pretty accurate.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

My slow boat from China arrived the other day so I thought I would have a go at knocking one of these up whilst recovering from Turkey overload

All works ok from phone app on it's own wireless network so I got the unit to connect to my wireless network as well and that works a treat 

Has anyone got indi working using this ?

I get it connected but it shows a command failed -> failed command:E1000080 - reply !2

Would be nice to get that working if possible

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Thanks a lot for showing how to do it. I recently bought AZ-GTi and I love it. I also have my 6 years old Skywatcher Virtuoso. The initial position (Altitude = my location latitude, Azimuth points north) gives point and tracking hit and miss; but AZ-GTi point and tracking is great.

My components are: DT-06, 12v-to-5v fixed stepdown with onboard female USB port, 6P6C RJ12. Setup parameters same as shown in this thread.

I assembled it last night in such a way to allow me to utilizing the 5V through the step-down female USB port for some other devices, if necessary.

Tested indoor last night, can connect and slew the mount with Synscan Pro, but the slew responses seem having quite a delay. I'll try it outside under real sky if the weather permits.

The photo is showing my final connection diagram before I assembled it (my way of avoiding my own confusion).

Will find a nice box for it and may shorten the cable after the successful testing. Sorry for my terrible soldering skill.

Thanks a again.

ps. I'm not sure if I can create virtual comm port on my PC to make wireless connection to the mount, and drive it with Stellarium in either direct connection or Ascom?

diagram.jpg

DT_06.jpg

Virtuoso.jpg

Edited by bthoven
add more information
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very glad you liked it! The response time becomes really better if there are not many wifi networks interfering with the signal.

Most of the connection problems I've encountered were due to the smartphone's power & wifi settings.

Ofcourse you can use your PC (thats what I do). Just download the "synscan app pro" for windows and the "synscan app" ascom driver from here: https://www.skywatcher.com/download/software/ascom-driver/

and use it with APT, stellarium, cdc etch.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.