eq6 mount usb serial USB Control of EQ6-R Pro mount

[G4EQZ]

Hi, I am relatively new to this hobby and have and EQ6-R Pro mount which I would like to be able to control directly from USB. I tried using USB into the socket on the mount - see pic below - but it doesn't work though is fine thru the USB connector on the bottom of the SynScan handset. Manual says the socket is to connect a USB to serial connector but that means I have to go from USB on the PC to serial then back to USB again which seems a bit daft   Am I missing something?

It's made worse by the fact that the Type B USB socket would need an adapter to go to a standard USB socket which is what the serial to USB interfaces all seem to want. I can handle the complexity of the cable interfacing but seems to be wires hanging off the OTA etc should be as uncomplicated as possible to avoid tangling around things.

Cheers ... Keith

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by G4EQZ
Spelling corrections

[barkis]

You might wish to go the EQMOD route to telescope control.  This will allow you to dispense with the hand controller altogether.   The input port and guide port are situated together just above the usb port you highlighted. Neither of those ports are usb's 

One is the ST 4 input to enable autoguiding for long exposure astrophotography, the other is the handset control input.

You need to download  the latest Ascom  Platform version, then download the equascom Skywatcher mount driver to enable you to control the telescope from your laptop via a planetarium prog, such as Starry night, or Stellarium.

If you wish to carry on using your handset, you need to use a serial to USB converter, otherwise it will not work.

There is more on this on the forum, and better explanations than mine.  There is nothing wrong with your gear, you just need to understand what is required.

Ron.

The USB port on your mount is not there on mine, which is also the EQ6 R-Pro.    Perhaps the mount has-been modified since I bought mine.  I don't  know why that usb B port is for.

Edited June 9, 2019 by barkis

[G4EQZ]

2 hours ago, barkis said:

You might wish to go the EQMOD route to telescope control.  This will allow you to dispense with the hand controller altogether.   The input port and guide port are situated together just above the usb port you highlighted. Neither of those ports are usb's 

 The USB port on your mount is not there on mine, which is also the EQ6 R-Pro.    Perhaps the mount has-been modified since I bought mine.  I don't  know why that usb B port is for.

Thanks Ron, I will Google EQMOD and see what comes up, I am hoping to get it all working with the ZWO ASIAIR but will check it's compatible with EQMOD first.

Yes, none of EQ6-R's I have seen on the net have this USB socket so I guess its a very new addition, shame it doesn't do something useful :. Only had the mount a few weeks from new.

 

Thanks again ... Keith

 

[Tomatobro]

my less than a year old EQ6-R does not have this USB socket (I had to go and have a look to check!). Mine has the green setting circles.

I use a Lynx cable that Flo supplied and do all my control from a remote PC using CdC and PHD with no problems

Its worth the time to get set up with EQmod as there are lost of nice features you can use such as a gamepad for remote control and voice confirmation of changes. Its been quite a while since I set this up with an EQ5 pro so I would have to read up again if I was doing it from scratch but as I recall it was not to bad.

Cloudy Nights entry says USB is only used for software updates of the mount

Edited June 9, 2019 by Tomatobro
Battery needed charge

[Grierson]

If you intend to use ASIAIR then I would be inclined NOT to dig too deeply into EQMOD. There is a bit to learn as I know to my cost and there is no doubt that having got it set up it is a great way to control the ‘scope. However if you have the appropriate cable and drivers in place using the EQMOD version on ASIAIR is a piece of cake. As said above this takes away the need for the handset but you do need to rely on ZWO’s list of targets rather than CdC etc.

[G4EQZ]

On 09/06/2019 at 16:16, Tomatobro said:

my less than a year old EQ6-R does not have this USB socket (I had to go and have a look to check!). Mine has the green setting circles.

I use a Lynx cable that Flo supplied and do all my control from a remote PC using CdC and PHD with no problems

Its worth the time to get set up with EQmod as there are lost of nice features you can use such as a gamepad for remote control and voice confirmation of changes. Its been quite a while since I set this up with an EQ5 pro so I would have to read up again if I was doing it from scratch but as I recall it was not to bad.

Cloudy Nights entry says USB is only used for software updates of the mount

Thanks for the info, my mount has the green rings but the USB must be quite new as when I queried it with the supplier they didn't know it was there - or what it was for. I bought the mount about 6 weeks ago.

Cheers ... Keith

[G4EQZ]

On 09/06/2019 at 19:20, Grierson said:

If you intend to use ASIAIR then I would be inclined NOT to dig too deeply into EQMOD. There is a bit to learn as I know to my cost and there is no doubt that having got it set up it is a great way to control the ‘scope. However if you have the appropriate cable and drivers in place using the EQMOD version on ASIAIR is a piece of cake. As said above this takes away the need for the handset but you do need to rely on ZWO’s list of targets rather than CdC etc.

Many thanks. Having bought the ASIAIR I guess my default should be to try and use that first. However, I ran USB out to the pier using a 7.5Meter Active USB3 cable so have 4 ports on the pier if I have to resort to PC control. Shame I haven't had any clear skies since I invested in all this gear but I suppose thats sods law. My apologies to everyone for all the rain recently "Mea culpa"

Cheers ... Keith

[Grierson]

Not only your fault but it is the fault of anyone buying new gear.😀 - John - G3PHJ

[Tomatobro]

listening to other club members it seems that once a particular equipment path is chosen and the pain of commissioning is over they are most reluctant to change and I can understand this. It really matters not provided whatever you choose works for you. Folks tend to promote what they use and understand.

Best of Luck

[G4EQZ]

3 minutes ago, Tomatobro said:

listening to other club members it seems that once a particular equipment path is chosen and the pain of commissioning is over they are most reluctant to change and I can understand this. It really matters not provided whatever you choose works for you. Folks tend to promote what they use and understand.

Best of Luck

Well I decided to buy all the gear up front and made a few mistakes along the way but so far have done a minimal amount of visual observing and no AP so when the skies do finally clear I know am due a lot of frustration and a super steep learning curve    hence I committed to the ASIAIR as I became weary of sitting on the fence being indecisive.

I think the "comfortable with what you already know" issue applies to almost everything from computer languages to gardening. Once we find something that works for us any alternative has  to offer very significant benefits to make us unlearn what we know in favour of something new.

[OJ87]

Hi, ich you can afford it, buy a WiFi adapter, works perfectly for me, no need to enter date or coordinates, you can run it from your phone/ tablet or laptop. But never use it with iOS .

Best regards 

[Happysolderer]

According to FLO (contacted them on 29/12/2020) you CAN control the mount via USB. The cable it offers to do it is a simple usb B. As for any other software you'll need is a mystery, as I haven't actually unboxed mine yet. 

With the inclusion of the usb port I hope it'll by pass all the other hoops needed to jump through to get it to work. 

I also have an Ioptron cube which was a nightmare to connect and after 2 weeks of buying quite expensive leads and an awful lot of swear words, I gave up

[Brainebula]

On 13/06/2019 at 08:59, G4EQZ said:

Well I decided to buy all the gear up front and made a few mistakes along the way but so far have done a minimal amount of visual observing and no AP so when the skies do finally clear I know am due a lot of frustration and a super steep learning curve    hence I committed to the ASIAIR as I became weary of sitting on the fence being indecisive.

I think the "comfortable with what you already know" issue applies to almost everything from computer languages to gardening. Once we find something that works for us any alternative has  to offer very significant benefits to make us unlearn what we know in favour of something new.

Hi Keith, I realize it's over a year and a half later, but I just got the same mount and am wondering how you are controlling it with your OSX or IOS these days. It's still not easy and I'm hoping you found a solution! THANKS! 

Edited March 1, 2021 by Brainebula

[StevieDvd]

2 hours ago, Brainebula said:

Hi Keith, I realize it's over a year and a half later, but I just got the same mount and am wondering how you are controlling it with your OSX or IOS these days. It's still not easy and I'm hoping you found a solution! THANKS! 

As Happysolderer has said you can use the usb if yours has one with a standard USB printer type cable, this is the same as using an EQdir cable. 

The skywatcher wifi dongle will allow you to ditch the handset and connect via IOS phone (or Ipad or Android).

 

[Brainebula]

On 01/03/2021 at 10:59, StevieDvd said:

As Happysolderer has said you can use the usb if yours has one with a standard USB printer type cable, this is the same as using an EQdir cable. 

The skywatcher wifi dongle will allow you to ditch the handset and connect via IOS phone (or Ipad or Android).

 

High, StevieDvd, sorry it too so long to reply. 

I've had zero success trying to get my Mac (High Sierra or Big Sur) to control the EQ6-R Pro mount. I can't get my iPad to talk to it either. I've tried both the RJ45 and the USB on the mount but I've not been able to communicate with that mount either way yet. 

The ONLY success I've had so far is with an iphone through a SW WiFi Adapter. I'm currently only using the mount for direct viewing and no photography, no autoguide, etc. The mount also works fine with the hand controller, so that -- plus the fact that the SW WiFi adapter works with my iphone -- makes me think the RJ45 on the mount is fine. 

But I my iPad can't talk to the mount through that same wifi adapter, and I can't get my Mac to see that mount yet. On the Mac I've tried Stellarium, AstroTelescope, and AstroPLanner and NONE of them see the mount. I'm thinking there must be some combination of preferences/parameters on the software, the Mac, and the mount (ie, set PC Direct first?) but I can't figure out any combination that works. 

Any guidance you can give me for getting my ipad or Mac to talk to that mount on any connector with any cable would be GREATLY appreciated.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Brainebula

[Brainebula]

On 29/12/2020 at 12:55, Happysolderer said:

According to FLO (contacted them on 29/12/2020) you CAN control the mount via USB. The cable it offers to do it is a simple usb B. As for any other software you'll need is a mystery, as I haven't actually unboxed mine yet. 

With the inclusion of the usb port I hope it'll by pass all the other hoops needed to jump through to get it to work. 

I also have an Ioptron cube which was a nightmare to connect and after 2 weeks of buying quite expensive leads and an awful lot of swear words, I gave up

Hi Happysoldered,

I now have the EQ6-R Pro mount and am as yet unable to get my Mac to talk to that mount either through the mount's onboard RJ45 or USB. I've tried several FTDI cables from Amazon and also the Pegasus Astro EQdir USB Stick on both High Sierra and Big Sur. The Mac sees the "cu.usbserial..." cable (e.g., via "ls /dev/"), but it won't functionally "connect" to the mount.

Do I need to use the hand controller to set the mount to "PC Direct", or are there other parameters I need to set, other than simply telling the software I'm using a "Sky Watcher SynScan" mount? I know the RJ45 on the mount is working (the hand controller works fine, and my iPhone also can control the mount via the SW WiFi adapter, but for some reason my iPad can't see the mount through the same connection!). I must be missing something pretty simple, no? 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Brainebula

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have just updated a post relevant to this topic. If you have a V5 handset with a USB port in its base, you can use it to control the mount from a laptop.

My post is the last in the thread. There is a link to a Cloudynights topic, and this is what I just posted:

Addendum: I have confirmed that it is possible to control the V5 handset & mount via a USB A-B cable.  If you power everything up and then connect the cable, the handset appears in the Control Panel of Windows 7 as a USB-serial device. Initially no driver was indicated. After a struggle I installed the ASCOM platform and the Skywatcher handset driver (and .NET).  After turning the laptop off and on, a Prolific driver for a USB-serial device, port COM6, showed up in the Control Panel, and I was then able to start a connection in Stellarium and control the mount.

 

[Brainebula]

12 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

 

...Addendum: I have confirmed that it is possible to control the V5 handset & mount via a USB A-B cable.  If you power everything up and then connect the cable, the handset appears in the Control Panel of Windows 7 as a USB-serial device. Initially no driver was indicated. After a struggle I installed the ASCOM platform and the Skywatcher handset driver (and .NET).  After turning the laptop off and on, a Prolific driver for a USB-serial device, port COM6, showed up in the Control Panel, and I was then able to start a connection in Stellarium and control the mount...

 

Hi Cosmic, 

Would you by any chance be able to translate that for Mac users? I tried a direct USB from the Mac to the mount, and I've tried several USB serial cables from the Mac to the RJ45, but no success. 

 The Mac OS has its own USB serial driver, and I can see the cu.usbserial entry when I connect an FDTI cable to the Mac but the Mac still doesn't see the mount. I'm not sure how to do it through the V5 HC's USB connector. Does the HC need to set the PC Direct setting? The Mac only lets me select the "cu.usbserial-########" logical connection but not a physical port or bit rate. And then there's your sequence of when to make the connection vs. when to power up which device.  

Also, could you please clarify what you mean by "Skywatcher handset driver (and .NET)". There's an additional driver available for the handset? And what is ".NET"? Sorry, I'm not sure if that applies to the Mac. 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Brainebula

[Cosmic Geoff]

Brainebula- I gave a little more detail in a reply to a post in the Mounts sub-section. Clearly the handset requires a driver for a USB-serial device.  I don't know about the mount, as my EQ-5 has no such port, just the one on the handset, but the same remark probably applies.

In Windows, if you power and connect everything up in the correct order (power laptop, power mount, then connect), the Control Panel/Device Manager will indicate a USB-serial device and you can delve further to see if it has a driver, an indicated COM port, and into Hardware ID which may give information you can use to try searching for a suitable chipset driver.

(If you do not power up and connect in the correct order, the USB will try to power the handset & all you get is a 'No Response from either axis' message).

I don't know how essential the ASCOM is, but the SKywatcher driver I installed (which presumably is the one now showing in the Control Panel) would not install without the ASCOM platform.

I am not sure how helpful this will be to you, given the differences between Windows and Mac systems.  Under Windows, you DO need to specify which COM port you are using, but you don't need to bother with baud rate etc.

Since most astronomy software seems to be written for Windows only, your line of least resistance might be to just buy a Windows laptop.  A used business laptop need not cost a lot. For reference, the Dell Vostro I am currently using is about ten years old.

[barbulo]

3 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

Since most astronomy software seems to be written for Windows only, your line of least resistance might be to just buy a Windows laptop. 

I use all my Astro-software on a 2015 MacBook Pro running W10 under Bootcamp. Works like a native PC and the SSD makes a difference.

[Martin Meredith]

Hi Brainebula

Fellow Mac user here. Have you tried connecting through Kstars/EKOS (free) or AstroTelescope (free for 13 days...), the latter from Cloudmakers? Both worked for me (as in discovered the correct ports etc without me having to do anything). AstroTelescope was much easier to figure out and worked immediately after selecting 'SynScan mount' under the 'INDIGO drivers' tab in the preferences panel. Clicking on the 4th icon from the right (4 arrows) brings up a manual control which allows you to move the mount. At least this way you might be able to check that the cabling etc is working.

Mine is an AZEQ6 mount, 2014 vintage, without the USB connection, so I'm using the Lynx Astro cable from my MacBook direct to the mount. 

cheers

Martin