Old HEQ5 laptop connection

[Asc]

Hi,

I recently purchased an old HEQ5 (black one) that the previous owner upgraded to the then Skyscan goto.

Is it possible to connect the mount directly to a laptop to control through stellarium etc?

I have downloaded ASCOM and EQMOD but I keep getting an error connect message.

I don't have the official Lynx EQdir cable, I'm currently using a similar cable. Could this be part of the problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[knobby]

Not sure, but have you checked it's picking the correct com port in device manager ?

[Asc]

Hi, yes I have checked the com port in device manager but still no luck unfortunately.

[Cornelius Varley]

37 minutes ago, Asc said:

Hi,

I recently purchased an old HEQ5 (black one) that the previous owner upgraded to the then Skyscan goto.

Is it possible to connect the mount directly to a laptop to control through stellarium etc?

I have downloaded ASCOM and EQMOD but I keep getting an error connect message.

I don't have the official Lynx EQdir cable, I'm currently using a similar cable. Could this be part of the problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

You cannot connect the mount directly to the laptop, you need to do this via the handset using the serial data cable used for firmware updates, or through an EQDir cable.

37 minutes ago, Asc said:

I don't have the official Lynx EQdir cable, I'm currently using a similar cable. Could this be part of the problem?

"Similar cable" doesn't necessarily mean that it is the same as the correct type. 

[Asc]

4 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

You cannot connect the mount directly to the laptop, you need to do this via the handset using the serial data cable used for firmware updates, or through an EQDir cable.

"Similar cable" doesn't necessarily mean that it is the same as the correct type. 

I see, I had thought it was possible. Thanks for clearing that up!

I did think that myself, looks like I'll be investing in the correct cable.