EQ3 pro (Synscan) controlled with stellarium

[SStanford]

Hi All,

I have a few questions regarding mount control using stellarium that I can't seem to find elsewhere. 

I have an EQ3 pro with with Syscan (handcontrol) and a laptop with stellarium.

The articles I've read refer either to EQMOD or ASCOM as a download requirement for Stellarium, is there any preference here for the EQ3?

I'm also struggling to find details of the correct cable to connect the mount straight into the computer via USB (and which port recieves this in the mount).

Thinking ahead, considering the requirement for the Guidscope and DSLR to be pugged into the computer, I will need to ensure this cable would be compatible with a "USB hub" (an area I havent done any research into yet). My computer has only 2 USB ports!

S.

[Budgie1]

Yes, you can control the EQ3 using the ASCOM drivers and EQMOD software.

There's a good tutorial HERE including connection to Stellarium.

You can connect your laptop to the mount using the handset update cable which come with the mount, this plugs into the bottom of the handset. The easier method is to use the FTDI EQDIR cable to replace the handset, this plugs into the mount where the handset is currently attached and can plug into a USB hub on the mount.

I have this setup on my EQ5 with a 5 port USB3 hub attached to the one of the tripod legs. I have the EQDIR cable, guide camera, DSLR and DSLR dummy battery all plugged into the hub. The hub is connected to an active USB cable running into the house to the laptop.  

[SStanford]

26 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

Yes, you can control the EQ3 using the ASCOM drivers and EQMOD software.

There's a good tutorial HERE including connection to Stellarium.

You can connect your laptop to the mount using the handset update cable which come with the mount, this plugs into the bottom of the handset. The easier method is to use the FTDI EQDIR cable to replace the handset, this plugs into the mount where the handset is currently attached and can plug into a USB hub on the mount.

I have this setup on my EQ5 with a 5 port USB3 hub attached to the one of the tripod legs. I have the EQDIR cable, guide camera, DSLR and DSLR dummy battery all plugged into the hub. The hub is connected to an active USB cable running into the house to the laptop.  

Fantastic, thanks! 

[SStanford]

Hi again,

I've bought and received the cable that connects to the Synscan module to my computer but am struggling with the software!

the the tutorial here it tells me to download the latest version of EQmod but the only available option for download is the "ASCOMAD", I can't see any of the files required to connect the mount, including the "EQMOD_toolbox.exe".

Can anyone guide me to where I can download EQMOD for Windows 10 that will allow me to connect the mount to my laptop?

[Cornelius Varley]

34 minutes ago, SStanford said:

Hi again,

I've bought and received the cable that connects to the Synscan module to my computer but am struggling with the software!

the the tutorial here it tells me to download the latest version of EQmod but the only available option for download is the "ASCOMAD", I can't see any of the files required to connect the mount, including the "EQMOD_toolbox.exe".

Can anyone guide me to where I can download EQMOD for Windows 10 that will allow me to connect the mount to my laptop?

EQASCOM can be downloaded from here EQMOD - Browse Files at SourceForge.net (second file on list)

You will also need the ASCOM platform if not already downloaded ASCOM - Standards for Astronomy (ascom-standards.org)

[SStanford]

2 hours ago, Cornelius Varley said:

EQASCOM can be downloaded from here EQMOD - Browse Files at SourceForge.net (second file on list)

You will also need the ASCOM platform if not already downloaded ASCOM - Standards for Astronomy (ascom-standards.org)

Thanks Cornelius. 

Was able to install, set up and use go-to on Stallerium; Success! 

Also fortunate was clear skies which I was able to use star alignment and for observing puts the stars in the 20mm eyepiece. 

Quite a bit of variance when moving to another star despite 4 star alignment but I put this down to inaccurate PA, I'll resolve this when I get my hands on a guidescope and use drift alignment in PHD2. 

Very tricky getting the star in the centre of the eyepiece using slew controls on EQmod! Lots of back and forth. 

Big step forwards though, giving the go-to command on Stellarium is very satisfying! 

[malc-c]

To be honest, EQMOD is more beneficial for those imaging rather than visual observing.  If you have a camera attached then centring a target can be done by changing the values in the drop down box near he NSEW buttons to make the mount move faster or slower.  However to do the same whilst looking at a target through an eyepiece requires the use of a game pad, which effectively replaces the handset that came with the scope.  The good part about EQMOD is that once you have the target central you can add it to the alignment points and thus increase the accuracy of the goto's throughout the session.  If you have the scope permanently set up in an observatory the saved settings don't need clearing afterwards.

There is also an active EQMOD user group https://groups.io/g/EQMOD  which is well worth joining 

[SStanford]

Thanks Malc, joined the group now. 

I will be using the mount for imaging; will be connecting my DSLR and aligning using APT. 

Useful that alignment stars are kept on the system! My setup is on a fixed pier (here) on my balcony so hoping I can reduce setup time with further alignment. 

[Astro_mark_c]

On 25/12/2020 at 13:11, malc-c said:

To be honest, EQMOD is more beneficial for those imaging rather than visual observing.  If you have a camera attached then centring a target can be done by changing the values in the drop down box near he NSEW buttons to make the mount move faster or slower.  However to do the same whilst looking at a target through an eyepiece requires the use of a game pad, which effectively replaces the handset that came with the scope.  The good part about EQMOD is that once you have the target central you can add it to the alignment points and thus increase the accuracy of the goto's throughout the session.  If you have the scope permanently set up in an observatory the saved settings don't need clearing afterwards.

There is also an active EQMOD user group https://groups.io/g/EQMOD  which is well worth joining 

Do you need anything specific to use EQMOD, or can anyone with a goto mount and hand controller use it? I have the EQM 35 pro. 

[SStanford]

3 minutes ago, Sidecontrol said:

Do you need anything specific to use EQMOD, or can anyone with a goto mount and hand controller use it? I have the EQM 35 pro. 

As the EQM 35 has Synscan this works with EQMod.

With my EQ3 (also SynScan) I plugged the cable here into the hand controller port on the SynScan module then plugged the USB straight into my laptop (running EQMod).

Following the guides mentioned above, the mount works flawlessly with Stellarium and APT!

[KP82]

To use computer controlled high accuracy GOTO for visual, take a look at this thread I created.

[Astro_mark_c]

43 minutes ago, SStanford said:

As the EQM 35 has Synscan this works with EQMod.

With my EQ3 (also SynScan) I plugged the cable here into the hand controller port on the SynScan module then plugged the USB straight into my laptop (running EQMod).

Following the guides mentioned above, the mount works flawlessly with Stellarium and APT!

ah ok so i don't need anything specific to run EQmod then?

I use a different cable to attach my controller to my laptop as i use ASCOM to controll all my software. 

Thanks I'll need to go look up this EQMOD!

[SStanford]

2 minutes ago, Sidecontrol said:

ah ok so i don't need anything specific to run EQmod then?

I use a different cable to attach my controller to my laptop as i use ASCOM to controll all my software. 

Thanks I'll need to go look up this EQMOD!

I followed the aforementioned tutorial here, word for word, and haven't had any issues yet

[Astro_mark_c]

28 minutes ago, SStanford said:

I followed the aforementioned tutorial here, word for word, and haven't had any issues yet

I'll look at this tonight, many thanks!

[malc-c]

In a nutshell, to run EQMOD you need a PC running windows and the ASCOM platform along with a planetarium program that supports telescope control such as CdC or Stalarium.  To control a synscan enabled telescope, if the PC has a standard Com port, you can connect the supplied serial cable between the PC and the handset and place the handset into PC-Direct mode.  However as most modern computers don't have the D9 serial ports these days, either a USB to serial convertor is needed, or better still, do away with the handset and use an EQDIR cable based in an FTDI chipset.  This cable connects to the mount where the handset is normally connected and then plugs into a USB port, either directly or via a hub to the PC.

There is also a very active group should you run into an issue related with EQMOD EQMOD Group