Getting it all connected

[Simon Dunsmore]

Hi Folks, 

So, I feel like I'm making progress. With my newly purchased polemaster, polar alignment is now good and I finally managed to capture something (see attached picture). 

I am now looking at getting my guide camera working through phd2 , controlling the mount through stellarium and the dslr through APT. The question is, am I about to embark upon a nightmare journey. 

Oh and I figured just to mix it up, I'd use a game controller to move the mount. I've read an awful lot on the individual programs, star alignment etc, but just not sure how to get all the software working together. 

Thanks for for your help. 

Simon

[JonCarleton]

Good job!  But wait until you try plate-solving!  It is magic.  No other way to say it.

[smashing]

Great effort...so...basically get a USB hub and make sure you use the same ports for each bit of equipment each time you use it (I have a text file on my pc to remind me)...have a powered hub as well as mine struggles without it... oh and plate solving aaaaalllll day long it's so easy now I just chuckle to myself when I'm powered on, aligned, focused and imaging in about 10 minutes.

[Andy R]

the game pad install 

[Simon Dunsmore]

Hey Andy, 

The helpful video link. Perfect 👌 

[Simon Dunsmore]

7 hours ago, smashing said:

Great effort...so...basically get a USB hub and make sure you use the same ports for each bit of equipment each time you use it (I have a text file on my pc to remind me)...have a powered hub as well as mine struggles without it... oh and plate solving aaaaalllll day long it's so easy now I just chuckle to myself when I'm powered on, aligned, focused and imaging in about 10 minutes.

Hi, 

Thanks for your reply and the helpful hints. I'm really not sure what plate solving actually is. But I'll look into it. 

Thanks 

Simon 

[smashing]

1 hour ago, Simon Dunsmore said:

Hi, 

Thanks for your reply and the helpful hints. I'm really not sure what plate solving actually is. But I'll look into it. 

Thanks 

Simon 

Don't worry about it for now, just get your kit running reliably first before adding another variable to the mix

[Simon Dunsmore]

On 12/01/2021 at 00:18, Andy R said:

the game pad install 

Thanks for this. I watched the tutorial, really helpful and it almost worked. I have attached a photo of the hand controller I'm attempting to use. I followed the steps and can get the directional controls to work with the telescope orientation. Unfortunately I cannot assign any of the other buttons to other functions. I've tried two different controllers and two different laptops but no joy. Any thoughts?? 

[Andy R]

1 hour ago, Simon Dunsmore said:

Thanks for this. I watched the tutorial, really helpful and it almost worked. I have attached a photo of the hand controller I'm attempting to use. I followed the steps and can get the directional controls to work with the telescope orientation. Unfortunately I cannot assign any of the other buttons to other functions. I've tried two different controllers and two different laptops but no joy. Any thoughts?? 

Have you tried just using the default settings to see if there’s any better functionality. If not what other game controller did you use, was it the same type? I think maybe the usb cabled Xbox or PlayStation type controller would be the type to use as this has more buttons. I’ll have a quick look at the video again

[Andy R]

It looks like you’ve selected the same button POV_N for each configuration you want. Can you confirm that you are selecting the individual button configuration on screen then pressing the desired button on the controller to assign that button to it?

Edited January 17, 2021 by Andy R

[Simon Dunsmore]

Hi, Thanks for your reply. Yes, that's correcti selected the action on the menu and then pressed the button that I wanted to assign it to on the controller 

[Simon Dunsmore]

6 hours ago, Andy R said:

Have you tried just using the default settings to see if there’s any better functionality. If not what other game controller did you use, was it the same type? I think maybe the usb cabled Xbox or PlayStation type controller would be the type to use as this has more buttons. I’ll have a quick look at the video again

Hi, I unfortunately only have two of the same controllers. The default settings didn't work. 

[Andy R]

5 hours ago, Simon Dunsmore said:

Hi, I unfortunately only have two of the same controllers. The default settings didn't work. 

Have a read of this link it covers issues with this type of controller towards the bottom EQMOD MOUNT CONTROLLERS (sourceforge.net)

 

Game Controller continuously reports "POV_N"  as being pressed.

This can happen with some gamepad controllers that do not provide a POV control - the solution is just to diable the reading of the POV data in EQASCOM (an option on the gamepad configuration screen)

Edited January 17, 2021 by Andy R

[Andy R]

Have a play around with the system settings bottom right on the game pad confirguration screen uncheck  POV ENABLED and have a try, let me know how it goes.

 

Andy