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Cable/lead for guiding


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Hi, looking for advice and suggestions for correct cable for guiding using ascom instead of the mount to guide camera st4 cable. Set up is eq5 goto, asi120mini, laptop has 2x 3.1 and 1x 2.0 USB ports.

Cheers Mike

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There are two cables and the one you need for the EQ5, if you want to remove the hand controller and just use the laptop for control, is the one @Waldemar linked too on FLO.

The other has an RJ11 connector and will plug into the bottom of the hand controller. If you only want to use it for guiding, and keep the hand controller for everything else,  you can do that with the hand controller update lead which should have come with the mount. If it's like mine then you may need a serial to USB adaptor like THIS ONE. ;)

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28 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

There are two cables and the one you need for the EQ5, if you want to remove the hand controller and just use the laptop for control, is the one @Waldemar linked too on FLO.

The other has an RJ11 connector and will plug into the bottom of the hand controller. If you only want to use it for guiding, and keep the hand controller for everything else,  you can do that with the hand controller update lead which should have come with the mount. If it's like mine then you may need a serial to USB adaptor like THIS ONE. ;)

Cheers guys, starting to make sence🤣

Any pros or cons in keeping the controller or not?

Thanks again Mike

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I don't use the controller now and run everything from the laptop.

I have PHD2 for guiding, APT for the camera, SharpCap Pro for Polar Alignment and Carte De Ciel so I can point the mount at an object. 

To save on having to complete a star alignment, APT has a built-in Plate Solver, so you point the mount at a target, take an image, tell the plate solver what it should be looking at, then it checks it's database to see where it's actually pointing and will alter the mounts position to centre you target in the frame. :D  It saves a lot of faffing about and only takes a couple of minutes.

As you have the later hand controller then try a standard USB cable in that port on the base of the hand controller and see if PHD2 will communicate with mount. In the PHD2 setting, change the mount setting from "On Camera" to the Ascom HEQ5/EQ6 setting and try to connect.

Edited by Budgie1
Correction to advice (highlighted in red).
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16 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

I don't use the controller now and run everything from the laptop.

I have PHD2 for guiding, APT for the camera, SharpCap Pro for Polar Alignment and Carte De Ciel so I can point the mount at an object. 

To save on having to complete a star alignment, APT has a built-in Plate Solver, so you point the mount at a target, take an image, tell the plate solver what it should be looking at, then it checks it's database to see where it's actually pointing and will alter the mounts position to centre you target in the frame. :D  It saves a lot of faffing about and only takes a couple of minutes.

As you have the later hand controller then try a standard USB cable in that port on the base of the mount and see if PHD2 will communicate with mount. In the PHD2 setting, change the mount setting from "On Camera" to the Ascom HEQ5/EQ6 setting and try to connect.

Thanks again, better get it on order 👍😉

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40 minutes ago, Milzy said:

These are the ports on hand set.

Mike 

20210123_140242.jpg

20210123_140112.jpg

So you have a choice, you can guide via the handset with a standard USB-A to USB-B cable (after downloading the driver from the Skywatcher website) or use an EQMOD cable direct into the controller.

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1 hour ago, Budgie1 said:

I don't use the controller now and run everything from the laptop.

I have PHD2 for guiding, APT for the camera, SharpCap Pro for Polar Alignment and Carte De Ciel so I can point the mount at an object. 

To save on having to complete a star alignment, APT has a built-in Plate Solver, so you point the mount at a target, take an image, tell the plate solver what it should be looking at, then it checks it's database to see where it's actually pointing and will alter the mounts position to centre you target in the frame. :D  It saves a lot of faffing about and only takes a couple of minutes.

As you have the later hand controller then try a standard USB cable in that port on the base of the hand controller and see if PHD2 will communicate with mount. In the PHD2 setting, change the mount setting from "On Camera" to the Ascom HEQ5/EQ6 setting and try to connect.

Yeah that was the cable I mentioned above in the link but like you and waldemar said, his link above would be to make the controller and its lead obsolete. I think 🤔

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14 minutes ago, Milzy said:

Yeah that was the cable I mentioned above in the link but like you and waldemar said, his link above would be to make the controller and its lead obsolete. I think 🤔

You can still use the USB cable into the hand controller in the meantime to control the mount with PHD2 & ATP if you want too. That's how I started off before I decided to get the lead.

It allows you to learn the software one at a time and slowly include it in your setup. It spread out the learning curve a bit. ;)

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5 hours ago, Budgie1 said:

You can still use the USB cable into the hand controller in the meantime to control the mount with PHD2 & ATP if you want too. That's how I started off before I decided to get the lead.

It allows you to learn the software one at a time and slowly include it in your setup. It spread out the learning curve a bit. ;)

Sound advice, thanks Budgie👍

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