SKY-WATCHER AZ-GTI TO LAPTOP

[p1taylor]

how do i connect my az gti goto mount with hand controller to stellarium software on my laptop windows 10, i have a cable to go from usb on hand set to usb on laptop,  if you need any more info will send it if i can.

    peter

[Cornelius Varley]

18 minutes ago, p1taylor said:

how do i connect my az gti goto mount with hand controller to stellarium software on my laptop windows 10, i have a cable to go from usb on hand set to usb on laptop,  if you need any more info will send it if i can.

    peter

For usb connection:
The first thing you will to do is open device manager in windows to see which comm port the usb cable has been assigned.

Then:
1. Open Stellarium and press f2
2. Go to Plugins and scroll down to Telescope Control. Select Load on Startup and the press the  Configure button.
3. Select Add
4. Choose the first option "Stellarium direct through a serial port".
5. Select start/connect at startup.
6. Scroll down and select Skywatcher AZ Goto as the mount
7. At this point you will also need to know which com port the usb cable has been assigned. Select the com port from the list.
8. Press OK

The AZ GTi also has wifi connection so you can connect your laptop directly to the mount through wifi using the Synscan windows app.

[malc-c]

I do think that the forum should have a sticky post on this subject seeing how many times it gets asked and how many times the answers are posted !

In a nutshell:

a) - If the Skywatcher mount has a B type USB port then you can use a standard A-B USB cable to connect the mount to the PC.  Irrespective of the operating system used on the PC the mount will be seen as a com port.  You will need to go into the settings for the com port, which for example in windows is done via Device manager.   If the driver is missing then you need to download and install the Prolific driver from the Skywatcher website.  Once installed set the BAUD rate to 115200 and save the settings.  You should then be able to set your chosen planetarium  up to point to that com port as detailed above

b) - If the handset has a USB port  but the mount does not, then then follow the same procedure as above but with the A-B USB cable connected between the handset and the PC, with the handset plugged into the the RJ socket on the mount.  Depending on the version of firmware on the handset you may need to place the handset into "PC-DIRECT " mode to enable pass through of the commands.

c) - If the mount has wifi and the PC is running windows then using the above mentioned windows application, connectivity can be wireless

d) - Even with built in USB ports, some people have mentioned issues using method a, mainly due to the use of the Prolific chipset in the mount.  An alternative is to replace the handset with an FTDI based EQDIR cable between the PC and the port where the handset normally connects.  FTDI chipset is natively supported under windows so no need to install drivers, and as they run at the default 9600 Baud, no need to change the settings in Device Manager

Hope that helps  

[p1taylor]

Thanks Peter and Malcolm for your info all is going OK .

      peter

[Gfamily]

With the wi-fi option, is it possible for Stellarium to control the mount via SynScan?

As far as I can see, Stellarium needs a Com Port number through which to send the commands. 

But with wi-fi?  

[Cornelius Varley]

11 minutes ago, Gfamily said:

With the wi-fi option, is it possible for Stellarium to control the mount via SynScan?

As far as I can see, Stellarium needs a Com Port number through which to send the commands. 

But with wi-fi?  

When using the Synscan app select "External software or remote computer" in Stellarium.

[Gfamily]

Thanks will try that. 

 

Edit to add - Yes, that worked - used TCP no 10001

Edited January 26, 2022 by Gfamily