PC not recognising Synscan Wi-Fi on AZ-GTI

[Olli]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to connect my pc (windows 11) to my Az gti to update the firmware however for some reason the synscan connection isn’t showing up on my pc? I have tested my phone and appears on there as normal. I have been watching videos on how to update it and unfortunately failing at the first hurdle restarting both devices and disabling Ethernet which I am currently connected to. Is there a way to manually add it on the pc with the ssid? 

any advice would be helpful!

[StevieDvd]

In Win 11 you can add a network connection (especially if it is not broadcasting itself) via settings.

Use Settings > Network & internet > WiFi > Manage known networks

You should see an 'Add network' button that opens a dialogue where you can enter the details.

 

[Olli]

Thought I would reply back to this post instead of creating a new one, I am unable to still connect via Wi-Fi and ordered a rj12 to usb cable to think that I would be able to update via usb however it is still not working using the non Wi-Fi loader from skywatchers website. Is there a specific cable that I need to purchase? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[StevieDvd]

Did you get a Com port when you connected the cable to the PC?  You may need to change the Synscan settings to pick up the port or set it manually.

[Jules Tohpipi]

This is a long shot, but it might be worth trying to change the Wi-Fi channel that the AZ-GTi is operating on. I think you find that by connecting to it with your phone then going Settings>SynScan Wi-Fi.  I think the channel is set to 6 or 12 by default. Whatever it is I changed them vice-versa.  (I’m away from the mount at the moment)  

On the face of it shouldn’t make any difference given your phone is connecting. However, inside the house, when doing a firmware upgrade, my PC wasn’t seeing the mount at all - even though my phone would. After changing the channel my PC connects fine inside the house. 

[Olli]

5 minutes ago, Jules Tohpipi said:

This is a long shot, but it might be worth trying to change the Wi-Fi channel that the AZ-GTi is operating on. I think you find that by connecting to it with your phone then going Settings>SynScan Wi-Fi.  I think the channel is set to 6 or 12 by default. Whatever it is I changed them vice-versa.  (I’m away from the mount at the moment)  

On the face of it shouldn’t make any difference given your phone is connecting. However, inside the house, when doing a firmware upgrade, my PC wasn’t seeing the mount at all - even though my phone would. After changing the channel my PC connects fine inside the house. 

Hi , thanks for the reply. I will give this a  go tomorrow sounds like a good idea. I am pretty sure that I am missing something completely obvious…

[Olli]

3 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

Did you get a Com port when you connected the cable to the PC?  You may need to change the Synscan settings to pick up the port or set it manually.

How do I check the com port? And what settings would I need to change on the app? Thanks.

[Jules Tohpipi]

Just now, Olli said:

Hi , thanks for the reply. I will give this a  go tomorrow sounds like a good idea. I am pretty sure that I am missing something completely obvious…

Good luck. 

I always get the jitters when updating its firmware and do it only when absolutely necessary. One time it hung when updating and no option other than to switch it off. Then I couldn’t connect back to it at all. Aargh!!

Luckily I had the Sky-Watcher Wi-Fi adapter around (for my Dob) and read that connecting that to the AZ-GTi allowed you to start communicating with it again (via the adapter’s network). Thankfully that worked and was able to reload the firmware….

[Olli]

15 minutes ago, Jules Tohpipi said:

Good luck. 

I always get the jitters when updating its firmware and do it only when absolutely necessary. One time it hung when updating and no option other than to switch it off. Then I couldn’t connect back to it at all. Aargh!!

Luckily I had the Sky-Watcher Wi-Fi adapter around (for my Dob) and read that connecting that to the AZ-GTi allowed you to start communicating with it again (via the adapter’s network). Thankfully that worked and was able to reload the firmware….

I did too , I kind of regret turning it into an Eq Mount but hopefully I can get it fixed. Have contacted FLO to see if i can send it in to them if worse case scenario. Thanks for the help.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Olli

[Olli]

So I have made some progress. The Wi-Fi is now showing on my pc. Though it only lets me connect momentarily. Whilst it’s connected I tried to install the firmware but shows that it couldn’t connect to the Mount. I tried toggling find devices off and on in the settings and this seemed to make it appear..though the Wi-Fi shows no signal and sometimes doesn’t allow me to connect at all.

[Olli]

This is what happens when trying to connect via a rj12 to usb. 

[StevieDvd]

If you open the Ports section in the devices manager do you see a COM1 port? If another number is present uncheck the automatic port on the firmware panel and enter the port number manually.

If there are no ports it may be that you don't have the driver for the USB serial cable and it's flagged in the other devices as not working.

The other solutins that others have mentioned in the past is that the home network wifi drowns out the synscan so to try the update away from your home network if possible (via a laptop in garage or garden shed for example).

 

[Olli]

9 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

If you open the Ports section in the devices manager do you see a COM1 port? If another number is present uncheck the automatic port on the firmware panel and enter the port number manually.

If there are no ports it may be that you don't have the driver for the USB serial cable and it's flagged in the other devices as not working.

The other solutins that others have mentioned in the past is that the home network wifi drowns out the synscan so to try the update away from your home network if possible (via a laptop in garage or garden shed for example).

 

Thanks for the help, I have updated the drivers as suggested ( forgot about that) and it now doesn’t have the orange warning . After checking the device again it is now showing com3 and selected com3 on the loader. Unfortunately still the same issue.

[StevieDvd]

I did not see a mention that you have the Synscan app loaded on your computer.  It may be that the firmware software updater needs some of the files that are installed with the Synscan app for connectivity. I had that as the first point in an older thread which helped a few others with their upgrades.

I managed to hit the  failed update which changed the wifi name back to a factory default, but it is still possible to reflash the firmware even in that dire circumstance. I understand that SW have that catered for now in the latest loader version.  I'd been trying the update right next to my network hub and it only worked for me when I moved away from that - though I bought a usb/serial cable as a backup anyway.

 

 

[Olli]

43 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

I did not see a mention that you have the Synscan app loaded on your computer.  It may be that the firmware software updater needs some of the files that are installed with the Synscan app for connectivity. I had that as the first point in an older thread which helped a few others with their upgrades.

I managed to hit the  failed update which changed the wifi name back to a factory default, but it is still possible to reflash the firmware even in that dire circumstance. I understand that SW have that catered for now in the latest loader version.  I'd been trying the update right next to my network hub and it only worked for me when I moved away from that - though I bought a usb/serial cable as a backup anyway.

 

 

Thanks for the help. My phone won’t even connect to the mounts Wi-Fi now so something is definitely wrong as it’s showing a different ssid. I think I am just going to leave it for now as it’s driving me loopy. Thanks again.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Olli

[StevieDvd]

45 minutes ago, Olli said:

Thanks for the help. My phone won’t even connect to the mounts Wi-Fi now so something is definitely wrong as it’s showing a different ssid. I think I am just going to leave it for now as it’s driving me loopy. Thanks again.

You've probably got the same issue as others got to, including me. Have you got a wifi name like ESP*** instead. If so then the solution here is what I and others did.

[Olli]

If anyone else stumbles across this I had to order  a eqmod cable  (as mentioned in the thread) from flo in the end for the Az-gti and the firmware installed instantly. Appreciate everyone’s help. Finally got it sorted !

Edited September 19, 2023 by Olli