AZ-EQ5 Mount USB Port - What does it do?

[bosun21]

5 minutes ago, PeterC65 said:

Well ...

After uninstalling and re-installing various Prolific drivers, I'm now back on v5.2.6.0, which is the latest version and the one I've been using all along, and SynScan Pro is connecting successfully to the mount. I have no idea what I've done to make this work!

 

🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🙂.

[StevieDvd]

14 hours ago, PeterC65 said:

Well ...

After uninstalling and re-installing various Prolific drivers, I'm now back on v5.2.6.0, which is the latest version and the one I've been using all along, and SynScan Pro is connecting successfully to the mount. I have no idea what I've done to make this work!

 

I believe you have removed the incorrectly selected driver version and loaded a working one (perhaps with built in 'pipe cleaner').😉

In any case glad to hear it works now.

[PeterC65]

After some more testing this morning, it seems that the correct Prolific driver is v5.2.3.0 which is the one installed by the PL23XX Prolific Driver Installer v4.0.8. This Driver Installer is the current version of the installer downloaded from the Prolific website. Interestingly, it doesn't install the very latest version of the driver itself, which is v5.2.6.0, and instead actually removes this version if it is present.

Fingers crossed this setup will keep working. I'm doing more testing this afternoon.

 

Edited January 6 by PeterC65

[malc-c]

Its a shame Synta went with Prolific chipsets in their equipment rather then FTDI - there would be none of this fuffing about !

Glad to hear you have had some progress in the right direction 

[PeterC65]

After further testing the problem has returned and I still need to 'pipe clean' the communications pathway by first attempting to set the Properties of the SkyWatcher Telescope driver from the ASCOM Device Hub. Looking at Windows Device Manager, it looks like the Prolific driver may have been automatically updated, but in any case, something is changing the state of the driver and stopping it from connecting to SynScan Pro without first carrying out this 'pipe cleaning' step. It only takes a minute to do and is only needed once, after a reboot, so I will just live with it.

On the plus side, I've just received a 10m long active USB 3.0 cable from LINDY which is long enough for me to connect to the mount outside without having to move the laptop and second monitor from their usual spot on office desk. I took a chance and bought a USB 3.0 cable (I had been using a 5m long non-active USB 2.0 cable) and the new cable supports the faster USB 3.0 data rates which should be better for lunar and planetary observing.

 

[malc-c]

20 hours ago, PeterC65 said:

(I had been using a 5m long non-active USB 2.0 cable)

 

Risky... Anything 3m and above should be an active cable to ensure signal voltage doesn't drop out

[PeterC65]

6 hours ago, malc-c said:

Risky... Anything 3m and above should be an active cable to ensure signal voltage doesn't drop out

The 5m USB 2.0 cable was fine but slow. I could not get a 5m standard USB 3.0 cable to work, but the active version works fine.