GEM45 USB Problem - solved with a cheap USB hub

[Jerry Barnes]

I recently was given a small gigabyte PC which I planned to use to control my mount and cameras.  A long ethernet cable would let me sit in the warm and monitor the session via remote desktop from my laptop.

I could not get the mount to be recognised by the PC, whatever I tried it would not create the virtual com port.   Windows update, reinstall software and drivers, nothing worked.  Then I tried adding a USB hub between the mount and PC, a cheap 4 port unpowered one costing less than £10.  All was fine after that, though my MC2600 didnt like to be connected through it.  It was a USB3 hub and I think the mount is USB2 so that might be some clue to why it worked though I think I plugged it into a USB2 port.

I have found USB connections to be very picky and seem to be resolved by trial and error rather than deduction but this might possibly help somebody else with a similar problem.

Cheers

Jerry

 

Edited February 1 by Jerry Barnes
corrected sentence

[Stuart1971]

I had similar issues, and a shorter USB cable solved it, went from a 1m down to a 70cm cable and all the issues went away…👍🏻

[Ouroboros]

I wonder if this is related to a known USB connection issue with the GEM45s solved (as you have, @Jerry Barnes) by using an additional USB hub between the mount and controlling computer or ASIair.

There are references to this problem and workarounds here:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/778610-new-ioptron-gem45-and-asiair-issue/

Because of this issue I returned a GEM45 during the supplier’s grace period. I do not consider this satisfactory.  You should not have to implement this sort of workaround in a product designed to be controlled by an external computer. 

 

Edited February 1 by Ouroboros