Eqmod , mount no longer found

[greenkat]

Hi all, hope you can help

Ive been using Eqmod for a while now, ( mount-eqdir-usb , no handset) all working fine, until tonight

I was imaging M45, eqmod working on com4 , then for some reason it stopped tracking.

I shut everything down and started again, but it keeps saying mount not found on com# (# being any com port i try)

Its showing in device manager on all com ports i connect to.

I recently updayed to latest version of eqascom so uninstalled and tried the older version, still no mount found.

Tried it on 2 pc's , not working on both

The only thing I can now think of , is something has gone wrong inside the eqdir box

Any suggestions welcome

Cheers in advance

[barkis]

Have you tried to connect your hand controller to the mount. or have you not still got the controller. Is it the eqdir adapter you have, or the latest Hitec Astro one from Flo.? Sorry, just re read your post, no handset. Is the mount power light still on?

Ron.

[greenkat]

Hi Barkis

Cheers for the reply

Ive just ttested the mont using the handcontoler via com1 and eqascom finds the mount and it works fine

I have the shoestring eqdir adapter and its been working fine for about the past 8 months

[barkis]

So, perhaps your module has developed a fault.It would be the first I have heard of if it is the case. Seems rather odd though, I would have thought the device pretty well failure free. Are you using a serial to USB converter on the Shoestring eqdir. Although you say Device Manager is recognizing the port.

Ron.

[greenkat]

Yep im using serial-usb cable, just tested that via pc control on handset, working ok

Think i'll take the EQdir modual to Opticstar tomorow where i bought it from and see if they can test it somehow

any other ideas welcome tho

[barkis]

Good plan. You are lucky to have Optic Star on your doorstep. At least you can get an immediate resolution of the problem if it does turn out to be faulty. Good luck anyway.

I would be be delighted because at least the mount is fine.

Ron.

[greenkat]

Good job i finish work at 1pm on a Friday too as they shut at weekend

Mount seems fine, just been slewing using direct pc thru handset.

Thanks for you help

Oh well, time for bed said Zebbadie

[greenkat]

Ok, now its getting silly

Have dropped off the eqdir modual at Opticstar who are going to test it over weekend

Now the mount isnt found even using the direct pc control option ( worked ok last night when I tested it )

An error message came up saying runtime error 75 file access error

It still seems to be fine going thru com1 on serial port tho

Now wondering if the serial-usb cable has gone wonky, but cant understand how, its showing in device manager

Totaly stumped me

[greenkat]

OK, I've instaled latest prolific serial-usb driver, shows in hardware manager, eqascom still not seeing the mount on any com port I try when I conect - pc>usb-serial>hanset>mount on pc direct control.

Opticstar have tested my shoestring eqdir modual & say it works ok.

The only way I can get eqascom to see the mount is via com1 serial on desktop pc.

I've ordered one of the new hitech astro adapters but am worried it may not work as it also seems to use the prolific drivers .

Fingers crossed

Will keep trying to get my shoestring one working in the meantime.

Any further sugestions welcome

[Cornelius Varley]

How long is your USB cable ? It is possible that the cable is too long (greater than 3m) and the signal is lost. Have you tried another USB cable ?

Peter

[greenkat]

How long is your USB cable ? It is possible that the cable is too long (greater than 3m) and the signal is lost. Have you tried another USB cable ?

Peter

Hi Peter

Thanks for replying

Cant see it being the cable length, I've been using the cable and software sucesfully for around 8 months.

Eqascom just suddenly stopped seing the mount halfway thru an imaging session.

Opticstar did say that microsoft updates can sometimes cause problems and there have been a few updates instaled recently. Not sure how they could affect it tho.

Hope I can get this sorted else no guiding for me on the lappy

[Cornelius Varley]

It does sound more like a software fault if all the hardware seems to be ok but I would have expected Eqascom to either work or not work after a ms update. Can you do a system restore to a date previous to the ms update?

Before trying a system restore, uninstall the ascom platform,eqascom and drivers, then clean out the registry of any leftover entries using a registry cleaner like CCleaner then reinstall the software.

Peter

[Glider]

I had similar, Windows did a shuffle of my com port numbers for me in secret.

Plug the USB-232 dongle into a USB port, let it go ding-dong, mine does it twice. If you have more than 1 USB port you might try plugging in and out on all of them, I found that individually each USB wanted to install drivers the first time it saw new hardware. This is just convenience, it just saves fiddling in the dark one night.

Check in control panel, system, hardware devices that the dongle is at com n, where n is a number 1, 2 or 3. Sometimes it loads at numbers as high as 20, not all software is written with this capability, I've seen software where it could only talk to com ports below 4.

Then check that the Eqascom mount driver is also set to the same com port.

True that the USB spec says maximum cable 5m, unless a powered repeater is used, though as you say, you haven't changed this.

Have you got other USB stuff plugged in, the power USB can supply to peripherals is limited, have you added something new and chuncky that is drawing current?

[greenkat]

Hi Peter, am doing a regitry clean at the moment

Hi Glider, doesnt seem to matter which usb port i use, i had already instaled on all com ports for convenience, ususaly I use com5

Ive uninstaled the prolific driver, reinstaled the stlab driver (as i'm using an stlab serial-usb cable) plugged it in, did the ding dong setup, shows up in device manager on com5 , set ascom to com5, rate9600, timeout 1000, retry 1 , click ok, then get device not found on com5

Wont work on either my laptop or my desktop pc, I have 2 Heq5 pro's, cant get it to work on either

Getting annoyed now as its clear outside lol

[Parallax]

You can test to see if the serial adaptor is working by shorting out pins 2 & 3 of the 9 pin connector. If you are using XP (or anything earlier than Vista) then use Hyperterminal. Anything that you type on the keyboard will be echoed back to the PC (if everything is OK).

HTH

Steve

[greenkat]

You can test to see if the serial adaptor is working by shorting out pins 2 & 3 of the 9 pin connector. If you are using XP (or anything earlier than Vista) then use Hyperterminal. Anything that you type on the keyboard will be echoed back to the PC (if everything is OK).

HTH

Steve

If I could trust myself not to blow the house up at the same time Id'e give that a go

Just updated ascom platform, still no joy

I've ordered one of the new Hitech astro moduals and hopefully that will work

[Cornelius Varley]

Sorry I could not be of more help. There is another thread started that appears to show similar problems plus there is something similar on the yahoo eqmod forum. I think I shall leave mine disconnected for the time being and use the hanscontroller.

Peter

[Starflyer]

Joint the EQMOD Yahoo group if you aren't already a member, there's some very knowledgeable people in the group.

[greenkat]

Hi everyone

Peter, dont appologise, any suggestions were helpfull , many thanks

Starflyer, I have joined the yahoo group and had a few suggestions, cheers

However, the HItech Eqdir modual I ordered from FLO came this am and everything is working fine again , whoo hooo

No dought it will be cloudy tonight lol

Thanks for all your sugestions

Greenkat

[Cornelius Varley]

Good to hear

Peter