Alternative EQmod/dir thingy

[leenewtoastro]

Am i missing something?

this seems to be a usb to serial adapter and 232 to TTL output all in one ? to drive your mounts. all thats needed is crimp on your rj45

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[Psychobilly]

Not at all... that all you need... make sure you get the 5V one...

Most people splice the cable to an offcut of CAT5 with the RJ45 already on it and pot it in a small box...

http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/tutindex.html

The how do I make my own EQdir bit...

Billy...

[GrantEb]

Correct, and it works perfectly. It also always connects to the same com port when you plug it in, unlike some usb/serial converters.

[leenewtoastro]

superb

what a much much neater alternative to a usb to serial then a serial to TTL box !

[acme]

Hi,

Yes that is right, the EQ6 Pro just needs a male DB9 soldered on the cable end and your up and running with EQMOD. I use the one listed above. Works fine.

Acme

[leenewtoastro]

so now iv'e discovered this little gem reducing my expected costs and bulk.

what about a compact sw auto focuser driver? i.e shoestring replacement

[NickK]

Just be careful with the EQ6's D connector, it's got 12V lines to power the handset and if you short them you could ruin the EQ's controller board and/or your computer.

Other than that it's straight forward

[leenewtoastro]

cheers nick. wires plugs and sockets come easy to me

[chrisshillito]

superb

what a much much neater alternative to a usb to serial then a serial to TTL box !

Depends on your application - if you've a long run to the mount you're much better off sticking to RS232 than messing about with multiple USB active cables.

Chris.

[leenewtoastro]

chris i have a long distance usb solution in place tried and tested no mulitple hubs active used etc

[MG1]

curious to hear move about your long distance usb run Lee....how long, what's going over it?

I've six devices at the end of my run (Mount EQDir, camera, guide cam, GPS, TEMPerHum, Game pad) but when I connect the filter wheel it gives up... and that's only over around 9M with a belkin active USB extension.

Always interested to see what other folk have managed to get working.

[leenewtoastro]

thats more devices than i have tried over a single cable however if it could not cope another cable install would be very cheap.

i'm running over 28m

[MG1]

28m USB! Wow I thought they were limited to 5m!

I think most people making long runs use CAT5e cable and a USB over CAT5 System (like silex) or use a network with remote access to a second laptop at the scope.

Your way is MUCH cheaper I guess!

[leenewtoastro]

thats it MG over cat5. cat5 is very cheap as are the cat5 to usb converters.

my 28m setup cost <£20 ( yes a little cheating had access to cat5 cable but still even if you had to buy it )

i looked at the other methods and thought the laptop method was the most costly and difficult to manage.

laptops are very power hungry and out in the conditions internal dew will be more than likely an issue.

[Earl]

After much messing about with leads USB extenders a Silex etc I went for a Remote Controlled ITX PC dedicated to the scope.

Yes a bit more expensive but solved all my problems in one go.

[BlueAstra]

To the ones using a remote computer at the scope, what operating system is on the computer?

[leenewtoastro]

To the ones using a remote computer at the scope, what operating system is on the computer?

anything from xp upwards blue should be fine. why?

[BlueAstra]

Well, I've been having problems with the USB-Serial adapter, detailed here: http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-help/133381-computer-setup-powerful-enough.html . It looks like the solution is an operating system upgrade to W7 to get access to the newer driver. Just wondered if people actually used XP in a nettop at the mount.

[leenewtoastro]

any long lengths of usb cable?

[BlueAstra]

No, the nettop is at the mount and the longest USB cables are about 1m.

[leenewtoastro]

that sounds like a power saving mode issue.

do you have the lid closed on the netbook?

[leenewtoastro]

champion

so this plugs straight to the motor control board of the mount making the H/Ctrl redundant?. but what if for some reason i wanted to use the H/ctrl in Pc mode will this cable do the same job as the cable you would use to go from H/ctrl to pc? or does that cable come with a new heq5 goto anyway?

.

[beamish]

You won't want to

[malc-c]

Would this work with the serial modified webcam, rather than using a traditional serial to usb converter ?

[leenewtoastro]

yes malc although this is ttl you can get a regular 232 version tho

the serial is basically encapsulated into the usb moulded plug so the wire end is indeed 232