Controlling EQ6 mount using computer

[ohmprakash]

Guys, instead of controlling EQ6 mount with hand controller, I have been trying to connect mount through Auto-guiding port and/or hand controller port. My first try was with PL2303xx on auto-guiding port and second try was with cable using unknown IC on hand controller port. In both cases I assigned COM port# in my computer (as computer assigned COM port # over 20 which EQMOD Ascom could not detect).

I tried to access the mount using EQMOD ASCOM (Choosing ASCOM compatible telescope) and experimented with different baud rates. Yet, I am unable detect the mount installed in COM port.

I repeated the same with EQAlign and no success so far. Any help in this area will useful.

Regards,

Ohmprakash

[Suresh Mohan]

U need Rs 232 - USB cable and connect to laptop instead of handpad ; download latest version of EQMOD 

Sent from my iPhone

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[Suresh Mohan]

U should not try the autoguiding port

Sent from my iPhone

[Sankaranarayanan K V]

Ohmprakash,

You would also need an interface device known as EQDIRECT.  Among other things, this interface converts a key voltage available in one of the serial pins. You might damage the mount if you don't use this. So please read up stuff in the following pages first:

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

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

Regards

Sankar

[Biswajit Bose]

hi,

Recently we have purchased an Orion Atlas Eq-G mount which we expect to receive within next few days... initially we don't have autoguider neither eqdirect module... how could we control it via PC or improve its tracking accuracy... 

Thanks,

Biswajit

[Ajay Talwar]

Since you mention autoguider, I assume you want to do astro-photography your Atlas mount.

To improve accuracy of your astrophotos (i.e. get round stars) you will need to do the following -
1. Polar align accurately, plan to spend about 1 hour in drift alignment. There is an in-built option of polar alignment in the menu structure of Atlas Mount, but still do the drift alignment.
2. Record the periodic error correction (PEC) in your mount.
3. Shoot small exposures. You can afford to shoot 30-40 second exposures on star clusters (globular & open). Do shoot LOTS of short exposures, say 150 or more.
4. Throw away all bad exposures and stack the good ones. In my Atlas I sometimes have to throw out 40-50% short exposures when I am not guiding.

Now to your other question about controlling the mount with a PC, I use the following software/hardware chain:

1. Starry Night software,
2. ASCOM installation,
3. Celestron unified telescope drivers (for Atlas) obtained from ASCOM site,
4. USB to serial (from Keyspan),
5. Serial cable which came along with the mount (goes to the handpaddle bottom)

Ajay Talwar

 

Sky Photo Trip - 5th Edition
Astrophotography Workshop in the Himalayas - December 6-8, 2013

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From: Biswajit Bose <sola...@gmail.com>
To: b-...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 7:44 PM
Subject: Re: [-BAS-] Controlling EQ6 mount using computer

[Suresh Mohan]

I had a spare eqdir module I gave it recently to a friend in us

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 16, 2014, at 1:54 PM, Suresh Mohan <drsure...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Suresh Mohan]

In addition to whatever Ajay said I noted a particular issue with eq 6 ie when applying PE and auto guiding there used to be a clash resulting in negative effect those days ; I hope the newer EQMOD version have sorted it out

Suresh

Sent from my iPhone

[Biswajit Bose]

Thanks Doc.

[Biswajit Bose]

Hello Mr Talwar

Thanks Very much. Very well briefed.  

Let have the instrument first... hope get your assistance in future.

However, from where do we get that USB to Serial (Keyspan) cable, is it available in Indian Market?

Biswajit

   

[Ajay Talwar]

Hello Biswajit,

Where are you located?
You can get the Keyspan USB to Serial cable here -
http://www.gadgets.in/keyspan-usb-serial-adapter.html

no doubt this is costly, almost three times the cost in a store, but I've spent more on petrol looking for the right USB to serial adapter at Nehru Place in Delhi. I presently have about 8 USB-Serial adapters which cost me from Rs 200-300, so I've spent almost the same amount on things that work intermittently, behave differently on windows 8, 7, Vista, XP.

Since I spent this amount on Keyspan, there has been no trouble at all. I may plug the USB-Serial adapter in any USB port or any computer or even the OS the Com Port number remains the same !

Have you purchased any telescope along with the EQ6?

Ajay Talwar

 

Sky Photo Trip - 5th Edition
Astrophotography Workshop in the Himalayas - December 6-8, 2013

From: Biswajit Bose <sola...@gmail.com>
To: b-...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 11:46 PM

[Biswajit Bose]

Hi 

Mr Talwar,

Got the mount on friday. Not purchased any telescope with the mount as initially I have decided to work with 8" Meade f/6 Newtonian. I found the latitude adjustment front and tail knobs are bit tight. Is there any sort of lock or something to make these knobs free? Though I have done good  pole star alignment but after doing 3 star alignment I am getting inaccuracy in the goto movement of the telescope after an hour or so ... not yet performed PAE... do your have any suggestion... not yet checked for cone error...but the error becomes so much that it ended up almost few 10 degrees away from the object...

Determined park position and so on... when turning off the mount it nicely returns back to the park position... but not understand this pointing accuracy error...   

I have laptop with serial port...can I use the RS232 cable supplied by the company directly without converting serial port to USB?

However, I am located at Kolkata.

Thanks,

Biswajit               

[Ajay Talwar]

Hello Biswajit,

Congratulations on the mount, this is going to last you many years!

The latitude adjustment knobs are locked against each other, you have to loosen one side and then tighten the other side. If you are tightening the lower knob, you are raising the entire weight of the mount, it will be tight. You can help by raising the mount with your hand, and then turning the knob. Of course you need to loosen the other side first.

Personally I never do three star alignment. I would be a better idea to do a good polar alignment (if you want to use the mount visually then the polar scope, or the inbuilt polar alignment routine, will be fine) and do a one star alignment, then the accuracy will be better. Of course the ultimate goto accuracy is obtained by installing the EQMOD on your laptop. (A laptop with serial port is nice!)

Ajay Talwar
 

Sky Photo Trip - 5th Edition
Astrophotography Workshop in the Himalayas - December 6-8, 2013

From: Biswajit Bose <sola...@gmail.com>
To: b-...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Monday, January 20, 2014 7:56 PM

[Suresh Mohan]

Biswajit three star alignment was created to improve goto ; the algorithm is meant to overcome cone error ; I always did one star alignment with auto guiding ; my polar alignment I used to spend the maximum time of one hour or more ; nowadays it is much easier using Phd software 

Suresh

Sent from my iPhone

[sathya kumar Prasanna]

Hi Biswajit,

I recently used EQMOD to control my mount. The Atlas is the clone of EQ6, this can be confirmed as the handset is directly replacable with the Sky-Watcher handset and it works well. You can purchase a Prolific RS-232-USB adapter. It costs Rs 1200 in Bangalore. If you can see the pole star from your location, do a good polar alignment, but remember to align the axis of the polar scope with the RA axis of the EQ mount. There are several tutorials on this online on youtube. Look for one by Astronomy Shed. 

There are ways by which you can spend little money and still get best performance from the mount. :) 

Thanks and Regards

Sathya

http://sharma-astronomy.weebly.com

[sathya kumar Prasanna]

One more thing Biswajit. When using any type of star alignment, if you select the alignment star(s) close to the region of your interest then accuracy is very high.

Thanks and Regards

Sathya

http://sharma-astronomy.weebly.com

[Sankaranarayanan K V]

On Mon, Jan 20, 2014 at 7:56 PM, Biswajit Bose <sola...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have laptop with serial port...can I use the RS232 cable supplied by the company directly without converting serial port to USB?

No!  AFAIK, you would destroy your mount's board if you do it. There are voltage differences and you need to use an interface device called EQDIRECT. It is available from many vendors in various forms. 

Please read up the following articles to understand this better: 

http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/docs/PC_Control_Options.pdf

http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/eqdirect2.htm

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

Sankar

[Ajay Talwar]

Hello Sankar,

Your email prompted me to go and download EQMOD, I am just going through the website and on the overview page I found that there are three types of connections possible from the laptop to the mount. The chain of hardware in each case goes like this:

1. Laptop > [USB] Serial port > Serial cable > Handpad > Mount

2. Laptop > EQDirect (could be either serial or USB) > Mount (direct) note there is no handpad in this option

3. Laptop > Bluetooth wireless > BT2EQ adapter > Mount, again there is no handpad in this option.

I have been using option 1, i.e. USB to serial adapter, Serial cable, Handpad, Mount, since many years. Although I have had problems many times, but mostly it was the USB to serial adapter or the cable fault.

Are you saying the if my laptop had a serial port, I could not have used the serial cable provided by Atlas along with their mount? Note again that I do not connect the serial cable to the mount directly, rather to the handpad.

Incidentally the same serial cable provided by the company is also used to update the firmware from the laptop to the handpad, no need to connect the mount for updating the firmware.

Ajay Talwar

(Presently setting up the bluetooth wireless operation from laptop to the Atlas mount)

 

Sky Photo Trip - 5th Edition
Astrophotography Workshop in the Himalayas - December 6-8, 2013

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From: Sankaranarayanan K V <kvsa...@gmail.com>
To: b-...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 1:32 PM

Subject: Re: [-BAS-] Controlling EQ6 mount using computer

[Sankaranarayanan K V]

On Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 5:56 PM, Ajay Talwar <ajayta...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Are you saying the if my laptop had a serial port, I could not have used the serial cable provided by Atlas along with their mount? Note again that I do not connect the serial cable to the mount directly, rather to the handpad.

The PC <--> Hand Controller <--> Mount style setup (Option 1 in your mail) does NOT need any interface device. It's called the "PC Direct" mode of connection. However, it is not documented well by SW and the EQMOD folks don't recommend it. 

If your laptop had a serial port, you still should NOT connect it to the mount directly using a serial cable. You must use an interface device as in Option 2 of your e-mail. See a discussion here - http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/archive/index.php/t-116104.html .   

When using Option 2, you can use the serial cable provided - one end connects to the PC; the other end connects to the EQDIRECT inteface module such as EQDIR (not the mount directly). See the picture at the end of the page here - http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/eqdirect.htm .

Hope it's clear. 

Sankar

 

[Ajay Talwar]

Hello Again Sankar,

I have been using the non documented PC direct mode quite well, since many years. I use it along with Starry Night planetarium software. No issues there.

I get your point regarding connecting the serial cable directly to the mount. But in fact you cannot connect the serial cable to the mount directly because the cable has a RJ male type connector and the mount has DB female type connector.

Can we then agree and jointly guide Biswajeet to use this hardware chain without any further hardware addition :) ? This way we can probably end Biswajeet's confusion. He already has a serial port in his computer and he can use it well.

Planetarium software (e.g. Starry Night, Stellarium Scope, Cartes Du Ciel)> Laptop > Serial Port > Serial Cable provided by the company > Handpad > Mount

By the way, I just finished installing the wireless bluetooth connection with my laptop and Atlas EQ6 mount using BT2EQ and EQASCOM software. No wires and no cumbersome handpad falling everywhere. I feel good with every thing performing as it should :)

Ajay Talwar

 

Sky Photo Trip - 5th Edition
Astrophotography Workshop in the Himalayas - December 6-8, 2013

From: Sankaranarayanan K V <kvsa...@gmail.com>
To: b-...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 7:36 PM

Subject: Re: [-BAS-] Controlling EQ6 mount using computer

[Subhankar Saha]

As some reports suggest, you may have latency issues affecting your guiding performance when using BT mode of connection. Do check things out. I too want to know BT2EQ performance, it will help reduce one wire of many wires (though this wire is least bothersome).

I use AutoPEC feature of EQMOD, and it works great. Simple & effective and no brainer. You need a guiding setup and must be pulse-guiding (see EQMOD documentation) for this to work though. Pulse-guiding is good too - specially it helps reducing one more wire from the picture.

Regards,

Subhankar.

[Ajay Talwar]

Hi Subhankar,

Two cables are eliminated actually, one from mount to handpad and another from handpad to computer with a USB to serial adapter along the way.

Presently I am indoors, and do not see any latency (but of course :), will report once under the stars.

Ajay Talwar

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From: Subhankar Saha <subhank...@gmail.com>
To: BAS <b-...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 7:55 PM

[Sankaranarayanan K V]

On Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 7:49 PM, Ajay Talwar <ajayta...@yahoo.com> wrote:

I have been using the non documented PC direct mode quite well, since many years. I use it along with Starry Night planetarium software. No issues there.

I used this mode a couple of times before I acquired EQDIR. I didn't want to continue with the PC Direct mode to mitigate a risk I perceived. It's an individual's choice ultimately.

I get your point regarding connecting the serial cable directly to the mount. But in fact you cannot connect the serial cable to the mount directly because the cable has a RJ male type connector and the mount has DB female type connector.

You are quite right.  I was somehow thinking of having seen a regular serial cable in the set.

Can we then agree and jointly guide Biswajeet to use this hardware chain without any further hardware addition :) ? This way we can probably end Biswajeet's confusion. He already has a serial port in his computer and he can use it well.

Planetarium software (e.g. Starry Night, Stellarium Scope, Cartes Du Ciel)> Laptop > Serial Port > Serial Cable provided by the company > Handpad > Mount

This connection style (PC Direct mode) is definitely a good starting point. But I would let Biswajeet make his own decision based on all inputs he has received.

 

Sankar

[Biswajit Bose]

Hi all,

Thanks every one for your valuable suggestions... each and every lines of this discussion seems quite helpful to me...thanks very much.

Regards,

Biswajit