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Help with guiding set up.


oldfruit

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Guest Kheldar

If  you're going to Paul's starparty tomorrow, I can lend you a NEW USB-EQ Direct cable and get it off you at BF next week if that would help??

 

It would not help Ron, he has one (EQDir = USB-EQ Direct) but he doesn't want to use it in favour of using the handset / serial method :)

Edited by Kheldar
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I think you are mixing two methodologies here Mark

 

Using the update cable is correct as per Noels guide, however using the EQDir cable I believe is not

 

I rather suspect the EQDir is not wired up as a regular RS232 to USB is - the EQDir is for doing the EQDir method (no handset)

 

I stand to be corrected :)

 

There you go Mark.

I knew one of them was wired differently :lol:

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I have a usb - rs232 cable that I know works, you can try that if your still having trouble.


 


Sorry you can't make it tonight but there's next weeks meet at Badger Farm to have a look at it.


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Thanks for the offer Paul, I have been out and bought a decent cable from Maplins this morning. As Ron says, I will not be able to make next meeting either :angry: . Though if the weather looks good I may go another evening to Badger Farm.


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Hope your having more luckj than I am Mark!! This EQDIR is a minefield of drivers and stuff, not doing very well here at all!


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Guest ecopley

If ascom can't see any com ports then you are in the same position I was in when I started with all this.

First, check 'device manager' which is in control panel. You should see a list of items, one of which should be 'ports (com and lpt)'. Click on the arrow to the left and the menu will expand and show you your USB to whatever it is cable and a com port number next to it.

If you can select this in the ascom driver then do so and then always use the same USB port for your mount. If you don't the com port number will change.

If you can't select the port (if you can't it will be above the limit of the ascom driver - something like 19) then you have two choices.

Firstly, right click your USB cable in device manager and select properties. Select the port settings tab, click advanced and at the bottom of the window you will see a com port number in a box. I don't recommend changing it but that is choice one. I don't recommend it because it's a bad plan and will confuse the kazzizzles off windows.

The second plan, which I know works cos it's what I did is to edit your registry.

Click start, find accessories in the program list and open the folder. Click on 'command prompt' and, in the black window, type 'regedit.exe' and press return. Click yes when it asks if you want to proceed.

Back up your registry before doing anything else. File menu, export. Done.

Now, you need to search for 'COM Name Arbiter'. This is the data base of com ports which have already been assigned. You want to delete it.

It's under Computer\HKEYLOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\COM Name Arbiter.

When you find that item in the list, click on it and the window to the right will show two items. First, default. Ignore this. Second, ComDB. Right click this and select delete.

Now restart and make sure the first thing you plug in is your scope cable and that you use the USB port you will always use.

Go back to device manager, find what com port you're on and select that in the ascom driver.

Let me know if you get stuck.

Good luck!

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Guest ecopley

Right. Bloody 8.1.

The registry location is the same.

In fact the whole procedure is the same except there's no start button.

Download 'classic start menu' and take a walk on the old side of town.

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Guest Kheldar

WIn 8 needs a different installation process. Not the normal drivers and certainly not the windows update ones.

Hitech provide specific windows 8 instructions for their cables - you best ask astronomiser if you don't already have his?

Edited by Kheldar
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Guest ecopley

I had assumed you had the drivers. My bad. The procedure I described won't hurt but it won't sort you if you have no drivers.

Sorry, I completely failed to even consider that because it sounded so similar to the problem I had!

Good luck getting it sorted.

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Guest Kheldar

I had assumed you had the drivers. My bad. The procedure I described won't hurt but it won't sort you if you have no drivers.

Sorry, I completely failed to even consider that because it sounded so similar to the problem I had!

Good luck getting it sorted.

I've made an equally bad assumption that his drivers are wrong, your solution may be needed :)

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All put away now! Will print out the blurb that goes wuth Win 8, I understand I need some older drivers Stephen so will read it and have another try!! Could only find HEQ5 scope and not an EQ5, will it not work on an EQ5? I will try on the HEQ5 if not!


 


Thanks both for your help,


Ron


 


 


PS It would appear from Modern Ast's advert that the HEQ5 and EQ5 cables are different, this might explain my problem!! :(


Edited by Ron Clarke
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Well, it looks like it was my mistakenly using the wrong cable that resulted in my problem. I have just connected to the mount with the new usb/rs232 cable and it connected first time no problem. Just go to wait for a clear night now to try the rig out.


Thanks to all that gave advice to help me resolve the problem. :thumbsup:


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PS It would appear from Modern Ast's advert that the HEQ5 and EQ5 cables are different, this might explain my problem!!


 


The Eq direct cables for the EQ5 and the HEQ5 are different Ron.


Different set up.


The EQ 5 has a stand alone box of tricks where the HEQ5 is inbuilt.


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Well, it looks like it was my mistakenly using the wrong cable that resulted in my problem. I have just connected to the mount with the new usb/rs232 cable and it connected first time no problem. Just go to wait for a clear night now to try the rig out.

Thanks to all that gave advice to help me resolve the problem. :thumbsup:

 

Thats brilliant news Mark. :frantic::2thumbsup::strut:

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That's good new's Mark (sorry I hijacked the thread!) Need an evening to see if my box of tricks works on the HEQ5 and Win 8.1!!


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