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Old 07-06-2019, 04:45 PM
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lazjen (Chris)
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Flaxton, Qld
Posts: 2,064
Thanks, Suavi. Hopefully it will help others in the future.

Since the last post, I did some more testing. I installed the ASCOM driver and the iOptron Commander software.

I then did 3 connection tests: USB, Wifi and Wired Ethernet.

USB was straightforward - connect the cable and the Commander software found the mount.

Wifi was nearly as easy - connect the laptop's wifi to the mount's wifi, and once again the Commander software found the mount. This connection type means that the laptop is disconnected from other networks/internet, unless it also has a wired connection.

Wired required some more work - enter the IP Address and Port - both info can be found in the hand controller - the mount gets an IP address from the router, so it should be possible to set a static IP address if desired (I'll do that sometime).

There's a 4th option for connecting which I didn't bother with: RS232.

The Commander software was easy to use, although I believe it doesn't cover all functions that the hand controller can do. I haven't checked it closely though.

One thing I noticed during this testing - if I changed the connection type, I had to either restart the mount or use a restart option in the hand controller for it to be happy again. Not a big deal since what I am doing is a bit unusual.

For my final test, I powered up my Linux box with kstars/ekos. I decided to try connecting via wifi, so I connected to the mounts wifi. I fired up INDI (ekos) and chose the iOptron CEM120 driver. In the config I had to switch it to ethernet connection and enter the IP address and port to use. It then connected no problems and in the brief testing I did seemed to work.

I did have a problem with the park function - it didn't do anything. Thinking back I remember having similar issues with the G11 as well. I think the UI switch sometimes get confused about its state and then doesn't work properly. I'll look into that later.
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