Go Back   IceInSpace > Equipment > Astrophotography and Imaging Equipment and Discussions

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread
  #21  
Old 24-11-2017, 10:24 AM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewJ View Post
Gday Alex

That data is not what is expected
the :e1[0D] command asks the mounts motor card to return the current firmware version loaded and "mount type"
It "should" have returned 4 bytes for version, 2 bytes that define the mount type and a following [0D]
ie AABBCC[0D] the value of CC sets the mount type ie EQ6/EQ8/AZEQ5 etc and an EQ6Pro should have returned CC = 00

If you are on Win10, some people have reported having problems with the latest versions of the prolific driver ( and IIRC, thats whats in the shoestrings ). They fixed it by loading older versions of the driver.

Andrew
The drivers that are being installed are for the FTDI Chip (and that is what is saying on device manager) ". Or that might be the problem? Is it prolific or not?

Update: tried using ubuntu and... same. Now it looks like 1) my laptop has its USBs on a built in hub (shows up in device manager) or my mount motherboard is somehow faulty. (Which would explain why it was slightly cheaper)

Next step: gonna ring bintel and someone (Michael) will help me go step by step.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 24-11-2017, 10:59 AM
AndrewJ
Watch me post!

AndrewJ is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1,905
Gday Alex
If it is FTDI then it should work. The only problems reported were for some of the prolific chips.
As for the USB HUB, that is irrelevant here as if you plug in the device, it should show as a new COM port.
ie unplug the device
open device mangler and open the LPT ports section.
( it should be empty ?? )
plug in the shoestring
If it auto detects and shows under there as a COM port ( without an error or warning ), then it is being detected properly.
Another test is to put a loopback link in the subD connector to link the Tx to the Rx lines.
Use my app to try and connect
the log "should" show :e1[0D] being sent, and then echoed back in as received

Andrew
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 24-11-2017, 04:44 PM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewJ View Post
Gday Alex
If it is FTDI then it should work. The only problems reported were for some of the prolific chips.
As for the USB HUB, that is irrelevant here as if you plug in the device, it should show as a new COM port.
ie unplug the device
open device mangler and open the LPT ports section.
( it should be empty ?? )
plug in the shoestring
If it auto detects and shows under there as a COM port ( without an error or warning ), then it is being detected properly.
Another test is to put a loopback link in the subD connector to link the Tx to the Rx lines.
Use my app to try and connect
the log "should" show :e1[0D] being sent, and then echoed back in as received

Andrew
I don't think I have anything to perform this test...
Any idea to test my mount?
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 24-11-2017, 05:00 PM
AndrewJ
Watch me post!

AndrewJ is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1,905
Gday Alex
All it takes is a hairclip/short bit of wire and a steady hand :-)
When you look into the subD connector on the shoestring adapter it has a row of 5 pins and a row of 4 pins.
On the row of 4 pins, the 2 outermost pins are the transmit and recieve.
All you do is plug the adapter into the lappie
use the paperclip/etc to short the 2 pins together and then use the connect button in my app. ( A spare pair of hands helps here )
If the adapter is working, the data will get sent and immediately loop back and the log will show it sending :e1[0D] and then receiving it back.

Andrew
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 24-11-2017, 05:59 PM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewJ View Post
Gday Alex
All it takes is a hairclip/short bit of wire and a steady hand :-)
When you look into the subD connector on the shoestring adapter it has a row of 5 pins and a row of 4 pins.
On the row of 4 pins, the 2 outermost pins are the transmit and recieve.
All you do is plug the adapter into the lappie
use the paperclip/etc to short the 2 pins together and then use the connect button in my app. ( A spare pair of hands helps here )
If the adapter is working, the data will get sent and immediately loop back and the log will show it sending :e1[0D] and then receiving it back.

Andrew
I got the echo!
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (abc.png)
22.6 KB20 views
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 24-11-2017, 06:38 PM
AndrewJ
Watch me post!

AndrewJ is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1,905
Gday Alex
Excellent progress, that means the adapter can send and recieve data in loopback mode, ie it is basically working.
Just saw yr post on the EQMod forum as well.
Based on the mount working properly with the handbox connected, you can be 99.9% sure the mount itself is OK, as if it didnt respond properly, the handbox would give a warning.
As such, its a really perplexing error, and may be related to the USB settings in the lappie itself, ie flow control settings etc.
The syntas dont care re any of this, as they only use Rx, Tx, ground, but if the lappie is configured to use flow control it may be affecting it.
Thats beyond my abilities, as i dont have W10, or know how it works there.
Andrew
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 24-11-2017, 07:15 PM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewJ View Post
Gday Alex
Excellent progress, that means the adapter can send and recieve data in loopback mode, ie it is basically working.
Just saw yr post on the EQMod forum as well.
Based on the mount working properly with the handbox connected, you can be 99.9% sure the mount itself is OK, as if it didnt respond properly, the handbox would give a warning.
As such, its a really perplexing error, and may be related to the USB settings in the lappie itself, ie flow control settings etc.
The syntas dont care re any of this, as they only use Rx, Tx, ground, but if the lappie is configured to use flow control it may be affecting it.
Thats beyond my abilities, as i dont have W10, or know how it works there.
Andrew
Thanks a lot for your help AndrewJ! I just got an old lappy working again... I'm gonna give it a crack later today.
So frustrating to get stuck on this kind of problem. Last time was shoestring st4 guiding cable that was not entirely compatible with my zwo. Then backlash nightmare and now eqmod
Now I see why people prefer to buy brand new stuff.
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 24-11-2017, 08:46 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716
Trying another computer is a great plan. Fingers crossed!
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 25-11-2017, 08:03 PM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Update: not working on the other lappy. Same problem: timeout. I'm starting to think that the mount's motherboard is faulty.
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old 25-11-2017, 09:14 PM
luka's Avatar
luka
Unregistered User

luka is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 1,164
Hm, do you have a mate with the same mount? You could try your laptop/cable on that mount. That would definitely rule out everything apart from the mount's main board.
Reply With Quote
  #31  
Old 25-11-2017, 09:59 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716
Quote:
Originally Posted by luka View Post
Hm, do you have a mate with the same mount? You could try your laptop/cable on that mount. That would definitely rule out everything apart from the mount's main board.
Agree. I've got a mount that won't work with handcontroller but is fine with EQMOD. Would be good to try your setup on another mount.
Reply With Quote
  #32  
Old 25-11-2017, 10:00 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716
Would still be good to see your COM port settings under device manager - are you sure you've got EQMOD set up correctly?
Reply With Quote
  #33  
Old 25-11-2017, 10:06 PM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobF View Post
Would still be good to see your COM port settings under device manager - are you sure you've got EQMOD set up correctly?
I am 200% sure on windows... and using INDI (and kstars) it auto detects everything, so no room for human errors there (also tweaked some configs and still got the same).
Reply With Quote
  #34  
Old 25-11-2017, 10:07 PM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by luka View Post
Hm, do you have a mate with the same mount? You could try your laptop/cable on that mount. That would definitely rule out everything apart from the mount's main board.
I'm heading to Bintel this week so let's see if it works on another mount and if my mount works somewhere else.
Reply With Quote
  #35  
Old 26-11-2017, 07:38 AM
AndrewJ
Watch me post!

AndrewJ is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1,905
Gday Alex
One interesting test via the yahoo site.
You mention that the mount works "properly" when connected to the handbox.
As such, can you start the mount and do a dummy align.
If that works, put the handbox into PCDirect mode and use a true USB2Serial converter and the synta supplied update cable to connect into the handbox itself.
Now try and connect using my app or EQMOD.
Does it work ?????

Andrew
Reply With Quote
  #36  
Old 26-11-2017, 06:01 PM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewJ View Post
Gday Alex
One interesting test via the yahoo site.
You mention that the mount works "properly" when connected to the handbox.
As such, can you start the mount and do a dummy align.
If that works, put the handbox into PCDirect mode and use a true USB2Serial converter and the synta supplied update cable to connect into the handbox itself.
Now try and connect using my app or EQMOD.
Does it work ?????

Andrew
It happens that i havent got the update cable (second hand mount lacking a lot of stuff). I'm getting one this week and lets see how it goes! Thanks a lot!
Reply With Quote
  #37  
Old 29-11-2017, 07:17 PM
alex-borek
Registered User

alex-borek is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Final update: Issue fixed.
Went to Bintel to talk with Michael and he was awesome. After updating him on this painful quest to get eqmod running and the veredict after successfully firing up a heq5 was that something was wrong with the mount/connector. The motors' controller board was flashed after that, in case it was a driver issue, with no success. Then Michael asked if I would like to leave the mount there and they would crack it open and see what was happening.
Result: one of the wires coming out of the db9 connector was broken. When they tried to repair, another two or three came out. The db9 connector was doomed (maybe due to umidity). They replaced the front cover (to get a good connector) and it fired up straight away.

Thanks a lot AndrewJ, RobF and everyone else who tried to help!
Special thanks to Michael (Bintel)(he is truly awesome).
Reply With Quote
  #38  
Old 29-11-2017, 08:17 PM
AndrewJ
Watch me post!

AndrewJ is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1,905
Gday Alex
Glad to hear it all works now, and well done Michael,
but i still dont believe it :-)
If it worked with the hbx, it should have worked with EQMod or my app.
Something very odd was going on, but again, if it works now
then forget about it, as reality always trumps theory :-)

Andrew
Reply With Quote
  #39  
Old 29-11-2017, 09:05 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716


Hope it stays working and reliable for you. So frustrating when the skies are clear but our toys are unreliable!
Reply With Quote
  #40  
Old 30-11-2017, 01:37 PM
xelasnave's Avatar
xelasnave
Gravity does not Suck

xelasnave is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Tabulam
Posts: 16,866
Quote:
Originally Posted by alex-borek View Post
Final update: Issue fixed.
Went to Bintel to talk with Michael and he was awesome. After updating him on this painful quest to get eqmod running and the veredict after successfully firing up a heq5 was that something was wrong with the mount/connector. The motors' controller board was flashed after that, in case it was a driver issue, with no success. Then Michael asked if I would like to leave the mount there and they would crack it open and see what was happening.
Result: one of the wires coming out of the db9 connector was broken. When they tried to repair, another two or three came out. The db9 connector was doomed (maybe due to umidity). They replaced the front cover (to get a good connector) and it fired up straight away.

Thanks a lot AndrewJ, RobF and everyone else who tried to help!
Special thanks to Michael (Bintel)(he is truly awesome).
Michael is indeed fantastic.
That's why I try and buy there because that help when you need it is priceless.
I didn't know he fixed mounts....I will give mine one more take down and if I can't fix it I will seek his help...while I am probably getting the 80mm triple hopefully.
Its great calling in at Bintel they should put in a coffee lounge...I know there is comfy seating but I did not see a coffee machine..mmm take thermos and sandwich s.
Alex
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 01:04 AM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Testar
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement