LX200 computer connection problems

[tom56 (Thomas)]

I have a 12 inch LX200 GPS I bought about a year ago
I have been trying to connect starry night pro 8 to the telescope for some time with no success
I am using a usb serial connector and even though device manager shows when the cords are connected and shows the port number when I try to connect starry night it keeps on saying that port number does not exist.
I am using windows 10
The ascom platform does the same thing when trying to connect
I have evn changed computers thinking there might be something wrong but the new computer comes up with the same thing
Can anyone help

[astro744]

Perhaps check serial port parameters of your hardware match at both ends. I.e. baud rate, etc.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

Originally Posted by astro744

Perhaps check serial port parameters of your hardware match at both ends. I.e. baud rate, etc.

+1 for the baud rate. It's possible that it's setting itself to 57600 or 115200 and may actually need to be 9600. Also, depending upon your ASCOM setup, you may need to specify the baud rate there too, and it'll need to match that of the com port.

[tom56 (Thomas)]

Thanks I will check that will let you know

[tom56 (Thomas)]

Hi
I have checked the baud rate on the port on the computer it is 9600
I do not know how to check the telescopes RS232 port baud rate
I did a diagnostics with the ascom platform and it shows only com 1 & com 3 as existing
When the serial cord is plugged in com 4 is shown for that port
device manager shows 3 ports when the serial cord is plugged in
com1 communication port
com 3 intel active management technology - SOL(COM3)
prolofic usb to serial com port (COM4)
Com4 only shows when telescope plugged in

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

COM4 will be the one - more so because it's using a Prolific chip and only appears when you're plugged in. Is that the port that you checked in device manager as being set at 9600 baud?

Having checked that, it seems like the topic might be a little more involved than it seems to be at face value. Take a read here to see if it helps: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/1...200-telescope/

It's been too long for me to remember exactly how I had my LX200 GPS connected to a PC. I had one back when they were new See if the above link helps. It goes through quite a few steps to try to nail it down.

[tom56 (Thomas)]

Yes com 4 is the one I used
I will read that link
Thanks

[redbeard (Damien)]

Did you get this sorted?

If not, a couple of other things you may want to check:

It sounds like the 'RS232 to USB adapter' is working as Windows can see it but the wires/cable that go from the 'RS232 to USB adapter' to the telescope, may be wired incorrectly. This is quite a common issue. Check that the pin wiring is correct from the DB9, (connection between USB adapter and telescope), to the telescope connector. Or, if your 'RS232 to USB adapter' is the fixed type as in all one piece, then it may be the wrong cable to communicate with your telescope even though Windows can see it.

The other thing is make sure that you plug the USB cable into the SAME port on the PC as when it detected the com port. For example, if you plugged the USB cable into the PC in a particular USB port, then each time you plug into this same USB port, you will get the same com port assignment for that USB port. If you unplug the USB and plug into a different USB port on the PC, then the PC will assign a DIFFERENT com port to that USB connection.

By the way, ignore the properties of the Windows settings for com port baud rates, you only need to set the software application settings to the correct baud rate in your astro software. Generally the Meade telescope is set to 9600 baud.

If your still stuck and still can't get it working after the above info then happy to chat more, let us know.

Cheers,
Damien.

[redbeard (Damien)]

If you download the below software, you can use this to test your connection to the telescope assuming your cable is correct. It is quite smart and will try and autodetect the correct com port AND the correct baud rate. It was written by THE MAN who knows all Meade everything!

Good piece of software for testing. It does a lot more too.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/johansea/MyScope4960.zip

[tom56 (Thomas)]

Thanks for your help
It does seem like I have finally solved the problem
I had some more help on the cloudy nights forum and they gave me a link for the drivers for the RS232 connection which after downloading seems to have fixed the problem.
The telescope now connects to Starry nights pro and seems to be working fine
I still havn't totally finished polar aligning but everyone seems to think that drift aligning is the answer.
Hoping to get everything set finally so that I can do some astrography
Thanks for your help

[redbeard (Damien)]

Excellent to hear. All the best.