Firstly, a few EQDirect cables on the market in recent years have given problems , the only one that hasn’t is Shoestring Astronomy ( Doug ) who are recommended on the EQMOD website.
Secondly , make sure you have the latest drivers installed on your PC / Laptop
Ascom driver 6.6 ( including Microsoft.Net 3.5 framework)
Skywatcher EQ mount driver Prolific PL 2303
Latest version of EQAscom
Latest version of FTDI chipset Windows driver for EQDirect cable
Baud rate should be 9600 for EQ Direct ( USB / USB requires Baud rate of 115200 )
Then next is make sure your your USB Power Management is unchecked in Device Manager ( Windows ) Your computer must not be able to switch off or save power to any USB device connected to it.
Astro Force seems like a third party supplier from China and not one of the most popular choices like Lynx , Pegasus and Shoestring Astronomy
When checking for connectivity …….
Switch on your mount and laptop and open Device Manager in PC/ laptop and verify Com port connection to mount via a serial USB Com port. ( eg COM 3 , COM 5 etc.. ) Unplug cable from mount end to check connection , USB Serial Com ## should disappear. plug it back in and it should reappear.Still in Device Manager select Ports then double click your USB serial Com port and Com port Properties will appear. Go into port settings and ensure Bits per second is 9600 which is Baud rate ( this is very important !!! ) Press ok and close Device Manager.
Also avoid going through a hub ( either powered or unpowered) between laptop and mount.
Another option would be to use the Shoestring Astronomy EQ6 cable ( Available from Bintel ) which is 1.8m long and use a 3m standard USB2 extension cable or a 3m active USB2 extension to reach the mount.
https://www.bintel.com.au/product/sh...eq6-interface/
Other than a dodgy EQDirect cable I can’t think of any other tests and checks to perform
Hope you resolve the issue
Good luck
Martin