The connection between mount and Sequence Generator Pro has been timing out occasionally (maybe once an hour).I uninstalled the original, and then looked for a replacement on SourceForge.
Heq5 Pro Ascom Driver Was SomethingThe original driver was something like EQMOD ascom, or maybe included HEQ5EQ6 in the name.Im sure thats not right, I tried it and got problems.
What I am missing is the specific driver for the HEQ5 I think. I have found EQASCOMV200qSetup.exe and ASCOMPlatform63.exe in my previous downloads. Although were a local astronomy community with many members from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, were also blessed with an abundance of friendly and insightful members from much further afield. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise well assume youre okay to continue. This is a set of interface standards for scriptable or programmable low level control of astronomical instruments and related devices. We asked Steve Richards to write an overview of EQMOD with details on some of its many features and how to use them. A little bit of history The original EQ3, EQ5, HEQ5 and EQ6 mounts didnt have GoTo or autoguiding capabilities which limited their use for long exposure deep sky imaging. Instead, there was a very simple controller that allowed for Sidereal Rate tracking and very slow speed slewing rates of 2X, 8X and 16X. The mounts worked well and had excellent load capabilities for their price but the lack of a GoTo function in particular reduced their desirability. Several third party manufacturers offered gear and electronic kits for the EQ6 to convert it to GoTo but the feature set was usually very basic or the slew speeds hideously slow In 2005, SkyWatcher introduced a GoTo version of the EQ6 and also made available a matching upgrade kit for earlier mounts. This original system was called the SkyScan system and it was subsequently extended to the EQ3, EQ5 and HEQ5 mounts as well. The original SkyScan controller had a fairly minimal feature set. For the most part the feature set was adequate and the system worked well, locating objects from the built in database and tracking them accurately within the limits of the mounts mechanical hardware. The inclusion of a standard ST4 compatible auto-guiding port was certainly a welcome addition for imagers but there were several omissions that would have made the system so much better had they been included. Major Features missing from the original GoTo hand-controller No SYNC command No NUDGE command No GPS Support Not flash updateable Small object database Minor Features missing from the original GoTo hand-controller Date lost at turnoff Time lost at turnoff Daylight Saving Data lost at turnoff The original name of SkyScan was changed to SynScan in more recent models and the very latest versions of the hand-controller, which have updateable firmware, address these omissions to some extent. However, the cost of an updated hand-controller to replace the original non-flash updateable one is out of proportion to the advantages of upgrading. Heq5 Pro Ascom Software Allowing FullThe EQMOD Solution The limitations of the original non-flash hand-controller led a group of enthusiasts to develop their own control system comprising a modified hand-controller and some ASCOM driving software allowing full control of the mount to be passed to a computer. The EQMOD founder, Mon Sarmiento also designed an alternative to the modified handcontroller in the form of the original EQDirect interface. This group of developers made both their software and the hardware design an open source solution so it is available free of charge by download. The original EQDirect interface (commonly called an EQDIR), worked directly from your computers RS232 Serial Port but there are other solutions including a new USB port EQDIR adapter by Lynx Astro. It is also possible to make your own interface using readily available components to the original Mon Sarmiento design, or even ready-made RS232 to TTL boards as used in robotic applications, but the LynxAstro unit is reasonably priced and simple to use. Heq5 Pro Ascom Serial Port OnIf you are using an earlier RS232 Serial Port version of the EQDIR but you dont have a serial port on your PC and many newer PCs dont - it will be necessary to install a USB to RS232 adapter. It is very important to realise that not all such adapters were born equal and it is highly recommended that you buy one from a reputable astronomy source to avoid disappointment The functionality of EQMOD soon overtook even the latest hand-controllers making the system a very attractive proposition in its own right. Of particular interest were the inclusion of multi-star alignment (allowing a large number of alignment stars to be stored to further refine the accuracy of GoTos) which meant a proper SYNC capability and the very powerful Periodic Error Correction (PEC) facility. The current hand-controllers have a facility called PC Direct which will allow third party applications like planetarium software to control the mount and EQMOD can also use this connectivity thus obviating the need for any other interface but this can be a little flaky in use. However, keeping the hand-controller in the loop seems a bit of a backward step and using an external interface like the LynxAstro unit remains the better method of connection. EQMOD Mount Compatibility The EQMOD system works on a wide range of equatorial mount equipment manufactured by Synta including:- EQ3 with SynScan Upgrade EQ4 with SynScan upgrade (EQ5) EQ5 Pro SynScan EQ5 with SynScan Upgrade AZ-EQ5 GT EQ6 Pro NEQ6 Pro AZ-EQ6 GT EQ6 Syntrek EQ6 with SynScan upgrade HEQ5 Pro HEQ5 Syntrek HEQ5 with SynScan upgrade NEQ3 SynScan Orion SkyView Pro EQ Orion SkyView Pro with Upgrade Kit Avalon M Uno ASCOM Platform To use the EQMOD system, it is necessary to install the ASCOM Platform.
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