EQDIR and PHD guiding

Questions about hardware and software obtained directly from Shoestring Astronomy
Post Reply
davidbayard
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:02 am
Anti-spam question: Astronomy

EQDIR and PHD guiding

Post by davidbayard » Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:35 pm

I'm having a a pickle of a time trying to autoguide, and it's either the universe telling me to breathe deep and be patient ... 8) ... or there's a solution for the problem. :D Or both. :?
I am using PHD Guider software on a Dell laptop with Windows XP. PHD appears to be delivering signals correctly, but does not communicate with the Atlas EQ-G mount. :roll: I'm using the serial port with Shoestring's EQDIR module, and have the mount set to COM 1. But in PHD's advanced setup, "LE port" is set on "Port 378" by default, and when I change to COM1, the change does not hold, i.e., I open settings again and it is set back to "Port 378". :( Is that what is preventing control? {I am also using Carte de Ciel and ASCOM to control the mount at the same time, but this problem persists even when not running Carte de Ciel, just the ASCOM driver.)
Perhaps I could control the mount through autoguider port, separately from Carte de Ciel? I don't see any warnings about running two programs dimultaneously with the mount, but might there be a conflict?
And could maybe, just maybe, the serial cable I am using be causing problems? You do mention they are not all compatible or wired correctly.
Thanks for your help. 8)

dpanderson
Site Admin
Posts: 1047
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 1:34 pm
Location: central Iowa
Contact:

Re: EQDIR and PHD guiding

Post by dpanderson » Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:16 pm

I am not sure what could be going wrong with your system. You will probably have much better luck finding help with a post on the EQMOD Yahoo group at:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/EQMOD/
Doug Anderson
Shoestring Astronomy
http://www.ShoestringAstronomy.com

Post Reply