GPUSB and HBX port

Questions about hardware and software not obtained from Shoestring Astronomy, but related to our products
Post Reply
jga
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:58 pm

GPUSB and HBX port

Post by jga » Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:53 am

I purchased a GPUSB for use with my mount which is advertised as having an autoguiding port. However, I have found out that this so called autoguiding port is not ST4. Although the connector is exactly the same as the ST4 it is wired somewhat differently. The wiring is as follows:
1 Ground
2 Ground
3 Bus RXD
4 Bus TXD
5 +12v
6 +12v

I've contacted the manufacturer (Ioptron) and asked them for information on how to use this port but they either cannot, or will not, provide any answers. I'm no dummy but on the other hand I'm not an electronics engineer so I'm hoping that someone more knowledgeable than me can offer a little help here. If I rewire a cable as follows, will it work?

GPUSB MOUNT
1 ground 1 ground
2 ground 2 ground
3 dec+ 3 rdx
4 dec+ 3 rdx
5 dec- 3 rdx
6 ra- 3 rdx

My gut instinct tells me that the data is probably sent via a different protocol and hence it will not work. If this is the case, is there anyone on the site with any knowledge of autoguiding using the protocols and wiring that my mount uses, and can you please tell me how I can autoguide using this system. Any help would be gratefully appreciated as I've spent somewhere in the region of 18 months trying to find an answer and solution to this problem.

John

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

Re: GPUSB and HBX port

Post by dpanderson » Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:47 am

Your instincts are likely correct. Given the names of the pins on the Ioptron mount, this appears to be a serial port interface of some sort. Thus, it will not work at all as an ST4 compatible guide port. Your best chance is if this is a true serial port that can interface to a PC, and if someone has written an ASCOM driver for this type of mount. I have absolutely no experience with this mount, so this is about all the information I can provide.
Doug Anderson
Shoestring Astronomy
http://www.ShoestringAstronomy.com

jga
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:58 pm

Re: GPUSB and HBX port

Post by jga » Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:03 am

Thanks for your reply Doug. I can connect via Ascom through the handset but my aim has been to use pulse guiding. The Ascom conformance checker says that the mount is capable of pulse guiding but this hasn't been implemented in the Ascom driver. As far as I'm aware, nobody has been able to interface with the mount through the HBX autoguiding port and the manufacturers simply do not answer my questions on how to use this interface. One of the main reasons I bought this mount was because it was advertised as having an autoguiding port but it seems to me as though it's superflous as no-one can tell me how it's meant to work. I really feel as though the manufacurer has conned me by saying it has something that in truth it doesn't.

John

Post Reply