Guidedog:Problem connecting to mount

Hi all,
I had been trying to get guidedog to work with a NS11 gps, a usb only laptop with the quatech Spp-100 adapter(old driver which enables user to set LPT1 I/O), the shoestring parallel adapter w/ ss autoguide cable and an ATK 1C II camera but no luck!
I am now TRYING to use the following setup....

Atk-1c II -> shoestring parallel adapter -> ATK par to serial adapter -> standard serial to usb cable(com3)

latest ascom driver and celestron driver from ascom website
Guidedog guiding set to ascom
Guidedog options tab, camera tab sc modified, com3 checked
Guidedog options tab, relay tab dec+ D4,dec- D5,RA+ D3,RA- D6
Guidedog telescope tab, choose telescope set to celestron NS11, com3

.........guidedog tells me that there is a problem connecting to mount and to check connections. Am I missing something simple in my setup or could I have a faulty shoestring cable/adapter or autoguide port?

I have tried the parallel and serial setup on my pc also but still guidedog doesn't connect.

Any pointers would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

Hi,

Your struggling with a problem I've spent a lot of time considering

Well the first problem is simple, you cannot use that config with the ascom driver. the shoestring adaptor must be used in parallel mode i.e. guiding set to parallel. Of course you cant do that because you have only serial ports.

I have been trying with an almost identical config;

Modded webcam -> shoestring adaptor -> ATK serial/parallel -> Serial -USB

You will be able to get the camera working with this but not the guiding. The only way to get that working would be to use a full parallel port implentation. Also tha parallel port must be in EPP mode.

The problem is is that the ATK adaptor only implements the pins to get the camera working, the pins needed to send guiding pulses to the mount.

But fear not there is a much simpler solution. There is a simple cable you can make or buy which goes from a serial port to the nexstar hand controller. The cable itself is really simple to make. You will need an extra USB -Serial convertor but alal you will not need the shoestring device.

So with that your config would be

USB Port a: ATK camera -> ATK serial/parallel adaptor - Serial/USB

USB Port b: Nexstar hand controller (look at the bottom if you havent already) -> RS232 cable - USB/Serial

With that config you then use ascom, you can connect to the mount and will be able to verify that the mount does indeed respond to guiding corrections.

I'm lucky I have an old P233 laptop with proper serial and parallel ports which I can then use with the shoestring adaptor. I wount bore you with the details here but I'll just say the shoestring/proper parallel port combo is superior to using the RS232 cable.

If you wanna chat about this feel free to call me on (O2 mobile prefix)8362885

Summary: Theres nothing wrong with your gear, that combo simply wont work.

Heres the link to the RS232 cable if you fancy making one yourself.

www.nexstarsite.com/PCControl/RS232Cable.htm

Celkestrons own RS232 cable is here;

www.dhinds.co.uk/pages/browse_More_DHINDS.php/Accessories/15/28

Thanks for the detailed reply Dave! You have saved me a lot of time and money. I am going to source the pc cable and give that a try.

Thanks again!

Some very detailed answers there!
In short, from what I understand, parallel-serial or vice-versa don't work too well for applications other than printers. The cable should be straight to the port, so to speak, from what i understand.
Clear skies,

Michael,

The serial /USB adaptors seem to work fine. The ones I got are by 'newlinkproducts' and are available from Maplins. A bit pricy about 30 lids. They seem to work fine for autoguiding purposes.

Michael,

The serial /USB adaptors seem to work fine. The ones I got are by 'newlinkproducts' and are available from Maplins. A bit pricy about 30 lids. They seem to work fine for autoguiding purposes.

Sorry, yes, you're right. Serial-usb can work ok. I have one 9from Maplin also) and got it working on the new laptop. I went down the parallel-serial route before and just hit a brick wall. From what I could tell on what level of reading I did on it afterwards, it seems to be extremely difficult to get this configuration working.