4 replies to this topic

[Tim0116]

I've searched and searched... not finding anything about this weird issue.  Trying to set up my new mount with EQMOD.  Relevant ASCOM/EQMOD software installed.  EQMOD shows HEQ5/6 v2.00.  I've watched Chuck's Youtube video, and two other videos specific to the EQ6-R and EQMOD.  In every instance, when they connect their mount to a Windows 10 PC, they get in the device manager:

 

*Ports

  * Prolific USB-Serial Com Port (COMX)

 

When I connect my mount directly to the laptop (no usb hub, just a perfectly functional usb 2.0 printer cable), I get this:

 

*Other devices

  * USB-Serial Controller D

 

Does anybody know why?  This is a dead end because it's not a COM port connection... therefore I cannot use the EQMOD toolbox setup to address the port or baud rate, etc.  So of course the mount isn't seen and I receive the "port not available" message.

 

Why on Earth (or any planet) would my EQ6-R mount not be showing up with the seemingly common Prolific Com Port designation?  I've tried two 2.0 cables and all available USB connections on my laptop.  Same response.

 

Thanks,

Tim

 

 

[LuscombeFlyer]

My first guess is that you need to install or re-install the EQMOD port driver.

I don't recall the whole process, but like you've already discovered, it's not a clearly documented or straightforward process. And I'm an 40-year IT professional!

[jdupton]

Tim,

 

   You should install the latest Prolific chip drivers. The following post in another thread gives a link to the correct driver. Disconnect the mount while you install the driver.

 

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/699466-eq6-r-pro-owners-club/page-10#entry10804347

 

   After the driver is installed, connect your USB cable to the mount and you should see it appear in the Windows Device Manager with a COM Port number assigned. Change the properties in the device manager to set a BAUD Rate of 115,200. Use the assigned COM Port number in EQMOD and check the communications rate there. After that, it should connect properly.

 

 

John

[Tim0116]

Tim,

 

   You should install the latest Prolific chip drivers. The following post in another thread gives a link to the correct driver. Disconnect the mount while you install the driver.

 

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/699466-eq6-r-pro-owners-club/page-10#entry10804347

 

   After the driver is installed, connect your USB cable to the mount and you should see it appear in the Windows Device Manager with a COM Port number assigned. Change the properties in the device manager to set a BAUD Rate of 115,200. Use the assigned COM Port number in EQMOD and check the communications rate there. After that, it should connect properly.

 

 

John

 

John, I'm deeply indebted!  Obviously I somehow missed the one thread I needed to find.  But I'm also completely flabbergasted that of the many videos and forum threads I'd repeatedly reviewed, NOBODY ever mentioned this.  In fact everyone seemed to say that ASCOM/EQMOD effectively "were the drivers" for this application with the mount.  What a hobby I've taken up!  Well, many thanks, sir.  It was just as simple as you stated... done and working in less than 5 minutes.  Have to laugh, I suppose.  

[jdupton]

Tim,

 

   It is confusing sometimes when things are not very specifically delineated. 

 

   The videos you saw were correct but incomplete. The ASCOM Platform and EQMOD make up a driver but it is the ASCOM Driver. That provides a software interface for astronomy programs. The actual hardware chip inside the mount also is required to have a driver. It is a Windows Hardware Device Driver. It takes both to make things fully work.

 

 

John

Edited by jdupton, 24 January 2021 - 10:29 PM.