From: "Tim" <tjp314@pacbell.net>

Date: January 18, 2006 2:51:18 PM MST

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: Can't autoguide with Flea (or DSI Pro, for that matter).


At the risk of sounding stupid (recognizing that I'm not an electrician, but hook up cables 

to electronic gizmos around the house all the time), and considering I've never seen one of 

these gizmoids in application, I've got the following question:


--- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com, Milton Aupperle <milton@o...> wrote:


As I said in the past several times, check out the "KITS and  

ASSEMBLED BOARDS Available as of now" section at:


http://www.technoplus.nl/astro/lx200.htm


which uses a serial port to emulates an LX200 and can be used with  

guide scope ports on a lot of scopes (SkyWatcher, Celestron, Meade LX  

50, Meade LX10, Meade LX5, Losmandy G8 / G11, Vixen GP (DD-1  

controller) etc.). You attache the KeySpan USB to Serial Port adapter  

to that.


If you don't like purchasing "foreign" products but you have any  

skill with attaching wires - reading a pin out diagram, you can pick  

up an "ActiveWire-USB" board ($59USD) and an "Optoisolator Add-on  

board" ($29) at:


http://www.activewireinc.com/


Then wire it up yourself for your Auto Guide Ports. I can tell you  

which 4 +ve and -ve pins on the Optoisolator board  you need to  

connect up to wire it into your Auto Guider connector on the mount.  

So basically you need to know what the connector polarities (i.e. +/-  

for Dec and RA) are for the AutoGuider port are (i.e Meade is  

different from Celestron is probably different from TAK etc.) and  

attach them using whatever RJ-xx connector they use.


Number A:  So, one side of one of these plugs into the autoguide port on the mount (the 

pin-outs from the board), and the other side - either the serial or USB version - plugs into 

the USB port on the mac (via the Keyspan serial/usb adapter if it's a serial gizmoid)?  And 

the emulator "lies" to the mount in it's own language, taking signals from the computer 

intended for an LX200 mount (lies to the computer, too) and giving Nexstar or Temma 

signals to those mounts (depending on which mount I build one of these for - hopefully 

eventually both)?


Letter 2:  If I purchased one of the ActiveWire-USB boards, I presume that would do the 

conversion but the Optoisolator board is needed to build the LX200 emulation?


See?  I know rocks and landforms, and how to take pictures (though I've only just realized 

how much I DON'T know about that!), but wiring circuit boards...  :oO


But I'd be interested in trying at some point.  Because if I have to add another camera to 

guide while imaging with the Flea (or, for that matter, to have more guidestar choices for 

the ST2000XM than provided by the off-axis chip), I think I'd rather get something that 

would be a decent imager in it's own right (so I could guide it with the Flea, for example).


planetarily,

-Tim.