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.