@kayedsss I was just about to write the exact same thing. His tone and inflection, were great. He wasn't trying to get you to run out and buy anything. and is video actually worked. @hidden light photography your on to something clear sky's and keep pumping those videos. thanks
@@Hidden.Light.Photography would it be possible if you could do a PDF step by step something a person can take in the field with them? if not can you point to a good one?
@carlbrown2251 I just wanted to let you know I haven’t forgotten about you. I am working on getting those PDF instructions done on my down time. I have actually created a website where I will house them. Check it out and let me know what you think. I should have them starting to load in within the next couple of weeks so once you see the link appear in the PDF section of the homepage, you’ll have access to them 🙂
Extremely helpful video! I was able to get my eqm- 35 connected to NINA as I was watching your explanation. Was previously really struggling with which drivers I needed to download for the usb-b cable. Thank you so much and please keep posting videos like these. In the future I was wondering if you could also make videos where you walked through actually capturing an object (beginner objects such as veil nebula, eagle nebula and globular clusters etc) through NINA with all the settings etc you use. It would be super helpful as I dont know where to start on that.
Thank you and happy to hear this got you going! Yes, that is an amazing idea and I am very happy to create some videos of capturing targets :) May I credit you for the video idea? If so, how may I credit you? Keep an eye on my website as I have the upcoming videos for the week. Also, I’m going to create a section on the site with all upcoming videos with progress.
Just started playing with my first SkyWatcher mount - a little Star Adventurer GTI. Some of these issues are definitely in play even with that little model. Very helpful vid. Will also try out Green Swamp Server to see what it can do. It is also interesting how different things are between a traditional SkyWatcher mount and my ZWO strain wave mount. So many more details to pay attention to with SkyWatcher.
Congrats on the mount, did you just get it? I love my skywatcher and yes, there are so many things you can do and play with :) I went to Green Swamp Server and haven’t looked back. Not that EQMOD is bad by any means, some people don’t ever have an issue with it, but GSS is a very good alternative and very stable/reliable.
@@Hidden.Light.Photography Yes, a Black Friday deal. Wanted something I could easily take on trips when I only have my regular camera gear with me (which I always take on trips). From the reviews, it looked like a cool little mount, with good tracking and go to capability. As much as I tried to get light and portable gear from the get-go, taking a fully rigged scope and mount, along with my regular camera stuff, just doesn't always work. Trevor Jones of AstroBackyard uses this mount as his travel mount. That's a pretty good endorsement I think.
@@Hidden.Light.Photographyazeq6 second hand. I managed to connect to Nina using the USB-B cable, but i didnot success with the serial + serial-to-usb cables. Perhaps Im missing some step
@@Hidden.Light.Photography ok I think I missed installing the FTDI driver. Now there is something I dont understand. I thought that I would connect to the port at the bottom of the HandControl , but this cable connects directly to the port in the mount head named "Hand Control". Then, when do you do the initial polar alignment ?. Is it that you first do the polar alignment and the you unplug the HandControl and plug the cable to your PC ?
There’s a couple ways to do it. What image capture software are you using? I use NINA, so I just plug in right away and do the polar alignment through NINA. If you aren’t on NINA or, let’s say, SharpCap which allows you to polar align, then you would use the hand controller to polar align and then unplug the hand controller and plug into the computer. If you are using the hand controller to plug in, make sure to go to the home position and shut down the mount before plugging into the computer.
@@Hidden.Light.Photography eg6rpro. Trying to automate so I can set up via NINA and go to sleep. Still using a DSLR, 600mm prime f4, teleconverter when needed. MELE Quieter 4, ZWO ASI mini via PHD2. Having many problems. You solved at least one. It seems that I was having a much easier time when using a wired laptop and no guiding. I really need the guiding to dither more than anything. Then get NINA straighten out so I can sleep.
@@Hidden.Light.Photography I got it resolved last night. One problem was getting the images. I had to reformat an old thumb drive. I will pick up a faster one today. The micro SD card is stuck deep into the slot. I cannot retrieve it. That was much faster than the thumb drive. My Remote Desktop sometimes freezes while setting up. I am not sure why. Occasionally it is a lost connection but mostly it will stall, maybe more during calibration.
Is there a specific program that stalls out during set up or loses connection? As far as the SD card, it’s hard to have a solution without seeing it. Do you need to push in to unlock or should it just pull out?
Do all of these downloads and drivers work with the Skywatcher EQM 35 pro ? Im new to astronomy and astrophotography and im trying to wrap my head around all of this haha
Welcome to the hobby! There is definitely a lot to learn with it, but you’re in a great community (even over multiple channels and forums) :) It’s always a good idea to check compatibility with software you’re looking into. This link for EQMOD shows the EQM 35 Pro is compatible. eq-mod.sourceforge.net/prerequisites.html If, for some reason, you run into issues with EQMOD, another great mount driver is Green Swamp Server. I actually ended up switching to Green Swamp Server due to connectivity issues (you may or may not experience this and both programs are amazing). Here’s a couple of my videos: one going over EQMOD vs GSS and some quirks as well as setting up GSS if you end up needing/wanting to switch over. Hope this helps :) Being new, are you jumping straight into computer control or were you using the hand controller? Also, an amazing capture program to use, if you aren’t already, is NINA. I have the link to my entire NINA series for you as well. NINA works flawlessly with either EQMOD or GSS. EQMOD vs GSS: ruclips.net/video/bk391VKj9vo/видео.htmlsi=E3VsIsPpbngEXeAo Configuring GSS: ruclips.net/video/NyB1WHud_G4/видео.htmlsi=dIu5tZeqPrv9RNqH NINA series: hiddenlight-photography.com/nina-video-series
Yes, you are 100% correct. I pinned a comment at the top of this awhile ago and just checked and it’s not there. I’ll re add the pinned comment. Thank you for this!
Hi, I am glad I found your video on EQ Ascom,I have followed your video and I still can't get the slew control key pad N S E W slewing working. The stop button works park to home will work. I have changed baud rates back and forth but still wont work. I select EQ mod HEQ5/6 as my scope and it populates on the screen, clicking on control 1 the mount will slew no problems but I cant fine tune the slew position. I saw in on of Chucks videos that he changed the baud rate and every thing worked for him. What am I missing? PS You can stop looking I have or I think I have found the problem, no one has ever mentioned the slew rates in the slew control panel to the best of my knowledge, and I have looked at a lot of videos on the issue, I altered the slew rates as a matter of interest, and BINGO I was able to use the N S E W buttons. It was something I left as default for all this time. Cheers Robert Aust'
I’m happy you enjoyed the video! I was going to say I mention the slew rate at 13:36 in the video, but awesome job finding the issue! Let me know if you need any help with anything else.
@@Hidden.Light.Photography I am sorry I missed that, but if you go to 13 50 you will see when you altered the slew rate both the RA and DEC sliders moved then. That was not happening in my case. Do you know anything about WIFI? If so, I need help on connecting SkySafari 7 Pro to my Galaxy phone and tablet. Cheers Robert.
That is weird that it wasn’t responding, but I have found some weird quirks with EQMOD. I honestly have not experimented with WiFi since my Internet has been spotty since a network change in the area, but let me do some research on this and see if we can figure it out!
@@Hidden.Light.Photography I managed to get a WIFI signal on my phone today in SkySafari 7 Pro, I selected a target and pressed goto, the telescope icon moved to it but the mount did not. I am not up with electronics as such. I as far as I know things work on radio signals, and if that signal is weak things do not work too well. I have looked at other videos but have not found any that relate to my problem. Cheers Robert
This is a really good read in the subject. There seem to be complexities with it, but since EQMOD requires a virtual COM port, you will basically need a cable with an RS232 on one end to connect to the computer with a WiFi client on the other and then a connection to the mount that can communicate. www.cloudynights.com/topic/609136-sw-wifi-eqmod/
Thank you, It is a really helpful video, it has clarified a lot of things for me regarding EQMOD, especially the mount limit and stop tracking when crossing the meridian Question: - Do I really need to install a Prolific USB-to-Serial Device Driver? I am using EQMOD with NINA to control EQ6-R pro and works just fine without any problem - another thing: When I start calibration using the calibration assistant in PHD2, it asks me to increase the slew rate by 0.5x at least, I don't know how to do it in EQMOD, it suggests using the hand controller to do that - could you make an explanation video about Dithering in NINA and PHD2, I have tried many times but it failed PHD2 and NINA does seem not to cooperate
I am so sorry about the delay. Thank you and you are very welcome, I’m glad this helped!! To set the slew rate, you’ll use the control window with the East, West, North and South controls that pops up when EQMOD opens. To the right of the East control, you’ll see a dropdown window. Choose your slew rate there :) I can absolutely create that video. What exactly is the error that happens and what are your current settings? Could you email me screenshots of these to Tony@HiddenLight-Photography.com?
@@Hidden.Light.Photography Thanks I really appreciate your help and support I have applied the similar settings you mentioned for the EQMOD, and the dither works just fine with no errors for last two nights. The Guiding is getting better (under 0.5 total RMS), and the auto meridian flip worked for the first time
Lol great catch! EQMOD was very short lived for me due to disconnection issues. Great software though when it stayed connected. It would be a fun experience imaging that high up though wouldn’t it?
@@Hidden.Light.Photography I have never had any issues with EQMOD and the limits is great when you can figure it out. GSS didn't work well for me on my EQ8-R and I went back to EQMOD. The EQ8-R has been retired now.. Piece of shit it was. I visited Chile over Christmas was was at 3500 meters up in the Andes. Awesome skies.
I agree EQMOD was very impressive when it would stay connected for me. I’m sorry to hear about the EQ8-R. What seemed to be the issue with it? I bet the skies were incredible! I’m very happy you got to do that :)
@@Hidden.Light.Photography Like a lot of the bigger SkyWatcher mounts, it had terrible Dec backlash that almost needed an engineering degree to try to fix it. It was just generally a piece of junk. I traded it in on a 10 micron mount and have never looked back.
Oh wow, that’s frustrating :( I was seeing the encoders on the 10 micron don’t necessarily need guiding. Are you running without guiding and if so, how is it?
Great explanation but, when your tutorial gets to the 13th minute the EQM window opens with connection time out message instead of the coordinates. I'm using the usb printer cable method on my new EQ 5 pro. This has the usb connection on the handset,not the mount. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks
@@Hidden.Light.Photography yes it has the printer type USB on the bottom of the Skyscan controller. I've tried 2 different cables ,both new. I've uninstalled/reinstalled EQ mod but still the same. At least with your tutorial I understand what to do even though it's not successful. Telescope connection error is the final message and EQ shuts down. Thanks for your time.
Just to make sure, did you confirm the comm port in device matches what you have set for the comm port in EQMOD? this can change every time you try to load. I’d unplug any and all USB cables in the computer leaving only the USB cable going from the hand controller to the computer. I would then double check the comm port in device manager as well as what you have set in EQMOD and make sure they match. I would also make sure you have 115200 set in both device manager as well as EQMOD. Next, with the EQ6R Pro, there is what is called PC direct mode. I’m not sure if your mount has that, but if it does, you need to make sure you are in PC direct mode. The next thing is did you download all drivers? If so, I might try uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers. If this still fails, run a windows repair on the drivers. I had this exact thing happen to me and after running the windows repair on the driver, I finally got connected. The down side is I kept having mount disconnect issues, which I was never able to fully resolve. I currently run windows 11 and I’ve heard compatibility issues with windows 11. That’s actually why I switched to Green Swamp Server and it’s been great, so that is another option. Let me know if any of this help you out and gets you up and running.
@Hidden.Light.Photography Many thanks . All in order with com/PC direct etc. Last thing to try for me is Green Swamp server but not sure what that is. Many thanks for your reply.
Hola, Thanks once again. Just for the hell of it I tried setting the bits per second to 9600.. Success! I am using a new unit and the USB from handset to laptop. Clear skies here in Spain.
Yes, EQMOD is a great program! Just like any other program, it comes with its quirks and in my case, my computer didn’t play nice with it, so the other option is Green Swamp Server which is another great option if you run into issues. I have a video on that one as well along with a video EQMOD vs Green Swamp Server. Hope this helps!
Control, configuration and PEC training. EQMOD is a little easier to do these, otherwise they are both great. EQMOD and GSS are just platforms to bring the functionality to a dashboard on your computer that you can easily make adjustments and bring more out of your mount. I know SynScan is going through a number of updates that are making this a lot easier as well so that is always a good thing!
Is it 100% important to have mount at com5? When in advanced settings I switch it from com6 to com5 it says that this port is already busy and switching can cause troubles
No, it’s not necessary. The port will be assigned when you plug the USB cable into the computer. From there, go to device manager and locate com ports. You’ll see which port was assigned. If you have multiple items connected, I would recommend unplugging everything else and then plug the USB for mount in first and check device manager. Once you identify which port was assigned to the mount, then assign that port number to EQMOD. Check out starting at 08:43 for reference to this. Com 5 just happened to be what my mount was assigned to. Keep in mind this can change so always make sure to check and assign EQMOD accordingly :) I hope this helps
Hello, i'm having trouble with step 5 on the pdf (connected to usb b) , I can't select eqmod so i can't connect to nina The "weird" thing is that i can connect to synscan pro. what could be the problem? (Great video i'm just not good 😅)
Let’s get you up and running! :) are you referring to you don’t see EQMOD listed in NINA? If so, NINA will list it as EQASCOM. If you don’t see this listed, what do you see when you try to connect in NINA?
Awesome job!! That was going to be my next suggestion after checking the drivers NINA displays. That driver has given me plenty of headaches and why I switched to Green Swamp Server. If you mind me asking, which Windows version are you running?
That’s the same as me. Make sure you watch out for connection drops between the mount and NINA. This is exactly what I started running into and it seems EQMOD doesn’t like windows 11.
I’m so sorry, I will look into a redo on this. In the mean time, here is my PDF guide for this process which has the correct port information. I will post a link to the updated video once it’s done. I hope the rest of the videos help you out :) img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/d997743b-c919-472d-8de0-4c963305f205/downloads/EQ6R%20Pro%20to%20EQMOD%20final.pdf?ver=1717428294416
Update: The USB port on the mount is a type B port, not C. Please notate this if you are using this tutorial.
The most clear, direct to the point explanation! Thank you very much! I followed your instructions, and everything is working great !
You’re very welcome!
Clearest explanation I've watched. Going to try it right now. Many thanks
Thank you!
@kayedsss I was just about to write the exact same thing. His tone and inflection, were great. He wasn't trying to get you to run out and buy anything. and is video actually worked. @hidden light photography your on to something clear sky's and keep pumping those videos. thanks
Thank you! Please let me know if there’s anything you want me to make a video about 😀
@@Hidden.Light.Photography would it be possible if you could do a PDF step by step something a person can take in the field with them? if not can you point to a good one?
Yes I can! You want it regarding this video specifically?
@carlbrown2251 I just wanted to let you know I haven’t forgotten about you. I am working on getting those PDF instructions done on my down time. I have actually created a website where I will house them. Check it out and let me know what you think. I should have them starting to load in within the next couple of weeks so once you see the link appear in the PDF section of the homepage, you’ll have access to them 🙂
Excellent video. Just what I needed.
Thank you and I’m very happy to hear this helped :)
Excellent walkthrough - thanks. Thanks too for the "quirks"
Thank you and you are very welcome! Yes lol, they were some things I’ve experienced pretty consistently with that program.
Thanks for the info. Just to be accurate the port on the mount is a USB=B port like the ones on printers.
That is correct, USB-B port like what is on printers. I realized my mistake after the video had been posted. I apologize for any confusion.
Extremely helpful video! I was able to get my eqm- 35 connected to NINA as I was watching your explanation. Was previously really struggling with which drivers I needed to download for the usb-b cable. Thank you so much and please keep posting videos like these. In the future I was wondering if you could also make videos where you walked through actually capturing an object (beginner objects such as veil nebula, eagle nebula and globular clusters etc) through NINA with all the settings etc you use. It would be super helpful as I dont know where to start on that.
Thank you and happy to hear this got you going! Yes, that is an amazing idea and I am very happy to create some videos of capturing targets :) May I credit you for the video idea? If so, how may I credit you? Keep an eye on my website as I have the upcoming videos for the week. Also, I’m going to create a section on the site with all upcoming videos with progress.
Just started playing with my first SkyWatcher mount - a little Star Adventurer GTI. Some of these issues are definitely in play even with that little model. Very helpful vid. Will also try out Green Swamp Server to see what it can do. It is also interesting how different things are between a traditional SkyWatcher mount and my ZWO strain wave mount. So many more details to pay attention to with SkyWatcher.
Congrats on the mount, did you just get it? I love my skywatcher and yes, there are so many things you can do and play with :) I went to Green Swamp Server and haven’t looked back. Not that EQMOD is bad by any means, some people don’t ever have an issue with it, but GSS is a very good alternative and very stable/reliable.
@@Hidden.Light.Photography Yes, a Black Friday deal. Wanted something I could easily take on trips when I only have my regular camera gear with me (which I always take on trips). From the reviews, it looked like a cool little mount, with good tracking and go to capability. As much as I tried to get light and portable gear from the get-go, taking a fully rigged scope and mount, along with my regular camera stuff, just doesn't always work. Trevor Jones of AstroBackyard uses this mount as his travel mount. That's a pretty good endorsement I think.
Very good! I agree having something light and portable is a very good idea. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it as you use it :)
Nice video mate
Thank you! Are you currently using EQMOD? Also, which mount are you using?
@@Hidden.Light.Photographyazeq6 second hand. I managed to connect to Nina using the USB-B cable, but i didnot success with the serial + serial-to-usb cables. Perhaps Im missing some step
The serial to usb cable has a driver of its own. The cable that I got had a website listed to download the driver. Which cable do you have?
@@Hidden.Light.Photography ok I think I missed installing the FTDI driver. Now there is something I dont understand. I thought that I would connect to the port at the bottom of the HandControl , but this cable connects directly to the port in the mount head named "Hand Control". Then, when do you do the initial polar alignment ?. Is it that you first do the polar alignment and the you unplug the HandControl and plug the cable to your PC ?
There’s a couple ways to do it. What image capture software are you using? I use NINA, so I just plug in right away and do the polar alignment through NINA. If you aren’t on NINA or, let’s say, SharpCap which allows you to polar align, then you would use the hand controller to polar align and then unplug the hand controller and plug into the computer. If you are using the hand controller to plug in, make sure to go to the home position and shut down the mount before plugging into the computer.
Great help, thank you
Thank you, I’m glad this helped out :)
Excellent and clear instructions. Thank you.
Thank you and you are very welcome! What are you using EQMOD to run?
@@Hidden.Light.Photography eg6rpro. Trying to automate so I can set up via NINA and go to sleep. Still using a DSLR, 600mm prime f4, teleconverter when needed. MELE Quieter 4, ZWO ASI mini via PHD2. Having many problems. You solved at least one. It seems that I was having a much easier time when using a wired laptop and no guiding. I really need the guiding to dither more than anything. Then get NINA straighten out so I can sleep.
Getting automated is always a very nice point to get to. What issues are you running into?
@@Hidden.Light.Photography I got it resolved last night. One problem was getting the images. I had to reformat an old thumb drive. I will pick up a faster one today. The micro SD card is stuck deep into the slot. I cannot retrieve it. That was much faster than the thumb drive. My Remote Desktop sometimes freezes while setting up. I am not sure why. Occasionally it is a lost connection but mostly it will stall, maybe more during calibration.
Is there a specific program that stalls out during set up or loses connection? As far as the SD card, it’s hard to have a solution without seeing it. Do you need to push in to unlock or should it just pull out?
Thank you for your video!
You are very welcome! Are you just getting started with EQMod?
Do all of these downloads and drivers work with the Skywatcher EQM 35 pro ? Im new to astronomy and astrophotography and im trying to wrap my head around all of this haha
Welcome to the hobby! There is definitely a lot to learn with it, but you’re in a great community (even over multiple channels and forums) :) It’s always a good idea to check compatibility with software you’re looking into. This link for EQMOD shows the EQM 35 Pro is compatible.
eq-mod.sourceforge.net/prerequisites.html
If, for some reason, you run into issues with EQMOD, another great mount driver is Green Swamp Server. I actually ended up switching to Green Swamp Server due to connectivity issues (you may or may not experience this and both programs are amazing). Here’s a couple of my videos: one going over EQMOD vs GSS and some quirks as well as setting up GSS if you end up needing/wanting to switch over. Hope this helps :)
Being new, are you jumping straight into computer control or were you using the hand controller? Also, an amazing capture program to use, if you aren’t already, is NINA. I have the link to my entire NINA series for you as well. NINA works flawlessly with either EQMOD or GSS.
EQMOD vs GSS:
ruclips.net/video/bk391VKj9vo/видео.htmlsi=E3VsIsPpbngEXeAo
Configuring GSS:
ruclips.net/video/NyB1WHud_G4/видео.htmlsi=dIu5tZeqPrv9RNqH
NINA series:
hiddenlight-photography.com/nina-video-series
The USB C port you keep mentioning is actually a USB 2 type B or printer port.
Yes, you are 100% correct. I pinned a comment at the top of this awhile ago and just checked and it’s not there. I’ll re add the pinned comment. Thank you for this!
Hi, I am glad I found your video on EQ Ascom,I have followed your video and I still can't get the slew control key pad N S E W slewing working. The stop button works park to home will work. I have changed baud rates back and forth but still wont work. I select EQ mod HEQ5/6 as my scope and it populates on the screen, clicking on control 1 the mount will slew no problems but I cant fine tune the slew position. I saw in on of Chucks videos that he changed the baud rate and every thing worked for him.
What am I missing?
PS You can stop looking I have or I think I have found the problem, no one has ever mentioned the slew rates in the slew control panel to the best of my knowledge, and I have looked at a lot of videos on the issue, I altered the slew rates as a matter of interest, and BINGO I was able to use the N S E W buttons. It was something I left as default for all this time.
Cheers Robert Aust'
I’m happy you enjoyed the video! I was going to say I mention the slew rate at 13:36 in the video, but awesome job finding the issue! Let me know if you need any help with anything else.
@@Hidden.Light.Photography I am sorry I missed that, but if you go to 13 50 you will see when you altered the slew rate both the RA and DEC sliders moved then. That was not happening in my case.
Do you know anything about WIFI? If so, I need help on connecting SkySafari 7 Pro to my Galaxy phone and tablet. Cheers Robert.
That is weird that it wasn’t responding, but I have found some weird quirks with EQMOD. I honestly have not experimented with WiFi since my Internet has been spotty since a network change in the area, but let me do some research on this and see if we can figure it out!
@@Hidden.Light.Photography I managed to get a WIFI signal on my phone today in SkySafari 7 Pro, I selected a target and pressed goto, the telescope icon moved to it but the mount did not. I am not up with electronics as such. I as far as I know things work on radio signals, and if that signal is weak things do not work too well. I have looked at other videos but have not found any that relate to my problem. Cheers Robert
This is a really good read in the subject. There seem to be complexities with it, but since EQMOD requires a virtual COM port, you will basically need a cable with an RS232 on one end to connect to the computer with a WiFi client on the other and then a connection to the mount that can communicate.
www.cloudynights.com/topic/609136-sw-wifi-eqmod/
Thank you, It is a really helpful video, it has clarified a lot of things for me regarding EQMOD, especially the mount limit and stop tracking when crossing the meridian
Question:
- Do I really need to install a Prolific USB-to-Serial Device Driver? I am using EQMOD with NINA to control EQ6-R pro and works just fine without any problem
- another thing:
When I start calibration using the calibration assistant in PHD2, it asks me to increase the slew rate by 0.5x at least, I don't know how to do it in EQMOD, it suggests using the hand controller to do that
- could you make an explanation video about Dithering in NINA and PHD2, I have tried many times but it failed PHD2 and NINA does seem not to cooperate
I am so sorry about the delay. Thank you and you are very welcome, I’m glad this helped!!
To set the slew rate, you’ll use the control window with the East, West, North and South controls that pops up when EQMOD opens. To the right of the East control, you’ll see a dropdown window. Choose your slew rate there :)
I can absolutely create that video. What exactly is the error that happens and what are your current settings? Could you email me screenshots of these to Tony@HiddenLight-Photography.com?
@@Hidden.Light.Photography
Thanks I really appreciate your help and support
I have applied the similar settings you mentioned for the EQMOD, and the dither works just fine with no errors for last two nights. The Guiding is getting better (under 0.5 total RMS), and the auto meridian flip worked for the first time
That is awesome news!!
3860 metres elevation is pretty high. Is your gear in La Paz Bolivia?
Lol great catch! EQMOD was very short lived for me due to disconnection issues. Great software though when it stayed connected. It would be a fun experience imaging that high up though wouldn’t it?
@@Hidden.Light.Photography I have never had any issues with EQMOD and the limits is great when you can figure it out. GSS didn't work well for me on my EQ8-R and I went back to EQMOD. The EQ8-R has been retired now.. Piece of shit it was. I visited Chile over Christmas was was at 3500 meters up in the Andes. Awesome skies.
I agree EQMOD was very impressive when it would stay connected for me. I’m sorry to hear about the EQ8-R. What seemed to be the issue with it? I bet the skies were incredible! I’m very happy you got to do that :)
@@Hidden.Light.Photography Like a lot of the bigger SkyWatcher mounts, it had terrible Dec backlash that almost needed an engineering degree to try to fix it. It was just generally a piece of junk. I traded it in on a 10 micron mount and have never looked back.
Oh wow, that’s frustrating :( I was seeing the encoders on the 10 micron don’t necessarily need guiding. Are you running without guiding and if so, how is it?
Great explanation but, when your tutorial gets to the 13th minute the EQM window opens with connection time out message instead of the coordinates. I'm using the usb printer cable method on my new EQ 5 pro. This has the usb connection on the handset,not the mount. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks
If I’m understanding correctly, your handset would plug into the mount and then the handset has a micro usb connection on the bottom, correct?
@@Hidden.Light.Photography yes it has the printer type USB on the bottom of the Skyscan controller. I've tried 2 different cables ,both new. I've uninstalled/reinstalled EQ mod but still the same. At least with your tutorial I understand what to do even though it's not successful. Telescope connection error is the final message and EQ shuts down. Thanks for your time.
Just to make sure, did you confirm the comm port in device matches what you have set for the comm port in EQMOD? this can change every time you try to load. I’d unplug any and all USB cables in the computer leaving only the USB cable going from the hand controller to the computer. I would then double check the comm port in device manager as well as what you have set in EQMOD and make sure they match. I would also make sure you have 115200 set in both device manager as well as EQMOD.
Next, with the EQ6R Pro, there is what is called PC direct mode. I’m not sure if your mount has that, but if it does, you need to make sure you are in PC direct mode.
The next thing is did you download all drivers? If so, I might try uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers. If this still fails, run a windows repair on the drivers. I had this exact thing happen to me and after running the windows repair on the driver, I finally got connected. The down side is I kept having mount disconnect issues, which I was never able to fully resolve. I currently run windows 11 and I’ve heard compatibility issues with windows 11. That’s actually why I switched to Green Swamp Server and it’s been great, so that is another option.
Let me know if any of this help you out and gets you up and running.
@Hidden.Light.Photography Many thanks . All in order with com/PC direct etc. Last thing to try for me is Green Swamp server but not sure what that is. Many thanks for your reply.
Hola, Thanks once again. Just for the hell of it I tried setting the bits per second to 9600.. Success! I am using a new unit and the USB from handset to laptop. Clear skies here in Spain.
Thank you, it's useful.
I’m glad this helped! Please let me know if you need help with anything or have any requests.
I use syscan app to connect to my sw gti over usb, then nina over top. I read i can maybe use eqmod, do you recommend it? :)
Yes, EQMOD is a great program! Just like any other program, it comes with its quirks and in my case, my computer didn’t play nice with it, so the other option is Green Swamp Server which is another great option if you run into issues. I have a video on that one as well along with a video EQMOD vs Green Swamp Server. Hope this helps!
@@Hidden.Light.Photography are there advantages over syscanapp driving it? Im not having issues, so ill stay with what i have until i do :) ty though
Control, configuration and PEC training. EQMOD is a little easier to do these, otherwise they are both great. EQMOD and GSS are just platforms to bring the functionality to a dashboard on your computer that you can easily make adjustments and bring more out of your mount. I know SynScan is going through a number of updates that are making this a lot easier as well so that is always a good thing!
Is it 100% important to have mount at com5? When in advanced settings I switch it from com6 to com5 it says that this port is already busy and switching can cause troubles
No, it’s not necessary. The port will be assigned when you plug the USB cable into the computer. From there, go to device manager and locate com ports. You’ll see which port was assigned. If you have multiple items connected, I would recommend unplugging everything else and then plug the USB for mount in first and check device manager. Once you identify which port was assigned to the mount, then assign that port number to EQMOD. Check out starting at 08:43 for reference to this. Com 5 just happened to be what my mount was assigned to. Keep in mind this can change so always make sure to check and assign EQMOD accordingly :) I hope this helps
Hello, i'm having trouble with step 5 on the pdf (connected to usb b) , I can't select eqmod so i can't connect to nina
The "weird" thing is that i can connect to synscan pro. what could be the problem?
(Great video i'm just not good 😅)
Let’s get you up and running! :) are you referring to you don’t see EQMOD listed in NINA? If so, NINA will list it as EQASCOM. If you don’t see this listed, what do you see when you try to connect in NINA?
It's all good, I just had to reinstall the driver, thanks for your vid :)
Awesome job!! That was going to be my next suggestion after checking the drivers NINA displays. That driver has given me plenty of headaches and why I switched to Green Swamp Server. If you mind me asking, which Windows version are you running?
Windows 11
That’s the same as me. Make sure you watch out for connection drops between the mount and NINA. This is exactly what I started running into and it seems EQMOD doesn’t like windows 11.
Please delete and do again, sorry, port confusion is too huge an error and extremely confusing
I’m so sorry, I will look into a redo on this. In the mean time, here is my PDF guide for this process which has the correct port information. I will post a link to the updated video once it’s done. I hope the rest of the videos help you out :)
img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/d997743b-c919-472d-8de0-4c963305f205/downloads/EQ6R%20Pro%20to%20EQMOD%20final.pdf?ver=1717428294416
Either you are joking or just stupid. 99% of the info provided in the video is correct and useful
Toy Bridge