-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On Behalf Of
George
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 12:54 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: cannot connect gto CP3 to the SKy 6

Really you guys. Let's be honest here. Any new designs should use USB. It is
the industry standard for plug-and-play communications (has been for quite a
while). Many computers, mostly laptops, do not have serial ports any more
for good reason - nothing new uses it. Adapters are troublesome.

I am surprised if the AP1600 or 3600 does not use USB.

George



--- In ap-gto@..., "Ray Gralak" <groups1@...> wrote:

Hi Gerald,

I bought a new Win7 Asus high end laptop dedicated solely for imaging. I

know of no current laptop that comes

with a dedicated serial port. Mine didn't. These new laptops replace the

desktop pretty much these days,

particularly in the field.

Laptops with serial ports still exist. For instance, some of the Panasonic

Toughboooks still have a serial port which

might have been a better choice than your Asus for outdoor environments -

I wouldn't want to use my high-end 17"

Alienware outdoors.

Also, many of the Dell laptops have docking stations with COM ports.

Probably other manufacturers have docking stations.

-Ray Gralak
Author of Astro-Physics Command Center (APCC)
Author of PEMPro: http://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: http://www.gralak.com/apdriver
Author of PulseGuide: http://www.pulseguide.com
Author of Sigma: http://www.gralak.com/sigma

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On Behalf

Of gmillerok

Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 10:59 AM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: cannot connect gto CP3 to the SKy 6




Ray,

I bought a new Win7 Asus high end laptop dedicated solely for imaging. I

know of no current laptop that comes

with a dedicated serial port. Mine didn't. These new laptops replace the

desktop pretty much these days,

particularly in the field.

Gerald
--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> , "Ray

Gralak" <groups1@> wrote:

Hi Gerald,

since no laptops or PC's have no serial ports.

Actually there are some desktop computers that still come with serial

ports built in (e.g. some of the Dell

Optiplex and

Precision desktops).

If you are using a desktop without a serial port the best solution is

a 2-port PCI and PCI-express card. They run

from

$10-40 usually and are much more robust than the USB/serial adapters.

You can find them at Newegg or

Amazon.

-Ray Gralak
Author of Astro-Physics Command Center (APCC)
Author of PEMPro: http://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver:

http://www.gralak.com/apdriver

Author of PulseGuide: http://www.pulseguide.com
Author of Sigma: http://www.gralak.com/sigma

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>

[mailto:ap-gto@...

<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of gmillerok

Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 8:02 AM
To: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: cannot connect gto CP3 to the SKy 6



Reboot the computer and don't let it go to sleep while connected.

Change it under Power settings so it won't

ever go

to sleep or hibernate if you want to avoid such problems. How it's

set up with the mount is not relevent.

Roland, are your new mounts going to stick with the old serial port

standard? I hope not.

I also have had issues with serial connections-mainly related to

using USB to Serial converters that are now

required

since no laptops or PC's have no serial ports. I bought a 4-port

$150 Tripplite USB-Serial converter from AP to

use

with the Icron Ranger (both bought because AP recommends them to

work on the AP site). It does not work

with the

Icron and neither Icron or Tripplite can tell me why after hours are

trying to get it to work. So now I have a

$150

paperweight.

Fortunately, a Startech USB-Serial 4-port works with the Icron

without issue.

Gerald

--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>

<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>

, chris1011@ wrote:

You DO NOT need to set the keypad to EXT in order to use an

external planetarium program!!! Please read

the

manual.

1) set the keypad to Autostart YES
2) start your mount by turning on 12 volt power
3) Connect TheSky6 using Astro-Physics mount and your serial cable
4) In the Sky6 press "Link > Establish"

That is all you need to do!
You do not need to do anything else in order to control your mount

fully from your planetarium program.

Rolando



-----Original Message-----
From: dan j <danjanos@>
To: ap-gto <ap-gto@...

<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:ap-

gto%40yahoogroups.com> >

Sent: Tue, Oct 16, 2012 8:24 pm
Subject: [ap-gto] cannot connect gto CP3 to the SKy 6


Hi Everyone,
I upgraded my computer to a Windows 7 platform and reinstalled all

the

software. But I am having a problem connecting my Parallax hd150c

with AP GTO

electronics. The keypad is set to "ext", using com port 4 set to

9600 bps here

is the error message I get from the SKY 6.
"Astro-Physics GTO not responding. Please check communications

port

settings,powers and connections to the control the system".
Now here is the crazy part. I had the system working before dinner

doing test

slews through the SKY 6! The computer went into sleep mode and

after wakening

the computer up the problem started. ugh!!
Any help would be appreciated.
dan



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