1. Messages
  2. SERIAL PORTS (was: cannot connect gto CP3 to the SKy 6)

Re: SERIAL PORTS (was: cannot connect gto CP3 to the SKy 6)

pgwsteve
 

I bought the USB to 4 port serial converter from AP and installed it into my obs. I would have random BSOD occurrences that would really mess up an imaging session. It got to a point where I could no longer make it through an evening so I had to investigate the issue in depth with the help of the IT guy I employ. Using a special viewer to look at the dump file related to the crash, a driver related to the event kept showing up, WDS84 or something IIRC, I could check if needed.

I verified it was the Tripplite driver and filled out a tech support request on their site. Needless to say I spoke to a tech and they stated that Windows 7 wasn't supported, and it was unlikely it would be. By the end if the day I had a 2 port RS232 card installed and no BSOD since.

I agree with the uselessness of USB for all applications other than picture download. The Ethernet port on some SBIG cameras is interesting.

--- In ap-gto@..., "Christopher Erickson" <christopher.k.erickson@...> wrote:

USB appears to be simple to the user but is incredibly-complex to the
developer. RS-232 is simple for developers, especially since it is
built-into just about all microcontrollers.

When the data-rate is low, RS-232 is the fastest, cheapest and most
reliable interface to implement in microcontroller-based devices.

All of the USB-to-Serial problems I have ever investigated to date have
been related to brand-X adapters, their junky drivers or because the
user installed the wrong drivers for his/her particular OS.

I hope this helps.

Christopher Erickson
Consulting Engineer
Summit Kinetics
Waikoloa, HI 96738
www.summitkinetics.com



-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On Behalf Of
Pete Su
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 12:50 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Re: SERIAL PORTS (was: cannot connect gto CP3 to the
SKy 6)

I could get behind Ethernet.

I find the fascination with RS232 in astronomy circles to be puzzling.
While there are certainly reasons that embedded industrial control
applications still use them (super simple device interfaces) this is
not what we are doing with telescope mounts. Telescope mounts (and
cameras, and all the other devices) use the serial line to send
commands to the mount controller which are then translated into lower
level signal to the motors or whatnot. The only rational reason I can
see to prefer RS232 for this above anything else is cable length, but
even that's a red herring IMHO. Ethernet cable runs can be just as
long and what "everyone" ends up doing anyway is to remote control the
mount using a second computer and TCP/IP, which doesn't even need a
wire.

So yeah, ethernet. It's almost as old as RS-232 anyway (invented in
the 70s, vs. the 60s).

Pete


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