iOptron Corporation, 6E Gill Street, Woburn, MA 01801 www.iOptron.com
iEQ45/8406 Mount Computer Control via ASCOM
Oct. 2010, Rev. Apr. 2012, Jan. 2016
An iEQ45 mount with an 8406 hand controller can be controlled by a personal computer (PC) via the RS232
port located on the main control unit. In general, the following hardware and software are needed to perform
the job:
ASCOM Platform 6 or later version. Download and install it from
http://www.ascom-standards.org
.
iOptron Telescope ASCOM Drive. Download and install it from
http://www.ioptron.com
, under Support
directory.
Buy/download planetarium software and install it.
RS232 cable (included)
USB to RS232 converter and driver. If your computer does not equip a RS232 port (a 9-pin D-shape
connector) except the USB port, you need to buy a USB to RS232 converter, form a computer
hardware store or on-line.
With an iOptron
StarFi Wi-Fi adapter (#8412)
, an iEQ45/8406 mount can also be controlled by a
computer/tablet/SmartPhone wirelessly.
1. Find the serial port (COM port) number from your computer:
In order to enable planetarium software to control the mount, the communication between the PC and the
mount has to be established.
The first step is to find if your computer has a serial port (or RS232 port). The following g photos show a native
(built-in) serial port on a laptop (left) and a desk top (right). It is a 9-pin D-shaped (DB9) connector. The
assigned port number usually is COM1.
If your computer only has USB ports, like most late PC or laptops do, you need a USB to COM converter to
convert one USB port to a serial port (RS232 port). Here are two examples of USB2COM converters.
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