I can not get pempro to connect to my ap900 mount. I have downloaded and installed the correct ascom platform and the latest AP driver. When i pull up the edit ascom driver settings, all of parameters set properly including the correct com port. under the " current AP GTO status" heading it reads no mount in all fields. when i click ok a pop-up reads no mount found. I know my computer can communicate successfully to the AP mount because I have had " The Sky X " communicate successfully through the serial com port. Have any of you had this issue and a successful resolution?

The ASCOM driver dialog always says that it cannot connect, even if the mount is present. That's a bug in the driver. A new driver is nearing completion and doesn't have this issue.

So, try connecting with an ASCOM client application. Note that you will need to disconnect from TheSkyX before connecting with an ASCOM client because TheSkyX does not support ASCOM.

If you still cannot connect try using PulseGuide first to make sure the mount is seen. If you don't have it you can download pulseguide from http://www.pulseguide.com.

-Ray

I downloaded and installed pulseguide and it communicates with the mount. however, I still can not connect to the mount with pempro. Do you have anymore suggestions?

THANKS!!

Which program are you using to connect to the mount with the ASCOM driver?

-Ray

I don't totally understand what you mean by which program I am using to connect to the mount with the ascom driver. I can connect to the mount with the pulse guide program, but i can not connect to the mount with pempro version 1.7 nor the 2.6 trial version. when i try to connect it reads "connect failed: can not find AP mount on COM port or AP initialization failed." Is another program required to bridge pempro to the mount? I downloaded and installed an updated AP GTO ASCOM driver which pempro will access. But even after making sure the settings are correct, Pempro will not connect to the mount. The operating system i am using is Windows vista.

quote:

I don't totally understand what you mean by which program I am using to connect to the mount with the ascom driver

You answered this in the next line... PEMPro. I just wanted to be sure that you were actually using a client application and not just seeing the message that the driver can't connect in the driver's setup window.

Here are some things to try:

* PEMPro uses the ASCOM driver to connect so if it cannot connect it is usually because the driver's COM Port setting. So, are you sure the COM port is set correctly in the driver? To double check - in PEMPro V2 click the menu Settings->Edit ASCOM Driver Settings... The AP driver's settings dialog should open. Make sure the COM port matches the port that worked in PulseGuide.

* If the COM port looks OK try looking in the Windows Task Manager Processes list for AstroPhysics.EXE. If you see it select it and click "End Process". Then try connecting again.

* If the above doesn't work then try rebooting your PC and connecting again. It could be the low level serial port driver is having a problem.

-Ray

Thanks for your response, But still no luck. Is it really likely that the serial port driver is having problems if i can use pulseguide to control the mount? If so, is there any particular serial to usb adapter that you recommend that might solve the problem? I am currently using the prolific technologies PL-2303 serial to USB converter cable with a new updated driver. Is that the low level serial port driver that you mentioned in your last post?

Thanks again!!

Before turning to the USB hardware what firmware revision and control box type does your mount have? PulseGuide will read and show the firmware version number when you connect.

-Ray

the firmware version is D. I think the control box is GTOCP2.

Ok, check the mount type in PEMPro to make sure it is "AP 900/1200 GTO Rev D". If that looks correct I'm next going to have you enable ASCOM logging to get a dump of the communications between the driver and the mount.

Oh, one more thing. Which operating system are you running?

-Ray

I was using the Rev D choice. I aslo tried the G or later option and it did not work either. I am using Vista ultimate 32 bit service pack 2.

Let's try this. Use notepad or a text editor and open a new file and put these 4 lines in (just copy and paste them):

Set t = CreateObject("AstroPhysics.Telescope")
t.SetupDialog
t.Connected = True
WScript.Echo t.RightAscension

Save the file in your User folder as "APTest.vbs". Then from Windows explorer locate the file and double click it. The setup dialog should pop up and you should see the version number in the setup dialog. After you close the setup dialog the RA coordinate should pop up in a message box.

-Ray

double clicking the file did open the Astro- physics GTO setup menu, but the software version line still reads no mount. when I click OK I get a pop-up that reads settings saved on local machine but no ap mount found. when I close the menu I get an error pop-up box reading can not find AP mount on com port or AP initialization failed
code: 80040407
souuce: ASCOM Astrophysics GTO driver.

No mesage box pops up with any RA coordinates.

Well, this positively points to the driver or your hardware. Since you are running Vista I assume you ran the ASCOM installer "As Administrator"? Also, you may wish to try installing the new Helper.Net which works better for some devices on Vista:

http://www.siriusimaging.com/A...ET(5.1.3.0)setup.exe

-Ray

That is unbelievable! I installed that helpernet program and now it connects to the mount!I assume that is some kind of upgrade to the ASCOM platform. Hopefully I will have a clear sky in the near future to see if I can take advantage of it. Thanks!!!