Has anyone been successful using the Stellarmate with a CGEM or any other Celestron mount with a NexStar hand controller with a USB port connection to the Stellarmate?
The core issue that is blocking operation at this point is what appears to be a conflict in the NexStar hand controller with the USB connection to the Stellarmate or a USB hub.
My equipment:
Raspberry PI 4B, 3B, 3B+
Stellarmate 1.4.4
USB Hubs: D-Link DUB 1340, Sabrent HB-U390, Amazon Basics 4 Port USB 3.0 HUB, High Power Supply System USB3.0 HUB
Mount: Celestron CGEM with NexStar USB hand controller with the latest firmware versions
Operating in local mode with 15 inch 1080P display, wireless keyboard, USB mouse connected
Using 3.5 amp power supply supplied with the RPI4 and the USB hub supplies provided with the hubs
The latest testing has been primarily with the RPI4. It boots very inconsistently and sometimes boots then restarts multiple times before stabilizing. Frequently the USB devices must be disconnected to reboot successfully.
After it has rebooted successfully, it often takes many attempts to connect with the CGEM mount.
The CGEM + NexStar hand controller operate consistently with the hand controller not connected to the Stellarmate/USB hub. When the hand controller is connected to a USB hub or the RPI directly, it does not operate correctly. Commanding motion from the hand controller always results in "No Response 16 or 17" errors, indicating failure communicating with the motor controller. If the hand controller is not used for commanding motion after the USB connection is made, and if the PC connection is made successfully, then the Stellarmate sometimes controls the mount correctly until the "No Response 16 or 17" error is displayed. On one occasion operation was successful for an extended period of time until the Stellarmate was shut down to try another configuration. I have not been able to repeat that success. Testing has been done with multiple USB cables to rule out the possibility of a faulty cable. With one of the cables I cut the 5V wire since that appeared to be connected directly to the 5V power in the NexStar hand controller that was supplied from the mount head. Testing has also been done with a 12vV to 5V converter capable of supplying 5 amps. The supply voltage was monitored with a digital voltmeter.
I have discussed this issue with Celestron technical support. They concluded the problem must be in the Stellarmate. I have requested to be connected with a contact in the NexStar hand controller design team to ask for assistance in diagnosing the problem. If the cause of the problem can be found, I may be able to devise a solution that could be implemented outside the hand controller. I have not received a response yet.
The core problem is that something in the USB hub or the RPI interferes with the communication from the motor controller to the NexStar hand controller. I really want to make this work and am willing to spend some time and effort resolving the issues. All suggestions would be appreciated.
Ed
The core issue that is blocking operation at this point is what appears to be a conflict in the NexStar hand controller with the USB connection to the Stellarmate or a USB hub.
My equipment:
Raspberry PI 4B, 3B, 3B+
Stellarmate 1.4.4
USB Hubs: D-Link DUB 1340, Sabrent HB-U390, Amazon Basics 4 Port USB 3.0 HUB, High Power Supply System USB3.0 HUB
Mount: Celestron CGEM with NexStar USB hand controller with the latest firmware versions
Operating in local mode with 15 inch 1080P display, wireless keyboard, USB mouse connected
Using 3.5 amp power supply supplied with the RPI4 and the USB hub supplies provided with the hubs
The latest testing has been primarily with the RPI4. It boots very inconsistently and sometimes boots then restarts multiple times before stabilizing. Frequently the USB devices must be disconnected to reboot successfully.
After it has rebooted successfully, it often takes many attempts to connect with the CGEM mount.
The CGEM + NexStar hand controller operate consistently with the hand controller not connected to the Stellarmate/USB hub. When the hand controller is connected to a USB hub or the RPI directly, it does not operate correctly. Commanding motion from the hand controller always results in "No Response 16 or 17" errors, indicating failure communicating with the motor controller. If the hand controller is not used for commanding motion after the USB connection is made, and if the PC connection is made successfully, then the Stellarmate sometimes controls the mount correctly until the "No Response 16 or 17" error is displayed. On one occasion operation was successful for an extended period of time until the Stellarmate was shut down to try another configuration. I have not been able to repeat that success. Testing has been done with multiple USB cables to rule out the possibility of a faulty cable. With one of the cables I cut the 5V wire since that appeared to be connected directly to the 5V power in the NexStar hand controller that was supplied from the mount head. Testing has also been done with a 12vV to 5V converter capable of supplying 5 amps. The supply voltage was monitored with a digital voltmeter.
I have discussed this issue with Celestron technical support. They concluded the problem must be in the Stellarmate. I have requested to be connected with a contact in the NexStar hand controller design team to ask for assistance in diagnosing the problem. If the cause of the problem can be found, I may be able to devise a solution that could be implemented outside the hand controller. I have not received a response yet.
The core problem is that something in the USB hub or the RPI interferes with the communication from the motor controller to the NexStar hand controller. I really want to make this work and am willing to spend some time and effort resolving the issues. All suggestions would be appreciated.
Ed