SharpCap Forums

Is there a protocol for connecting a Meade LX85 mount directly to my computer so that I can take advantage of all the mount-related functions that SharpCap Pro has to offer?

I acquired a new Meade LX85 mount at a very good price (less than $500). I use it mostly for visual observing but have been experimenting with it for astrophotography.

I have not found a driver for the LX85 mount that SharCap Pro recognizes. Hence, I have to autoguide "the old fashion way" by connecting the guide camera to the mount. Surprisingly, this works quite well, allowing me to use exposure times up to 5 min without getting elongated stars. However, I would like to connect the mount directly to my computer so that SharpCap Pro can work even more wonders for me.

Michael

Michael J. Borrelli

Hi Michael,

normally what you would need to install for this to work on the software side is

* The latest version of the ASCOM platform from https://ascom-standards.org/Downloads/Index.htm

* An ASCOM driver for the Meade telescope - there are a number of different ones, but perhaps the most modern is this one - https://bitbucket.org/cjdskunkworks/mea ... %20History

You would also need some sort of connection from the PC to the Meade handset (or maybe direct to the mount). This usually shows up as a serial port on the PC and that might require its own drivers.

Once you have installed both of those, run SharpCap and there should be a 'Meade' entry in the list of possible Telescope Mount connections in the hardware settings. There may be further configuration inside the Meade driver to tell it how to talk to your mount (which serial port to use and possibly other stuff).

Once that is done, you should be able to take full control of the mount from within SharpCap, including GOTO movements, etc.

cheers,

Robin

Michael,
I used an LX85 for a year. I used the ST4 guide facility on the guide camera - it worked OK. The real benefit of using SharpCap to drive the mount (via ASCOM) was being able to plate-solve, synch and then correct the position of the mount. That opened the gateway to using a sequence to run an imaging session.

If you can't control the mount with ASCOM, SharpCap has a new facility to do "push-to' plate-solving and synching. That will be a big help in getting on target as the LX85 GOTO system isn't very accurate.

Dave