FT232RL USB to RJ45 Serial Converter Control Cable for Skywatcher Telescope EQ6-R AZEQ6 AZEQ5

I have been using my PC to control my Orion Atlas mount for a couple of years through a USB->serial converter connected to the hand controller. This worked as a "SkyWatcher" instrument though ASCOM, but never worked properly with EQMOD. It was good enough to move the scope around, but I could not take advantage of EQMOD's alignment or other features. I saw this cable for $15, and figured it was too good to be true, but at that price, I could afford to be wrong. No such luck :). I already had the latest ASCOM and EQMOD versions installed on my laptop, plus the FTDI chipset driver for my other scope cable, so when I plugged this in, it just worked. All I had to do was find the serial port (6 in my case) and tell EQMOD to use the HEQ5/6 driver, et voila. Running the scope through its paces proved every feature working exactly as expected. I now have the ability to use a gamepad for slewing, I can use N point alignment, and all of my other programs like PHD2 and Cartes du Ciel work as before (mostly - I have had one interesting issue where CDC seems to turn off sidereal tracking sometimes - I have not debugged this yet).

This cable works with the asi air plus and the sky-watcher eqm 35pro. No other cable that I try worked. Just put the mount on eq mod and set the same on the asi air.

This took a bit of work to connect but in the end it connected. Using EQ6RPro direct to laptop WIN10, ASCOM, EQMOD, no hand controller. Updated FTDI drivers ascom wouldn’t find the COM port, even tho both ascom and laptop were at same baud rate 115200. Not sure why I tried it but set ascom to 9600 leaving laptop at 115200, hit find in ascom and it found it. After ascom connect I was able to unpark, slew, park. Then set ascom baud back to 115200 and it kept the com connection. I haven’t tried APT or Stellarium but with a valid COM connection there’s no apparent reason they shouldn’t work as before. Connection was maintained through my powered USB3.0 hub. Update: still a good cable, but not required, the problem I was having was power supply not data cable. If you have a mount with a USB type B port, use that to direct connect PC to Mount. 12/17/20.

Aside from the FTDI chip, the other reason that I selected this item over a less-expensive FTDI-based alternative was the rubber boot over the clip lever. The boot prevents snags and breakage of the lever, and makes it a bit more difficult to disconnect. On the other hand, the RJ45 connector is nicely molded up against the cable unlike the loose boot in the photo. Ideally, if they had slipped the same boot over the current connector, that would be perfect. I plugged the cable into a Windows computer and it was recognized as an FTDI serial converter. It also worked with my ASIAir Pro to control a Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 Pro mount using the EQMOD mount driver.

Simple plug in to the hand controller port on the mount (no hand controller needed), other reviews I read say it does not fit, but it fits the EQ6-R Pro just fine.... then plug the usb side into the raspberry pi or pc. FTDI port was detected without any additional drivers, simple command on linux terminal of 'dmesg | grep -i FTDI' displayed the port that it was using, in my case /dev/ttyUSB0. Changed that to the value used to connect to the mount using baud of 9600 in Ekos setup for indi EQMod driver and connection was made with no problem at all and I could control my mount with 0 issues.

Didn't worked when I connect, later I discovered the eqmod didn't recognize the COM port, I need to inform that manually and now it's working with my Orion Atlas.

I purchased my EQ6-R Pro in December, and wanted to wire it up for direct PC control without the hand control. Found this item for a far better price than other places. Once plugged in, the laptop found the drivers without issue. Registered as COM4. Using EQMOD ASCOM HEQ5/6 Driver, within the AstroPhoto Tool program (APT) I am able to connect and drive my scope without issue. Tracked the moon for 5+hrs during the lunar eclipse, and several other astrophotography projects. No clue why this cable is 80% cheaper than the "popular" one, but it does the job.

I'm using this to control a cq350 from an asiair. for that purpose, it's working fine.

Muss meine Renzension aufgrund eines Fehler meinerseits korrigieren, nach entsprechender Konfiguration ist nun alles bestens. In einen anderen Guide habe ich die Baudrate falsch übernommen was dann natürlich nicht funktioniert. Daher alles schön hübsch und es funktioniert mit Ascom/EQMod und auch Stellarium kann das Teleskop bzw. Montierung steuern.

I’ve just bought an EQM-35 Pro to work on widefield alongside my EQ6R-Pro. Given the precious few clear nights we get in the UK, and with such a night looming close, coupled with the cost saving, I took a chance on this cable to use with it rather than pay more than twice as much for a Lynx Astro cable and wait a week for delivery from an Astro retailer. I plugged it in and switched everything on, but it did nothing. I went to the FTDI website and checked the driver, but the one I have installed is the latest (2.12.28). Anyway, cut a long story short... To get it to work make sure your mount is switched on and the cable is properly plugged in. In Windows, Open Device Manager / Ports where for me it appears as ‘USB Serial Port’ on COM3 (your COM port may differ) and then open EQASCOM Toolbox / ‘driver setup’. Tell it there which COM port the cable is on (again, COM3 for me), and select 9600 baud. OK that, open EQMOD and it should work (don’t set it on the lowest slew rate or it will seem like the mount isn’t moving). I can confirm it works with an EQM-35 Pro and I tried it on my EQ6R-Pro too, which also works. No reason to believe it won’t work with other Skywatcher mounts such as the EQ5 and HEQ5. No experience using it in anger yet, but I’ll update this review when I have. Update: used it last night and it worked fine. I had all sorts of problems but none of them were related to the cable.

Received the cable in good order all worked as described.

Great cable, not too long and works fine with my HEQ5 and both ASIair Pro and Stellarmate. As with all new purchases Astro related, came with free clouds…….. :)

Not as robust as the more expensive versions available through dedicated Astro stores. This lighter weight cable does work and is excellent for the price.