Bluetooth Serial Adapter
for wireless telescope control
The following page is specific to the
Paramount ME. However, the only change necessary for most other
serial interfaced telescope mounts (Celestron, Meade, AstroPhysic's,
Gemini, SGT) will be the baud rate = 9600
instead of 38400 baud. Outside of the baud rate all should be the
same. Consult your telescope documentation for baud rate setting if
you are not sure.
WARNING!
The
Parani10 Bluetooth serial adapter
will not function properly UNTIL it has been properly configured! This is true
for all Bluetooth serial adapters. The
default settings simply do not work out-of-the box so don't expect
them to!
The
Parani10 device does not require tying of pins 7 and 8 together
to satisfy hardware handshaking. However,
the use of a null modem adapter AND possibly a 9 pin male-to-male gender
changer are required.
Null modem adapter
 
and gender changer
USB power cable, null
modem adapter and gender changer in place.
Now ready to
plug in to scope
Not as "clean" as it could be, but functional
NOTE: Make sure you are logged onto
the system as an administrator when configuring serial ports or
installing software. Although their Windows Configuration utility does
not check for this (it should ;) you will need to be an administrator
to add other USB/Bluetooth devices and adapters.
Warning!
The null modem
adapter shown (as sold by Software
Bisque) does not support the use of PIN 9 for power!! Therefore this
combination will NOT I repeat NOT work with my
Adapter Panel Modification
on the Paramount
ME which uses pin 9 to power the device because pin 9 is
missing from this particular NULL modem adapter.
Make sure you are
supplying power to the device indicated by the green power LED using
the supplied USB power cable or your own equivalent power supply. Next connect the
device to a known working com port (example COM1).
You do not need to use a null modem adapter or gender changer to
configure this device. Handy for configuring but a disadvantage when
using it with the telescope where BOTH ARE required!
After installing the
configuration software that comes with the device launch the Setup
application. The default Baud rate is shown below.
Again you must have a
working COM PORT on the PC or laptop in order to configure the
device. Check the Windows Device
Manager for existing COM PORT settings! If you do not have a
native COM PORT one can be added using a
USB to serial adapter for about
$25.00 U.S.
When you have entered the proper COM
PORT make sure you can communicate with the device. I believe the
default baud rate is 9600 as shown above. Consult the users manual
if you are having problems connecting!
Com port open and current settings
displayed!
These are the DEFAULT settings
yours may vary!
Now to configure the settings use the Device Settings icon.
Click here
Following are the proper settings to
use with the Paramount ME. The Baud Rate changed to 9600 should work
with nearly every other control system!
Change parameters accordingly
All settings that need
attention are highlighted above!
The Mode should be MODE3, the Baud
Rate 38400 (Paramount ME) or 9600 the default settings which is the
default for most other scopes!, the device name whatever you like
"Paramount ME", and Hardware Flow Control OFF, no check mark. That
is hardware handshaking is disabled!
In this example I have not enabled Authentication.
Why
would anyone want to use Authentication anyway?
Bluetooth Icon
located on the Task Bar
Right mouse clicking on the BlueTooth
icon will display Bluetooth-specific options. A menu similar to the following shows.
Choose "Add a Bluetooth device"
Check My device
is set up and ready to be found
Press NEXT
When the Parani10 device has
been properly configured it will be available as a Bluetooth device.
Click Add on the Bluetooth Devices dialog as shown.
OR
Use Start | Control
Panel and click on the Bluetooth devices icon. See Below!
The following is
showing Classic Icon View.
Control Panel
Bluetooth devices icon
Bluetooth devices
Adding a
BlueTooth Device
Click Add to see a list of
Bluetooth devices
Because the device has
already been configured to be "Discoverable" and the
serial port option enabled you can use the "Add" Bluetooth Device Wizard to find the device by name.
Available devices are displayed!
Note Paramount ME
New Device name listed
Great! Now just double click on the
name Paramount ME - New Device! as shown above.
Wait I don't see it by
name here!
No Authentication - No PIN required!
If you did not assign Authentication which requires a PIN or
password you will not need to use the option for a passkey. See
below.
No Passkey required Authentication
not used!
If Authentication is being used
you will have to enter the PIN number assigned to the device when
prompted.
Why use any Authentication?
Let's say you are at a star party and
there are a dozen Paramount ME users in close proximity ;). By using
Authentication there will be no chance of anyone else connecting to
yours and vice a versa. It is a safety precaution that is all.
Enter PIN number
here <---Click here for PIN location
Press next
WARNING !
You must see the following dialog
indicating that TWO individual COM PORTS have been assigned to the
system. One will simply not work! There must be both an incoming and
outgoing port shown.
Note Windows COM PORT assignments
Note COM PORT assignments
You must see two
individual COM PORT assignments
as shown above. If you do not see an OutGoing port and an Incoming
Port listed go back and double check the
device settings! Without an incoming and outgoing port the
connection in TheSky will fail to connect to the device!
The following is a very convenient way
to find out what COM PORT the serial port is assigned to. Once it
has been connected use the Properties Tab.
Click Device Name
And use the Properties Tab
Note the Serial Port service listed!
And Com Port Number for this device
Now the COM number to be used
with TheSky is the Outgoing
COM PORT number 69 as shown above on!
If you have not given
the device a name it will show only as "New" device,
Paramount ME as shown above. Best to go back and use a name with the
device that makes sense.
USB
to RS-232 adapter - A COM PORT is required to configure the
device!
Keyspan example
High Speed USB Serial
Adapter
Model USA-19HS
After the necessary
drivers have been installed for the USB to RS-232 serial adapter use
the Windows Device Manager to
check the COM PORT assignment. This is EXTREMELY helpful!!!!
Device Manager Com
Port settings
COM10 (Belkin
serial USB to RS-232)
NOTE: In the
above example the Windows Configuration Utility will be using COM10
to configure the device! If you do not know what COM PORTS the
system has use the Windows Device
Manager to find out!
Task Bar
Right-click on the Bluetooth icon  to
access the Bluetooth menu.
Show Bluetooth devices
Double check the COM port settings
This will NOT
work!
You must have an incoming and outgoing
port!
If you attempt to
"Add" the Outgoing port by forcing it you will see the following
error message! This indicates that the device settings have not been
configured properly. You cannot continue until both the ingoing and
outgoing ports are shown.
NOTE: This will
also be the case if you use the Windows Device Manager to check the
port settings. A single COM PORT will not work. See below.
Use the Start button
then up to Control Panel and Open the System icon. From there use
Hardware Device Manager. In the device manager go down to the entry
"PORTS" as shown below.
Use Hardware
Then Device Manager
Another example of
Bluetooth com port assignments is shown in the device manager
Yours will undoubtedly differ!
Another check
use the
Bluetooth Devices dialog
Select the Com Ports Tab!
What the????
Why are so many com
ports listed? Because each Bluetooth serial adapter requires two COM
numbers. In this case two of them are connected making 4
assignments.
Why are the COM
numbers so high??? <-How to clear the registry COM PORT
assignments!
Once you know the
proper com port settings enter the lowest COM NUMBER in TheSky's
Telescope Setup. In the example above that is Standard Serial over
Bluetooth link (COM41). Again yours will differ. Keep in mind this
could be ANY COM PORT number! Above the AirCable COM PORT was
assigned to COM PORT 41! The point is that these will vary and you
simply CANNOT GUESS or play musical COM PORTS!
ALWAYS check the Windows Device
Manager if you are unsure! That is the easiest way to find out
what COM PORTS the system has.
COM PORT number of
the Bluetooth serial adapter
TheSky's
Telescope Setup.
Specify the Outgoing COM port here.
Now you are ready to
use TheSky's Telescope | Link Establish. If the telescope is on and
the correct serial port is entered you are good to go.
If the telescope does not respond
check power on the scope and Bluetooth adapter and then go back and make sure you have entered the correct
Bluetooth COM PORT number.
Paramount is not
turned on or,
Bluetooth adapter not plugged into
telescope!
NOTE:
The above error indicates a valid
COM PORT is trying to be used but
the telescope is not responding!
What COM PORT setting are
using in TheSky? Does it exist?
What COM PORTS are listed in the Device Manager?
I have found on the PC that more often than not the com port
assignments changes each time I add the Bluetooth serial
adapters. I have seen the COM PORT number come in as high as 58
for example! If you wish to clean
the system (registry) of COM PORT settings there is a knowledge base article on the
Software Bisque
site explaining how to do this. It is article number 1188 and
here is the link.
Click
here for details on how to clear the COM port settings!
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