MEADE ETX-LS 6" ACF Last updated: 16 August 2009

Using a Macintosh with the ETX-LS

I hadn't been able to connect to RS-232 serial port AutoStars using Parallels Desktop for the Macintosh but since the ETX-LS uses USB 2.0, I decided to try it. I used my MacBook Pro (10.5.8) running Windows XP in Parallels 4.0. Oddly, the PC USB port on the ETX-LS is labeled "USB-B"; port "A" is reserved for some future capability. Seems like A should be for the computer connection and B for something in the future! One thing to watch out for is that the USB ports are on the fork arm, which rotates with the telescope. So be certain to use a long USB cable or add one or more USB extension cables, which is what I did.

I powered on the ETX-LS and aborted all the Auto Align steps. I then connected the USB cable. Parallels recognized that there was a USB connection ("Meade eFinder Serial Emulator"). However, neither AutoStar Suite 5.5 nor AutoStar Update 5.8 recognized the USB connection. Only the older RS-232 com ports were presented in the menus. I tried enabling the network protocol but that always gave an error and wouldn't start. I don't know if these are issues with the Parallels virtual machine, or a problem with the ETX-LS or the Windows software.

I'll update this page if I get the connection working.

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