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Connecting the Physical Telescope

1. Set up the physical telescope according to manufacturer directions. If telescope is new, set up mount according to quick start directions included in manual packet and place the telescope on the mount, being sure to tighten the screws under the plate. Add required batteries and turn on the telescope.

2. Align the telescope according to manufacturer directions. When you get to the align screen, align the telescope using the method of your choosing. 

  • If you are testing the telescope, the alignment is not important, simply choose two star alignment, point the telescope about where stars might be (Polaris, for instance, is halfway up towards the north from our location). 

3. Connect the miniUSB cable to the computer and telescope. With WWT NOT running, take the miniUSB cable and attach it to the bottom of the Hand Controller as well as to your computer’s USB port.

4. Check the connection in the Device Manager. To check that the connection was successful, open the Windows Device Manager (type device into the search bar on the dock). Under Ports (COM and LPT), you should see a device. It should read: Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM3), or something similar but with a different COM number. The connection has been successful. 

  • If there is a warning sign next to the name OR the device is named something different (less specific: Right click on the device and select Properties. Click on Device. If the application displays messages such as Driver is Unknown, run a test to attempt to Find a Driver on this Computer. When running this test, select the user that you installed the software on so that time is not wasted searching the whole computer. Once the test finishes (or runs for a bit), the device should now have more information and the unknown messages should be gone. There should be no warning sign next to the name and it should read Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM3). Below are the device manager screenshots that demonstrate a successful connection from the computer to the telescope.

  • If you are running Windows 7, when the cable is plugged in, a popup will appear in the lower right-hand corner. Clicking on this will open a window where the computer is attempting to find and determine the correct software for the telescope. Run the test here and then check the Device Manager as described above.

5. Allow WWT to control the telescope. Open WWT and go to the telescope tab. Click Choose and choose Celestron Telescope Driver (or whatever driver you are using) from the drop-down menu. Click on Properties and fill in the settings that align with your telescope (suggested settings are shown below). 

  • If there are no options for the COM Port in the Properties, there has been an unsuccessful connection, so check the Device Manager again. Show Hand Control should be checked, Show All COM Ports should be unchecked along with Minimal Mode, and Trace should be checked. Click OK and click OK. Back in the telescope tab of WWT, click Connect and the telescope should now be connected to WWT.