malc-c

It's not really my place to pass on his details. but thanks for the offer. It seem the issue is with a couple of failed delivery attempts by the Saudi postal service and now it seems someone else may have taken delivery. However the tracking still states that it's awaiting collection. I've advised the recipient to take the matter up with the Saudi postal service, and request proof of who took delivery as the service used was tracked and signed for.

Here in the three counties (herts beds and bucks ) the local BBC radio have a daytime consumer segment where they help listeners sort out problems such as this, either getting the product the customer wanted or getting a full refund for them.... maybe worth checking if the local radio station in your area does something similar.....

So when you run through the alignment the mount fails to slew to the first target ? - can you hear the motors running or is it just quiet and still sat in the default home position ?

Just an update on this thread. If anyone is in need of a repair or just wants the programmed PICs, I will only deal with SGL members living in the UK. At the beginning of April I was contacted by a person who seemed to have joined SGL simply to message me in a bid to repair his blown motor board. He is based in Saudi Arabia, and to cut a long story short, he purchased two programmed PICs that was sent by international tracked and signed for delivery on on 5th April. The package was finally delivered yesterday having arrived in Saudi a month ago... or should I say attempted delivery as the recipient wasn't at the address given (his office by the sounds of it). According to the Royal Mail website a card has been left and I've PM'd the guy to let him know just in case he isn't following the tracking data... I'm just thankful it's just the PICs and not his mount that was being returned !! So for anyone outside the UK reading this post, please don't contact me if your board is blown. The process of converting the downloadable binary files is covered in the thread, and the equipment to program the PICs can be purchased for the cost of a couple of beers... The time and costs involved, plus the hassle when things happen just doesn't make it worth while to both parties. I've been PMing the guy with updates but he hasn't replied since the package was posted - Hopefully the guy will make contact with the delivery office and collect the package. No doubt I'll find out in two months when the package arrives back through my letterbox - return to sender !!!!!!!!!

The newer boards are ARM based processors compared to the PIC based originals, but that shouldn't make a difference. Are you using a guide camera, as you mentioned autoguiding? Its been a long time since I used a handset, but if I recall you have to use the directional buttons to centre the alignment stars and then confirm so the handset learns the error and thus makes the gotos more precise. Is that the case for your scope, or are the gotos still way off after alignment ? Are the clutches secure or do they slip ? Do you still have the old HEQ5 board ? - these are repairable - you need to have access to a PIC programmer and to be able to solder soic devices, but it's one option if you suspect the new board. - If the goto / tracking issue has only occurred since the fitting of the new board then give the retailer a call and see if they have any suggestions.

hold SHIFT + CRTL + M

You're welcome. It's a shame that so many companies tend to have poor aftersales service by not responding to telephone calls or e-mails from customers chasing orders, but are happy to respond within a couple of days to a possible sales enquiry. Hopefully now they will pick up the phone when you call, and confirm a delivery date.. Good luck and keep this thread updated

I've been following your posts on the EQMOD group as well. However you need to provide more information. I presume you have a monitor connected to the box and are using a keyboard an mouse to set things up seeing this box is basically a fancy windows computer? If you can launch EQMOD, set the speed slider to 4 and then move the mount using the NSEW buttons in EQMOD then that would confirm communication with the mount. Now I had to do some googling to read up on what SGP was and it seems that its just an application that does the same as APT or Backyard EOS, in that it allows the setting up of plans to control the camera and take sequences of images. The fact that you say it no longer runs (presumably it starts to load and then crashes ??) might suggest that it's still retaining an old config setting which conflicts with the new. More googling and it seems quite common. Most seem to find the answer by looking in the log files located at C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Local\SequenceGenerator . The only two items that are important is the subfolder 'Sequence Generator Pro' which contains all your profiles and the file 'sg_ui_config.xml' which contains your program settings (layout etc.). If these are deleted and then you re-install you may need to input your registration details again. Other than that, for now go old school and install Cartes du Ciel, PHD2 and APT, and see if you can connect to the mount and camera with those applications - If you can then it confirms the hardware and drivers are OK. Then it's just a matter of resolving the SGP start up issue as doing the above would prove it's not a hardware / driver / ASCOM / issue, but a software one...

I've no personal experience with these units, but they basically seem to be a custom NUC type PC running windows 10 that has all the additional hardware to control cameras and mounts built in. Can you provide details of what exactly the issue is. I presume you are able to connect to the HEQ5 and use EQMOD to move the scope, both directly and via whatever planetarium / target software ? Or is the issue with camera control ? Do you have an EQDIR cable to connect the mount to one of the USB ports on the Eagle computer ? From what I've read this device is basically a wi-fi enabled mini PC with built in GPS dongle, and power distribution, so in theory it's no different to using a laptop or PC to control the mount via an EQDIR cable and running ASCOM and EQMOD as the interface. The only difference between the Eagle box and a PC is that the Eagle control software allows individual USB / Power ports to be left powered or be disabled.

Has the handset been set to PC-DIRECT mode ? I agree with the others. Purchase an EQDIR cable and used EQMOD or GSS server to control the mount and then let APT and other applications control the mount through them.

Pleased to inform you guys that the company are still trading. I thought that whilst they may not respond to existing customers chasing orders, they may respond to a possible sales enquiry. It's a bit sneaky I know, especially as I have my own DIY observatory, but it was worth a try. I contacted them and raised my concerns of what I've seen and read, which would put me off placing any potential order. This was the reply I received from Gareth just a few minutes ago Hopefully that will put your minds at rest that they haven't ceased trading, and explains some of the reasons for delay. But it would have been nice if they had communicated those reasons with the existing customers who have already parted with cash. If they are claiming 12-14 weeks for new orders, then why are SGL members posting stating they are still waiting some 20+ weeks after they have ordered... clearly they still have a lot of catching up to do.... Fingers crossed (wasn't referenced to Nathan !) that they get back on track and can resolve these delays soon

Back then the Phillips CCD (SPC800 and 900) based webcams were fairly easy to come by. Not so much these days. The CMOS web cameras lack the sensitivity and as you say, are quite noisy. Rather than have something that attaches to the polarscope, I would love to see a DIY Polemaster that can use the excellent Sharpcap alignment software

I wasn't suggesting it was any good.... just that the concept of attaching a camera to the polar scope is not new

Neat idea, but nothing new. AstronomyShed was placing cameras attached to the polarscope back in 2011 !!

It's possible to request a chargeback, as to what chances you have or getting the money back is down to the individual circumstances. Not saying this is the case here, but when fraud is involved often the bank rules in your favour. Some banks may have rules as to what is covered and what is not, so best really to make enquiries at your own bank. What's sad about this is that two people have parted with upwards of two grand in cash and haven't had anything back in nine months.......

So what has a reference to a song about a prostitute have to do with an order for an observatory ????

From their website The fact they don't take credit cards would alarm me.... Paypal would be the most protected method of payment out of the three, the others are as good as giving cash. If you have real concerns that they have ceased trading and any attempts to cancel the order or actually have it delivered are not being responded to then you could contact your bank and request a charge back. This is where the bank contacts the bank the payment was deposited in and requests the return of the payment. Note the term requests.... there is no guarantee the recipients bank will refund the payment, but given the timeframe involved you may have a good case

From what I can glean through researching HEQ5 motor boards is that SW appear to be bringing our a new revision of their motor boards, with the new ones based on ARM processors rather than the traditional PIC 16F886's. These boards also have USB connections that come up as a Prolific virtual com port when connected to a computer. What's not clear is if these new boards have the Prolific chipset on board, or the USB connection is direct to the ARM chip and the Prolific chipset is internal to the processor. The ironic thing is that unless prolific have changed their stance recently and developed drivers to work on the windows 10 kernal, Prolific 230x chipsets have not been supported under windows 10 for at least six or seven years. Basically, irrespective of the version of mount indicating if encoders are fitted, if it has a B type USB socket it can be directly connected to a computer via a suitable A-B USB cable, and with the required driver (windows) installed and set to 115K baud rate applications such as EQMOD or GSS server to control the mount. If the mount lacks the USB socket then that would indeed suggest that it still uses the PIC based motor board and an EQDIR cable for direct connection, or a PC-DIRECT cable connected to the handset vis a USB/Serial converter is needed to control the mount from the computer.

Most of the Orion / Skywatcher mounts are detailed on the EQMOD website here

Well that clears that up.... I was googling the spec of these Wemos D1R3 boards... Interesting that these boards have a processor running at 240Mhz...and that the flash is 4 MB.... which seems a lot, especially when you think that most of the SW motorboards use 16F886 Microcontrollers running at 20mHz.... and its memory is in KB rather then MB !!

Ensure the credentials that you enter are in the right format. It used to be a common issue when the date was entered incorrectly. Its a decade since I used a handset, but think it needs to be mmddyyyyy. Likewise the location needs to be degrees, minutes and seconds not GPS digital format...

I stand corrected

I wasn't suggesting you compare the data sheet with the motors you have, I was suggesting you compare it to the stepper drivers specifications you are intending to use, and the requirements of the projects abilities. I personally don't think there would be an issue as (AFAIK) most SW mounts use NEMA 17s. But sometimes manufactures may change things like microsteps etc which could lead to the mount tracking at the wrong rate as the software can not account for this. I've never built one so can't really advise, so hopefully one of the others can chime in and confirm if your motors are OK. But I thought you had an HEQ5 and will be using that, and AFAIK the HEQ5s use NEMA 17's

Read the wiki and then check the data sheet for the motors.. wiki and datasheet to quote the wiki If it's not able to run the software then why include the statement below... no wonder why people find it confusing !

It's on as complicated as you want it to be. If you start with the basics, its an Adruinio UNO, and CNC shield with two stepper driver boards added (the wiki even stated the recommended ones "The LV8729 (or S109 for higher current motors) is the recommend driver due to its low cost and easy setup" This will give you the basic equivalent of a motor board fitted in any SW goto telescope. The clock / wifi / Bluetooth options are just that, options and not requirements. If I was starting on this project I would simply follow the advice given here and get the recommended CNC shield, drives and UNO and then see how it works with the mount. If I then want to add additional drives and stepper motors for the autofocus or other functionality the code offers then I would look at doing that when I'm ready. Start simple and then move up