snowy911

Thanks again for all the comments, I do use a Pegasus UPBv2, so don't use any of the MX+ ancillary USB ports or power sockets. I also have the SB mini extender mentioned above, to try and prevent anyone accidentally ripping the mini-USB out. Given its remotely hosted, the only time the USB to PC is removed, is to fix the error 213 when that starting occurring recently, and that's typically from the PC end and not the mount unless that doesn't work first. I visit the remote site a few times a year so re-grease every 6-12 months. Colin (IC Astronomy) also does a great job looking after the equipment and assisting when needed. One thing I remembered the last time the board died, was I had to return the dead board prior to being sent a new one, even when I was paying full cost, which seemed a little bizarre, and does make you wonder. I guess before removing the old one and attempting any repair, which seems a bit of a long shot, I'll need to check whether they still insist you return your mks5000 when purchasing the new mks6000.

Thanks everyone for your comments, same issue last time, gradually starts disconnecting midway through imaging session, then whilst a reboot won’t fix it, reseating the USB typically works for a while until it finally dies. As William mentioned I’m certainly not the first to experience this and will try a few other routes before pulling it out again and seeing if it can be repaired. Whilst I purchased the new board from FLO, it’s really a SB issue and I’m not sure they can help but will raise to them just in case. A £750 replacement board which is now over £1,500 which only lasts 18 months is pretty poor, and makes you nervous about the longevity of the replacement.

So after 4 years, my original Paramount MX+ board gave up and I bought a new one for £750, less than 2 years later my new board has also given up. In fact it started conking out mid-season, about 3-4 months ago, giving the dreaded 'error 213' response. I've contacted Software Bisque who have confirmed that whilst the warranty on some components is 2 years, electronics is only 1 year. In addition, the mks5000 board is discontinued and I have to wait several months for the new mks6000 to be released. To add, the cost has more than doubled, apparently due to the unavailability of parts, as stated on their website. I remotely host my scope, so still have outgoing costs whilst it's not being used. I work in IT so am well aware that life's not perfect, but less than 2 years on a new board is pretty poor, and then for the cost to replace it to more than double, that's a bit of a kick in the teeth when you're down. Numerous people have complained about the longevity of the Paramount circuit boards, perhaps we are the unlucky few, but given there are a few at my remote site and I'm not the first, I can only hope the mks6000 are built better. For reference, the power supply works, just a few lights and no other action, similar to the last dead motherboard.

I've been hosting with Colin at IC Astronomy for coming up to 4 years now and can't fault anything, aside from the weather occasionally. The only issues I've had are all hardware related, manufacturing issues with my scope and a blown board on my mount (it was 6 years old), which Colin replaced for me when I supplied the part. Dave at Pixel Skies is also a stellar guy (pardon the pun), a few miles away from Colin (IC Astronomy), and setups are very similar given they have or at least had some shared interest on Pixel Skies. I think the issue you may have is space, last time I was there IC Astronomy was full and Pixel Skies only had a few spaces left. Happy to answer any questions you may have, but Colin and Dave are very responsive.

Given the lodestar issue above, I rolled back to Win10 and the issue disappeared with the Lodestar now instantly recognised and no need to recycled the USB port.

Dangerously, out of boredom on Sunday I upgraded my remote observatory PC to windows 11, and yes remotely. I was a little nervous, panicking after I pushed the upgrade button about my rash decision. However, nearly everything worked, including windows RDP, SGP, PHD2, PWI3 (Planewave delta-T and EFA), The SkyX64, Pegasus Astro Utility Platform, ASCOM, SIPS (Moravian), and a few others. I have however encountered 1 issue. When I power up my devices, my SX Lodestar CCD somehow clashes with my Moravian G3 CCD camera and the Lodestar produces a unrecognised USB device error (never witnessed under Win10). If I recycle the Lodestar CCD USB port via my Pegasus (which takes about a second), it is instantly recognised and all is good. I have run 2 all night remote imaging runs with SGP, on M13 since, and had no issues. In fact I scheduled SGP to start at 23:30, went to bed and happily found 48 image (12xLRGB) on my PC the next morning, with my scope parked, camera warmed up and guiding stopped. Alternatively if I power my Moravian up after the Lodestar has connected, this also resolves the issue. Not sure how this would have been accomplished without a Pegasus or MHP. The sensible option would of course been to wait until someone else tested and learn from their issues!

I've come across something similar, I resolved mine by calibrating PHD2 again, somewhere near the meridian and celestial equator, making sure I had all the correct settings, focal length, pixel size, etc. Again there could be other issues but this worked for me and I've been using PHD2 for many years now. hope this helps

This is brilliant, I've been toying with the idea of adding a motor to the roof for some time, but hadn't found a solution that got me over the start line. Ordered the controller already!

Hi Mike, great post, and given I'm just about to purchase a Pulsar 2.2 to replace my ROR which has served me well (at least until I got a bigger scope which no longer fits) this post addresses lots of questions I had. I was just wondering how the automation was going, and why you chose the Shelyak over the Rigel remote dome kit offered by Pulsar? Like you I considered sending my scope to a remote location, however I've decided I enjoy tinkering too much to send it afar, and for the cost spent over 2 years, I could have a dome for close to that price. Thanks Julian