gusisin

@malc-c I hope you are well,  I have switched to a EQ mount. If anyone contacts you desperate for a board that works and all other avenues are closed please let me know so my base and mount can go to a good home. Oh a little gift for you attached.

Astrosheet.xlsx

All, I wanted to share this spreadsheet I knocked together. You can log all your kit (telescopes, cameras, barlows, flatteners, eyepieces)

Then you can put together a rig from your kit, see the FOV for astrophotography or observing with an eyepiece as well as suggested M objects that you might use that rig to view. I wanted a quick way to sanity check a planned session and to find suitable targets for the kit I have. I hope you like it and please give me feedback on its use.

Astrosheet.xlsx

On 13/02/2022 at 15:21, malc-c said:

😲 Wow - !!

Thanks once again Gus.  I think we got lucky on the repair in that it didn't involve further troubleshooting after the PICs were replaced...They don't always go so smoothly !!

Just wanted to add that the £60 quoted covered return post via next day special delivery, and even though I offered a lower price as he was bringing the kit with him he still insisted on paying the £60. - Which was really decent of him.

That's a lovely looking rig you've set up and just please to see it action again 

Did you manage to try out the camera yet? The board is going strong now I just have to work out PHD2 calibration for the mount, haha

2 hours ago, malc-c said:

During the week I was contacted by a member who had inadvertently blown there MC003 board on their goto Dobsonian, and after some discussion as he was in a reasonable travelling distance we agreed to meet up yesterday and I attempted a repair whilst he waited.  Gus brought everything I needed and after a quick chat I set to replacing the PICs I had already programmed.  Gus kept my 18 month old German Shepherd amused playing ball whilst I replaced the two PICs and then tested the repair with the handset, which pleasingly displayed the firmware version rather then the no connection error message.

Gus not only covered the cost of the components and something for my time and expertise which was nice, he also gifted me  a SVBony 105 planetary camera that he apparently had no use for having upgraded.  The generosity of the members I have helped on this thread has really astounded me.  I spent a good couple of hours talking to Gus whilst drinking tea, and he is a real gentleman.... It was nice meeting a fellow SGL member, and being able to get his scope back in action.  I moved away form Luna imaging several years ago, but receiving this camera has encouraged me to swap out the dSLR and give it a go if the weather improves before the moon reaches full. 

I've lost count of the number of scopes that have got a new lease of life curtesy of this thread, but I'm pleased to have been involved in it.  The look on Gus's face when the handset came to life made it all worth while

 

It is actually an sv205 it is this one @malc-c https://www.svbony.com/sv205-astronomy-camera 🙂 thanks again mate.

So, imagine the scene, I got a USB lead for my 200P flextube goto as I wanted to avoind having to connect to the synscan app at startup, I got the wrong lead and fried my board. Firstly I tried to contact the manufacturer and various vendors and was told that replacement boards are simply not available. I looked at what alernative options I might have, fitting stepper motors, building something with a Raspberry PI but all left me disheartened. 

Then I found this thread and via this thread the amazing person that is @malc-c After a brief PM session it transpired that Mal would attempt to fix my board for the perfectly reasonable price of £60 parts and labour. Even better he lives 40 minutes from my house. To put this into perspective, Mal rescued my attractive paper weight of a telescope back to a functioning device again. He was able to do this while I waited and played with his lovely dog Juke.

It is events like this that remind me what a great bunch of folks there are involved in this pastime that we all share. 

Can you imagine how many hours Mal has devoted to figure out how to repair these boards? The £60 fee that he charges is not enough because effectively he is saving those of us that need this service retail cost of a new base. The £60 he charges is non returnable as you are paying for his time to perform the repair. There is a chance that the board may be beyond repair but in my case he was able to program two new pics and fit them to my board in an hour. @malc-c I dont have the words to express my gratitude, thanks mate.

So here is my other child back to working again 🍻🎉

THANKS MAL