FabInSpace

I did myself buy the HEQ5 pro SynScan with the rev C motherboard last year. Some weeks ago the stepper motors suddenly stopped working while communication was still running ok. I am waiting for a guaranty replacement. It’s taken 4 weeks by now. Last weekend I decided to open the mount and take the motherboard out of it for some testing. I did some measurements with a volt-meter and with my digital oscilloscope. I found two problems. It was necessary to replace the n-ch MOSFET 200N06L, and the soldering of the coil on the torus was simply too weak. I did end up adding some glue from a glue gun in the centre of the torus to fix it to the motherboard. The system is running well again. The weight of the torus with the coil in combination with the weak soldering may very well be a main cause of non running stepper motors in the HEQ5 mount. I think Skywatcher ought to add a gluing between the MB and the torus with the coil (the inductor in the DC - DC converter). I hope this information may be a help to those of you who experience problems with non running stepper motors in the HEQ5 pro mount.