MikeAa

Look forward to seeing your first impressions review! 😀

Good point!

I have never used a Dob, but the Skywatcher you mention has a GOTO function, whereas the Bresser does not (unless I'm looking at the wrong model). The GoTo function, in my opinion, is worth having since once you have located your target, it's good that the scope can track it so you don't need to keep nudging it. I'm sure accomplished Dob owners will say that it's not an issue, and I can accept that. It comes down to personal preference. I would imagine that the optical performance of the two candidates would be similar. Welcome to the hobby!

The thing is, you had a go and you enjoyed what you did!! Bravo!!

Oh well done turbobomb. Nice work! 😀

Glad you solved it! I wouldn't have considered the power supply give that the other motor was working correctly. Something else I learned today!! 😀

So excessive current flow caused the bead to fail, therefore something else on the board is faulty?

Nice job! Now I have to ask: what was burnt on the handset?

Thanks for explaining malc-c! Totally unrelated but I used to travel to Milan for work sometimes. Love the place!! Good luck with the repair.

Not familiar with an EQ6 mount, but what is port 232?

Hmmm. Are you able to swap the motor for the AZ one and check if the fault follows the motor? Reason for saying is that I am wondering if the drive electronics is working correctly. I think this is a stepper motor, so it needs drive to a pair of coils to make it rotate. The motor is unlikely to seize if it's been stored inside.

The PIC is the chip on the top of the board with a red paint dot, U3.

Looks like it sheared flush, so there's not enough left to grab with pliers or cut a screw slot.

Hi Stephen, apologies for being dumb - which bit is actually broken? Edit: Yes, I am dumb, I can see it now!! The challenge is to get the old one out: You might have to drill it out and then get a replacement thumbscrew - not sure if its an M4 on there?

Satellites are best viewed naked-eye. They move too fast to track!!