lux eterna

No, it is not flipped. You can compare Orion in my image with Stellarium : Ragnar

My HEQ5 Pro, Meade 8" LX200-ACF & TS Imaging Star 71 in action: Ragnar

Improving routines can be very rewarding and almost a hobby itself. Here is a trick you could do with the "where-is-Polaris" issue when sky conditions make it hard to see. After doing the standard procedure (level mount in home position, CW bar pointing north checked with a compass) skip the star align (for now). Instead, GOTO some star, then center it in the camera using ONLY the mechanical Alt- Az adjustments. The PA will now be close, and you should see Polaris in the polar scope - just go on and fine tune it. Then it´s time to do the star align. You will need carefully made home position index marks on the mount, and also exact time and position defined in the handset for this to work. Ragnar

Wow... I used to be impressed with my Bluno Nano - this is like sci-fi, and they almost give it away for free. Ragnar

This arrived today, 739 ml of piece of mind : Ragnar

Wow, you are lucky - congratulations ! By the time I replaced my board I took this picture of it. Can you please tell which capacitors you replaced (never mind the notes on this old pic) ? I might replace mine and get myself a workin spare board.

Hi Malc, If you still have the handset laying around, try to connect it and see if it displays any error messages during startup. When my motherboard was fried (due to 12V contact issues related transients) it displayed "Both Axes No Response" which I cured by replacing the motherboard. The small pcb where the 12V & ST-4 comes in, if I remeber correctly there are no parts there that could cause your symptoms. As for feeding the mount from a PSU, I would still have a small led-acid battery near the mount. It will eat most of the transients if the PSU should misbehave. In fact, I am so superstitious after my incident that I now have a 1 ohm resistor in series with the 12V line, and a short-circuiting switch over the resistor. I always keep the switch open when I power or un-power the mount. Ragnar

@gorann Hej Göran, Are you planning for imaging without a guidescope ? As long as you guide, I would say the periodic error is not that critical. And the payload capacity for your current mount is the same as the cem-120. Have I missed something, or maybe you will use both mounts simultaneously ? Ragnar

Hi Peter, The HC and the LED on the mount indicates that 12 good volts is supplied which is enough for the computer and HC. The motors has not yet started, so no power goes that way. Thanks anyway.

Update : I have tested the handset in an EQ5 of a friend and it was ok. Opened the mount and found no other components apart from the motherboard likely to be involved in the problem, so I am currently ordering a new motherboard. The defective board does not show any visual signs of burned components or bad (enough) solderings etc.

Ok Steve. I hope I am lucky enough to find the handset faulty, then I can open it and take a look. I will test with a friend´s handset soon enough. Ragnar

Thanks for the suggestions Louise, The mount was warm and dry, normally stored in house. Yes, I am trying to get a HC for testing, just thinking what to do if the test points to the mount which has several items that could caus this, though the main board would be most probable.

"The HC display is bright and clear and so is the red led on the mount".

Hi D4N, With the HC disconnected there is no action at all after powering on, only the red led.

Hi Starlight1, A dead motherboard makes sense, but what do you mean with the power lead interrupting the supply ? The HC display is bright and clear and so is the red led on the mount. You mean the power supply is interrupted internally, on the motherboard ?

Hi guys, Last night I set up my HEQ5 Pro (with hand controller, no pc), unparked the mount and polar aligned as usual by putting Polaris in the small circle. Tracking was not started and I had not yet been running the dec/ra motors. Then suddenly the hand controller display blanked out (but still with background light). The red led on the mount was shining steady. I switched off and on the power button, then the HC said "Initializing" (pause) "Caution Both axes No Response". I packed up and went home and after a few more tries, the HC showed scrap characters, so I decided to try reloading the firmware (was running 3.37). The scrap characters disappeared but nothing else improved. Then I tried the latest version (3.38.09) - no change. When it happened, the mount was powered from a fully loaded 30 Ah AGM battery, measuring 13 volt. I have secured the 12V power plug in the mount with a home made clamp, so a bad power connection would not be the cause I think. Anyway - I guess I can borrow a HC for testing, and if I need a new one it will be an easy fix. But what if the fault is in the mount ? How do I know if I should buy a new motherboard or if something else is broken ? Any input is appreciated. Ragnar

Pelican Nebula ?

Thanks ! I took it with my "point & shoot" camera at this location N 58° 34' 20.95", E 12° 14' 12.33". But I don´t use that place anymore since I found better places by the west coast.

I´m standing to the left with the refractor and my DIY "MOC" (Mission Operations Control). It´s a box containing intervalometer and smartphone