FenTaylor

On 26/01/2024 at 00:31, DirkSteele said:

You should reach out to Austin Astronomical Society. As well as practical observing sessions which you could attend, they have loaner telescopes which you can borrow.

 

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/club-view.cfm?Club_ID=1259#:~:text=AAS is one of the,hold monthly practical astronomy sessions.

Thanks for the advice! I couldn't resist and ended up buying a telescope that I found on Facebook nearby. Now, I'm searching for a tripod, a mount, and other accessories as well. Interestingly, the telescope was sold empty, without a finderscope and eyepieces, but I'm happy with my purchase!

It seems I can't access the local buying and selling section. Are there any specific rules or requirements for entry?

Hey all,

I recently moved to Austin and I was busy working and trying to save some money and my hobby faded into the background, and am eager to get back into stargazing тщц. Before committing to buying a telescope, I'm wondering if anyone in the area would be willing to rent one for a night or two.

I couldn't find any local rental services online, and there's no dedicated equipment sale section on the forum or I just can't see it because of my rating. If you have a telescope to spare for reasonable money or know of any rental options, please let me know.

Thank you!

P.S: I planned to just spend the night or two admiring the Moon, and maybe some other bright objects, without planning to shoot anything. Therefore, I don’t need any serious equipment, I'm just looking for telescope with a mount, and that’s it.

On 07/09/2019 at 16:14, lux eterna said:

FenTaylor, I wish I could buy you a beer !

Tonight I had the same nightmare - "Both Axes no response". I followed your excellent guide and found the same faulty (dual) inductor. I had nothing to replace it with so I just snapped it off and made two solder bridges where it was sitting, and now the board has come back to life ! The handset was not affected, just the motherboard. Thanks a lot mate, you saved me both money and time under the stars !

In my case, the reason for the breakdown was a 12V connection (intended for my NexGuide autoguider) that was unused for the moment and just hanging from the mount. The center part is +12V and it is not very well protected, so of course it would touch some grounded metal and that was it.

/Ragnar

On 21/04/2020 at 21:39, jiberjaber said:

Thankyou! You just saved me having to buy a new board! I've replaced the inductor with two bits of wire for now and my mount is back in to life   I wasn't sure it was going to work but glad to report it does! Will add a resettable fuse later when the world is more back to normal!

It's a bit late now to set up and get some images though I was tempted to pull the gear out and do so! 

 

Once again- Thanks! 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm glad the topic was helpful 🙂 

After that incident, there was no problem with this mount and I spent many great nights under the stars.

It's a bit cool outside, so I wasn't sad while my mount was being repaired. Anyway, I could not use the telescope. ?

In the hand tube, having traced where the 2 wires with the data from the mount go, I came across an obviously burnt-out, but unknown to me, microcircuit. Size 2x1.5mm, marking AF2 - I was searching, but I could not find what it is.

I traced the rest of the paths to where they lead, found out that the chip does not have power, and most likely it is a set of zener diodes to protect the 4 transmitted signals from overvoltage. I dismounted the chip with a Soldering Station and replaced it with 4 bridges - it turned out, the tube was able to send commands to the mount and receive the answer. 

In general, the tube and the mount board came to life.

Thanks to everyone who answered this topic.

It seems my problem is solved without buying a new motherboard. Unfortunately, I have little knowledge of electronics and could not solve the problem myself. But any master who has electronic skills is able to check which item has failed and repair (or replace) it. I found such a master, it was not difficult for him to repair the board.

I'll write that need to be repaired (in my case) to help those who have the same problem. Then I write on behalf of a friend.

Suspicions were confirmed. Broke inductor on the board. If more precisely - оne winding broke and both windings from the side of the board caused short circuits to each other. The photograph from the microscope shows in more detail how one wire melted and broke, and melted the enamel of the neighboring winding and made a short circuit with it.

The inductor has been replaced with a resettable fuse (2A) and the motherboard is resurrected, but the board still did not work with my hand control tube (the test showed that it works with others). It became clear that the hand tube is also broken.

Hi guys! Thanks for replying to my post and tips. Of course, I will take care of reverse polarity protection after solving my problem.

I found the opportunity to check the connection HEQ5 to the computer. There was no connection and this means that the problem in the mount (not in handset) and need to deal with the board.

I tried to disassemble the mount and get the board and didn't see any damage. There was a smell of a new chip and nothing strange, but i found a similar problem that one astronomer diagnosed as a failed power inductor. Broken detail circled in blue on the photo. I don't know yet whether this will help me (although the symptoms are exactly the same), but maybe it will help someone else who faces a similar problem and finds this topic.

So... I don't have the skills of an electronics engineer, and it would seem that I need to order a motherboard and calm down. But three things push me to further research:

1. 130 euros for a new board.
2. 30 euro for its delivery
3. A few weeks of delivery waiting.

If it is appropriate, I will continue to write here about the results of the repair HEQ 5 after reversal polarity.

Hi all! Sorry for my English, I hope on this forum there is a place for my question. Because in the forums of my country I could not get an answer, and Google sent me here. I apologize to all who are unpleasant to read text with mistakes.

Yesterday the weather was good in my northern latitudes and I decided to test almost new HEQ 5 Pro. I installed the mount on a tripod, set up a polar star. Established a telescope, set up a balance. Above me were great stars, while I set everything up. 

The first thing I thought - do not reverse the polarity of the wires (+ and -) to homemade power cable for car battery (12 V). I thought about it so much that of course I confused everything... This is the most stupid mistake that could happen.

As soon as I saw the problem, I swapped the wires in places. The red power light was on, and I thought that everything would be fine. However, the control panel after the initialization attempt reported an error: "Both axes no response. You sailed, man". There was no last sentence, but my brain thought of it. By the way, the mount previously worked properly. This is not the first work with it.

There was hope that the problem with the power cable. I tried the standard cable for the car cigarette lighter socket and it did not work too. Above me were still great stars, while I dismantled my set.

I failed to check the connection via PC, because I do not have a suitable cable - there are no Serial Port on the PC. It will be difficult to find the owner of the same mount in my city, to understand what has broken - the motherboard or the control tube. Is it possible to see a malfunction when visually inspecting the motherboard? Can I test cheaper troubleshooting before I order a new motherboard in another country?

So, my action plan:

1. Convince my wife that all this is very cheap and it's okay that something is broken.
1. Check the connection of the mount to the computer (find the cable).
2. Disassemble the mount body, inspect the motherboard. Try to see something.
3. Find the owner of the same mount, find out what's broken - the motherboard or handset.

Or

1. Just order a new motherboard

Are there any other possibilities? I need tips. Thanks you!

P.S: If I respond to your messages, it means that my wife does not know yet and I am still alive.