HEQ5Pro , technical problem arisen ..

[Steve Ward]

Got a bit of a glitch appeared on my mount . . .

Everything running as normal , tracking beautifully , and then after about 5 minutes the RA tracking stops working.

Can adjust the DEC as the image drifts across the screen but RA buttons unresponsive.

Turned it all off and restarted and everything fine again for 5 minutes when it reoccurs . . . ?

Have checked power supply and it happens whether using the mains supply or the battery . . . ?

Any suggestions gratefully received . . .

[Bizibilder]

Are all the RA gears/motor shaft etc properly tight - you may have to look under the cover. A grubscrew may be loose? Secondly could something be overheating?

[Steve Ward]

Hi Roger ,

I tweaked the meshing a while ago as it had got a little tight and not freely moving.

But this was before I shot 3hrs worth of AVI's on Saturn on the 30th April consecutively without a hitch.

Didn't notice anything getting hot but will check it out tomorrow.

[Bizibilder]

Are you operating the mount via the hand controller or a computer?

[Steve Ward]

With the handset ,

I've extended the cable with a Cat5 patch lead to extend the reach , but that was about six months ago so not a new change .

[Bizibilder]

Dodgy power supply cable or connections. (Check all connections whilst you are at it!!).

[JamesF]

Hmmm. If you start it up and allow it to fail, then power off and power on again without touching or moving any of the cables, it starts working again?

That would suggest to me some sort of electronic problem rather than a physical connection issue. Do you have the bits to connect it to a PC? Or is there someone local who could try your handset with their mount (and perhaps vice-versa) to see if you can discount some bits being faulty?

James

[Jessun]

Might even be software related in the handset itself. If you use phd you can guide manually as a way to move the mount through the guide port. Not sure what that could exclude in terms of problems tho...

/Jesper

[Steve Ward]

All sorted , hopefully . . .

A coincidental failure of the mains PSU and the powertank past it's best . . .

Powertank dropping to 10v after 30 mins from full , generally just runs the EQ3-2 at 6v so never noticed the drop-off . . . .

Quick trip to Maplins , 12v - 4A PSU fotr £24.99 . . .

Just finished a 60 minute Solar session with no nasty surprises . . .

[JamesF]

That's quite a cheap repair for astro kit Pleased to hear you're all sorted again.

James