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AstroEQ for EQ mounts

Oily

By Oily
in DIY Astronomer

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

Posted
Posted

Ok still no good :(

I have re-run the AstroEQ Utility and made sure all the ratios are correct, and updated, and as per Tom's instructions. So It must be something else. I know the motors are working fine, as the Dual Axis Motor Controller controls them fine.

I'm just not sure why the motors don't move with AstroEQ and EQMOD. They warm up and the RA motor makes a gradual hissing sound when the POT is slowly adjusted. The Dec motor makes noise at all.

I'm stuck now. Think I Need Tom :)

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Donaldkebab

Donaldkebab

Posted
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Glad that its working for you :D

AstroEQ 7.0 has been released. It can be downloaded here: http://www.astroeq.co.uk/downloads.php (or with sudo apt-get update if you have linux). Changelog: 7.0. Microstepping Mode Changes

  • AstroEQ now uses 1/4 and 1/32 step mode for improved accuracy.

  • Change only affects DRV8825 Driver Boards.

  • If you have legacy hardware, please see here.

So micro stepping should now be enabled?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Quatermass

Quatermass

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Yes indeed I had a few hiccups as well but they were soon resolved. I'm just grateful that Tom took the time and trouble to make his ASTROEQ box available to us all having go to and guiding is just brilliant. Keep us all posted on your progress Andy and keep it on this thread so others can benefit from the info. ;-)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

Sorry about the delay, been a busy day.

Did you disable microstepping for the dual axis motors? If not it should be. Could you post a screenshot of the configuration screen.

The other thing, are you using the latest firmware version? If so I will double check to make sure that I didn't [removed word] something up when changing the microstepping mode.

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

Posted
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Ahhh! Tom, I clicked on the Config Utility Download Button on the Downloads page and downloaded that. Is it possible that button links to an older version? I have clicked on the read more... link at the top of the downloads page and found a list of files and firmware versions, etc.

Will look there and download there...

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
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The Hardware Version/Firmware version you see in the second screenshot is talking about the bootloader not the AstroEQ software.

Also, the link on the downloads page is always current, it links directly to the github repository.

Your setup all looks fine, so at the moment I am at a loss as to why the motors don't turn. There shouldn't be anything wrong with the controller as I test them with dual axis motors before sending them. Do you have a multimeter?

Oh, also are the motors connected to the mount? It would be interesting to see if unscrewing the silver knob on the gear attached to the worm allows the motors to turn.

The reverse button may need to be set, but that shouldn't stop the motors turning, that's something to check once everything is up and running.

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

Posted
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Hi Tom, I don't have a multimeter.

I've tried moving unscrewing and tightening thesilver knob on each axis too on previous occasions and again. I really want this to work. I know the motors are fine since the handheld controller works from the dual axis kit. Im wondering if theres some power problem somewhere with the AstroEQ, Power cable, or RJ11's?

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
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I'm wondering if its the RJ11 cables that are the problem. Having tried it out with those cables after beermat had this problem I did see something resembling this, but wiggling the cables around a bit seemed to fix it, the connectors on the dual axis motors seem to be very poor.

If you could try disconnecting/reconnecting the cables at the motor end, making sure that they are firmly in place.

Ahh, you beat me to replying. What did you do to get it to work?

Can I suggest that you don't unplug the cables from the motors ever again, LOL.

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Andy Milner

Andy Milner

Posted
Posted

I don't know how to say this, other than User Error in EQMOD! It is my first time using EQMOD, so I hope someone can understand this, however the reason the motors were not moving is because I thought when you clicked on NESW it would slew instantly. But of course theres a delay, so in the delay it didn't have time to start the motor from my single click. The EQMOD control panel when you click on the Slew buttons says "Slewing North" so naturally I expect it to be slewing. It's only now it occurred to me I should be clicking and holding down the mouse button. :) :) :) LOL!

Well I thank you all for two evenings of fun, and believe me it has actually been quite fun, I like a challenge. I'm very happy its working and please Tom, I must buy you a beer if I ever meet you! Sorry about this. But hey as you all say, someone else can learn from my mistakes reading this thread. There are after all Astronomy beginners out there like myself who have probably never used EQMOD.

Cheers!!!

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