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Lakeside Stepper Motor Help Needed

jnc71106

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jnc71106

jnc71106

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hello all

i recently purchased a lakeside stepper motor with the intention of connecting it up to my hitecastro mount hub pro, i spoke to david at hitecastro and he told me all i needed was a cable from the motor to my mount hub and all would work ok. I have done all of the this morning but seem to have an issue with the motor.

It vibrates like it wants to turn the gears inside but its almost like its stuck as the first cog just vibrates and the gears don't actually rotate at all so intern the shaft doesn't rotate either

does this sound like an issue with the motor or could it be something i'm doing wrong

i have tried using both the pc software and the hand controller that came with the mount hub pro

i have emailed david at hitecastro for advise but thought i would ask on here as well just incase its an easy fix

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Martin-Devon

Martin-Devon

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Hi Jake, have you tried plugging the USB from the Lakeside straight into your laptop instead of using the hub? I've had issues before as well going via a hub with my Lakeside and in discussions with Peter Chance (he builds the Lakesides), he advises to go direct to the laptop and bypass hubs. 

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m0dal

m0dal

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Sounds like a cabling problem. Did you make the cable or buy it? If you made it, did you use the correct wiring diagram and read the pin numbers the right way round? It may be as simple as just reversing one pair of wires in the cable.

Regards, AlanP

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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m0dal

m0dal

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Should be OK then. I've used a Lakeside focus motor with the Mount Hub Pro so I know the combination will work together. I used a homemade cable that connected each pin in the plug to the same pin in the socket ends of the cable. You could also use a 9 pin serial cable extension lead from Maplins but make sure it's not a crossover cable. The cable will need a male plug on one end and a female socket on the other.

Regards, AlanP

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tekkydave

tekkydave

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Had a quick look at the Lakeside website and it looks like this unit is intended to be controlled directly from a PC using Ascom driver or via the supplied hand-controller, not plugged into another device like the Hitecastro hub.

I suppose you could connect it up if you cut the cables to the stepper motor and directly connected it to the Hitecastro hub. You would need to ensure the stepper was the correct type for the hub to be able to control (Unipolar 5 or 6 wire according to their manual).

Hope that helps.

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jnc71106

jnc71106

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Had a quick look at the Lakeside website and it looks like this unit is intended to be controlled directly from a PC using Ascom driver or via the supplied hand-controller, not plugged into another device like the Hitecastro hub.

I suppose you could connect it up if you cut the cables to the stepper motor and directly connected it to the Hitecastro hub. You would need to ensure the stepper was the correct type for the hub to be able to control (Unipolar 5 or 6 wire according to their manual).

Hope that helps.

The lakeside motors do work with the mount hub I've had it confirmed by a couple of people including the gentleman that posted above you. Maybe I have a faulty cable
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jnc71106

jnc71106

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Should be OK then. I've used a Lakeside focus motor with the Mount Hub Pro so I know the combination will work together. I used a homemade cable that connected each pin in the plug to the same pin in the socket ends of the cable. You could also use a 9 pin serial cable extension lead from Maplins but make sure it's not a crossover cable. The cable will need a male plug on one end and a female socket on the other.

Regards, AlanP

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

How do I know if it's a crossover or not they all look the same to me
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jnc71106

jnc71106

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is the lakeside the same wiring as a robofocus? as the mhubpromis for robofocus

I did confirm with David at hitecastro that this would work and he assured me it would other people have use the setup as well
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m0dal

m0dal

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Yes that is a straight cable I.e pin 1 to pin 1 etc. and has a male connector at one end and a female at the other, just as required to connect motor and hub. I have one just like it in the wiring loom on my imaging system although in my case it is going from an Arduino controller to the Lakeside motor (I run my imaging system on a Linux based laptop and there is no Linux/INDI driver for the Lakeside or Mount Hub focus controllers).

The Lakeside focus motors use the Robofocus standard for motor type and wiring and so does the Mount Hub Pro. There is no need to cut any cabling on the Lakeside motor as it is already wired to a 9 pin connector.

Regards, AlanP

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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tekkydave

tekkydave

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Sorry, I wasn't suggesting any cables be cut. I looked at both product websites and it isn't very clear. Does the hub connection connect to the controller or directly to the focuser rendering the hand control unit redundant?

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Barry-Wilson

Barry-Wilson

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Jake

I have a Lakeside motor working well through a powered usb hub.  It may well be a cable issue as other posters have suggested, however, have you ruled out simple installation mechanical problems, e.g. have the grub screws that fix the shaft coupler come loose, have the cap head screws that fix the motor to the bracket come loose?  Peter Chance was very helpful (fabricating a bracket for me) and I'm sure he can help.  If you bought from Ian King, he will be happy to help too I'm sure.

Good luck.

Barry

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StevieDvd

StevieDvd

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HI Jake,

Sorry did not see this thread before replying to your PM. And for record I sold the motor to Jake which I tested with the lakeside before sending, so hopefully it is just a cable issue - if not I will refund Jake in full.

I previously ordered the hitecastro mount hub pro from FLO (with a view to using it for focusing and reducing wiring etc) but cancelled the order as the number of usb ports of the latest models were less than advertised -  I also contacted Hitec and was told a custom cable could be supplied as the standard lakeside one would not work. So I may have been in this exact position myself had the number of usb ports not been reduced,

However, I used the refund from FLO to buy a moonlite focuser and wanted to see if a moonlite stepper motor would work with the Lakeside controller.

Peter from Lakeside has told me:

"According to Moonlite's website the 9 pin D type is compatible with the RoboFocus connector. Well, so is the Lakeside, as when I designed it I had a
RoboFocus at the time and made mine compatible."

So I must admit to being a little puzzled why the lakeside cable would not work and a custom one from Hitec was needed. As I have been waiting for a bracket to fit the moonlite motor to my moonlite focuser I've not actually connected it up yet. I'll do this today and report back whether the lakeside cable and controller works the moonlite motor.

Steve

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jnc71106

jnc71106

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A little update. I've heard back from David at hitecastro as he requested I send him an image of my lakeside motor cables, when he made my custom cable he used a lakeside motor that he had to make my cable but having seen the image of my motor he has told me that the wires on my motor are different to his so this is why my cable doesn't work

He is sending me a new cable so fingers crossed this will solve the issue. Once it arrives I will update the thread

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StevieDvd

StevieDvd

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I have just tested my Moonlite stepper with the Lakeside controller (bracket should be with me tomorrow so I can fit the motor to the focuser) and it works fine. So the Lakeside setup does seem to be the same as Moonlite which on it's website says it is Robofocus standard.

So perhaps that means a direct 9 pin to 9 pin cable would be needed (I guess that would be the one supplied or suggested for use by Hitecastro) to get you gong Jake, not 100% sure of that unless someone more technically adept than I can confirm

Steve

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jnc71106

jnc71106

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yes it is a standard 9 pin to 9 pin straight serial cable the issue with off the shelf ones can be their length so the custom cable from David at hitecastro will be much better as it matches my setup better

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