Is my mount dead ?

[AlistairW]

Hello,

I have had my HEQ5 pro for about 2 months now, and It has been working great until now. Today I plugged it in and the red light on the mount stayed firmly off. I have always run this from the mains via a baader power supply. (12V/5A/60W). The green light on the power supply remains on  when "not" connected - but when I do connect and turn the mount on the green light on the power supply flashes. I also tried powering on via the 12V cigarette connection, but again the red light on the mount did not go on. My initial instinct would be to contact the shop I bought if from, but I have done a belt mod, so I am concerned it will void my warrantee. Any idea on where I can start on looking in to this, as I am no electrician.

Thanks

Alistair

[griz11]

Are there any fuses? Sounds like maybe the fuse is blown between power supply and mount. If you have a voltmeter you can check the voltage on the power supply but I think its probably ok. Might be a tiny poly fuse on one of the circuit boards but I'm not familiar with that mount.

Griz

[AlistairW]

it's a good point. I put a voltmeter against the output of the supply and there is 12 V coming out, so I don't think it is the supply. However the cable that comes with the mount has a angled connector which you can connect with reverse polarity - which is a possibility, as my 2 year old did pull it out the other day, and I simply reattached. However I have no idea what a polarity reversal would do to the board, or whether there is a fuse.

[Ruud]

Can't you undo the belt mod and send it in after that? It's not an unusual mod. The mount seems to be made for this kind of upgrade.

The modification is not likely the cause of your problem. Something electrical seems to have gone wrong. Maybe you should first try to find out what your power supply is trying to tell you by flashing its green light.

Keep us up to date.

[jambouk]

Is the handset ok?

Can you power the handset without it connecting to the mount?

[AlistairW]

I don't use the handset, I control via EQMOD on the PC ..... from a few threads I have read though, this looks like it could be a polarity issue, the circuit does not protect against a reversal , and therefore could be a new board. Something I don't fancy much doing myself thought. Unfortunately the cable can let you reverse the polarity if you are unaware ....

[AlistairW]

so here is a link to the issue I found http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/184600-whoops-reverse-polarity-to-mount/

I do have a SynScan hand controller though .... so I plugged it in .... and it came on with "No link to M.C. Stand-alone mode" ...... but what that telling me ?

[jambouk]

How does the lead allow you to reverse polarity? Isn't it a jack which is tip positive and just one female socket on the mount to take that jack?

I don't think any reputible retailer would kick up a fuss about you doing a belt modification as long as any problem which has since arisen wasn't as a result of the belt modification.

Hope it is an easy fix.

James

[jambouk]

I wasn't aware you didn't use the handset. I wondered if a handset problem may be causing the mount problem, but as you don't use the handset it's not that.

It is crazy there is no inbuilt polarity protection on these mounts. The costs would be minimal, and benefits potentially significant for the user. But then how else would they sell spare mother boards. Maybe the small drop in voltage that polarity protection would cause results in problema itself.

James

[AlistairW]

Can't say for sure what has caused the failure, will contact the shop and see what they recommend. Doing the board replacement myself looks possible, but I don't want to be spending £100 if it's not that.  What's the betting on clear sky until I get this sorted :-) .... gotta keep smiling .... (but I think from my testing a) it's not the power supply it's not the mount switch (as the handset works) c) the handset tells me there is no connection to the motor controller). I have checked the pin connections on the board and they seem fine, but I don't remember any puffs of smoke or hearing any capacitors going pop .... The belt mod was simple and I was confident with that, and it has worked fine ever since .... so I am at a loss, but if it was the polarity reversal, I am sure I am not the only one that is going to be learning this lesson. This day and age there should be circuit protection, or a big warning .... !

[griz11]

Polarity protection can cause problems with servos at 12v. The controller I have has a different way of doing the diode protection to get around that. Something about dropping the voltage too low for the servos to respond if you do it the normal way. Bad not to have any polarity protection in it from the get go though. Reversed polarity will blow everything that isn't diode clamped to prevent it. Still hoping there is a fuse in that circuit somewhere is there a circuit diagram available?

Griz

[griz11]

Noticed you have a WO scope. How do you like it? I'm thinking about buying a 102GT.  Almost bought it last night Still need to find out some stuff about the rings so I can see if what I have will mount up without too much trouble. Want to get away from the dual saddle and put the guidescope atop the GT102 in non adjustable rings.

Griz

[AlistairW]

Griz, to be honest the GT81 is my first scope, but I have been learning fast. The WO to me is brilliant, the first image I took far exceed what I thought I was able to achieve, but I am going down the imagine route hence the fast frac.

[Starlight 1]

so here is a link to the issue I found http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/184600-whoops-reverse-polarity-to-mount/

I do have a SynScan hand controller though .... so I plugged it in .... and it came on with "No link to M.C. Stand-alone mode" ...... but what that telling me ?

That stand for main board not working. new one about £100.

[jambouk]

Are the solder joints on the back of the power socket on the mount ok? Might a tugging of the power lead have fractured something inside?

[Joseki]

Curious, I guess this is your power supply:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/power-accessories/baader-outdoor-telescope-power-supply-128v-15a.html

I know the detachable plug head is described as a feature (to protect damage if yanked) but if you've then got to reattach right way round according to tiny + & - marks on the plug - seems like an easy mistake to make - is it still connected wrong way round?.  Sounds like you'll need a new motherboard.

[griz11]

A guy at the club I belong too let me check his out at the last party. I really liked the fit and finish and the view through it. He doesn't do imaging however so I was wondering how it did with that aspect. Currently using DSLR lenses getting pretty good results with the 400 but some stuff is just too small. Need more focal length and the 102 is right on price and fl. Probably going to get the flattner reducer as well. I have excellent skies here so a 4 inch should be plenty.

Griz

[Steve Ward]

If you inadvertently reversed the tip of the lead when reattaching it you will have fried the motherboard inside the mount unfortunately ... 

[Cath]

It is crazy there is no inbuilt polarity protection on these mounts. The costs would be minimal, and benefits potentially significant for the user. But then how else would they sell spare mother boards. Maybe the small drop in voltage that polarity protection would cause results in problema itself.

I realise I shouldn't say anything, but ..

ANYTHING that earns a company more money will be done these days.I find the fact that when it comes to money/business, morals do not exist, and is FULLY accepted by most everyone

I will no longer work for electronics companies (I'm a hardware/software designer) because of what I've witnessed/experienced whilst doing so.

Any and ALL electronics manufactures/designers know full well that something like this WILL be connected with reverse polarity at some point, and it's the easiest thing to do by anyone/everyone, doesn't matter who you are, any experienced/long term designer knows this. And as Jambouk mentions, it's one (of several) of those things that is extremely easy for a designer/manufacture to protect against.

I've found the whole profit-at-any-cost thing quite revealing when it comes to general human nature

I'm only going by my own experiences mind, and yes, I know not all companies are like this. Those that appear to care will take care of things for you when things like this happen, but those that don't care will fob you off knowing FULL well about their design 'flaws'.

Yes I know, I shouldn't say anything .. I know

[jambouk]

Cath, why don't you make (and sell) a polarity prevention device that simply plugs into the original power socket, and the power lead theI can't imagine parts would be more than £5, and you could probably get it made up for another £5, and add £5 for shipping costs, add £5 profit for you per sale... I think many people would buy one at £20, especially if it worked and was "endorsed" by people on here

James

(P.S. You can donate my cut for intellectual profits to charity)

[Cath]

Cath, why don't you make (and sell) a polarity prevention device that simply plugs into the original power socket, and the power lead theI can't imagine parts would be more than £5, and you could probably get it made up for another £5, and add £5 for shipping costs, add £5 profit for you per sale... I think many people would buy one at £20, especially if it worked and was "endorsed" by people on here

ha

Unfortunately I don't think it would solve the reverse power problem, mainly due to you can't guarantee what polarity a manufacture will use for their power input sockets/plugs. ie, center pin is sometimes used for negative rather than for positive.

The reverse polarity problem in particular is really up to whether a manufacture really does want to harden their electronics against these extremely easy to make mistakes, or whether they 'secretly' like to profit from the designed in 'flaw' as it were, which may not sound like much of a profit to make, but when it comes to profit, as I mentioned, all other thoughts tend to fly out the window, including reasoning.

.

[Carina Lass]

that's why bumpers on cars are now plastic coloured the same as the car and VERY expensive.

I have a blumming great stainless steel bar across the front of my Ute

[AlistairW]

It's Alive !!

Had to replace the mother board and the motor controller circuit too. It was easy to do, and it was all working great, until I put the cover of the mount back on, and then dead again .... queue 4 hours of pulling hair out, - until I was about to give up, and I put the mount head on the floor still powered on, - and it sprang in to life ! ..... in the end there was a wire bent out of position somewhere, and after a bit of a reroute all was fine .... stressful times, but all is working well now. Shop was excellent with their service, and help to get it fixed.

[jambouk]

Great news