Synscan v4 - 'Both axes... No response!'

[bendiddley]

Wondering if anyone can help. I have just acquired a 2nd hand synscan v4 handset that came with some other stuff I bought, but unfortunately when I connect it to my NEQ6 I get the error message 'Both axes... No response!'. You can get past this error message but you can't slew the mount. I already have another v4 controller which works perfectly so I know the cable works fine and there is nothing wrong with the mount. I have updated the firmware on the new v4 controller to the latest version hoping this might reset the handset but to no avail. I'm not sure what else to try. Does anyone have any ideas?

[Brian Cassell]

I have a similar problem I have an HEQ5 pro mount and when I connect my v4 or v5 HC i recieve the same message but if I use a V3 HC borrowed from a friend then everthing seems to be OK. I tried  the Syn Scan wifi and that works OK, I can do what I want. This would indicate to me that there is nothing wrong with the motors.

[Anthonyexmouth]

I had this a little while ago. I can be pretty confident in saying it's a power supply issue. Under voltage was the problem. 12.2v measured on the multimeter was giving this error, swapped to a 13.8v supply and error gone. Tried another 12v supply and the issue came back. They seem to like 13v a lot better. It wasn't a lack of amps, all PSUs I tried were at least 5 amp supply. 

[bendiddley]

24 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

I had this a little while ago. I can be pretty confident in saying it's a power supply issue. Under voltage was the problem. 12.2v measured on the multimeter was giving this error, swapped to a 13.8v supply and error gone. Tried another 12v supply and the issue came back. They seem to like 13v a lot better. It wasn't a lack of amps, all PSUs I tried were at least 5 amp supply.

Interesting, I might have to give this a go. Will my NEQ6 be OK with 13.8V?? Also strangely my other v4 handset works fine with a 12v supply, not sure why the faulty v4 handset would be different?

[Anthonyexmouth]

Yeah, they are fine up to 15v . 

[Merlin66]

Yes, 15v is a good solution.

I power both my HEQ5 and the NEQ6 with  car convertor 12v to 15v, 120 watt.

no issues, no drama.

 

[Bogfra1]

Have this problem also do not understand why it worked first and now no longer; have already read more about too low a tension; If I connect a 12 volt power supply and I start the synscan and ask for information the actual voltage then it says 11.2 volt so probably far too low I suppose the synscan is there for something in between and it will not allow it to start the motors  Very peculiar because with my laptop and the ascom drivers it does work on that 12 volt adapter and I can do everything with stellarium and SGP or Nina and APT tools.

[NJO]

Have noticed the same problem with a 12 volt power supply. Same behavior with my  lead gel batteries. Using them voltage is around 10.9 to 11.1 volts - even if they are fully charged. So, is  this behavior a fault or a 'feature'?

[Merlin66]

Go for the the 12v to 15v car convertor.....

No more problems.

 

[NJO]

Thanks, is there any I should prefer?

[Merlin66]

The one I use is a "120W laptop car power supply, L40BB", and converts the 12V to 15/16/18/19/20/22/24 V DC. Just select the 15V setting.

Maplin or JayCar??

 

[NJO]

Thank you: I found a similar power supply at a well known electronics distributor here in Germany offering 15V/8A and I'm going to order one.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by NJO

[bendiddley]

I would be very interested to know the results of this.

[NJO]

In the meanwhile - after contacting a friend of mine - I refrained from using the booster module I had ordered. He told me about his experiences with such boosters:  not only they produce high voltage peaks in the output when they are switched on but also one of them blew his Synscan AZEQ6 electronics when the booster 'exploded'. So not wanting to make the same mistake I'll be going to use my 12V/12A lead batteries again. Though Synscan is only showing about 11,2V but power light is not flashing even if both stepper motors are concurrently  in use for a longer period. Alternatively I'll use a switching power supply offering enough voltage and amps.

[NJO]

By the way I had ordered attached booster...

 

[NJO]

Does anyone have experiences with this module?