IOptron iEQ45 Pro RA balance

[Radec]

Has anyone upgraded their iEQ45 Pro with the required replacement R.A. board to provide electronic balance on the R.A. axis?

I bought and fitted one and I’ve done all the necessary firmware updates using the latest releases, but no option to balance the R.A. appears in the menu. I think there are two possibilities; either the new board is wrong (or defective) or there is a different R.A. board firmware update required. Any suggestions?

thanks in advance

[Davey-T]

Not sure if it's worth the effort as mine came with it and it's never worked, just kept saying add more weight in the direction that was already too heavy.

Dave

 

[Radec]

Whoops, that doesn’t sound too good! I’ve read posts on another forum suggesting it works well.

Have to see if I can get it working and find out. 

Thanks for the input

Keith

[cotak]

It worked well for me. Not sure why other people have issues.

Make sure you have the latest firmware.

[Davey-T]

Looking on the iOptron Yahoo group there does seem to have been an improvement in it since I tried it.

Bear in mind that perfect balance is not necessarily a good thing 

Dave

[Radec]

2 hours ago, cotak said:

It worked well for me. Not sure why other people have issues.

Make sure you have the latest firmware.

I have the 20170505 RA firmware, which is the latest version I gather.

I updated all the firmware even though they were all current. When I fitted the new R.A. board it changed the firmware to an old version, hence the update. 

Am I missing a step out somewhere?

[fwm891]

Keith - have you updated the handset (firmware) so it show the balance...?

Go2Nova 8407+ hand controller firmware (V170322)
iEQ Pro main control board (V161101)
iEQ Pro RA motor control board (V170505)
iEQ Pro DEC motor control board (V161101)
iEQ Pro Firmware Upgrade History (Updated 10/10/2017)
iEQ Pro firmware upgrade instruction
Upgrade Utility 1.22

[Radec]

Hi Francis - yes I updated the lot. The handset FW is exactly the same as the version that was on it when I got it, but I went through and updated them all. The only issue could be that I did the R.A. and Dec first. I might try again in the order they recommend, though I was under the impression you could just do the upgrades singly.

[Radec]

Quick update - I re-did the entire operation by the book - no difference, still no RA balance option.

So, my money is now on either the wrong RA board or a duff RA board.

I'll post back when I know more

Keith

[cotak]

There is a certain model number of RA board. Ask ioptron the version you need for the balancing and check if it's the right one. The revision is printed on the board. Maybe the wrong one was sent.

[Radec]

51 minutes ago, cotak said:

There is a certain model number of RA board. Ask ioptron the version you need for the balancing and check if it's the right one. The revision is printed on the board. Maybe the wrong one was sent.

Yep, I checked it wasn’t the same as the one I pulled out. Do you happen to know what the number should be?

[cotak]

Let me check my old emails.. it says: 

V1441+

So you should be able to find V1441+ printed on the board if it supports the balancing. If I recall correctly my original boards that came with the mount and doesn't allow balancing has V1441 without the plus.

[Radec]

Thanks Cotak - that is what is so excellent about these forums. Your info has nailed the problem.

The board that I pulled out is V1420 (obviously an old-ish one) and the one the retailer sent me to include the balance option is V1441.

No plus, so that's the issue. So easy to think it's something you've done or not done yourself.

Thanks for your help - sanity saved.

Keith

[cotak]

Glad to help