Starsense help

[NightSky_Wanderer]

Hi,

I am hoping someone here may be able to offer some help or advice. I have submitted a support ticket with Celestron but I am still waiting for a reply and would really like to get this working ready for the next clear sky!

I recently brought a starsense but have not been able to use it because it comes up with the following errors,

Err: Model Num
The telescope model could not be read and initialization cannot proceed.

Critical error!
File: ..\source\mo
Line: 1468
An unexpected error occurred that may cause the HC to not opperate normally.

When updating the controller and camera it finishes succesfully but when I check for new updates it proceeds to install the same one again and again.

I can still control the mount and I think the camera tried to do an alignment in my room.

I have a Celestron Nexstar 6SE.

Thanks
Adz

[Dave Matison]

I believe your starsense is defective. I have two, one used on both a 127slt and 4se, and another on a 60th anniversary evolution.  Both work perfectly. 

Edited November 14, 2020 by Dave Matison

[Starwatcher2001]

Hi Adz,

I feel your pain. I had that problem when updating the software for my scope. I also got "device memory corrupted" at one point. It took me a few hours of messing and panicking that my scope was bricked, but I eventually sorted it.

First thing to try is doing a factory reset on the device: Switch off scope. Press and hold 0 on handset and switch scope back on. In my case that didn't fix it, but worth a shot.

Second thing is that when updating you need to have everything plugged in. At some point I was trying just to update the handset (to speed up the process) and didn't connect the camera, which caused problems. Leave everything connected and let it update the handset, camera and mount.

I had the same "looping around" thing where it tries to re-install everything each time (including 6 packages on the HC alone) and it's quite maddening as some updates take an age. It also scuppers things if you try to go back a version. What I did to cure that was to copy everything in the CFM folder somewhere safe, and delete all the packages that I didn't want it messing with. There's a tick box to say "work offline". I also switched off my router to stop it accessing the net. It then only installs the packages that are left in that folder, which speeds things up significantly.

There's an option to log messages to an error log which is worth taking as sometimes they flash on the screen too quickly to see.

As utterly bizaarre as it seems, the way I finally got this going was to connect the HC to port 4 on my evolution. It failed when using ports 1,2 & 3, but finally worked on Port 4. Whether that was actually a difference in that port or just a result of try and try again, I don't know.

You've probably come across the same links I did, but here's the ones that were helpful.

https://www.nexstarsite.com/Book2/Updates/FirmwareUpdateProblems.htm

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/608409-wish-i-didnt-do-firmware/

Good luck mate. If I can help further, just give me a shout.

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

[NightSky_Wanderer]

Hi,

Thank you Mark for you helpful reply! I tried what you suggested with no luck

However I woke up to a reply from Celestron support who suggested plugging the camera into the handset port and the handset into the AUX port and it WORKED. They have said that they do not know why it happens but sometimes the mount does not present the right amperage or voltage.

Its not the best fix as i would like the HC to sit where its suppose to go but Im just happy to be able to get out observing again (its been over a year!😳)

Hopefully I will be posting here more!

Thanks

Adz

[Starwatcher2001]

Hi Adz,

Do you have to connect the devices like that all the time, or just when you're updating the software?  As I mentioned, I had to connect the handset to port 4 to get it to update software without an error, but in normal running they'll work pretty much any way.

Anyway, glad you got it running and can get back out under the stars.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Ohiosky]

I'm glad I came across this post.  I've been attempting to add Starsense for over a week now.  Not until I tried swapping AUX ports did I get things running.  I consistently got "telescope model number" error followed with and err 1469.  Once I switched the AUX ports, I (finally) was able to update my hand controller firmware.  Prior to this, CFM couldn't even detect the the hand controller.  Hopefully, this ends this nightmare...