Dead HEQ5?

[Somerled7]

I've been adding a Pegasus Astrobox to my kit to power some dew heaters, and as that requires a 12V power supply, I bought a Leisure Battery to power it all.  At first I connected my HEQ5 to one of the 12V outputs from the Pegasus but then thought there would be less cable stretch if I took 2 power lines from the battery  one for the HEQ5 and one for the Pegasus.  Set that up today, switched on - mount LED glows red. I then tried connecting my laptop to my Synscan WiFi - it connects to the WiFi OK, but said it couldn't find the device (I assume that means the HEQ5).  At first I thought it might be to do with the WiFi connection, as yesterday I changed it from Access mode to Station mode, but then I tried the hand controller, and got a message that it couldn't connect to the MC (Motor Controller?)  So now I'm thinking that the problem is the HEQ5 mount itself, and it's not talking to either handset or WiFi dongle.  Maybe in setting up the new power supply I've switched off and on a few times too often and blown something, or maybe connecting to a new battery at about 12.8V was too much?  A quick look and a replacement motherboard is about £120, so I'd like to be sure that's the problem before spending that much.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

What did you power it with before ?

12.8 V is not too high for a HEQ5 and a fully charged battery will be 13.8 V but still fine.

The fault you are getting is not something I am familiar with but hopefully somebody else on SGL will have seen it but I would suggest going back to the power supply you last used when it all worked okay and have nothing else connected.

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Long shot but I did see a similar thread about no link to MC and it turned out to be the lead between handset and mount, I think handset had power but some of the cat5 cable wires must have been broken. Like I say a long shot but have you got a spare cable anywhere just to try it?

Steve

[JamesF]

Paging @malc-c :D

James

[malc-c]

2 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Paging @malc-c

James

LOL... I wondered what that glowing signal in the sky was !!

To the OP - it sounds like you have blown the main motor control board.  The message you are getting could be one of two things, but in both cases it means replacing components on the board.  The most probably cause is that you have in some way blown the two PICs micros on the controller.  I've fixed four motor boards for dobsonian scopes, but never tried replacing the PICs and programming them on an HEQ5.

If you want me to take a look at the board drop me a PM and we can discuss this further

 

[malc-c]

1 hour ago, Somerled7 said:

 but then I tried the hand controller, and got a message that it couldn't connect to the MC (Motor Controller?) 

What was the exact message you got ?

[Somerled7]

15 hours ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

Long shot but I did see a similar thread about no link to MC and it turned out to be the lead between handset and mount, I think handset had power but some of the cat5 cable wires must have been broken. Like I say a long shot but have you got a spare cable anywhere just to try it?

Steve

Thanks for the suggestions - I previously powered it with a 12V mains adaptor. Tried that and no difference. I don't think it's the cable or handset as I can't connect via the WiFi dongle either, which suggests a mount side problem rather than the handset/cable. 

[Somerled7]

14 hours ago, malc-c said:

What was the exact message you got ?

The exact message was "Can't connect to M.C. Stand-Alone Mode". With the WiFi dongle it simply says "Can't Find Device."  The Skywatcher manual says this message means the handset is not plugged in correctly, but I've checked it's in correctly, and neither handset nor dongle is talking to the mount.  I'm a bit concerned that without knowing the cause, if I slot in a new/replacement board, that could go as well.  Could just be old age though - I've had it 7 years and it was second hand when I bought it.  Any advice on how to access the control board?

[Somerled7]

So, I've come across the thread below, where a similar problem with a blown HEQ5 board is discussed. It mentions the dangers of dangling power cables or connecting/disconnecting cables without first switching off.  In sorting out my cable routing, I've probably done just that - disconnected power cables and left them dangling as I re-routed them. So that's the probable source of the problem.  Oh well, it's all a learning curve.

 

[malc-c]

It does sound similar to the "both axis no response" message that faulty dobsonian boards give, so it would seem to be that the two PICs have been blown.

I've reprogrammed and replaced the 16F886's on four motor boards used in got dobsonians and this has managed to get those boards back up and running, so an HEQ5 shouldn't be any different.  As I said, if you want me to take a look and have a go at repairing your board then drop me a PM

I'm not a business, just happen to have an interest in electronics and programming PIC micros / arduinos etc, and confident with a soldering iron

Or purchase a new replacement motorboard  for £119 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-replacement-motherboard-for-heq5-pro.html

If you do purchase new, don't bin the faulty board, drop me a PM

[Somerled7]

So, an update on my dead HEQ5.  I've bought a replacement board from Microglobe - as noted in another thread on here, this looks like a more modern version compared to the original Skywatcher board.  I've fitted that (and did the Rowan belt upgrade at the same time as I had the motors out to fit the board). The handset now connects to the mount OK and I can slew it about, though I'll need a clear night to try it out properly (and who knows when that will be)!  However, I still can't get the Synscan WiFi adaptor to connect to the mount. I can connect my phone/pc to the adaptor's WiFi network, but it can't find the mount on the network. So, I've two thoughts - either the new board doesn't work with the adaptor (but it does work with the handset?), or I've fried the adaptor at the same time as the main board, but I'm not sure if that's likely or even possible? Any thoughts on checking out the WiFi adaptor welcome.

I think my options now are either a new adaptor at £54 and hope it works with the board, or a USB EQdirect cable at about £35, which is now an option as part of my wiring upgrade was adding a USB hub on the mount. I'm inclined to the latter even though it means more cables.

[malc-c]

It does indeed seem to point to a blown WIFI board.  The PIC micros on the motorboard have their UART pins connected to individual TX and RX lines which via a resistor and couple of diodes connect to two pins on the RJ connector where the handset plugs in.  The UARTS on the PICs are 5v TTL logic, and used standard comport settings, which is why you can plug in EQDIR cables, BT serial and wireless serial ports.  If any of these were connected at the time then whatever blew the PICs serial ports could just as easily blown the serial port on that device.   It might have been that device that caused the problem and originally blew the HEQ5 board.  The fact you have plugged it into a known working board and nothing happens would suggest that the wifi module is faulty, unless Synta have changed the speed of the communications form the default 9600 baud rate to one of the other settings.  If you are able to configure the wi-fil adapter and change the baud rate you could try all of the settings, starting with 115K baud.  If that fails then it would seem damage to the wifi module resulted at the same time as the original motorboard.

If you still have the original faulty HEQ5 motor board I am still interested in taking it off your hands as per the PM.

[malc-c]

56 minutes ago, Somerled7 said:

So, an update on my dead HEQ5.  I've bought a replacement board from Microglobe - as noted in another thread on here, this looks like a more modern version compared to the original Skywatcher board. 

Can you upload pictures of your original board and the new replacement ?  As far as I was aware the HEQ5 mainboard has remained pretty consistent in design.  This is what Microglobe are showing on their site which looks like a standard HEQ5 board to me

 

[Somerled7]

 

4 hours ago, malc-c said:

Can you upload pictures of your original board and the new replacement ?  As far as I was aware the HEQ5 mainboard has remained pretty consistent in design.  This is what Microglobe are showing on their site which looks like a standard HEQ5 board to me

 

Here's a comparison of the new and old boards. At first I thought they had sent the wrong item, so I e-mailed Microglobe, but no reply. I then found another thread here on Stargazers Lounge where someone had been sent the same new board from Microglobe and they reported it worked OK.  I haven't tried it out at night but the handset runs through the setup OK, and when I do a star alignment the mount slews in a 'convincing' manner, so it looks OK.  I still have the old board, so I can send that on sometime after the Christmas/New Year period.     

[malc-c]

Wow, that is different...and uses an ARM Cortex processor rather than a Microchip PIC.  It was also listed a good £20 cheaper than the boards listed at Rothervalley / FLO etc

I would have to do some research to check compatibility as there is only one firmware file for the HEQ5 on the Skywatcher website and that's for an 16F886.  I wouldn't try and upload any firmware to the new board just in case... if it ain't broke don't fix it 

Drop me a PM when you are able to send on the Old board and I'll sort out a payment to cover the cost of P&P etc.