Mesu mount (all versions) owner's thread

[tooth_dr]

This is what the manual says and is exactly whats happening:

Motors Automatic or Motor(s) in Blinky: Lastly, there is a button that normally says "Motors Automatic", and is grayed out. If the motors go to what is fondly called the "BLINKY" mode, this will say "Motors in Blinky Mode" and if you click it, the controller will be sent a command to put the motors back in automatic. If it continually goes to blinky, then you have a problem with your motor, friction, imbalance, encoder wiring, configuration, or other issues.

[tooth_dr]

So I have it sorted now.  I reseated again all the connections and then before I started tracking I did a sync/init on polaris - approx when my scope was pointing.  I started tracking and the behaviour is back to normal.  Just slewed to the HH nebula and about to take first sub and the rain has come on heavy despite being a clear forecast.  In a way I feel lucky now, because otherwise I'd have been setup and oblivious to this heavy downpour 

[tooth_dr]

Nope, doing the same thing tonight.  Eventually got it working then it stopped tracking 20 minutes later mid exposure.  Something not right ☹️ 

[AKB]

On 05/01/2024 at 19:35, tooth_dr said:

I carry out the normal startup procedure for the mount and it starts tracking for about 5 seconds, then I hear the RA motor make a bit of a fuss, and it shoots off by itself, rotating about 30 degrees, then it stops abruptly and I get the message 'motors blinky'. 

Sorry to hear this... it's exactly the issue I had myself last year.

My advice from the SciTech forum was to check the wiring.  A good test is to swap the RA and DEC power AND encoder lines.  Does the problem axis change, or not?

There are rather too many connectors in the path for my liking.  Perhaps one is flakey.  Good luck.

Tony

Edited January 6 by AKB

[tooth_dr]

3 hours ago, AKB said:

Sorry to hear this... it's exactly the issue I had myself last year.

My advice from the SciTech forum was to check the wiring.  A good test is to swap the RA and DEC power AND encoder lines.  Does the problem axis change, or not?

There are rather too many connectors in the path for my liking.  Perhaps one is flakey.  Good luck.

Tony

Hi Tony

Many thanks for your reply. I suspected my problem was similar to yours.

Can I check what you swapped?  Do I swap the 2.1mm power jacks (bottom right of photo) and the cables going into the black connector blocks (lying inside the wedge)?

What will I expect to see?  It’s my Dec axis that is playing up, but if it changes to RA once I swap the wiring, then does that confirm that it is the Sitech controller?

Cheers!

[AKB]

Yes, swap both power and encoders as you describe.  If the problem axis changes, then the issue is on the controller side of what you swapped, else it’s towards the mount side. Note that it may not be the controller itself, since there is still the Y-shaped cable and the connectors in the controller itself.  Cleaning connectors and testing cables is a next step.

I’m told that the controllers themselves fail very rarely.

[tooth_dr]

I’ve attached some videos of my mount playing up.

This is what is does when I unpark it and or start tracking:

@AKB I swapped the RA and DEc power and encoder cables - the DEC axis continued to exhibit strange behaviour, the RA unaffected:

I swapped them back again and the issues remain with the DEC axis.

I tried manually moving the mount with the hand controller, and it’s behaving odd too.  Holding down any DEC button causes the mount to move back and forth.  RA not affected.

Motors go into blinky mode as seen in the screen shot below.  I’ve loaded the original cfg again that i got from Lucas in 2021 when I bought the mount, but no bueno.

Sometimes it also slews both ways on initiating tracking / unpacking.

Next step will be to contact Lucas unless anyone thinks it’s the controller?

Anything else to check?  

6 hours ago, AKB said:

since there is still the Y-shaped cable and the connectors in the controller itself

Tony, what is the y shaped cable?  And do you mean the connectors soldered to the board?  I can definitely test all for continuity. 

[AKB]

One thing to try is to unplug the hand controller… it may be the faulty item. 

The Y cable is the one you showed in your first photo that splits into two phone connectors.  

Do you have the in-line phone connectors too?  So many points of continuity to check.

[AKB]

How often do you polish your kit?. It’s SO clean!?

[tooth_dr]

4 minutes ago, AKB said:

One thing to try is to unplug the hand controller… it may be the faulty item. 

The Y cable is the one you showed in your first photo that splits into two phone connectors.  

Do you have the in-line phone connectors too?  So many points of continuity to check.

Tried it without the handcontroller too and still not working.

I have the online phono connectors, don’t like them at all. 

[AKB]

Since the axis doesn’t change, the issue may be with the encoder.  You can look at the encoder values changing in the servo software.

The “stop moving and go into blinky mode” seems to happen when connection to an encoder is lost, amongst other things. 

[tooth_dr]

I've removed all the wiring - actually not that much in there, thought it was worse.  I've labelled it and and reconnected it and tested for continuity - all seems to be in continuity from Sitech unit up to the motors.

4 hours ago, AKB said:

You can look at the encoder values changing in the servo software.

I did that, and post the video below - when I moved the RA axis the values change up and down as expected, but when I do the same with the DEC axis it just goes to -1 and blinky mode.

Stupid question - which bit is the encoder or is the motor and encoder all one?

[tooth_dr]

 

[AKB]

11 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Stupid question - which bit is the encoder or is the motor and encoder all one?

I don’t know.  So, not a stupid question at all, but one which the groups.io SciTech board could answer in a flash.….or Lucas Mesu, for that matter.

I found both Lucas and SciTech support to be extremely helpful.

Do you know anyone within range who has another e200 mount?  Would be a good sanity check to try your controller on another, perhaps.

Edited January 8 by AKB

[tooth_dr]

I've exhausted the testing options available to me, and so decided to contact Lucas.  Lucas has been quick to reply to my email today and thinks that the encoder is most likely faulty.  It needs to go back, so I have to remove the motor/encoder and send it over to him, something for me to do later!  I've to mark out the position of everything as I remove it, so it can go back in the exact same orientation.  I'm worried sharpie will rub off too easily, any suggestions for marking positions?

@old_eyes I think you removed your motor (maybe not intentionally though!) - Lucas says the grub screw may be obscured under a metal ring.  Did you find the grub screw ok?  Could you perhaps help me in it's location?

 

[tooth_dr]

15 hours ago, AKB said:

groups.io SciTech board could answer in a flash.….or Lucas Mesu

Indeed Lucas says it's the plastic bit attached to the end of the silver barrel (the motor).

[AKB]

Is it easily replaceable?

Edit: Ah yes, I see that it is (along with the motor.)

Laundry marker should be indelible?  Can't you etch it with a dental drill?

Edited January 8 by AKB

[tooth_dr]

10 minutes ago, AKB said:

Can't you etch it with a dental drill?

I've tried that with other things!  Not feasible with the location lol

I might try to pick up one of those white markers that mechanics use, but they tend to be thick tipped

[tooth_dr]

Motor removed, ready to package and send to Lucas.  I’ve always wanted to see inside the big metal casing so this satisfied that curiosity lol I’ve taped over the hole on the mount when the motor came out and said a temporary fair-well to the observatory for however long this takes.

[AKB]

Well, very good luck with that, and speedy recovery.

My own issues last year only took so long because I had an alternative mount, and also that I was hesitant to embrace the task and get on with it !

You're well on the way.

PS: It’s a great deal better than having to send the whole mount back, which was always my worry!

Edited January 8 by AKB

[tooth_dr]

12 minutes ago, AKB said:

Well, very good luck with that, and speedy recovery.

My own issues last year only took so long because I had an alternative mount, and also that I was hesitant to embrace the task and get on with it !

You're well on the way.

PS: It’s a great deal better than having to send the whole mount back, which was always my worry!

Thanks! I was dreading having to ship the mount too. Hopefully it all goes back together properly and tracks normally etc afterwards.

Im now wondering about shipping. With the controller I’d need about £600 to cover loss of everything.  FedEx are quoting £25 for delivery by Friday. But I’m now wondering about customs and the likes. It’s a repair and I’m in Northern Ireland but it’s a minefield.

[tooth_dr]

On 07/01/2024 at 08:06, AKB said:

Yes, swap both power and encoders as you describe.  If the problem axis changes, then the issue is on the controller side of what you swapped, else it’s towards the mount side. Note that it may not be the controller itself, since there is still the Y-shaped cable and the connectors in the controller itself.  Cleaning connectors and testing cables is a next step.

I’m told that the controllers themselves fail very rarely.

Hi Tony

I decided to do one last check with the dec motor removed.  I did what you originally advised me to do, swapping over both power and encoder cables.

On 06/01/2024 at 22:05, AKB said:

A good test is to swap the RA and DEC power AND encoder lines.  Does the problem axis change, or not?

So this time I just used the handbox to do the movements, did not connect to PC.  With cabling swapped over I can now see that the issue does in fact change axis - the DEC motor behaves normally and the RA motor goes into fault.  I swapped them back and the DEC motor goes into fault.  So this is indicating the same fault that you had?  Your symptoms were very similar.

 

What do I do now?

 

[AKB]

So sorry to hear this, when you thought you were close to a solution.  Still, better now than when Lucas comes back saying that all is well.  My fault was exhibited when I powered on the mount.  The RA slewed immediately for a few seconds, then stopped in blinky mode.  This was without the computer connected. 

Must be controller related, but whether it’s hardware or firmware is hard to say (although you said you’d tried different versions?). I did notice on your screenshot that equatorial mode was not selected.  That seems a wrong configuration for the Mesu?  Double check the settings??

It’s at this point that it’s probably worth contacting SciTech support.  In the end, they logged in remotely using AnyDesk and diagnosed a controller issue.

[tooth_dr]

12 minutes ago, AKB said:

So sorry to hear this, when you thought you were close to a solution.  Still, better now than when Lucas comes back saying that all is well.  My fault was exhibited when I powered on the mount.  The RA slewed immediately for a few seconds, then stopped in blinky mode.  This was without the computer connected. 

Must be controller related, but whether it’s hardware or firmware is hard to say (although you said you’d tried different versions?). I did notice on your screenshot that equatorial mode was not selected.  That seems a wrong configuration for the Mesu?  Double check the settings??

It’s at this point that it’s probably worth contacting SciTech support.  In the end, they logged in remotely using AnyDesk and diagnosed a controller issue.

I'm on the groups IO board, asking same thing.  Contacting Sitech is a good idea.

I did not change any settings, just loaded what was sent to be originally by Lucas. Looking back through the thread, there is another screen shot that shows EQ also unchecked in this utility configuration.  I have EQ mode set up in the other settings menu under the 'config' tab with in the Sitech mount 95N program. If anyone can screen shot there utility menu that would be appreciated.

[tooth_dr]

I've contacted Sitech, waiting to hear back.  Lucas is being very helpful and is giving me a few more things to check over today.  The Sitech controller I is now a whopping $500 + delivery + import so cant really afford to take a chance on ordering one unless 100% sure.