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Celestron Nexstar Error 16

banjaxed

By banjaxed
in Discussions - Mounts

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banjaxed

banjaxed

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As the title suggests my problem is error 16 and although I have searched this and CN for this problem there does not appear to be any definitive answer. I have checked for any obvious wiring problems and all looks to be ok and my power supply is more than adequate. Has anyone ever found a solution or is it a case of sending it to a dealer for repair ?

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Cosmic Geoff

Cosmic Geoff

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I have had this happen a couple of times with my SLT.  On both occasions I fixed it by refreshing the mount firmware.   What causes the firmware to get corrupted is unknown.

You can fix this yourself if you are prepared to jump through all the necessary hoops. (firmware, cables, apps).

 

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banjaxed

banjaxed

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21 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

Response  16/ 17 means the mount can't move the RA or DEC motors.. usually power issues.. so that be my first thing id check..

Is it under 2 years old?

Not sure how old it is but the power supply is more than enough for this mount.

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banjaxed

banjaxed

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5 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

I have had this happen a couple of times with my SLT.  On both occasions I fixed it by refreshing the mount firmware.   What causes the firmware to get corrupted is unknown.

You can fix this yourself if you are prepared to jump through all the necessary hoops. (firmware, cables, apps).

 

Thank you for your input, could you point me in the right direction on how to refresh the firmware if it is not too much trouble.

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Cosmic Geoff

Cosmic Geoff

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1 hour ago, banjaxed said:

Thank you for your input, could you point me in the right direction on how to refresh the firmware if it is not too much trouble.

You need at minimum a serial cable that plugs into the handset, and (unless you have an old computer with a 9-pin serial port) a USB to serial converter, and a usb-to-serial driver for a FTDI chipset. You may find you can buy the serial to USB combo as one active cable.  This is if you have the older Nexstar+ handset. If you have the latest handset wuth a USB socket in the base, you just need a USB cable.  Hiwever you still need a USB-to-serial driver!

For software, you need an app for Celestron to install the firmware.  I used MCupdate, but if you have a newer mount you may need to use CFM instead.

I advise reading the instructions at nexstarsite.com: https://nexstarsite.com/OddsNEnds/MCNewFirmwareUpgradeHowTo.htm

Remember you want to refresh the mount software, not update the handset.

The Celestron app will require you to download some other software to enable it to work.

Then you power everything up and use the Celestron app to download and install the necessary firmware.

Did I mention hoops?🙂

As a consolation prize, you can use the cable to control your mount via Stellarium once you have got ot working again.

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banjaxed

banjaxed

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11 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

You need at minimum a serial cable that plugs into the handset, and (unless you have an old computer with a 9-pin serial port) a USB to serial converter, and a usb-to-serial driver for a FTDI chipset. You may find you can buy the serial to USB combo as one active cable.  This is if you have the older Nexstar+ handset. If you have the latest handset wuth a USB socket in the base, you just need a USB cable.  Hiwever you still need a USB-to-serial driver!

For software, you need an app for Celestron to install the firmware.  I used MCupdate, but if you have a newer mount you may need to use CFM instead.

I advise reading the instructions at nexstarsite.com: https://nexstarsite.com/OddsNEnds/MCNewFirmwareUpgradeHowTo.htm

Remember you want to refresh the mount software, not update the handset.

The Celestron app will require you to download some other software to enable it to work.

Then you power everything up and use the Celestron app to download and install the necessary firmware.

Did I mention hoops?🙂

As a consolation prize, you can use the cable to control your mount via Stellarium once you have got ot working again.

Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction, much appreciated.

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banjaxed

banjaxed

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I decided to have another crack at setting up my scope and found that after the error 16 message if I pressed the enter button a few times it sprang back to life and allowed me to enter the relevant time and location details. It is yet to be tested at night with star align but it is looking hopeful, fingers crossed.

1 hour ago, newbie alert said:

I'd advise a mains power supply... 

 

14 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

You need at minimum a serial cable that plugs into the handset, and (unless you have an old computer with a 9-pin serial port) a USB to serial converter, and a usb-to-serial driver for a FTDI chipset. You may find you can buy the serial to USB combo as one active cable.  This is if you have the older Nexstar+ handset. If you have the latest handset wuth a USB socket in the base, you just need a USB cable.  Hiwever you still need a USB-to-serial driver!

For software, you need an app for Celestron to install the firmware.  I used MCupdate, but if you have a newer mount you may need to use CFM instead.

I advise reading the instructions at nexstarsite.com: https://nexstarsite.com/OddsNEnds/MCNewFirmwareUpgradeHowTo.htm

Remember you want to refresh the mount software, not update the handset.

The Celestron app will require you to download some other software to enable it to work.

Then you power everything up and use the Celestron app to download and install the necessary firmware.

Did I mention hoops?🙂

As a consolation prize, you can use the cable to control your mount via Stellarium once you have got ot working again.

 

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banjaxed

banjaxed

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Last night had a small window so I decided to try the Nexstar set up but unfortunately it would not go past setting the time, date and location, it just went back to error 16. Looks like I will have to get the necessary cables to refresh my mount.

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Bruce Leeroy

Bruce Leeroy

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If you can connect the mount to a laptop or pc and use Nexremote you can load firmwares in a virtual enviroment. Not sure how helpful that info is for your problem!

The lower video demostrates what I mean.👍

 

Edited by Bruce Leeroy
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banjaxed

banjaxed

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1 hour ago, Bruce Leeroy said:

If you can connect the mount to a laptop or pc and use Nexremote you can load firmwares in a virtual enviroment. Not sure how helpful that info is for your problem!

 

 

Hi, thanks for your reply. I looks like I will need to order the appropriate cables to  enable me to perform the update, wish me luck 🤔

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banjaxed

banjaxed

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2 hours ago, Bruce Leeroy said:

If you can connect the mount to a laptop or pc and use Nexremote you can load firmwares in a virtual enviroment. Not sure how helpful that info is for your problem!

The lower video demostrates what I mean.👍

 

Thank you very much for the links. I have seen the first one and it doesn’t help as it is only a temporary fix which quickly goes back to the original error. The second video is very interesting for the future but it doesn’t look like you can refresh or update the firmware with NexRemote. I will persevere.

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Bruce Leeroy

Bruce Leeroy

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1 minute ago, banjaxed said:

The second video is very interesting for the future but it doesn’t look like you can refresh or update the firmware with NexRemote.

Correct, it only loads the firmware, I thought it might help troubleshoot your problem if you had the necessary cables. It does help in the way that if you run it from a PC you don't always have to enter time/date etc as it gets that info from your computer automatically.

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banjaxed

banjaxed

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19 minutes ago, Bruce Leeroy said:

Correct, it only loads the firmware, I thought it might help troubleshoot your problem if you had the necessary cables. It does help in the way that if you run it from a PC you don't always have to enter time/date etc as it gets that info from your computer automatically.

The problem can be fixed by refreshing the firmware as Cosmic Geoff kindly informed me and he also gave me a link to the instructions. All I need now is to locate and buy the correct leads. I think I was forlornly hoping someone had a quick fix but that was wishful thinking 😀

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