AZEQ6 switching on.

[Rob B]

Can anyone tell me if the AZ-EQ6 mount will switch on without the syscan hand controller being connected?

My AZEQ6 will not switch on with or without the synscan.

When I disconnect the synscan from the mount and connect it to a standalone power supply the synscan does power up but is erratic and keeps resetting itself.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

In answer to your question, yes the mount will happily run without the hand controller connected, e.g. most people running imaging systems, where everything is remotely computer controlled, would never have the controller connected....

Normally power is fed directly to the mount, and not via the handset controller...

What happens when you feed your power supply directly to the mount, does it power up ??  and what power supply are you using ? 

[Cornelius Varley]

Probably related to your other thread.

 

[Rob B]

I am using my mains trusty Maplin Regulated 13V DC Power Supply (XM21X) it has been ok for years. When I switch on the mount the  LED does not light up. If I then plug in Synscan it also does not power up.  I checked the voltage coming out of the Maplin, it reads 13.1 Volts. But when I checked the voltage at the mount switch, it read 9.0v with the switch in the OFF position, and 0V with the switch in the ON position.

[Carbon Brush]

I think your first task is to check the Maplin PSU properly.
The phrase 'for years' appears in your post and power supply capacitors degrade.
Check voltage off load, and into various loads - like car bulbs up the rated current.
If you see more than a few tenths volts difference from light load to full load, the PSU needs attention.

Next step is to check the integrity of the lead. Cigar to DC plug? Two known problem areas.

Finally, as you were earlier reporting a blown board, surely these events cannot be unrelated.

HTH, David.

[Rob B]

The power pack is 20 years old, the cable is not a cigar lighter type. This all started when I was filming during the aurora. It could be that the power supply began to fail at the same time as the aurora. But why is the Synsan now erratic when I plug it into a standalone power adapter and not connected to the power pack? I am truly baffled - am I missing something?

[malc-c]

7 hours ago, Rob B said:

Can anyone tell me if the AZ-EQ6 mount will switch on without the syscan hand controller being connected?

My AZEQ6 will not switch on with or without the synscan.

When I disconnect the synscan from the mount and connect it to a standalone power supply the synscan does power up but is erratic and keeps resetting itself.

For clarity, in normal operation the synscan handset gets its 12v power from the mount.  It is possible to power just the handset via USB (on the later versions of handsets) or via the barrel jack.  Its always difficult to diagnose faults that are intermittent.  They can be power supply issues, or a component that is failing but not completely failed. 

If you have access to a test meter, its worth checking the voltage at the mount when the supply is under load.  I don't know about the AZ-EQ6, but HEQ5 and EQ6 mounts work better at 13.8v rather than 12v.

If you are sure the issue is in the board power / buck convertor circuitry then I'm willing to have a look as per our PMs.  But I thought you were going to contact the retailer as the board is around 3 years old ?

 

Oh and forgot to add that the first PSU is used in my observatory came from maplin, and one night it went pop and took my mount out with it....

Edited May 16 by malc-c

[Rob B]

The trouble and strife fixed the problem!

Last Friday I finished imaging at 1.0 a.m in the morning. It was dark in our back garden.

I had to unscrew the Red and Black Mapli power terminals, to remove the power cable. I then

screwed the terminals back on in the dark. You can probably guess - I screw on the RED and black the wrong way

around. So next day back imaging again I used push-in power leads onto the Maplin terminals, not realising

that the RED and black terminal knobs were screwed in wrongly. So I was powering up the board with negative polarity.

Luckily the motherboard had built-in protection from negative power polarity - few.

I am ashamed to say the wife took one look at what I was doing and pointed out I got the terminals reversed - I felt a right wally,

And since then she has not stopped laughing.

 

Edited May 17 by Rob B

[Rob B]

 

Removed

Edited May 17 by Rob B

[Alan White]

Rob, somehow I feel that your wife had a valid reason to laugh at your mishap.

Glad you have resolved your issue now though.

[malc-c]

Rob, 

The other thing is that all of us assumed the simplest thing of having the wires crossed wouldn't be the case, afterall that is normally the first thing to check.  Maybe from now on if anyone reports power type issues I and others won't make that assumption and suggest checking the polarity of the supply, even if it prompts an "Of course... what do you take me for, I'm not a wally !" type reply 

At least it shows that Skywatcher's protection built into their new boards works !! 

Glad you're all sorted