Ian Robinson
24-08-2009, 08:18 PM
I dropped my old CG5's handpaddle (model 93534 , that's the 6V dual axis drive corrector) , it hit the concrete garage floor and one of the pushbutton switches (the RA > button came flying off with a piece of the switch (the male part that snaps into the button) ...:sadeyes: ... buggerit !!! and I wanted to mod my CG5 handpaddle to add an autoguider interface to it (ShoeStringAstronomy style) now I've made my sidebyside bar.
I was worried I may have killed the handpaddle's driver circuitry in this accident , but was relieved to find the handpaddle has not lost any functionality - it still works. The gods must be looking after me. (Thoughts of having to fork out $300 for a EQ5 dual axis upgrade kit if Celestron didn't still have my handpaddle listed in their spare parts or it not , it was unrepairable (at a reasonable price).
I've been in touch with Bintel who tell me the handpaddles are considered unrepairable by Celestron, who say it's cheaper to replace them , they reckon. Heck how hard can it be to heat up the solder on 4 pins to pull the old broken switch off the PCB and then solder a new switch into the connection holes ?
To add to my dismay, when I disassembled the handpaddle to see what I've got (electronics wise) the dammed RA < pushbutton broke when I was removing the buttons to take the lid off .... :sadeyes::sadeyes:
So now I've got to either replace the model 93523 handpaddle (still listed by Celestron so I assume they are available)
OR
source some 4pin pushbutton switches that will fit onto the old pushbutton PCB and do the repair myself.
As luck will have it , I found a place that has what looks like to be the same 4pin pushbutton switches (by googling) and have ordered some (they come in batches of 6 apparently) so I'll have several spares , probably be wize to ask for a replacement part no 93523 in case I buggerup the soldering , wont hirt to a spare handpaddle JUST IN CASE.
So PM me if you also have want one or two of the left over 4pin pushbutton switches (probably a few ISSers have broken pushbuttons on their dual/axis drive correctors) will probably have some left over even if I opt to replace all 4 of the 4pin pushbutton switches in case the it's a aging thing in the plastic connectors .
I was worried I may have killed the handpaddle's driver circuitry in this accident , but was relieved to find the handpaddle has not lost any functionality - it still works. The gods must be looking after me. (Thoughts of having to fork out $300 for a EQ5 dual axis upgrade kit if Celestron didn't still have my handpaddle listed in their spare parts or it not , it was unrepairable (at a reasonable price).
I've been in touch with Bintel who tell me the handpaddles are considered unrepairable by Celestron, who say it's cheaper to replace them , they reckon. Heck how hard can it be to heat up the solder on 4 pins to pull the old broken switch off the PCB and then solder a new switch into the connection holes ?
To add to my dismay, when I disassembled the handpaddle to see what I've got (electronics wise) the dammed RA < pushbutton broke when I was removing the buttons to take the lid off .... :sadeyes::sadeyes:
So now I've got to either replace the model 93523 handpaddle (still listed by Celestron so I assume they are available)
OR
source some 4pin pushbutton switches that will fit onto the old pushbutton PCB and do the repair myself.
As luck will have it , I found a place that has what looks like to be the same 4pin pushbutton switches (by googling) and have ordered some (they come in batches of 6 apparently) so I'll have several spares , probably be wize to ask for a replacement part no 93523 in case I buggerup the soldering , wont hirt to a spare handpaddle JUST IN CASE.
So PM me if you also have want one or two of the left over 4pin pushbutton switches (probably a few ISSers have broken pushbuttons on their dual/axis drive correctors) will probably have some left over even if I opt to replace all 4 of the 4pin pushbutton switches in case the it's a aging thing in the plastic connectors .