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Old 01-07-2020, 07:55 PM
Tasaurora (Si)
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GOTO - locking up during set up

Has anyone else gone through the set up process - get to the last step to centre second brightest stars in eye piece - only for controller to not respond to inputs ? Happened 3 times this evening where it just would not respond to directions.

Could only turn off / on and then use manually as it kept getting to thst point and then not responding.
On the 3rd attempt - I thought bugger it, I’ll just accept it not being centred/aligned and accept as is, to see what happens - it then says alignment successful(even tho it’s not) but this then let me move to the next phase and it would slew towards a chosen item - but obviously, my chosen item couldn’t be viewed, due to alignment of scope Being out.

This is really my first attempt at having a dead level surface and setting up properly so I’m probably doing something wrong ??

Amazing views of Jupiter this evening in south Tas - just amazing. And Saturn - but Jupiter was so detailed...
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  #2  
Old 01-07-2020, 08:02 PM
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Outcast (Carlton)
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Which Telescope/Mount are we talking about please?

You will need to provide some detail of the brand, type (ie: Alt/Az or EQ) in order for folk to be able to look at your issue & offer advice.

Cheers
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Old 01-07-2020, 08:22 PM
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xa-coupe (Jeff)
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If it's got a Synscan controller, make sure the slew rate is more than3!! Change the rate ( #2 key) and make it 9 or something a lot more than 3



If it doesn't have a Synscan controller... NFI.
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Old 01-07-2020, 08:50 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Stupid question, have you selected Az Alt mode ( not EQ mode ) when you first power up the Synscan HC ?
Check all your settings in the Synscan HC
Time
Time zone
Day light saving option No
Longitude
Latitude
Elevation
Deactivate Star Filter so you have a more extensive list of alignment stars to choose from
Ensure both your selected alignment stars are on the same side of the meridian, between 30 and 60 degrees in altitude and within 60 degrees in azimuth of each other
Another question - is your 10” Goto dob brand new or a second hand purchase ?
If second hand and 4 to 5 years old the Synscan HC may need a firmware update
Hope others can suggest some things you can check to identify the fault
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Old 02-07-2020, 02:48 AM
Tasaurora (Si)
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It’s a skywatcher - 10” dob and brand new 2 weeks old. Synscsn / GOTO.

After entering all nominal requests
When I select brightest star or even two star alignment method - it asks for help in finding the first star. Once you have the first star it asks you to centre it in eye piece, via hand controller, which is no problem - it responds perfectly.

Then it asks for 2nd star for alignment - and you select from list (it won’t allow to select something out of range) and once selected, it auto slews to where it thinks that star might be - and it asks to use hand controller to centre the chosen star in eye piece - but - this is where hand controller fails to respond. You cannot centre the star because scope won’t respond to commands and the actual star location is often out by a fair margin to where the scope has automatically slewed.

You can hear the motors receiving the command as they think about moving via a light twitch (if I didn’t know better, you’d swear a flat battery but turning off and on allows an hour of use plus after this fault). Then - you are locked into a software loop, escape, back, menu - nothing but “enter” will work on key pad - but pressing enter tells the system that the star is aligned, when it’s not, so your entire alignment process is out the window...despite the alignment successful message.

Oh, and slew rate is 5 and quite reasonable.
It asks for sky area which I choose SE. (Darkest patch for me).

Example of selections. On one alignment attempt it asked me to locate Jupiter - pretty easy, so I slewed and cantered as requested.
The next step asked me to choose a 2nd star and I chose acrux - as it’s easy to locate - and scope auto moves to southern cross constellation and then says centre acrux in eye piece, but acrux is 6 inches away from centre - so I need to move scope via directional arrows and it simply refuses...


Might have to contact supplier - doesn’t seem right.

Last edited by Tasaurora; 02-07-2020 at 02:54 AM. Reason: Missed questions.
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Old 02-07-2020, 06:06 AM
Malcolm
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One of your first upgrades is leveling feet for the groundboard if you haven't done that already. Next is to ditch the handset and use a WiFi dongle and the SynScan app on your smartphone. Once you've done the alignment procedure connect to SkySafari Plus or Pro and navigate directly from the skymap.
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Old 02-07-2020, 06:35 AM
Tasaurora (Si)
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How does one progress to the wifi Tool - if one can not undertake the alignment Successfully ?
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Old 02-07-2020, 06:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tasaurora View Post
Might have to contact supplier - doesn’t seem right.
Having read your issues, I agree that this is probably your first step. I've never had an issue such as you describe with any of my goto mounts (Celestron, Meade & Skywatcher).

Since it is new & under warranty, pursue that route before anything else...

My 1.75 cents worth
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Old 02-07-2020, 07:45 AM
Malcolm
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How does one progress to the wifi Tool - if one can not undertake the alignment Successfully ?



Assuming your handset is at fault. Also much easier with a smartphone.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/vbiis/i...tons/quote.gif
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Old 02-07-2020, 10:43 AM
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Allan_L (Allan)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xa-coupe View Post
If it's got a Synscan controller, make sure the slew rate is more than3!! Change the rate ( #2 key) and make it 9 or something a lot more than 3
To me, Jeff's suggestion seems to be the most likely.

By that I mean, once the scope has slewed to where it thinks the second item is, it probably expects only a minor adjustment , through the eyepiece, so it will probably auto select the slowest slew speed. This may not be noticeable unless you are looking through the eyepiece at the time.
This is also in line with your comment that you can hear the motors churning.

If that is not it, then yes, you may have a fault (it is not totally unheard of here on IIS forum) and may need to take it back to your retailer (hopefully local for you).

Instead of switching it off by removing Power , try pressing the ESC key to see if that returns control to the hand controller.

BTW: Don't think that everyone here ditches their hand controller, I never found need to do such a thing, although lots seem to prefer the Wi-Fi app control, it is not essential. I would not recommend it; just one more thing that could go wrong.

Sorry if you have already tried this stuff.

If there is a possibility that some of your initial setup info may be entered incorrectly, try a simple little app called SynScanInit, works for me.

Levelling is also a crucial element to accuracy , that and using an illuminated reticle eyepiece for centering stars.
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Old 02-07-2020, 01:08 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Another two things to check -

Is your base and OTA dead level ( horizontal ) facing true north or true south when you power up ?

I level the base on all 4 sides with a builders bubble level and then set the OTA horizontally level (using the builders bubble level again) facing as close as possible to true north. I don’t use the level indicator inside the support bearing, its usually out by a few degrees

Each time you have powered up to test , have you selected option 2 for alignment ( option 1 retains existing alignment data which in your case failed ) Option 2 is starting from scratch with a new alignment
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Old 03-07-2020, 03:55 PM
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xa-coupe (Jeff)
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I also forgot to mention that you have to change the slew rate twice ... once when you're getting it set up and again when it's slewed to where it thinks it is and you want to move it during alignment, you have to change the slew rate again. Ask me how I know ..... I nearly returned my mount but my Google Fu was finally strong and I got that nugget which solved my problem just in time for the clouds to come back.
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Old 04-07-2020, 01:59 PM
Tasaurora (Si)
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Thanks for all responses - will try again as per advice. Couple things mentioned that I did not know so hopefully...
Ive only been able to get out once a fortnight of late - and even then, time is limited...so, I’m sure I’ll get there and once sorted - time will be better spent viewing / marvelling than setting up.

Cheers.
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Old 12-07-2020, 04:26 AM
Tasaurora (Si)
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Just following up this for those that might be interested.

Jeff and others were 100% correct. The slew rate on the second star set up - was unbelievably slow and hardly noticeable.

Got the scope dialled in and tracking Jupiter and Saturn as a result - THANK YOU ALL!!!! AMAZING scope and views for a beginner - more I use, the more I learn...like the huge difference between size and detail...the kids - well they want to see the planets bigger, the adults? They will sacrifice size for detail...and my 5 year old had the best response of all...when she saw the moon scape, her little brain couldn’t comprehend it...in her words..” Dad - you have got to be Absolutely kidddding me!”
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Old 12-07-2020, 07:33 AM
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xa-coupe (Jeff)
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I'm glad you sorted it out and thanks for letting us know.
I've been constantly blown away by the things I now see that I never knew you could. My daughter is 6mo, but I can't wait for the day she will look through the scope and say something like your daughter!
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