Skywatcher auto-focuser issues

[morls (Stephen)]

Hi,
I've bought this drive, a simple DC motor for my focuser. There is an issue with the controller, as it moves perfectly in one direction but only intermittently in the other. I've tried soldering the lead from controller to motor directly to the board, thinking it might be a connection issue, but no luck. I got in touch with First Light Optics. who I bought it from, and they have replied:

Sorry to hear about the problems with your Auto Focuser, unfortunately these aren't unknown and usually lie in the controller rather than the motor itself.

They've offered a replacement, but as the postage is taking so long I've opted to try and repair myself, hence my reworking of the connection.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has come across this issue, and been able to find a fix?
Cheers
Stephen

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Stephen,
These controller/ motors usually work well - I have six of them in operation.
I did find an issue on one controller where the forward/ reverse buttons were not making a good connection to the pads on the PCB. A bit of tweaking brought them good.


I can let you borrow a controller to verify the problem and tide you over.
PM me if interested.
Ken

[morls (Stephen)]

Thanks for the offer Ken. I'll have a look at the connection between button and PCB, hopefully that's the issue here.
The recent cloud cover in Melbourne means it's not a terribly urgent job!