Losmandy G11 slew issue

Strawb (Dave) · #1 26-09-2016, 08:04 PM

Folks

My G11 will slew to park or do a go to no problem BUT it will not permit me to manually slew. I have checked and rechecked the slew rate is set at Slew but no movement at all.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

Dave

Peter Ward · #2 26-09-2016, 09:10 PM

The HC is probably in photo mode.

Strawb (Dave) · #3 27-09-2016, 09:18 AM

I did check that but will confirm. Its obviously software and fat finger problem I guess. Is there a 'factory reset ' option that you know of

cheers and thanks again

Mamba (David) · #4 27-09-2016, 11:10 AM

I recently experienced much the same sort of symptoms in that on making my first request to slew to the moon found that the mount slewed to close to the moon but l was unable to slew manually to centre the moon. This happened on the first clear night in Melbourne for weeks so l was really impressed.
I have always used the mount in "all speeds mode", I bought the mount second-hand and it had performed pretty well until this happened.
Next day I spent some time playing around and found that if I went to "visual mode" I regained all the functions I required and so have left it at that setting ever since. The manual states that you are unable to guide using this mode but as I do not need this facility it doesn't bother me. Interesting enough the manual states that for normall viewing "visual mode" is the normal mode to use.
Finally, the manual states that there is a debug option available but I have never used it.
I stress that I am no expert on the G11 but hope that this helps.
Mamba

Strawb (Dave) · #5 27-09-2016, 01:14 PM

Certainly seems that this is the core problem. I confess its taking me some time to get to grip with Gemini software after syntax and celestron thinking. Thanks again for the help.

spiezzy · #6 27-09-2016, 01:24 PM

hi there David
if you get the chance to upgrade to Gem 2 it is very worth it bit exy but well worth the dollars glad you sorted you issue out these mount are a lot of fun and very well made
cheers Pete

Mamba (David) · #7 27-09-2016, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiezzy

hi there David
if you get the chance to upgrade to Gem 2 it is very worth it bit exy but well worth the dollars glad you sorted you issue out these mount are a lot of fun and very well made
cheers Pete

I agree, the mount is very well built and the workmanship is evident. If the Gemini 1 ever went belly up on me I would certainly consider the Gemini 2 as the Losmandy mount will still be going strong for years to come. The only fly in the in th ointment is the $1756 on Telescope and Astronomy's website.
Dave

spiezzy · #8 27-09-2016, 07:57 PM

Dave do the direction buttons on the bad of the gem 2 move the mount ?

Strawb (Dave) · #9 27-09-2016, 08:25 PM

Seems I have an intermittent problem - not sure if its in the hand control or the Gemini. In frustration I pulled the scope of the mount and tried to manual slew and it worked!! Out the scope back and it still worked. Set up to do some imaging and it failed again. Still slews under planetarium or gemini software pc control but no dice with the hand control.
So a call to Mr Ward in the offing me thinks

thebonz (John) · #10 29-09-2016, 03:18 AM

I had a few glitches with my gemini at one stage. I simply replaced the battery. This gave the electronics a factory reset. The batteries have to be replaced periodically. Hope this helps
John

wasyoungonce (Brendan) · #11 03-10-2016, 10:01 AM

Dave is this a Gemini 1 or 2?

Losmandy is giving trade ins on Gemini 1's to upgrade to a Gemini 2! You re-use your motors...but IMHO one of the better features of the G2 is the better motors. That said I think their offer is quite generous.

Anyway if its a G1 (or G2) you could connect it via Gemini ASCOM and run it from the virtual handset to emulate the problem.

Brendan

Peter Ward · #12 03-10-2016, 10:51 AM

May just be the HC cable.

The fine wires in these sometimes fail after a few years. It's simply a 15 pin game port cable, Jaycar might have the for a a few dollars.

Peter Ward · #13 03-10-2016, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mamba

I agree, the mount is very well built and the workmanship is evident. If the Gemini 1 ever went belly up on me I would certainly consider the Gemini 2 as the Losmandy mount will still be going strong for years to come. The only fly in the in th ointment is the $1756 on Telescope and Astronomy's website.
Dave

The G2 kit is $US 1595. If you can get one for $A1756 inc GST, well that's cheaper than dealer cost...so go for it!!

Strawb (Dave) · #14 03-10-2016, 11:03 AM

Thanks folks

John
I did replace the battery - I got the appropriate warning a while back ( maybe a month) and has no issue after the replacement until this happened recently.

Brendan - Its Gemini 2 which I like a lot. I have tried using the virtual handset with no improvement.

Peter - The cable is an option I am going to explore for sure although my instinct now is that it is a power issue . I have upped the observatory dc voltage and it has worked ok however as a test I took the whole kit and caboodle out west over the long weekend and ran it of 240/12v power pack which worked for a few hours and then the same thing happened so I'm still unsure if I have it sorted.

Is it possible that a buildup of heat over time within the handset or Gemini itself could be causing an issue?

Thanks for your inputs guys

Peter Ward · #15 03-10-2016, 11:52 AM

Ahh..thought you had a G1...which uses the 15 pin cable. The G2's simply use a RJ11....and it's unlikely to be the cable.

Strawb (Dave) · #16 18-10-2016, 12:19 PM

Thanks all
The issue was definitely a power supply issue. I have set my input voltage to 14vdc and no issue at all

Cheers

hamiland (Anders) · #17 18-10-2016, 12:32 PM

The G11 has an input range of 12-18V, at the 12V end mine seems a little sluggish at times, so run it from 15V. Losmandy's power supply is rated at 15V 4.3A, 14V is probably a safe medium if you have other 12V equipment hanging from the same power supply.