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  #1  
Old 15-03-2020, 02:11 PM
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h0ughy (David)
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Oooohhhh and in a pop and puff of smoke I killed it

My new second hand redcat51 dad 3 focuser just died. I must have made some stupid mistake connecting it up and powering up. To be honest I am gutted. It certainly doesn't smell nice. And I don't actually think that the inside should look like that
And here I was preparing for spsp
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  #2  
Old 15-03-2020, 02:42 PM
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Looks like an arduino nano with a stepper motor controller breakout board. Looks like the damage is to the stepper motor breakout board which should be quite easy to replace. The whole thing looks home made. Who built it?
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Old 15-03-2020, 02:47 PM
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Found the source code if the Nano is fried...

https://github.com/DeepSkyDad/AF3
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  #4  
Old 15-03-2020, 03:15 PM
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I am out of my depth Peter, I did send an email to the guy asking for a new board but it will depend on what he thinks it's done
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  #5  
Old 15-03-2020, 03:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by h0ughy View Post
My new second hand redcat51 dad 3 focuser just died. I must have made some stupid mistake connecting it up and powering up. To be honest I am gutted. It certainly doesn't smell nice. And I don't actually think that the inside should look like that
And here I was preparing for spsp
Oh no David. That’s terrible.
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  #6  
Old 15-03-2020, 04:36 PM
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On a lot of those stepper motor control circuits there is a capacitor across the incoming power supply. The bit that looks cooked in the photo looks a lot like a capacitor. It might ne as simple as removing and replacing that component. The manufacturer should be able to tell you the rating of that part.
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  #7  
Old 15-03-2020, 06:46 PM
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Yep, my guess is you've popped a cap in its ***.


Someone that is good with electronics should be able to assist.
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  #8  
Old 15-03-2020, 07:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_4059 View Post
Looks like an arduino nano with a stepper motor controller breakout board. Looks like the damage is to the stepper motor breakout board which should be quite easy to replace. The whole thing looks home made. Who built it?
It's an deepskydad focus motor https://deepskydad.com/autofocuser/r...y-instructions
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Old 15-03-2020, 08:00 PM
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Just dab a little toilet paper on it mate....it will be fine after that. 😁
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  #10  
Old 15-03-2020, 08:22 PM
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Just dab a little toilet paper on it mate....it will be fine after that. 😁
No that's too dear, just a little question Mr Ward how did you connect up your qhy? Can you enlighten me with your holey scroll of wisdom and a photo or two
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Old 15-03-2020, 08:25 PM
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hi David i am sure Pavle will help you out he is pretty descent fella
hope all goes well
cheers pete
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  #12  
Old 15-03-2020, 08:29 PM
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hi David i am sure Pavle will help you out he is pretty descent fella
hope all goes well
cheers pete
In contact with him now, very expensive mistake given the value of our dollar
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Old 15-03-2020, 09:10 PM
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No that's too dear, just a little question Mr Ward how did you connect up your qhy? Can you enlighten me with your holey scroll of wisdom and a photo or two
I don't use an auto-focuser...well... not with my SpaceCat

...but a WO Copper-T (EOS) adapter and Cyclops Optics Blade C adapter gives me the exact spacing I need to
drop a QHY or Canon DSLR behind my Red/SpaceCat51.

Works very well and nothing to go "pop"
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  #14  
Old 15-03-2020, 09:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Ward View Post
I don't use an auto-focuser...well... not with my SpaceCat

...but a WO Copper-T (EOS) adapter and Cyclops Optics Blade C adapter gives me the exact spacing I need to
drop a QHY or Canon DSLR behind my Red/SpaceCat51.

Works very well and nothing to go "pop"
Thanks I will have to work out how to connect my asi294mc Pro?
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  #15  
Old 15-03-2020, 09:44 PM
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You can run into trouble if connecting/disconnecting the motor from the driver while powered up. But all that you can do with your unit is plug in power and USB. So this sounds weird to me. You could just get a 100uF/50V electrolytic cap locally and try and see if that does the job.

Other than that, I'd be worried that the motor and/or the stepper driver might also be fried. To check the stepper, unplug it (with no power on) and meaure across red-blue then green-black leads. Should be a few ohms, if not then its blown.

If its the nano or the driver (it'll be a FYSTEC something or other) then looks like you are out of luck as they appear to be soldered directly to the board and hard to replace.
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  #16  
Old 15-03-2020, 10:05 PM
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Thanks Chris for that information.

I decided to get a new board from pavle, so should hopefully have it by April
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  #17  
Old 15-03-2020, 10:15 PM
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Houghy,

The blown component is an electrolytic capacitor. They are polarised, with positive and negative leads.
Most times I have seen these blown like this is due to a reverse polarity connection.
I would try cutting away the capacitor, identifying if able the positive and negative leads, as well as the value and voltage rating.

A new replacement cap will be easily sourced.

If you need any assistance pm me. I am an electronics technician by trade.

cheers Phil

Last edited by PhilTas; 15-03-2020 at 10:32 PM.
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  #18  
Old 16-03-2020, 12:35 AM
sunslayr (David)
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If you do decide to give fixing it a go, it might be a good idea to clean the board as well, electrolytic caps tend to cause corrosion if they aren't tended too when they spill their guts everywhere. I've heard vinegar is good for neutralizing it but that might depend on whether its an acidic or a basic solution. I'd just use isopropyl alcohol or contact cleaner to be safe.
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  #19  
Old 16-03-2020, 06:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilTas View Post
Houghy,

The blown component is an electrolytic capacitor. They are polarised, with positive and negative leads.
Most times I have seen these blown like this is due to a reverse polarity connection.
I would try cutting away the capacitor, identifying if able the positive and negative leads, as well as the value and voltage rating.

A new replacement cap will be easily sourced.

If you need any assistance pm me. I am an electronics technician by trade.

cheers Phil
I will probably get it fixed after I get the new board arrives and I can take pictures of the offending bit.
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  #20  
Old 16-03-2020, 06:44 AM
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If you do decide to give fixing it a go, it might be a good idea to clean the board as well, electrolytic caps tend to cause corrosion if they aren't tended too when they spill their guts everywhere. I've heard vinegar is good for neutralizing it but that might depend on whether its an acidic or a basic solution. I'd just use isopropyl alcohol or contact cleaner to be safe.
I will leave that to the expert
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