g11 1 probs

[blink138]

hello members
some help please or any experience with a very strange happening with my g11 g1
i was no where near the mount parameters when my mount gave a constant high pitched buzz alarm when it stopped slewing to the north on a goto command
i immediately turned it off then on again and the alarm continued.
i did notice on the hand controller an "x"
checked the fuse and it was ok and played with the ciggie connection, turned it on again and it seemed to be ok except that it lost all my geo, zone etc.
i reconfigured and the whole process repeated as above
any ideas people?
pat

[tlgerdes]

Nvram battery, time for a new one.

[Star Catcher]

Agree!

Ted

[blink138]

ah ok guys...... i seemed to have not long ago replaced the internal battery inside the computer thingy
do you think they have a "shelf life" even though (thanks perth weather) it has not had much use?
it is worth replacing to check anyhow
thanks for your response
pat

[Star Catcher]

Ok, these batteries have a long shelf life. I just realised that you have a Gemini1. I now recall that when I had one, it was static sensitive on low humidity nights. If I wore synthetic stuff, I could zap the mount with a static charge when I touched the panel and send it into a spin. On those nights I tried to avoid static generating gear and went so far as to earth myself to rain downpipe before touching the mount. So the question is that you were nowhere near the mount? I would be tempted to check inside the panel to see if the eprom/s not flush into the socket. I can't recall the circuit board that well to be sure how many socketed chips were in it, but I would make sure all are seated properly.

Ted

[blink138]

thanks for the advice ted
pat

[JohnH]

If it is not the battery (main suspect) then you can get an alarm if the autoguider cable is plugged in on startup (depends on relays positions at the time of power up/reset).

[wasyoungonce]

Pat

sounds like a battery, since it lost all SRAM data.

Yes could be auto-guider (not many people know about that one)...but best best is that is battery. Other possibilities are: Brown out detector (detecting low +5V); or the system is at the pre-set slew limit (that's why it stopped tracking).

Now since this alarm happened, not at the limit, and it stopped slewing and lost SRAM...pretty much must be a battery or loss of SRAM voltage. These batteries usually last ~ 1 year.
You can check SRAM; battery etc voltage if handy with a multimeter, see here (http://www.gemini-2.com/faq.php#Q15).

[blink138]

thanks john and brendan
john i think i did have the autoguider plugged in on startup this time as i know i had a pretty good PA for once............ however i had already been practicing some different techniques for a good hour before it decided to alarm, but the autoguider is something i done differently as you mentioned
brendan i would have replaced the battery about a year ago so i guess that is still possible
i will boot it up again tonight and see what happens
thanks again people
pat

[wasyoungonce]

Pat if battery is 1 year old...replace time!

Use Gemini ASCOM.net driver (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Gemini_ASCOM_Driver/info?yguid=554493084) to save your Gemini profile. You can then use this to restore your Gemini settings using same program.

The only thing it cannot save is the place name as this is not defined in ASCOM "call" parameters.

[blink138]

thanks brendan i hope that is all it is!
pat

[Star Catcher]

Ahh yes I forgot about the slew limit issue. I got caught out with this one!!!! Make sure u cold start and rest safety slew limits. It won't hurt and then check the battery voltage as suggested.

Ted

[blink138]

ok ted thanks
pat

[blink138]

thanks guys i think it was my battery........ but a different problem now!
on my first star alignement upon centering it moves out of the FOV very quickly both in RA and DEC
brendan did mention saving the info on the ascom(?) driver but i looked at the page and i was none the wiser
anyhow i put everything back into the hand controller
east for perth negative for south + 8hrs for zone and went on to the "docgoerlich" site for the "american order" of date and time
any more help please?
pat

[JohnH]

Most likely - your mount type is not G11 in the Gemini settings - after a CMOS reset it defaults to a Mountain Instruments Titan or some such - anyway you need to set that back to G11 as well as setting the date/time and location, you might want to reset your slew limits and re-do PEC as well. That is where the ASCOM.Net driver comes in handy - you can back up all your settings to your PC and upload them back to the Gemini after a reset.

[Star Catcher]

Yes, as John says, check and update in setup, mount type, time zone, date, time, lat, long, preferred guider correction rate, slew speeds, centering speeds and you'll probably have to redo PEC and any alignment models etc. If you have something like theSky or similar, a few of these elements can be uploaded to mount from the program.

Ted

[blink138]

yes my mount was deffinately set on g11
my first and initial alignement after a cold start was achenar..... but it moved out of the FOV so quickly after i set it that it may have made a nonsense out of it anyway
then tried venus because of its obviousness and the scope slewed south and i gave up
bugger.............
pat

[wasyoungonce]

Pat

Just check you don't have Ra and DEC cables swapped?? Happened to me ...sadly more than once! We (I) tend to over look the obvious :sadeyes: sometimes.

Other than that sounds like a setting is wrong in the system?

edit:
just turn the system on and check it is running at sidereal or thereabouts on Ra.

Brendan