My week off (business and family) is just about finished and now heading home so it'll be good to get back to my setup.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmitchell82
Most astro software already has this inbuilt, I think what darren is worried about is if the software fails.
A proximity switch is mechanical, if it reaches that limit. game over power is off.
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Spot on. The protection referred to here is in software. Ie it is relying on what the mount is reporting back to say the inbuilt controller or a third party software.
Unfortunately, I had a mount crash the day b4 I left for the trip over east. It damaged the RA motor and it did not even report a stall. The G11 limit was set to 95 deg which was well clear. But 30 min into my session at Orion (unguided), it took off again (to the west) at slew speed and I had a crash and the motor overheated. The mount for some unknown reason decided that it no longer thought it was GMT +8hr but suddenly GMT -8hr and for this reason I believe the software limit is calculated on a number of things and you really are at the mercy of the software/firmware. The mount was GPS queried at the start to set everything up and I always disconnect the GPS after its initial update.
Luckily I allowed a trip down to Bintel as part of my biannual excursions and have a chat with the guys down there. And this is apparently not unusual for the Gemini 2 with a few others caught out as well.
BTW, a prox is certainly a good option but I was interested if anyone else put so much faith in modern firmware considering the potential damage.
Cheers,
Darrin...