Quote:
Originally Posted by dizzy2003
I see I have made a mistake in my terms, I have a direct connection from my PC to the HEQ5, theres no synscan controller, I guess the correct term is EQdirect.
Theres 3 things remaining that I havent tested, replace the control board on the HEQ5, replace the usb to rj45 dongle, replace the laptop.
My feeling is that maybe some USB comms is getting corrupted resulting in the computer thinking the RA/Dec is out of range for a tiny fraction of a second, then that gets corrected almost immediately but with the limit check on tracking gets disabled and isnt restarted, so that tiny moment of corruption ruins your whole night.
Disabling the limit check doesnt fix the comms (I assume) but it mitigates the issue.
At this point I'm just happy to be able to image again.
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Michael,
A few more diagnostic things to check -
1/ Unplug your EQDirect cable and plug back in your handcontroller. Slew to a target and track up to the meridian. If no issues at all then it must be your connection from laptop to mount.
2/ When using handcontroller if mounts suddenly stops tracking or slews uncontrollably somewhere else, it could be the handcontrollers firmware or a faulty mount control board
3/ Don’t use Wifi dongles to control your mount with EQMOD from your laptop ( They are too unreliable ( refer to my previous post for PC Direct or EQ Direct ) Always use an EQ Direct cable with a FTDI chipset and driver like Shoestring Astronomy ( Not a Prolific chipset like the wifi dongles and other cable connections as they are unreliable ). If EQ Direct with FTDI chipset cable is too short you can add an additional 2m USB2 male / female extension cable to mount ( Refer to my previous attached procedure to control the mount with EQMOD and Stellarium )
4/ Check your Power Management settings in the USB drivers ( Windows ) see attached
5/ Disable Limits in EQMOD
6/ Check settings in EQMOD , especially location , longitude and latitude etc...
Ensure your planetarium has the identical location details , longitude , latitude etc.... as EQMOD
7/ Ensure your mount has a clean reliable 12V power supply with spare capacity
I use a Powertech 12V 7.5amp power adaptor available from Jaycar or Bintel
8/ Ensure your mount is well polar aligned ( ie under an arc minute )
9/ Ensure you mount is set in the Home Position at the start
10/ Ensure your Dec and Ra clutches aren’t slipping
There are numerous other things to check but the above are a good start to diagnose the problem
Cheers
Martin