HEQ5 Control Issues

[SouthPoll (Dallas)]

Hi, just wondering if anyone recognises the problem I'm having with a newly aquired HEQ5. (basic non-goto)

Power was not getting through the control panel and I tracked it down to a broken track on the PCB - scratched away the green film and bridged the cracked track between the positive (tip) of the power socket and then rest of the circuitry. Voila! Power. Yay. RA is clocking away nicely, handset lit up and centre LED changes colour when directional buttons are pushed, BUT - am completely unable to get any slewing/rate change/from motors or anything at all from the Dec motor ;-(

...to clarify, RA CLOCK GOOD, DEC MOTOR DEAD, NEITHER RESPONDS TO RATE/SLEW COMMANDS.

Not an electrical engineer but do have a multimeter.

??

Cheers

D

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Hi D , I have just in the last 3 weeks pulled my non GOTO HEQ5 out of storage in NZ after 3 years and it worked perfectly 1st time , your problem sounds like its in the hand controller, you have not got those little buggers , the "brown ants" anywhere? . I ask this as they will nest in electronics and cause problems .
Our mounts and electronics are fairly bullet proof , so it will be a simple fix , maybe the cable has a broken wire ?
Let us know if you sort this .
Here is a photo of mine , with instruction prompts stuck on it so my nephew does not forget ( he is using it ) ,, its at my sisters place in hamilton NZ carring my 150mm f8 refractor .
Brian.

[SouthPoll (Dallas)]

Thanks Brian, no - nil ants inside ;-) have inspected the inside of the handset and all looks fine. Will dig inside mount again soon and re-check all plugs/connectors on the motherboard - hope nothing is fried as a result of the PCB track repair.

D

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

pretty sure nothing will be fried , as I said these mounts in this configeration are bullet proof , I still lean towards a broken wire in the lead , now the ant problem has been eliminated ( bring on the Darliks ) .
Keep at it mate , these are awsome mounts .
Brian.. it .

Originally Posted by SouthPoll

Thanks Brian, no - nil ants inside ;-) have inspected the inside of the handset and all looks fine. Will dig inside mount again soon and re-check all plugs/connectors on the motherboard - hope nothing is fried as a result of the PCB track repair.

D

[SouthPoll (Dallas)]

Has anyone out there heard of being able to buy the goto upgrade for these WITHOUT the Synscan handpiece?....as I already have one - just need the internals for the mount (trying to save a few bucks ;-)

[MattT]

Can you post a photo of what you have? You say you have the HEQ5 with synscan which isn't the basic non goto. The Heq5 syntrek is the non goto version and on the Skywatcher site the syntrek only tracks on the RA...so it's a bit confusing.

[silv (Annette)]

don't know how to "subscribe" to this thread without a post. Am considering buying a non Goto, non Syntrek, just basic HEQ5 from trademe and am interested in your problem. Good Luck!!