EQ6 problem - "No comm or no connection" - HELP!

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi guys

Last night I got the scope out, after bringing it home from Nambucca on Friday.

I plugged the hand controller of my EQ6 in, turned on the mount, and the "Initializing..." message went for longer than normal, then it beeped twice with the message "No comm or no connection".

It wouldn't track, although if I set the rate it would sometimes still slew. But it's pretty much dead.

I unplugged and plugged it back in several times, no joy. Checked the connections, it all appears ok.

Has anyone had this problem before? Is it the cable, or the socket on the mount, or the hand controller?

The hand controller version is 2.05a if it helps.

Please help!

[Dennis]

Hmm, that’s not good news.

What type of cable connects the hand controller to the scope mount? What are the types of connector?

My Takahashi Hand Controller has an intermittent fault where it appears to disconnect from the telescope. I checked the 6 pin Mini DIN cable, the hand controller socket and all the solder joints and everything appeared to be okay.

I then jammed a rubber wedge between the cable and the entry port to the hand controller and that fixed the problem.

That indicated to me that the 6 pin Mini DIN connector pins in the cable were somehow not making contact with the socket and jamming the wedge in forced the electrical connection.

Cheers

Dennis

[renormalised (Carl)]

Mike....Dennis could have your solution there. Might just be a loose connection. However, the only way to really check to see if the cable is OK is to run a test with a multimeter, see if there's signal coming through each pin in the connector....and the port on the scope. You may have problems there, even if they look fine. Could even be a broken wire in the cable and you'd never know until you tested it. Could even be something as simple as dirt on the connectors. Dew can do it to your connectors. You should keep the pins clean by using a cotton bud and cleaning fluid (usually alcohol-water based) and then dry them, or just use the cotton bud and rub them lightly. I'd also get the hand controller seen to. Try it out on another EQ6 mount to see if it works OK. If it doesn't, it could be that causing your problems.

Hope you manage to sort it all out!!

[anywho1]

Mike,
Check out item #2472900, pg5, on cloudynights (Mounts). Maybe that will help you.

CS
Gary

[h0ughy (David)]

LOL thats what is called payback after you were away enjoying yourself for a week..... i would think that it is a connector

[MrB (Simon)]

Something else to consider, if the socket is directly soldered onto the PCB in the mount, check that too. The solder can develop fatigue with many insertions/removal of plugs so a quick touch-up with a soldering iron might help. Also look for bent pins, the pins can look fine on some plug styles (like telephone style RJ connectors) but on closer inspection can be seen to be slightly bent.

[iceman (Mike)]

hmm it's definitely the connector at the serial cable end. I just opened up the connector and some of the wires have come off.

A bit of soldering this afternoon and hopefully it'll be working again by tonight!

[iceman (Mike)]

My pinout colours don't match what's in this thread or this one on CN.

2 wires have come out and I can't tell where they used to go. Trial and error coming up.

[monoxide]

i used to get that all the time with old medical electronics, if you have a magnifying glass or even take a macro snap with your dslr.. you should be able to match up the breaks in the solder to see what came from where

[iceman (Mike)]

ok the PDF in the first linked thread was helpful. My colours didn't match but the positions did.

So almost ready to try it out and see if it worked..

[iceman (Mike)]

It worked! Yay, my mount works again. Thanks to all that helped.

I reckon i'll still ask someone to make me a better hand controller cable, a non-curly one that's 3 metres long or so. The soldering was very flaky as it was and mine just got it going again. I'm sure it's going to break again some day soon.

Anyway, mount works yay. Only missed 1 night (of good seeing!)

[AlexN]

good to hear it Mike...

I was worried for you when i first read the post...

Shame you missed a night of good seeing however.

[acropolite (Phil)]

I reckon i'll still ask someone to make me a better hand controller cable, a non-curly one that's 3 metres long or so.

I have made a couple for others I will make it so master ... (I seem to recall promising one some time ago...)

[ozstockman (Mike)]

Originally Posted by iceman

I reckon i'll still ask someone to make me a better hand controller cable, a non-curly one that's 3 metres long or so.

Mike,

Unless you really want to replace the curly one with a longer cable with RS232 at one end and Rj45 connector at the other you can actually buy an extension for less than $10.

If you want to put an extension between your curly cable and your HC you will need a straight through network cable($2-4 for 2-3m) and a straight through Ethernet rj45 coupler(something like this ) I believe you can find it for $5 in chinese shops.

If you want to have an extension between your mount and your curly cable then you will need straight through serial cable. This one should work fine.

cheers,

Mike

[Prickly]

Hi Mike,

Sorry to hear youve been having problems with the Eq6.

You mentioned a longer cable and certainly Mikes suggestion sounds a cheap and good option. I have heard some people have wireless setups too. I guess there seems to be a certain attraction with fewer cords.

Just another idea (although likely more than Mikes extension cord). Not sure how expensive the wireless setups are.

Cheers
David

[AlexN]

I think just getting an extention connector and a 2m CAT5 is the best way to go.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

I seem to recall promising one some time ago..

I remember that too.....Oh you mean for an eq6