ZWO EAF Focuser intermittent connection

[Startrek (Martin)]

The last 2 nights of imaging ( back in early September by the way ) my relatively new EAF focuser had intermittent connection problems but eventually connected after 15 minutes
I just use it with a hand controller
So did the usual checks , replace cables , replace USB 5V power etc...
When I held the handcontroller away from my laptop workstation it worked fine and when I sat it next to my Laptop , it played up
Now coming from an electrical engineering background , I just put it down to some extra low voltage interference induced in the unshielded cables or it’s picking up some spurious signal coming from the laptop.
Tried the same thing again , sat hand controller next to the laptop , again intermittent connection ( it emits an audible tone to tell you it’s connected) tone kept emitting off and on.
Moved hand controller away 1 metre and connects perfectly fine
All I can put in down to is some induced electrical interference as there are mixed voltages in and around the laptop ( 230V mains , 12V DC and probably other voltages )
I may have to buy shielded cables which really should be grounded to be affective against electromagnetic induction of voltage. This seems extreme though
Anyone else experience similar issues with the ZWO EAF with hand controller set up
By the way my cable ( 4 x TRRS 3.5mm audio ) is 5m long ( might be part of the problem a well ?? )
Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated

[Pepper (Steve)]

Is the 4 segment plug plugged ALL the way in.
I find with mine it kinda clicks when it seats properly.

I use a 3m extension with mine.

[AdamJL]

What laptop? Some laptops can run on 12V but really shouldn’t. You won’t know until they start doing weird things. Could have been a problem long in the making.
Undervolting a laptop can cause problems… maybe like producing weird magnetic fields that interfere with other devices

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by Pepper

Is the 4 segment plug plugged ALL the way in.
I find with mine it kinda clicks when it seats properly.

I use a 3m extension with mine.

Thanks for replying
Mines seated properly, otherwise the audible tone wouldn’t alert you
I also did a multimeter resistance check to ensure each of the four segment and wires had continuity end to end
I think it’s funny stuff going on with induced voltages and the like

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by AdamJL

What laptop? Some laptops can run on 12V but really shouldn’t. You won’t know until they start doing weird things. Could have been a problem long in the making.
Undervolting a laptop can cause problems… maybe like producing weird magnetic fields that interfere with other devices

Thanks for replying
Laptop is mains powered 230V