HEQ5 PRO alignment slewing fault

[red dwalf]

hi all,

was having alot of trouble with the goto mount last night, having Polar aligned it 3 times, going to the first star, centering it in the eyepiece, syncing it with EQmod and Stellarium, then when i slewed to another object it was no where near. one time i asked it to park position and it was pointing low in the south !

never had this problem before, do you maybe think it`s a power problem ? red light never flickered on the mount at all, it was the first time i was using the new Hitec astro dew controller with the 2 power output ports but it`s brand new, surely it can`t be that.

 

equipment used,

 

heq5 pro mount connected via hitec astro eqdir cable to a powered usb2 hub which was connected to a 5 meter usb active cable to a usb port on the desktop PC.

power to the mount via a hitec astro 4 port dew controller with two 2.1mm power outlets, small 2.1mm jack plug cable from dew controller to mount. 

 

any help please

Edited August 13, 2013 by red dwalf

[Perkil8r]

Were you telling it to park or go to the home position? The two are not the same.

[dawson]

Rob, This may be utter rubbish, but did you have the saddle in the same orientation as before when you mounted the scope, as in where the saddle screws which clamp the scopes dovetail/losmandy the same side (either east or west) as usual?

 

I think that makes a difference but I have no idea why or if that is true.

 

I hope you get it sorted.

 

James

[red dwalf]

Thanks guys,

The clamps are in the same position james,

Mike I was telling it to park, when it does park it seems to be pointing at polaris, or close as it should and looking through the polar scope it seems bang on,

What I used to do is slew to an object star center it and sync with eqmod, then everything else was ok using stellarium

[Perkil8r]

Not sure then. I know I made the mistake of confusing the home and park positions once. It was interesting to say the least

[+Graham]

Rob

First thing to do is set it up as per last night.

If you still get problems disconnect the dew heaters.

If the problem persists read on.

 

You say it is parking in the home position ???

 

Re set your park and home positions in EQMOD using the drop down tabs on the bottom of the center panel.

Check your settings in Stellarium eg. time date location.ect

 

I used to have similar problems with mine, my solution was to ditch Stellarium and use CDC.

I found EQMOD and Stellarium just did not get on on my pc.

Since changing to CDC I have never had another problem.

 

Hope this helps.

[red dwalf]

Cheers Grantham

[Teslar]

Rob I'd say power problems. I was running dew heaters and the mount if the sane supply and found the mount was randomly losing position. I now use separate supplies and never had the problem since

[red dwalf]

I'm thinking power supply too, i've had slewing problems before in the field when mobile power has run low,

I've checked all settings in stellarium and eqmod, it was working fine, only thing I've changed in the system is using the new hitec astro 4 port dew heater with two 2.1 power outlets, I had the mount power plugged into that, no dew bands were connected although the device when on does light up the led bulbs faintly, im in cornwall now for a week so can't try it until I get back but surely the device should supply enough power without problems to the mount, I thought that was what it was designed for,

Anyone else have problems using one of these dew controllers ?

[xanthic]

Sounds like you need to get it tested with a multimeter. Find out what the total current draw is with all the gear running and see if there is any voltage drop.

[Perkil8r]

I'd say the issue from the sound of it, is that the HiTech dew heater box isn't up to the job of powering the mount. I'd run a separate power lead rather than through the dew heater box.

[red dwalf]

Will give that a try mike when I get back, hopefully that will be the problem, although very annoying as the power supply from the dew heater is supposed to be regulated and supposed to be for powering a mount and other accessories,

Luckily i've still got the older power lead.

Fingers crossed.

[xanthic]

I'd be interested to see how it provides the regulated output.

[red dwalf]

Here's the link to the controller,

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/hitecastro-four-channel-four-port-dew-controller.html

[xanthic]

The specs on the site say it can provide 5 amps per channel. I'm curious to how it does that with an 8 amp fuse on the supplied cable...

[+Graham]

I'm thinking power supply too, i've had slewing problems before in the field when mobile power has run low,

I've checked all settings in stellarium and eqmod, it was working fine, only thing I've changed in the system is using the new hitec astro 4 port dew heater with two 2.1 power outlets, I had the mount power plugged into that, no dew bands were connected although the device when on does light up the led bulbs faintly, im in cornwall now for a week so can't try it until I get back but surely the device should supply enough power without problems to the mount, I thought that was what it was designed for,

Anyone else have problems using one of these dew controllers ?

 

When you say two 2.1 power outlets do you mean they put out 2.1 amps if so you have just answered your own question as you will need nearly double that to slew your mount properly.

[red dwalf]

No Graham, it's the size of the jack plugs, 2.1 mm

[Teslar]

As I said exactly what I had with the dew heaters on and the mount skewing during star align it just cut out momentarily and lost position. Did this several times before I noticed the briefest of dimming on the mount power led. I discarded the splitter lead I'd been using and put in an independent supply to the mount and that fixed it instantly

[Perkil8r]

I stand by my comment, I will put my £1 on the supply not being enough via the dew controller, use a separate lead and I'm certain it will cure it. It states each output can supply up to 5 amps, it does not say each one will do this, let alone at the same time as another output. I say they are being over enthusiastic about the limits of it's output and being slightly misleading. Also not it says it fits celestron and skywatcher but doesn't state which ones. The EQ5 takes a lot less current than the HEQ5 and NEQ6 that's all I'm saying   

[red dwalf]

I'm sure your right Mike, I'll be annoyed though if the unit isn't up to the job, and do feel very mislead by the write up,

[Brantuk]

I always separate dew control power and mount power. Had exactly the same problem when they were both hooked up to the same power source. In the field I now use battery packs for the mount, and EHU (with transformer) for the dewbands and dew controller. Otherwise the mount goes everywhere except where you tell it to go.