Werisit Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Hi folks. Help needed here. Last night I was using my HEQ5 mount at a public event. It was finding stuff and tracking nicely. Then I took the handset off the mount to set it to view another object and managed to pull the cable out of the handset. Without thinking, I plugged it straight back in again. Now, on start up, the screen shows. INITIALISING. Then goes to . SYNSCAN . VER . 03.35 . and that's it. It just stops there and won't do anything more. I charged the battery overnight and tried it again this morning but it's just the same. Have I killed it? Any advice will be most welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Can only suggest a firmware update from SW on the computer?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 As Ron says, plug it in to laptop and update firmware using the firmware downloader and most up to date firmware release for your mount. All of which can be found here http://www.skywatcher.com/downloads.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Hi Alan, Check the latest download fr the controler as above. Flash it then try into the mount. You shouldn't takeout or plugin whilst everything is on. You also run the risk of moisture on the connector and shorting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks guys, I'll give that a go. It was an accidental disconnection whilst fumbling around with gloved hands! I'll be adding some device to make sure it doesn't happen again. Of course, the wonderfull Skywatcher don't supply a lead to connect it to a modern computer. There are plenty of adaptors on ebay. Are all leads created equal? I seem to remember reading that people have had problems with these things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Check around as you can get a handset to USB lead now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Plenty of leads out there, if you are looking for usb -serial you need to be carefuI if you are running w7 as it is very picky about the chips used. Plenty of rj11 / rj45 cables and adapters to suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Update. I borrowed a converter lead and started the process of updating the firmware. I'm not great at these things and found that I needed a driver for the converter so after starting the procedure I had to stop and go look for a driver. I then restarted the procedure but the handset wouldn't initiate the process. This is done by press and hold buttons 0 and 8 and connect the power supply. It should display INITIALISING . then the FIRMWARE xxxx (version) and bleep. I got a blank screen and continuous bleep. So I thought that really is it, caput! For some reason I then tried just plugging the power into the handset with nothing pressed and it started up ok. I then plugged it up to the mount and it ran through the setup screens as normal !! It appears that although the update was unsuccessful, it has re-booted and fixed the problem. I won't know for sure until I can give it a proper field test. I will do a proper firmware update when I get lead and driver sorted. Ron. I couldn't find a synScan USB lead. Have you got a link please. Or can anyone recommend an adapter and driver package that works with Windows 7 64 bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 You should have got the lead with your mount if you bought new. Then it's just a case of getting a serial to usb converter. I got mine from maplins and it worked straight out of the box. If you need the actual synscan lead astronomiser is the place to go http://www.astronomiser.co.uk [emoji106] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Same link as Felix has quoted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stash Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 or this exact one (same supplier) works on my v3 synscan on (all tested ok by me) Windows 7,8,8.1 and Linux all USB 2.0- same driver FDTI but £7 cheaper. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-8m-USB-to-Serial-Adapter-High-Quality-FTDI-CHIPSET-RS232-WIN-7-8-DB9-/121557859331? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Thank you Felix. I've got the lead that comes with the mount, just can't plug it into my comp. Thank you Clive, I have just ordered it. It's nice to know it works with the system. these thing can be a bit of a mine field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) Success! Although I failed to perform the firmware update, the act of readying it for an update has reset it. I've set it up in the garden tonight. It ran through the set up and 3 star alignment without a hitch and the go-to is working with the usual accuracy. It's been going for about 2 hours now. So thank you fellows for your advice, you've got me up and running again. I could have actually fixed it in the field (quite literally) had I known. I hope I never do it again but I recon this is the fix. Switch off the mount. Disconnect the hand set. Hold down buttons 0 and 8 and plug the power supply into the hand set (whilst still holding the buttons down). The hand set will display INITIALIZING and then go on to display the firmware version loaded. It will also bleep for a short while. Release the buttons. Give it a few seconds and then disconnect the power supply. Re-connect everything as normal and hopefully you'll be back in business! Edited February 1, 2015 by Werisit BAZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nanna1 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hi, Alan. I have same problem with my Handset. could you explain me how to solve the problem. In my case : 1. Hand set V3 (fw ver 3.28) : It freeze in 1~10 sec after Power ON in my EQ6. by using battery or AC power. 2. after updating fw ver 3.37, It appears the same. 3. updating another fw ver 3.27 (or 3.24) : It can not initialize, no beep.. 4. It works standalone(fw ver 3.28 and 3.37) (no connect my EQ6) 5. I try another handset V2(fw ver 3.01 ?? sorry I can't remember) : It works well with my EQ6 and standalone. I think the connection cable and EQ6 hardware has no fault. what should I do fix the freeze problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hi Bongjae. The problem with my controller occurred after I accidentally disconnected the cable into the handset while it was in use. I tried to do a firmware update to fix the problem but was unable to continue beyond the initializing stage. However, when I re-connected it to the mount it worked ok. I assume that just getting it to the initializing stage was enough to re-boot it. Here is the procedure I went through. It wasn't necessary to actually update the firmware. Just getting it to the stage ready to accept an update was enough. Switch off the mount. Disconnect the hand set from the mount. Hold down buttons 0 and 8 and plug the power supply into the hand set (whilst still holding the buttons down). The hand set will display INITIALIZING and then go on to display the firmware version loaded. It will also bleep for a short while. Release the buttons. Give it a few seconds and then disconnect the power supply. Re-connect everything as normal and hopefully you'll be back in business! My concern is that you are not getting the INITIALIZE and beep. I can only suggest you try the above. Don't actually update it. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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