Telescope Reviews: My CGEM is bust ;(

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Roy M.
super member

Reged: 01/31/06

Loc: Northern Virginia

My CGEM is bust ;(
#2897589 - 01/30/09 11:52 AM

I posted in Yahoo groups as well, so I'll provide a cross link if an answer is found...

So last night I finally was hoping to hit first light with the CGEM,
it did not happen.

1. I was able to connect with NexRemote fine.

2. I started to do 2 star alignment but the stars that it gave me did
not correspond to the sky at the time, I had entered the proper
coordinates.

3. Then I enabled GPS, and tried again, the system recognized GPS
since I saw the coordinates and time updated. Still the alignment
stars would not list (e.g., Capella).

4. I connected the Starshoot autoguider to see if I just could
capture some pics, but to no avail, the scope just went crazy,
slewing all over the place.

5. After a reset, every time I pressed "Enter" to start a type of
alignment, the telescope would start slewing (before selecting a
star) and it would go all the way until the scope was upside down.

6. There was a point were I passed the quickalign, but the scope
would do jerks every 10 seconds or so, instead of a steady slew. And
it was making sounds that did not seem normal.

7. I performed a factory reset. I saw the same behavior, the scope
started slewing all the way on declination until I had to release the
clutch top prevent straining motor.

Right now I cannot do anything becaus ethe scope starts slewing when
I hit enter on any type of alignment. I may have a bad unit. I have
had an Advanced Series Mount for 4 years and never had a problem like
this.

I'm pretty bummed out.

May the haze clear for you all,

Roy

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Yedgy
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/22/08

Loc: Phoenix, AZ, USA

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Roy M.]
#2897593 - 01/30/09 11:56 AM

Sorry to hear about your troubles, Roy. Did you try doing the alignment with the HC instead of NexRemote?

Tony

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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Roy M.]
#2897612 - 01/30/09 12:09 PM

Quote:

2. I started to do 2 star alignment but the stars that it gave me did
not correspond to the sky at the time, I had entered the proper
coordinates.

3. Then I enabled GPS, and tried again, the system recognized GPS
since I saw the coordinates and time updated. Still the alignment
stars would not list (e.g., Capella).

That sounds like an incorrect time zone setting.

Quote:

5. After a reset, every time I pressed "Enter" to start a type of
alignment, the telescope would start slewing (before selecting a
star) and it would go all the way until the scope was upside down.

6. There was a point were I passed the quickalign, but the scope
would do jerks every 10 seconds or so, instead of a steady slew.

Those characteristics indicate an open loop situation - the encoders aren't being correctly read. I'd start by verifying the power source and connections; the comparators get flaky if the supply isn't good.

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Lane
Post Laureate

Reged: 11/19/07

Loc: Frisco, Texas

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Roy M.]
#2897616 - 01/30/09 12:10 PM

Very sorry to here about that Roy. I hope you saved all the boxes because its looking like that mount may need to take a one-way trip back to the dealer.

Sorry to rub it in but mine is working perfect, dead on goto's and that polar alignment routine is super sweet. No more polar alignment scopes for me. The only problem I had was on the first night when the scope's power kept going on and off and resetting the hand controller. Then I realized I was suppose to screw the power cable to the mount

not just push it on. To bad I skipped over it in the manual in my haste to get outside and try out the mount. I have accidentally pulled the power cord out of my other telescopes before so that is a nice feature.

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Gord
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 01/06/04

Loc: Toronto, ON, Canada

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Lane]
#2897779 - 01/30/09 01:34 PM

I'll also chime in with checking the power side of things. And also all the connections (make sure everything is seated properly). If it's anything like the AS-GT, it is sensitive to power.

I had similar behaviours with my AS-GT. It would do the wild slews, sometimes starting up on it's own, sometimes working ok for a bit, then going crazy. And sometimes it would do the "jerky" slew.

Strange thing was some nights it would work perfectly. Others, no matter what you did, it wasn't going to work. In the end (after checking & changing anything I could to do with power, upgrading firmware, etc.), I talked to Celestron and they said to send it back.

It was a bad motor control board. They repaired it, checked the rest of the mount over, and after that, it was perfect. Celestron was really great to deal with. I wasn't thrilled to have gotten a bad mount, but they were very good at resolving the situation.

Good luck in getting it sorted out.

-Gord

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Roy M.
super member

Reged: 01/31/06

Loc: Northern Virginia

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Gord]
#2897946 - 01/30/09 03:00 PM

Guys, thanks for the feedback. I did have the zone set properly to Easter standard... I am however going to look at the power supply part of things.

One question, when this scope is slewing fast, is the mnottor supposed to sound "waaaooowaaaaooowaaaaaoo", the scope was balanced, did not sound right....

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Lane
Post Laureate

Reged: 11/19/07

Loc: Frisco, Texas

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Roy M.]
#2897972 - 01/30/09 03:15 PM

Yep, the cgem sounds like that, not pretty is it, my lx200 does the same thing.

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David P
member

Reged: 01/21/09

Loc: Southern California

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Lane]
#2898019 - 01/30/09 03:51 PM

Well, there's your problem Roy, you have it set to Easter standard and we haven't even hit Valentine's Day yet.

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J_D_Metzger
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 05/13/04

Loc: Tucson, AZ

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: David P]
#2898072 - 01/30/09 04:22 PM

Quote:

Well, there's your problem Roy, you have it set to Easter standard and we haven't even hit Valentine's Day yet.

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Trombone
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 07/11/05

Loc: Canadian west (and north!)

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: David P]
#2899424 - 01/31/09 10:54 AM

And we don't even know if it is Orthodox or not.

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InterStellarGuy
professor emeritus

Reged: 06/25/08

Loc: Nebraska

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

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[Re: Trombone]
#2900016 - 01/31/09 03:53 PM

wow you guys are on a roll with the cgem jokes hahahaha

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

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[Re: InterStellarGuy]
#2900081 - 01/31/09 04:27 PM

Quote:

wow you guys are on a roll with the cgem jokes hahahaha

Unfortunately it appears that these days it's Celestron's quality that's the joke! I sure hope they turn things around, but it's getting depressing. This isn't a good time to be disappointing consumers when your business depends on their disposable income.

Beo

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Roy M.
super member

Reged: 01/31/06

Loc: Northern Virginia

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2900148 - 01/31/09 04:59 PM

+1 on the jokes...

-1 on CGEM...

So I eliminated all variables by connecting the HC to the mount without anything else, I removed scopes and weights; When it got to the align screen, the declination did a couple of loops, but THIs TIME, I heard loose washers, bolts, and God knows what as it was turning. Unless this is a "new feature" the mount is defective. I called OPT and they said they were out of stock and had 8 orders. I packed the mount and I am waiting a call from them to see where I should ship it.

While I bummed out that I got the dud, I'll probably end up better in the long run, raher happen now than later.

to be continued...

of course the sky is blue with 0 haze. Torture I tell you.

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2900278 - 01/31/09 06:07 PM

Quote:

Unfortunately it appears that these days it's Celestron's quality that's the joke! I sure hope they turn things around, but it's getting depressing. This isn't a good time to be disappointing consumers when your business depends on their disposable income.

Beo

Not that I've noticed. Frankly, I'd say their quality is pretty much as good as it ever has been, and probably better than it's been over the last decade. Still, assuming this is not pilot error, which is always possible with go-to rigs, there will be the occasional ringer, especially with a just out the door product at these price points.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: rmollise]
#2900435 - 01/31/09 07:33 PM

Hey Uncle Rod,

Well, if the quality I'm seeing is representative of the best that Celestron's ever been, then I REALLY made a mistake buying Celestron! The latest chapter in my Celestron woes is that the replacement SkyScout they sent me that actually DOES work, hangs regularly and the only way to power off or reset is to unscrew the battery cover and remove the batteries! After first sending me the directions on flash upgrading mounts and NexStar HCs and suggesting that I try upgrading the firmware, their tech support wants me to send it back AGAIN. Some Christmas present that turned out to be. Maybe for Celestron, but certainly not for me and my family!

Beo

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Mike28
Post Laureate

Reged: 06/21/03

Loc: Morris County,NJ

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

new

[Re: Roy M.]
#2900660 - 01/31/09 09:44 PM

Roy you also might be having a power suppy problem. When it gets to the low temperatures, The cold will drain power even if your power supply was fully charged night before. This can cause you headaches with the software & hand control. Keep the power supply in the car if your cable is long enough to reach. Keeping the HC warm is also a good idea.

Edited by Mike28 (01/31/09 09:45 PM)

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mmagrunmo
sage

Reged: 04/26/05

Re: Get your CGEM aligned yet? new

new

[Re: Roy M.]
#2900972 - 02/01/09 01:27 AM

Quote:

+1 on the jokes... -1 on CGEM... So I eliminated all variables by connecting the HC to the mount without anything else, I removed scopes and weights; When it got to the align screen, the declination did a couple of loops, but THIs TIME, I heard loose washers, bolts, and God knows what as it was turning. Unless this is a "new feature" the mount is defective. I called OPT and they said they were out of stock and had 8 orders. I packed the mount and I am waiting a call from them to see where I should ship it.

While I bummed out that I got the dud, I'll probably end up better in the long run, raher happen now than later.

to be continued...

of course the sky is blue with 0 haze. Torture I tell you.

I know you are frustrated, but..... if you have not yet tried a DIFFERENT power supply, then you have not eliminated the most likely source of these kinds of problems.

As far as the "nuts and bolts" noise.... you mentioned removing CW and OTA. is it possible that what you were hearing was clutch knobs flopping or perhaps loose dovetail stuff???

Nexremote likes to play alone. Were you using the hand controller at all when using the nexremote? All kinds of funny stuff can happen when you get those two trying to talk to a mount at the same time.

I have a hunch you are only a setting, sequence, or question or two away from having THAT mount working perfectly. There are lots of people here who seem willing to help you do that.

Edited by mmagrunmo (02/01/09 01:31 AM)

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TheMenace
sage

Reged: 10/21/08

Re: Get your CGEM aligned yet? new

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[Re: mmagrunmo]
#2901088 - 02/01/09 04:53 AM

I really was ready to pull the trigger on the cgem,rather than the eqg,with it's better software and mounting shoe.
In the back of my mind I was wondering if the first models would have some issues.
I hope you get it straightened out quickly,without too many headaches.

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( new

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[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2901226 - 02/01/09 08:54 AM

Quote:

Hey Uncle Rod,

Well, if the quality I'm seeing is representative of the best that Celestron's ever been, then I REALLY made a mistake buying Celestron! The latest chapter in my Celestron woes is that the replacement SkyScout they sent me that actually DOES work, hangs regularly and the only way to power off or reset is to unscrew the battery cover and remove the batteries! After first sending me the directions on flash upgrading mounts and NexStar HCs and suggesting that I try upgrading the firmware, their tech support wants me to send it back AGAIN. Some Christmas present that turned out to be. Maybe for Celestron, but certainly not for me and my family!

Beo

Sorry to hear about your problem. My SkyScout has worked perfectly as have those of the folks I know. Have ya tried upgrading the firmware? Sounds like a computer glitch. If it don't work right, give 'em a holler. There've been some bum SkyScouts, but mostly they are accurate and reliable. I use mine constantly both with my students and to help locate/identify Polaris/alignment stars before it is good and dark. Wouldn't part with it...it has saved my bacon a couple of times: "Is that Hamal or not?"

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CHASLX200
Post Laureate

Reged: 09/29/07

Loc: Tampa area Florida

Re: My CGEM is bust ;( [Re: rmollise]
#2901280 - 02/01/09 09:38 AM

They sure don't make mounts like they did in the 70's. All you did was plug in the RA drive and you were set.

Chas

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