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Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Help! GPS is flipping out on me....       #5422902 - 09/15/12 08:33 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Greetings, OK, I have a new scope. I've used it 4 times and alignment has worked well. Tonight I set it up - it is a perfect night!! - and the GPS was whacked. It didn't have Vega in the database and it had the date wrong, and had me on Pacific Coast time zone. (I live in NJ.) I googled around and based on what I read I did a factory reset, and then cycled the power. When first it came on it had the right time and had Vega in the database. I know it has stuff to load so I waited. When I went back the date, time zone, database were all screwed up again. This is a CPC 1100. I have it hooked up to house electricity so no low power issue. It has had about 60 minutes since I cycled the power. The screen tells me it is ready. Any suggestions on what I need to do to fix this? A rookie mistake I assume? Can the night be salvaged? Thanks! Eric Post Extras:       MikeBOKC Post Laureate Reged: 05/10/10 Loc: Oklahoma City, OK Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5422938 - 09/15/12 08:58 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   You can undo thge GPS appoach and enter the numbers manually. Date, time, time zone, location, then proceed to alinment. Is this a new scope? If not or if it had sat in inventory for some time the GPS battery might be discharged. Some have had luck leaving the scope plugged in and powered on for 18-24 hours to recharge that battery. Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: MikeBOKC]       #5422956 - 09/15/12 09:08 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   OK, I'll try leaving it on overnight. One further factoid.... I can't set the date. I go into 'scope setup' and it will hold the time. But it won't hold the date - it remains at 05/01/32 even after I enter the proper date. I'll have to find my location data to enter that in. Very bummed! Post Extras:       mclewis1 Thread Killer Reged: 02/25/06 Loc: New Brunswick, Canada Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5423070 - 09/15/12 10:54 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Eric, What power supply are you using? Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: mclewis1]       #5423082 - 09/15/12 11:03 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   It is a Celestron switching power supply. The scope is now inside but plugged in. Now the star catalogs are normal - eg, Vega is listed. The date was still listed as 05/01/32 - I tried to set it to today's date and it appeared to set, but when I checked it it was back to 05/01/32. Post Extras:       mclewis1 Thread Killer Reged: 02/25/06 Loc: New Brunswick, Canada Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5423159 - 09/16/12 12:34 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   - reflash the firmware - try running off of NexRemote (this will prove whether the real hand controller is at fault) how to reflash/upgrade the firmware Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: mclewis1]       #5423338 - 09/16/12 07:45 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks. The date seems to be the remaining problem. Now it says 05/02/32! The changes I make to update the date don't hold. Eric Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5424349 - 09/16/12 08:32 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Well, no luck. I charged the scope for 24 hours and tried it again. It won't hold the proper date, unless it is 2032! I am assuming I have a dead battery based on this: http://www.celestron.com/c3/support3/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=1899&nav=0,228 Doesn't seem like a problem I can fix so I'll check with the vendor tomorrow. Or maybe this is not the problem..... Bummer. Anyhoo, thanks for the guidance. Eric Post Extras:       mclewis1 Thread Killer Reged: 02/25/06 Loc: New Brunswick, Canada Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5424400 - 09/16/12 09:06 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Eric, No, that knowledgebase entry likely does not apply to you. The battery is there on a CPC to hold the emphemeris of GPS satellites so that it can sync quite quickly. Without the battery it will take quite a bit longer to get a GPS fix but you can at any time manually input the correct local time. Your problem sounds different (the inability to set the date correctly at all), and while it might indeed be a GPS problem (constantly sending bad date info) it's more likely to be a hand controller problem. It would make sense if you don't have the cable and serial port to do an update and would prefer just to take the scope back to your vendor but reflashing the firmware and/or running NexRemote would tell you a lot about your problem and possibly even fix it. Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: mclewis1]       #5424492 - 09/16/12 10:03 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks Mark! I forgot to mention I will do that. I ordered an rs232 to USB converter so I can update the controller using my Mac. I wish I had the cable to do that today. Thank you! Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5426293 - 09/17/12 09:24 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   OK, just for posterity should anyone have this problem again.... I bought this from High Point Scientific. www.highpointscientific.com. They assured me that they'd take care of the problem but advised me to check with Celestron tech support. Celestron had me go through the symptoms and then upgrade the HC firmware. I had bought a cable from Best Buy to use the USB port in my computer. But, I was not able to get a connection between the computer and scope. Not sure why. The Celestron guy though said that given the date problem, it was likely a GPS problem and said the scope needed to be replaced. Ugh. So I was told to pack it up and ship it back, and wait about 2-3 weeks for a new one. Not happy about that. I then called High Point. Again, they were awesome. They told me they'd deal with Celestron and that they'd swap one with me and made the whole thing easy. They even offered to drive it to me and this will occur next week. Amazing service from a retailer that really cares. (I have no affiliation with them! Just a very happy customer and wanted to give them their due.) Another clear night in NJ. Hope there are still some left when the scope returns! Thanks to all for the help. Eric Post Extras:       mclewis1 Thread Killer Reged: 02/25/06 Loc: New Brunswick, Canada Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5426385 - 09/17/12 10:22 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Eric, That's great news (well the part about your dealer really stepping up). High Point is indeed a well respected dealer, and I guess we can see why. About the inability to get a connection with the PC. It's difficult to be sure since your original hand controller might have had problems but it's unfortunately not that uncommon to see problems with various USB-serial adapters. Sometimes it's as simple as managing the comm ports but sometimes it can be a bit more involved than that. Is your computer is running 64bit Win7? If so be sure to get the latest appropriate device driver online. Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: mclewis1]       #5426461 - 09/17/12 11:10 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Mark, I am on a Mac, so no comm ports that I know of. I think it touched base but didn't connect. In other words, I got an error that said that the 'connection was rejected'. So it got far enough to get rejected. I never tried NexRemote as it doesn't seem to come in a Mac version. Thanks for your time Mark!! Eric Post Extras:       A. Viegas sage Reged: 03/05/12 Loc: New York City/ CT Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5427104 - 09/18/12 10:54 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Eric - Mac OSX is pesky with typical USB-Serial dongles. Are you using a keyspan or the more typical prolific type of USB driver? Keyspan costs $30-50 but usually works without a problem, the prolific is more problematic but you can get it to work in OSX - are you on LION ? I recently got my prolific TU59 ($10 at amazon) to work on my mac, see this post here for details: prolific msg Al Post Extras:       mclewis1 Thread Killer Reged: 02/25/06 Loc: New Brunswick, Canada Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: A. Viegas]       #5427267 - 09/18/12 12:14 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Eric, The Celestron apps HCupdate/MCupdate and NexRemote are only available as Windows based. With a virtual app (Parallels for example) or dual boot partition Windows and the apps can be run on a Mac. My comment about the comm port is because the apps mentioned above (and anything else that you want to talk to the mount) need an active serial comm port to talk to the mount. That's what the USB-serial adapter creates, a virtual comm port. You just need to know what number port is created and configure the apps accordingly. Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: mclewis1]       #5427308 - 09/18/12 12:38 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks Mark and Al! I can see I don't even know what I don't know - Ahh! Hcupdate ran on my Mac - it is a java app. But I know nothing about what was mentioned above about getting the serial port to work. I am using a Dynax (sp?) cable that I bought at Best Buy. I think it was $40. Should I try it again following the 'prolific' instructions? I am not familiar with comm ports or command lines at all but will try to figure it out. Do I need a driver? I assume not as I have never used a driver for anything on the Mac? Thank you so much. Eric Post Extras:       mclewis1 Thread Killer Reged: 02/25/06 Loc: New Brunswick, Canada Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5427567 - 09/18/12 02:38 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Eric, No, HCupdate is only available as a Windows executable ... you are probably talking about CFM, not HCupdate. CFM is the new application ... (you can think of it as a new version of HCupdate), it's specifically for the new NexStar+ hand controllers. I should have asked you at the beginning what hand controller you had (but you did say it was a new scope ... lol). So ignore the comments about HCupdate and MCupdate and substitute CFM. Sorry, I can't help you with the USB-serial adapter on your Mac. Post Extras:       herrointment Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/12/11 Loc: North of Hwy. 64 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: mclewis1]       #5427948 - 09/18/12 06:02 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Your dealer knocked one outa the park. They'll get some of my business for the way they handled your problem and I'll make sure to tell them that when I order something. Post Extras:       Ericc22 member Reged: 09/07/09 Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: herrointment]       #5428237 - 09/18/12 08:46 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Mark, you are right - it is CFM. herrointment, the dealer sure did knock it outa the park. They've handled every moment of this with complete class and commitment. Post Extras:       A. Viegas sage Reged: 03/05/12 Loc: New York City/ CT Re: Help! GPS is flipping out on me.... [Re: Ericc22]       #5429333 - 09/19/12 02:23 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Is this your USB cable Dynex If so I think if you download the latest drivers it should work on your MAC (are you running Snow Leopard or LION?) if the former, no problem, if the latter it may still not work. If the CFM program connects to the handcontroller, then it is working and you should not worry. If however it does not, then the problem is likely the driver for your Dynex. First step in that case is go to their website and download the latest OSX drivers. If that still fails, then use my instructions in the earlier post. Good luck Al Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all)

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