· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Equipment Discussions >> Mounts Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 khobar95 member Reged: 01/08/12 Loc: Arizona iOptron Minitower question       #5473343 - 10/16/12 01:47 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have a sick Minitower mount. I plugged a Celestron NextGuide into the guideport assuming it was ST4, and it's not. Basically I have no motor movement. The controller lights up and looks active but I get a "Can't communicate with DEC motor controller" error. However, I noticed the controller shows EQ, and when I go through the menu to "Set Mount Type" it shows Equatorial and I can't change it. Is this normal for this mount? The manual says it should be AltAz which is what I expected. I did reflash the firmware but it made no difference. I'm guessing I need a new circuit board but I'm curious to know why the mount type seems fixed on EQ. Post Extras:       mayidunk Don't Ask... Reged: 02/17/10 Loc: Betwixt & Between... Re: iOptron Minitower question [Re: khobar95]       #5473373 - 10/16/12 02:15 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Any chance that the NextGuide sent high, or reversed polarity DC voltage that the mount wasn't expecting? Perhaps two of the pins were shorted in the control cable, causing an unexpected short circuit in the mount? In any event, it sounds like one of the chips took a hit. Your best bet is to probably contact iOptron. Good luck! Post Extras:       khobar95 member Reged: 01/08/12 Loc: Arizona Re: iOptron Minitower question [Re: mayidunk]       #5473397 - 10/16/12 02:37 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Bob, Well hindsight is 20/20, and *after* I tried the setup I went to iOptron's site where they listed an ST4 adapter. I'm guessing a chip took a hit like you said. I will contact iOptron for sure - they were really good when I had an issue with a DEC motor before (I was able to fix that with a replacement motor from iOptron). But I'm still wondering about the EQ. Is that normal or does it indicate that I may have other issues? I'd imagine if the controller was toast it would be really obvious. Post Extras:       rmollise Postmaster Reged: 07/06/07 Re: iOptron Minitower question [Re: khobar95]       #5473481 - 10/16/12 03:49 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Seems strange plugging in a wrong format ST-4 cable would cause damage. These are just switch closures. Usual result is a mount's guiding directions are wrong or it's moving in one direction continuously... Post Extras:       khobar95 member Reged: 01/08/12 Loc: Arizona Re: iOptron Minitower question [Re: rmollise]       #5473798 - 10/16/12 06:44 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I dunno why the damage occurred, but I did contact iOptron and they were very quick to reply. I told them about the hand controller showing EQ mode only and they suggested that indicated the HC was blown rather than the main board. Sure enough, I took the cover off the HC and when powered there is a chip that gets very toasty very quickly. iOptron has suggested I send the HC and main board in and they'll repair as needed. The pricing was quite excellent, too, so I'm going to do that. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 24 registered and 51 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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