nomosnow
sage
Reged: 03/21/11
Loc: Fort Saskatchewan,Ab ,Canada
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: Midnight Dan]
#5531375 - 11/21/12 12:09 AM
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Dan it is where the firmware is loaded /stored.You take the back off of the handset to get to it. So when you turn on the mount and it says loading firmware it is accessing the micro sd card.
It is a 2 GB card available from Amazon and at a reasonable price too. You can then download the firmware from the Ioptron site and have a new card ready to go.Using your computer card reader.
The reason I know all this is of course Ioptron support information. 
Edited by nomosnow (11/21/12 12:11 AM)
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mgwhittle
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/24/11
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: Midnight Dan]
#5531497 - 11/21/12 04:18 AM
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Yes, inside the hand controller is a micro SD card that holds the firmware. It might need to be reseated if someone is having problems with rebooting. Usually it is a one time procedure to correct the problem.
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mgwhittle
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/24/11
Loc: Chattanooga, TN
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: nomosnow]
#5531502 - 11/21/12 04:25 AM
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Quote:
Now it tends to lock up and require a reboot when in the alignment menu displaying the polar alignment clock??
I suspect, based on my experience, you still have an issue related to the SD card. I would have iOptron replace the hand controller as it might be the SD card holder that is not fully holding the card in place and not the card itself.
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Midnight Dan
Postmaster
Reged: 01/23/08
Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl...
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: mgwhittle]
#5531791 - 11/21/12 09:36 AM
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Good to know! Thanks!
-Dan
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shakafell
member
Reged: 09/28/11
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: Midnight Dan]
#5535490 - 11/23/12 01:16 PM
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I returned my mount. I didn't spend $2000 to be limited to visual objects. The tech support was not very helpful other than saying "well gotos always seem to be accurate for us". They did mention that there is a bug in the two-star. You would think that they would at least put a message on their website about something so vital to the mounts operation.
I did everything I could think of to get it working but I really think they have put out a bad batch. If you are considering purchasing one I would recommend you wait until they've ironed out the issues or go with a different brand.
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John Carruthers
Skiprat
Reged: 02/02/07
Loc: Kent, UK
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: 1074j]
#5543444 - 11/28/12 09:13 AM
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handset dark: ours powered down to save juice after a preset time, bit odd as it has a heater? press any button to light it up again, the time can be adjusted in the settings menu and ours is now on permanently as power is not a problem.
We had the ieq45 out again last week for 12/14 year old students to use as part of their Astronomy GCSE. They love it, after a quick 10 minute demo of how to polar align and star align they were seeking their own targets. The built in gps is a boon.
With a careful polar align this particular mount has ~25" PE but the PEC reduces that to ~15". I suspect lapping the worm could improve that considerably.
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Erik30
member
Reged: 10/16/12
Loc: Cottage Grove, MN
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: John Carruthers]
#5543668 - 11/28/12 11:19 AM
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I bought my iEQ45 in October. After a good polar alignment my goto's are always within (Center) my 12mm eye piece on my 80mm ED. When I fist received the mount the goto's were off a little. Tweaking the polar scope and making sure the handset was set to normal time and not daylight savings resolved that issue for me. I had one other issue with it tracking one night. After about 10 minutes the object would be out of the eye piece. After aligning and realigning I found out my tripod was not level. One legs slipped down about 1" and threw it way off.
Other than that I'm Very happy with my iEQ45 mount.
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Phillip Easton
super member
Reged: 12/24/10
Loc: DFW
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: Erik30]
#5546997 - 11/30/12 11:21 AM
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To those having GOTO problems there may be another source of errors. My GOTO's where not what I thought they should be so after doing all the other things like polar scope collimation, etc. I decided to chance down the play in the axis. With the worm gears the hinges need to be snug against the housing. If they are not there is a lot of play in the axis. Once I corrected this my GOTO's seem to be much, much better.
I created a video to show the play in the axis and the housing moving between the hinges.
http://youtu.be/swyO7Emd63w
Cheers!
Phillip
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mega256
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/10/07
Loc: N of Tampa
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: Phillip Easton]
#5549385 - 12/01/12 08:51 PM
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Is there a sd card in the 8407 hand controller ?
I have a brand new Ieq45 and tried to load the dec and ra software....V120717 and it wont load and now my mount is not working..
HAS ANYONE used these file versions???????????
When I got my mount 2 days ago it had
V11121....does anyone have a copy of this version I can download...?
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germana1
sage
Reged: 05/14/09
Loc: New Jersey
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: mega256]
#5549392 - 12/01/12 08:58 PM
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It's on the Ioptron web site under software firmware.
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mega256
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/10/07
Loc: N of Tampa
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: germana1]
#5549427 - 12/01/12 09:32 PM
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I can only find the new version of the dec and ra software on the ioptron site ..?not version 111121 (my original)
I would like to try that version..
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mega256
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/10/07
Loc: N of Tampa
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: mega256]
#5549452 - 12/01/12 10:00 PM
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FIXED IT!!
Had to put the software on a 3rd computer..
It worked
I had to use a 3rd computer...
I tried with my win 7-I7 with 8 cpus...no luck
win xp dual core with a real serial port...no luck
Finally my netbook with the same usb adapter as b4.....but its a single cpu and the slowest
computer i got.....lol....
All is up to date and well
wow-lucky me.....
Edited by mega256 (12/01/12 10:49 PM)
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dc_robert
member
Reged: 04/17/13
Loc: Washington, DC
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: mega256]
#5926254 - 06/17/13 08:07 PM
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Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I'm having some of the tracking noise issues described by the original poster.
When I sent iOptron's tech support a recording, the response back was "This is a typical servo motor sound, unlike stepper motors, servo motor makes continuous sound when in operation."
From some of the responses above, this doesn't seem correct; there should be no tracking noise at all. Curiously, if I recall correctly, one night I had the mount out, there was no tracking noise. Past couple of times there has been.
It's a new mount, purchased in early May from High Point Scientific too.
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timmbottoni
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/25/05
Loc: W Chicago suburbs, IL USA
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: dc_robert]
#5927585 - 06/18/13 01:54 PM
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Hi,
I have the same sound. It doesn't affect goto accuracy, and tracking seems good, but PE is quite high. Out of 10 subs, each at 30 seconds, I only have 1-2 that are usable. I am going to be getting a Meade DSI that I can hopefully use to measure PE, and then I will take apart the gears and see if I can figure this out. I think it will be curable with some sort of adjustment, but I don't know what it will take just yet.
Everything else works awesome though. I love the mount, and I have upgraded all the firmware. The new Polar Align feature seems to be very accurate, but I want to try to compare it to how Alignmaster does, if I can, once they send me a registration code for a 30 day trial.
If anyone else has any thoughts, please reply.
Thanks,
Timm
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Erik30
member
Reged: 10/16/12
Loc: Cottage Grove, MN
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: timmbottoni]
#5928189 - 06/18/13 08:02 PM
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If it is the same croaking sound as posted before, (File is no longer there) it is not right if you ask me. I have had my iEQ45 for some time now and works and sounds normal. I find it odd that iOptron would say it is normal servo motor sound. Did you talk to them, or was the support through email?
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rhalbers3
journeyman
Reged: 08/02/12
Loc: Pleasanton, CA
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: dc_robert]
#5928330 - 06/18/13 09:55 PM
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Quote:
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I'm having some of the tracking noise issues described by the original poster.
When I sent iOptron's tech support a recording, the response back was "This is a typical servo motor sound, unlike stepper motors, servo motor makes continuous sound when in operation."
From some of the responses above, this doesn't seem correct; there should be no tracking noise at all. Curiously, if I recall correctly, one night I had the mount out, there was no tracking noise. Past couple of times there has been.
It's a new mount, purchased in early May from High Point Scientific too.
I'm the original poster, and iOptron gave me the same response about the tracking noise. However, after collecting feedback from this forum and elsewhere, I concluded that the mount was simply WAY too loud. Something was wrong, and I insisted on a replacement mount. iOptron agreed to a swap, and after waiting weeks for cross-country shipping, the replacement arrived.
Much to my dismay, the new mount turned out to be just as loud as the original! After some experimentation on my own, I was also able to determine that the tracking noise was due to some problem with how the worm gear meshed with the ring gear. The noise could be temporarily eliminated by simply pressing down on the RA motor while it was tracking. I sent a video to iOptron and asked for advice on possible repairs. Unfortunately, they never got back to me.
An even more troubling issue for me, however, turned out to be the extremely poor tracking accuracy of the replacement mount. I performed a rough photographic measurement of the periodic error and calculated it to be over 90 arc-seconds. I took a series of 50 10-second unguided photos using a C8 at 1260mm and only 10 had close to round stars. I even had some 1-second exposures with elongated stars. I decided that enough was enough, the mount was unsatisfactory for both visual and photographic use, and I asked for a refund. It took me almost a month of exchanging emails with High Point, but I finally got a return authorization and a refund.
Since then, I purchased a Celestron Advanced VX. And what a wonderful difference. The mount is quiet! I can just make out some tracking noise if I'm in a quiet room and only a few feet away. Outside, I never notice it. And the PE is only about 30 arc-seconds, very smooth, and easily correctable.
So, as others have reported, I don't think a properly built mount should make significant noise while tracking. If it's a source of annoyance while observing, exchange or return it.
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Erik30
member
Reged: 10/16/12
Loc: Cottage Grove, MN
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: rhalbers3]
#5928419 - 06/18/13 11:22 PM
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Sorry for your bad luck, but when you say High Point, were you dealing with them? Or Ioptron?
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rhalbers3
journeyman
Reged: 08/02/12
Loc: Pleasanton, CA
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: Erik30]
#5928532 - 06/19/13 12:42 AM
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Quote:
Sorry for your bad luck, but when you say High Point, were you dealing with them? Or Ioptron?
I was mostly dealing directly with iOptron Support for all the product performance issues. When it came time to request a refund, I was dealing with High Point, who in turn negotiated the return authorization with iOptron.
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dc_robert
member
Reged: 04/17/13
Loc: Washington, DC
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Re: Is my iEQ45 defective?
[Re: rhalbers3]
#5928823 - 06/19/13 08:55 AM
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Good info, thanks guys.
Yes, I've been dealing with iOptron via email.
I'll run some tests to check periodic error on the mount, because bad PE would definitely be a deal breaker. Right now, I'm going back-and-forth with iOptron regarding my PowerWeight.
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