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Equipment Discussions >> Mounts
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ponz
super member


Reged: 07/18/12

Loc: Kansas City, MO
EDIT: Close call with my new ATLAS
      #5627083 - 01/16/13 09:49 PM
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Last night I upgraded the firmware on the hand controller with a USB extension/adapter and went to bed.

This afternoon after work I set Lucy up outside for the first time and the mount kept freezing up at the end of a slew. It was even displaying jibberish at times.

After speaking with terry59 I was informed about issues if a RS-232 connector was not used. I freaked out

So I ran inside and re-installed the firmware upgrade and it seems to be working so far. Talk about freakin' out

Ponz

Edited by ponz (01/17/13 07:56 PM)

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shams42
Pooh-Bah
*****

Reged: 01/05/09

Loc: Kingsport, TN
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: ponz]
      #5627102 - 01/16/13 10:01 PM
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I'm glad it worked out for you!

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ValleyRain
member


Reged: 11/20/12

Loc: Willamette Valley, OR
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: shams42]
      #5627288 - 01/17/13 12:28 AM
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Ponz,

Just to be clear, you had to re-install without using the USB adapter? Does your computer have a serial port? Just want to make sure I have it right in case I ever need it.

Glad it worked out.

Keith

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proteus5
sage
*****

Reged: 06/24/10

Loc: Southern New Jersey
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: ValleyRain]
      #5627469 - 01/17/13 05:49 AM
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Good to know. Since I use EQMOD, I don't use the hand controller any more, but if I do upgrade the Controller now I know.

Thanks for sharing you experience and glad it worked out for you.

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ponz
super member


Reged: 07/18/12

Loc: Kansas City, MO
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: proteus5]
      #5627548 - 01/17/13 07:37 AM
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I re-installed with the same USB/serial cable extension, since I don't have a serial port on either laptop or desktop.

Otherwise, I would have needed to order a serial adapter for one of the expansion bays on the desktop.

Shame - It would have been a good night for my 1st try at an alignment not having a clear shot of Polaris from my yard.

This is the cable I used. Soooo, it will work, albeit after two downloads:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10311&cs...

Later,
Ponz

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ponz
super member


Reged: 07/18/12

Loc: Kansas City, MO
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: ponz]
      #5628796 - 01/17/13 08:10 PM
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Well - took the rig out again tonight and the problem persisted after 3 slews. Locking up, displaying jibberish and sometimes not even booting up at all.

Initially, it did manage to slew to Jupiter and came really close. I must have done a half/*BLEEP* decent job aligning without Polaris. I fine tuned/centered it and asked it to GOTO the moon and it did perfectly. I enjoyed that (tracking) for several minutes then it locked up (so to speak).

I got Orion tech support on the phone and Rich (friendly and informative) said that using the USB/Serial cable for firmware upgrades is preferred. So....another TESTED hand controller is on the way with a return label for mine. If that doen't work, Orion and I will have to discuss a warranty/exchange issue on the mount.

In the meanwhile, I manually focused on Jupiter and could plainly see the orange bands and three moons with the stock 20mm and 3mm eyepieces. However, I now see what everyone means when discussing better eyepieces. The 5mm was a bear to work with. So having let Jupiter leave my field of view for the last time, I at least got my fix.

Later,
Frustrated Ponz

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RandallK
Carpal Tunnel


Reged: 11/10/06

Loc: Nanaimo, B. C. Canada
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: ponz]
      #5630323 - 01/18/13 05:53 PM
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Try and not get too disappointed. The Synta, a.k.a. Orion/SkyWatcher, Atlas/Sirius/EQ6 and HEQ5'Pro's are extremely reliable. and Firmware updates for their hand controllers are reliable as well. They might be a bit noisy anr rough around the edges but they sure work hard and steady. There have been some issues on software updates but the latest one, Beta 3.32 seems stable with no issues.

Edited by RandallK (01/18/13 05:54 PM)

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ponz
super member


Reged: 07/18/12

Loc: Kansas City, MO
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: RandallK]
      #5630353 - 01/18/13 06:19 PM
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Quote:

Try and not get too disappointed. The Synta, a.k.a. Orion/SkyWatcher, Atlas/Sirius/EQ6 and HEQ5'Pro's are extremely reliable. and Firmware updates for their hand controllers are reliable as well. They might be a bit noisy anr rough around the edges but they sure work hard and steady. There have been some issues on software updates but the latest one, Beta 3.32 seems stable with no issues.



Thanks for the pep talk Randall. I hope it's just a fluke. The disappointing part is the that the temp here is going to be in the 50s today and tomorrow.

I'm out at my girlfriend's place out in the country tonight. Dark skies. I'll give it another whirl and see how it behaves. Worst case scenario, I go manual again.

3.32 has only been around for about a month according to Orion tech support. He said I was his first complaint.

I just hope it's not the mount. That will be difficult (labor wise) to exchange, plus the additional down time ...

Later,
Ponz

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ponz
super member


Reged: 07/18/12

Loc: Kansas City, MO
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: ponz]
      #5630505 - 01/18/13 07:58 PM
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Well, after "15" attempts I finally got it to slew to Jupiter and track. I'm NOT going to TOUCH it until our dinner guests arrive and I show them Jupiter and its 4 moons. Then I'll "attempt" to slew to the moon. If it fails again, I'll go manual for a bit then put it away until the new hand controller arrives.

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proteus5
sage
*****

Reged: 06/24/10

Loc: Southern New Jersey
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: ponz]
      #5631000 - 01/19/13 02:38 AM
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Ponz,

What are you using to supply power to the mount? Is it an A/C adapter or a battery? I've heard that they can be picky about the power. If a battery, make sure you have it fully charged. I use the A/C adapter that
Orion sells, and haven't had any issues, though I only used the hand controller a few times before going to EQMOD.
Look for the red power light on the mount blinking during slews. That indicates a low power issue.

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ponz
super member


Reged: 07/18/12

Loc: Kansas City, MO
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: proteus5]
      #5643374 - 01/25/13 09:16 PM
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The new replacement SynScan controller arrived today. Everything seems to be working normally!

Ponz

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NorthBoundTrain
Carpal Tunnel
*****

Reged: 11/23/11

Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: ponz]
      #5643719 - 01/26/13 02:21 AM
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Glad the new HC seems to have fixed your issues!

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proteus5
sage
*****

Reged: 06/24/10

Loc: Southern New Jersey
Re: Close call with my new ATLAS new [Re: NorthBoundTrain]
      #5643817 - 01/26/13 05:26 AM
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That's good news, now you can start having some fun with your new toys:-)

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