5 replies to this topic

[MaxxLand]

 

I don't seem to be able to get the Nexstar+ hand control to communicate with the motorized base. I basically get no movement out of the azimuth and elevation motors when hitting the directional arrows on the keypad. The Nexstar+ HC seem to be operating just fine and I can get to the star align to go through the 3 star alignment but due to no movement of the base I get a alignment failed. I have tried brand new batteries but no luck. Has anyone come across this issue or know if there is a fix? Thanks in advance.  

Edited by MaxxLand, 23 January 2021 - 03:12 PM.

[barbarosa]

No error code, it just does not respond to the arrow keys? As a matter of standard practice I will make and break the connections at the mount and the hand control  several times. This wipes the contacts and ensures that the plugs are fully seated in the jacks. Next step would be to check the continuity of the cable with a VOM or even a lamp and a battery or if another cable with the same pin out  is on hand by a cable swap. 

 

If one of these does not fix or find the problem, a hand control swap if one is available and after that I would post here.

Edited by barbarosa, 23 January 2021 - 03:32 PM.

[mlord]

I think if the HC was at fault, then one would see error 17 or similar on the display.  Otherwise it thinks it is managing to communicate with the motors.

[MaxxLand]

Yep, I get no errors at all. I'm going to have a friend check the continuity of the cable and test the motorized base but just thought I would post here first. 

[Mitchell M.]

Are you manually changing the speed at the HandController? Sometimes it's easy to forget to change to a faster slew speed after doing an alignment since the scope automatically selects a slew speed when aligning.

I confess it happens to me, a lot.

[MaxxLand]

Yep. I have tried different speeds. I don't even get movement in the alignment process. I tried hooking up a USB cable to a computer. last night. The software detected the Nexstar+ HC and it went into a bootstrap mode. I was hoping to maybe see if I could get the software to communicate but no luck. It acted like it was sending a signal to the base but still no movement. I'm starting to think the issue may be in the base not getting power to the motors.