26 replies to this topic

[CBowden]

I had Stellarium and my LX90 linked, wasn't active for a few years, then changed computers.  Couldn't get new computer to recognize my existing serial adapter. Tried ASCOM platform. No luck. Purchased a Washinglee 505 cable. No luck. When I was trying to get 505 to work, my AutoStar stopped turning on when computer control on telescope arm was turned on, (light turned red).  I thought it was bad timing and purchased a new AudioStar. That doesn't turn on either. I notice 505 cable gets warm if plugged directly into telescope arm rather than into Auto/AudioStar controller. Any thoughts??

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday CBowden

 

I notice 505 cable gets warm if plugged directly into telescope arm

You MUST NOT ever plug the 505 cable into the fork arm sockets.

Those ports are marked "Aux" and are wired differently to the std rs232 cable

and also has a +12V supply in it.

Have attached what the different ports are wired as

You can see that your 505 ground wire maps to the mounts +12V line

and the converter Rx maps to the mounts ground,

so depending on whats in the converter, anything could happen.

You must only ever plug the 505 cable into the port in the base of the handset

 

As you cannot get either handset to start,

hopefully, i am assuming you may have only fried a trace on the control panel

Do you have another mount to try the handsets with???

Can you do simple electrical tests ( like continuity tests )???

 

You may need to open the fork arm to inspect the control panel card for burnt bits.

Lots of threads on that in this forum,

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

Edited by OzAndrewJ, 16 October 2022 - 07:54 PM.

[CBowden]

I wondered if i had messed up. Seems like it. Don't have another mount.  Have never done a continuity test. I can have a go at opening up the fork arm to see if it got fried in some way. If you could point me to a thread that explains how to do that I would appreciate it.

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday CBowden

To open the fork requires taking off the plastic cover,

but to do that you also need to do a bit more disassy thn you would expect.

It looks scary but its quite simple and safe.

ref http://web.archive.o...rvatory.org:80/

for all the details you could ever want.

Ref "Declination adjustments" for how to get to the panel

and "Power Panel Schematics" for the board layout

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

[CBowden]

I am trying to remove the inner clutch to access the 3 remaining screws to remove the mount cover. My inner clutch looks a little different, see attached file, than on this site, ( https://jan.eaglecre...ry.org/dec.html ) I can begin to remove the clutch at the side opposite to the worm gear, but not at all on the worm gear side.  I am afraid prying it might damage either the clutch or worm gear. Any suggestions on how to remove the inner clutch?

 

 

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday CBowden

The worm carrier is spring loaded so should just allow the wormwheel to slide off.

It is a neat fit so has to come off evenly.

Try making a small hook from a coat hanger etc

and use it to gently pull the wormwheel out bit by bit.

Start near the worm first then 180deg then back until it walks off.

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

[CBowden]

I was able to get the clutch off.  I had 4 screws to then undo. Must be a slightly different model.  I have attached a pic of the circuit board where the power switch is and where the hand controller plugs in.  Looks to me as though it is has a burnt area.  I am thinking it is toast.

Any suggestions?  Can these circuit boards be purchased and installed by someone with little skill?

 

Attached Thumbnails

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[OzAndrewJ]

Gday CBowden

OK, that is a classic failure for putting +12V into the wrong hole.

 

Meade used to sell the boards as std spares and appear to be starting to sell parts again

so you could ask them re availability.

Its a simple unplug and replug fix, just mark the header order before disassy

That said

If you have a multimeter and soldering iron, you can probably fix and test it

for a few cents, ( as many others have )

I have shown your board marked up with the +12V points

If you ref the other diag ( courtesty of C Erikson ) you can see that what you blew up

is a std trace that supplies +12V to most of the pins on the panel.

( His drg marks the +12V points with red squares )

If you clean up the burnt area thoroughly ( so there are no visible shorts etc )

you should be able to solder in a jumper from the switch to the +12V pin on the main header

and this will then feed all the other +12V pins

If you do this, be very careful to do a continuity test of each circuit before applying power

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

 

 

[Skywatchr]

I was able to get the clutch off.  I had 4 screws to then undo. Must be a slightly different model.  I have attached a pic of the circuit board where the power switch is and where the hand controller plugs in.  Looks to me as though it is has a burnt area.  I am thinking it is toast.

Any suggestions?  Can these circuit boards be purchased and installed by someone with little skill?

Where are you located?  Taking the board out, and installing is easy.  Perhaps you could send it to someone to repair the trace that blew.  There are a number of us here that could do the repair.

[CBowden]

I live in BC, Canada.  Someone I know who has some skills thinks they can do the clean up and soldering so I will start there and see how that goes.  The blue wire ends just slide off from the circuit board?  They are not glued or soldered on?

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday CBowden

The headers are held by a bit of hotmelt glue but that peels off easily

if worked at slowly.

After that, its a simple push fit

Make sure you mark the wires so you can put them back the same way.

If your mate can do soldering etc, they should also be able to do

a continuity test to ensure there are no other shorts.

The board is a simple switchboard, it has no "electronics" as such

so all you need to do is ensure all the traces are still there.

Your board is slightly different to the circuit above in that you have 10 pins not 8

The two on the end are for the Aux port wiring, so can be easily tested as well.

ref attached for the pinouts

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

[CBowden]

.  Before i reinstall the circuit board, does it look appropriately repaired?

[CBowden]

the pic might help

Attached Thumbnails

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[OzAndrewJ]

Gday CBowden

Certainly looks OK, but you cant see the other side, and that burn looks quite extensive.

First check is a continuity test to ensure each circuit

is correct and is isolated from each other circuit.

( Esp the +12V line relative to the clocks and data lines )

Then plug in the +12V supply and flick the switch

Does the LED come on???

If so, turn it off and it should be OK to plug in the handset and try again.

It should start and report a "motor fault"

If so, it would seem to be working so can be refitted and the motors connected

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

[CBowden]

At first glance the repair is good.

 

I do get different results when I plug in the AutoStar which does not indicate a motor fault, but presents the standard align/mode screen. When I plug in the AudioStar I do get the motor fault screen.

 

When I connect the connections to the circuit board the AutoStar continues to present the standard align/mode screen.  However, the AudioStar now ends at a language English screen.

 

Does that suggest there is something wrong with the AutoStar? The AudioStar is a brand new purchase and was never set up.  

 

In terms of reassembly, I assume I should reglue the connections as they are somewhat loose.  How is that usually done?

 

And, do I need to do anything about greasing the gears.  It all seemed fine when I disassembled the clutch.

 

As always thanks for your time and insights.

 

Conrad

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday Conrad

when I plug in the AutoStar which does not indicate a motor fault, but presents the standard align/mode screen. When I plug in the AudioStar I do get the motor fault screen.

Interesting, but it means both handsets are still OK, so the expensive bits didnt get damaged.

Basically, on starting up, the handset checks for an RA motor card

and if it cant find it, it will present a "Motor Fault" warning.

what firmware is in the Autostar???

ie maybe the Autostar has a firmware in it that doesnt stop at that warning?

 

When I connect the connections to the circuit board the AutoStar continues to present the standard align/mode screen.  However, the AudioStar now ends at a language English screen.

That sounds good then, as that indicates both Hbxs and motor comms are working

My guess is ( as the Audiostar is new ) that it is starting up in its default reset mode,

so you need to fill in a few things before it goes on.

With Audiostars, you can use 2 languages ( sounds and screen text ),

so you need to select what you want before it moves on

 

In terms of reassembly, I assume I should reglue the connections as they are somewhat loose.  How is that usually done?

Dont know, as most of mine have locking headers

One thing i do with simple connectors ( and its naughty )

is i bend the outer 2 prongs sideways just a bit so thatwhen the plug gets fitted

it is a friction fit.

 

And, do I need to do anything about greasing the gears.

The gears dont need much grease, so if there is a light covering, it should be OK

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

[CBowden]

Glued the connections, reassembled, hand controller moves the scope. All good.

Now trying to connect with Stellarium.  ASCOM diagnostics tells me it connects with the telescope, so i think i have the com port okay.  Stellarium  screen intermittently goes blank when i am trying to connect to hand set and never connects. I was hoping to connect with the hand set and then upgrade the software (StarPatch) as a first step.  Is there a step by step instruction out there somewhere?

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday Conrad

If you want to double check the comms, you can also use my PEC editor

http://members.optus...om.au/johansea/

It doesnt use ASCOM etc, so you get an absolute low level connection.

If it finds and connects to your scope, then you know the expensive bits are all working.

As to StarPatch

1) Download and install the Starpatch app

2) Select the relevant handset type in "Options > Handset Type"

3) Download the relevant rom and patch using " File > Get Updates"

4) Connect USB2rs232 cable to Hbx port

5) In StarPatch, select the *.spf file into the dropdown

6) In the list of options, unless you actually have a registered StarGPS dongle,

     unselect the first few that are associated with that dongle.

     Leave the rest as defaulted until you learn what they are and if you want them

7) Send to scope

8) When done, reboot the mount using the switch

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

[Skywatchr]

Glued the connections, reassembled, hand controller moves the scope. All good.

Now trying to connect with Stellarium.  ASCOM diagnostics tells me it connects with the telescope, so i think i have the com port okay.  Stellarium  screen intermittently goes blank when i am trying to connect to hand set and never connects. I was hoping to connect with the hand set and then upgrade the software (StarPatch) as a first step.  Is there a step by step instruction out there somewhere?

Which version of Stellarium?  The most recent version has a flaw in the LX200 drivers which includes Autostar, but they are working on it. The last working version I know of is 0.21.3.

[CBowden]

Used Jack of all trades, confirmed connection, downloaded StarPatch and patched from 43E to 43G

Can now see and move telescope using Stellarium (version 22.2)

When hand set powers up it goes from welcome screen to: Checking for GPS trial version....not found

Is purchasing the software registration key the way to go?

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday Conrad
 

When hand set powers up it goes from welcome screen to: Checking for GPS trial version....not found

Is purchasing the software registration key the way to go?

Nope, but you didnt read the instructions :-)

 

ref
 

6) In the list of options, unless you actually have a registered StarGPS dongle,

     unselect the first few that are associated with that dongle.

The patch by default has integration of the StarGPS lump selected

If you dont have a lump, you deselect the associated options in the patch before loading.

What you have done wont hurt, as you just bypass it

but reloading the patch with the StarGPS options unselected will fix it permanently.

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

[Skywatchr]

Used Jack of all trades, confirmed connection, downloaded StarPatch and patched from 43E to 43G

Can now see and move telescope using Stellarium (version 22.2)

When hand set powers up it goes from welcome screen to: Checking for GPS trial version....not found

Is purchasing the software registration key the way to go?

Don't need to.  As Andrew says, if you do not have a GPS unit, UNcheck any boxes in StarPatch that have "GPS" associated with them. Then do the update. StarPatch has options the Meade ASU does not.  You can even bypass the "Date/Time" as an option if you only use a computer to run the scope (remote observatory control). But I always leave it active myself.

[CBowden]

I actually did read the instructions, but did not understand them.  

I am still not clear.  My GPS unit is on the mount.  So i have one.

I am reloading the software.  I have unselected: GPS setup, Fix GPS rollover bug, and Meade GPS bug fix.

As I have a Meade GPS i would think i need the bug fix.??

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday Conrad

My GPS unit is on the mount.  So i have one.

Understood but the patch applies to ALL Audiostars and what gets used depends on

the mount attached.

The "StarGPS" is a third party dongle that plugs into the rs232 port for mounts that dont

have an inbuilt GPS. In cases like that, you leave the options selected.

If you have an integrated  GPS, you just disable the StarGPS options..

 

I am reloading the software.  I have unselected: GPS setup, Fix GPS rollover bug, and Meade GPS bug fix.

As I have a Meade GPS i would think i need the bug fix.??

Correct.

As per my comment, you only disable the options associated with the StarGPS ( ref attached )

The "Optional" one is up to you if you want to leave it or not ( i personally always disable that prompt )

 

All below "Bug Fixes" should be left as defaulted until you decide if you want to try other stuff.

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

 

 

 

[CBowden]

Got it. The 43G patch menu looks quite different.  The first 4 items are the same, and I disabled them.  I also disabled the next which is skip simple tour.  After that I left everything as defaulted starting with Fix GPS rollover bug, which remains selected.  Thanks for your patience.