Mount failure

[starman]

Hi there every body, thank you in advance for taking the time to read my post and reply if you do. A few years ago after saving up for many years i purchased a CGE Pro mount which died on me, Celestron just didnt want to help full stop. So i saved up again but this time i purchased a CEM120ec2, you would not believe it but after a few months it totally died, but this time my new supplier, Rother Valley optics were the total opposite, totally professional, they could not do enough fast enough to try and help me, before I knew it there was a knock on my front door with a brand new mount direct from ioptron Asia, that was last year, would you flipping believe it but this mount is now also showing the early signs of dieing on me, what does some one have to do to just get a reliable mount where I can go out 2 nights on the trot without getting the B.O.D (bleep of death)

The first sign of trouble is getting loads and loads of usb disconnects for no reason, even though i have a brand new hub and all the cables have been replaced, then your just sat there in the dark and you start getting bleeps from the hand controller, but before you get chance to read it, its gone off the display, then eventually it just freezes saying " mainboard connection error or any boards are being upgrading" and you have to switch off the power, most of the time when you power back up normal life resumes until that one last time when it still says mainbord error and you have no choice but to make the phone call.

Are there any of my fellow ioptron users out there aware of any longtime design issues with the ioptron circuit boards etc or anything else that I need to know about that ioptron are not telling us good people about, who are spending thousands and thousands of our hard earned cash on ?

As a small side issue ! No matter what quality of usb cable i use, there always loose on my usb 2.0 input on the back of the D panel, any one got any suggestions ? Also can any one tell me which is the best way to get power from a Nevada regulated power supply to my scope ?

Cheers

Carl.

[JayTee]

My cem70 is 2 years old and rocksolid. I just did a firmware update a couple weeks back and it's behaving even better.

The first thing that came to my mind on your problem is how are you powering the mount and is it good power versus dirty power? I don't know how else to phrase that hopefully one of our ee guys like Kathy @KathyNS will come along and help clarify that.

Cheers

[starman]

Hi there JT, as far as I know the mount is being powered by 2 regulated power bricks, the 5amp Ioptron one which is giving out 12.41v and the 10amp brick which is giving out 12.46v, the output is very stable, but I have not had them on an oscilloscope yet so do not know how pure they are

Cheers

[Lady Fraktor]

I would agree with JT about checking the power. If it is rising and falling instead of staying steady it could be putting strain on various curcuits.
I would start checking with just the mount and HC to make sure it is operating properly then add on any auxillaries one at a time then test, add another then test.
How many amps does your mount/ gear require? Ten is quite high unless you can 'turn it down' so to speak.

Hopefully you can figure out the issue soon.

[KathyNS]

I have had no comparable issues with my CEM-60.

Mine uses RS-232 rather than USB for mount control, so I have not had USB issues with it. However, the USB port on the RA hub for the devices on the dovetail seems to be of poor quality. My cable is always a loose fit. Not loose enough to disconnect, though.

I have had no power problems. Check that the barrel connector on the cable is the right size. They come in several sizes. 2.1 mm is the most common size, with 2.7 mm being in second place. Other sizes exist, although they are uncommon enough that I don't remember what they are. My CEM-60 uses a 2.1 mm plug for the mount power. I am guessing that your -70 does also. Using a larger size will physically fit, but the centre contact will be loose and may disconnect randomly.

The CEM-60 uses a 2.1 mm connector for the mount power and a 2.7 mm connector for the accessory power. I presume that the -70 does as well. If that is the case, then the two connectors are not interchangeable! A 2.1 mm won't fit the accessory connector. A 2.7 mm will be loose on the mount power connector.

If the power connector is the right size but still makes intermittent contact, get a plug (of the correct size) that includes a threaded collar. The power connectors have exposed threads that the threaded collar mates to. A threaded plug is much more secure than a regular one. I use a threaded plug for the connector on the RA hub which powers the equipment on the dovetail, because that connector moves every time the mount slews.

How many amps does your mount/ gear require? Ten is quite high unless you can 'turn it down' so to speak.

There is no such thing as a power supply having too many amps. I run my mount off a 35 amp power supply. The mount will only draw what it needs, typically 1 or 2 amps. Either the 5 or the 10 amp power supply will do the job. You don't want anything smaller than 5 amps. As long as the voltage is good, it should work well. Your voltages sound okay. Did you measure them with a load connected? If the voltage drops significantly under load, there is a problem with the power supply.

That's all I've got.