My scope does not like the cold

[Grizz]

After a long period of inactivity I brought the scope out and setup. First indoors just to shake it down a little and make sure everything was in order. Test align, slew, goto objects everything seems fine. I let it run pretty much the entire day occasionally slewing to different targets. Worked well (indoors).

Now I bring it outside setup, let it cool. Temps are in the mid 30's. Turn on and no smart drive initialization. No movement in RA. Then just random slews all over. Shut down try again same thing. Reset, turn on, same thing random messages, no PEC, Motor stalled yada yada yada. Reload firmware (4.2g).  Try again and no go.

I bring the scope inside, after awhile I test again (indoors).  Works like a charm, smart drive initialization, align, slews, goto works fine.( been running for hours)  Seems like only when its cold does this malfunction happen.

I'm at a loss?  Any takers on a solution?

10" LX200GPS 
4.2g firmware.
Polar mounted, wedge, tripod.

[drclay]

I strongly suspect that your power source is to blame here....
What are you using and do you have another power source you might try; avoid batteries always.

Dr. Clay

[Grizz]

Hi Dr Clay,

I'm using a 500w 25 amp regulated PS. The voltage is steady. I also have 2 portable power supplies (jumpstart battery type). I will try those and see what happens.

Thanks for your help. I'll report my results.

Craig

[Grizz]

I tried the other power supplies and had the same problems. Back inside and warm it works like a champ. I need a telescope heater...or I need to move to a tropical climate.

I'm wondering if it could be a bad connection somewhere? Maybe there is contraction going on (because of the cold) somewhere and creating a bad connection?

Might there be somewhere specific to look? There are a lot of connections and wires! 

[lindendave]

Grizz,

For what is was worth I posted your dilemma on the Yahoo LX200GPS user group. One member wrote back something along the lines you're thinking now, here's his thoughts.

"I would look at the cable from Mother Board To RA Board....three wires starting with Black must go to ground or RA motor may slew at full speed ---cold "Could" shrink a wire so it does not go to good ground....

Bob"

[Grizz]

Thanks Dave,

I guess I'll have a look see. I'll check all the connections I can and make sure they are all....connecting. lol

Thanks

[Grizz]

Hmmm...well I looked and checked and all the wires seem to be making good connections. I setup outside and since the weather has been mild the scope worked great, until last night when the temps went down to the low 30's and it started again with its wild slewing and motor stalled messages. No Smart drive initialization and just bad behavior. I'm not sure what to do next.

Stumped.

[Grizz]

Well the saga continues.............I took apart again and disconnected all the connectors in the base. Checking for loose or broken wires and anything that looked broken or loose. Put it all back together and fired it up. Well now I get a " NO SENSOR BOARD" Message it says " The telescope cannot communicate with its auxiliary sensor board. If the problem persists it must be sent back to the factory for service. "

It just goes from bad to worse....  What to do....what to do???     I wonder if the good Dr Clay has any ideas....Please.

[Ron]

Grizz,

Looks like you may have stumbled onto the the problem, a bad wire or connection or a loose solder joint on the board.

Now if you can only find which one.  I'm sure Doc would know.

Hope you can get to the bottom of it without sending it in for repair,

Ron

[drclay]

Hello....you are right, things seem to be going from bad to worse.
If you did not get the "No Sensor" message before, then there is a strong change that:
1) you reconnected the wires improperly missing a prong connector or backwards on the wiring;
2) the connectors are loose on the contacts
3) you have put a connector on the wrong set of prongs.

However, it also of course, could mean a sensor problem. 

I would first check all the wires.  If they seem to be okay, then attempt to MODE when you see the sensor message and get to SETUP and do a RESET on the system.  That will clear up any mis-communications.

Are you operating in Polar?  Did you have RA PEC turned ON when you got the sensor message?

If you cannot get to the RESET function, then do the emergency flash load (have the Meade ASU updater on your PC, connected to the scope, but scope turned off...then start pressing "9-9-9-9..." and turn on the power.  Once up, the Autostar will tell you that it is in flash mode....press "Update Firmware" on the ASU and wait for about an hour until the upload is finished.

That will clear up any communications issues.  But it likely will NOT clear up the cold weather issue.  I suspect that the hand controller is the culprit on the cold weather problem.

Dr. Clay

[Grizz]

Thanks DrClay for taking the time to help me with this.

You were correct I miss aligned the connector and missed one pin. It is properly connected now and all is well with that problem Thanks very much!

Now on to my cold weather problem.

If I connect the scope to my laptop and run Autostar suite, If I remember correctly it has a software driven hand controller. Could I start the scope with that leaving the real controller unplugged to see if that works? Or does the hand controller always need to be connected. If thats the case I will order another controller form Meade and see what happens. Oh BTW how does the wireless controller work well? I might get that instead.

Thanks again for all your help I know your a busy man and I appreciate the time you have given me.

[lindendave]

Craig,

I have no personal experience with the wireless controller but there has not been a lot of good spoken of them on the Yahoo LX200GPS user group. The general consensus is that they work well but the quality is substandard and tend to fall apart, especially the battery compartment door.

As for your handbox not liking the cold if you run dew heaters and are just a little handy I can point you to information on how to build them. I built two different ones for my handbox, one attaches to the back and has I clear strip and Velcro, and the other is a cradle that attaches to either the tripod or wedge side frame with Velcro. Both work quite well and do help keep the display and internals from getting cold and not functioning well. With both of them I run the wires, twisted, up the center of the handbos coiled cord leaving adequate slack where the coiled cord plugs into the base of the scope and then run the plug over to my DewBuster mounted on the left fork.

If you're interested the link to the heater information is;

http://www.dewbuster.com/heaters/heaters.html

Oh, you might also search http://www.astromart.com for a handbox controller, much cheaper than buying a brand new one!

[Grizz]

Thanks for the info Dave...Sounds like a good idea to heat the handbox.  I do have a controller and I will give it a try.

I was thinking (not always a good idea!) To test Doc Clay's theory about it being the handbox I think I'll stick in a plastic bag put it in the freezer for a few min take it out and try it. That should rule it in or out as the culprit.

Worth a try anyway.

[lindendave]

Craig,

If you can get your hands on one of those disposable chemical hand warmers you could stick it in the baggie for a test the other way.

[Grizz]

Yesterday I put the controller in the freezer, left it in there quite awhile. I removed it and hooked it up to the scope and fired it up. Aside from being VERY difficult to read it worked flawlessly. The scope started fine did its alignment went to targets and ran for quite some time. So....I brought the scope outside and setup temps around 50F. Scope worked well. Waited till the temps went down about 35ish. Turned it on again and it started fine but then random slewing, shut down restart and no go...while getting GPS fix (On at Startup) the scope starts moving on its own and continues till I shut it down.

I will assume that the controller is not the problem. I'm wondering if I pack the base with chemical heaters (as much as I can without interfering with motors and gears) And keep it nice and warm in there if the problem will stop.

Anything at this point is worth a try I guess.