Thanks Bill.
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We didn't notice which direction it was drifting.
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Today we'll try unplug / plug in all the cables to clean them. We don't have the Deoxit with us here. We may find some at a WalMart or hardware store near by.
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We do plan to be here (Houston Astronomical Society Dark Site) for another 2 nights.
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And a correction: She has Gen 2, the hand controller has the slide switch for the slew speed. I have the Gen 3 on my scope.
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I'll let you know what we find out after tonight.
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Steve Goldberg
On 02/01/2025 11:11 AM CST Bill Conrad <bill@...> wrote:
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Hi Steve:
Which axis is running away?
The runaway indicates a disconnect of the motor encoder to the ServoCAT box.
1. It could be a broken cable - the lighter weight 4P4C cable between the motor and the ServoCAT box.
2. It could be dirty or corroded contacts at either end of the encoder cable.
3. It could be a failure on the circuit board mounted on the motor.
To test:
1. Dis-engage the latch for the problem axis.
2. Unplug and plug each end of the encoder cable (to clean the contacts).
3. Try running the motor for that axis using the hand-controller again.
If it is just dirty contacts, you may want to try using some Deoxit. If you do this be sure to allow it to dry before applying power again.
In the worst case - if your motor board is failed - you can return the motor/gearbox assembly to me and I can replace the board ($49.00).
Regards
BC
On 2/1/2025 11:31 AM, Steve Goldberg via groups.io wrote:
Hi,
We, well my wife Amelia, has a 15" Obsession with ServoCat (believe Gen 3) and Argo Navis.
Last night she did a GoTO to an object. No problem.
The object was slightly off center so she pressed one of the buttons to center. But the scope kept moving, faster than just tracking. Only way to stop was 3-button, which it did. Then pressing another button for 2+ seconds, the scope picked up continued to move again at the same rate.
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We couldn't get it out of that mode. It was late, we were tired so just pulled the power to the scope, covered and shut down.
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Any thoughts on how to stop this from happening again?
Thanks
Steve Goldberg
