John

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what version G1 is it?

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This matters as some earlier versions had a habit of ?a bad 5V pwr dual diode that steers 5V to Motor Encoders

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F2 if the wrong type can drop encoder 5V but usually the HC also loses pwr

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Are there any x’s or reset data on boot up?

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It’s kinda strange to have both axes have issues. Almost straight away it sounds like bad 5V somewhere or CPU issue.?

At boot the axes pinions should be tight unmovable till boot is completed. If the pinions can easily be moved during this “boot sequence”. ?Then it sounds 5V or possibly damage to the motor encoders.?

You can supply 5V and gnd to each motor (removed from the system) and put a multimeter on encoder channels A and or B. ?Then rotating the pinion (very slowly) you can see if you are getting 5V pulses out of ChA or B! ?This will prove if your motor encoders are ok

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You can also supply let’s say 3 to 5 VDC to the motor pins, either way and it should run.?

Get back on all this we can take it further. Or you can send it to repairer in UK/USA/Australia

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Cheers I await your reply on all this. ?This is repairable.?

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Brendan

Hello group,
It boots normally, then it says RA motor stalled, or DEC motor stalled.
Then the DEC axis slowly rotates by itself, no buttons pressed.
Hand controlls have no effect.
Time & date set correctly.
Anyone know how too fix it?
Thanks
John

On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 08:23 AM, <avishekaiyar@...> wrote:

Hi Jonathan,

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Yeah....PhD2 defaults to multi star guiding...or at least in my version.?

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I attempted calibration last night and made progress (I was fumbling with setting up the calibration run the last time...ultimately figured out that with ST4 guiding using PhD2, I need to setup an Aux mount as "ask for coordinates" and then manually punch in my approx Dec coordinate which was ~8 degrees for me last night).?

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Then I had to stop for absolutely ridiculous/hilarious reasons: calibration kept failing or returning "poor calibration" messages because the roof of my townhome kept showing up in my FoV..haha. I had setup at the wrong location! And by then I was just too demoralized to relocate my setup, run PA and start over. The pains of not having my own private backyard to shoot from, let alone a dark sky location!?

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I am hoping tonight is the night!?

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I did go through the GM8 manual (right now I am focusing on the GM8...my G11 is in storage).....it doesn't provide a lot of detail around the post PEC steps, but I think it should be obvious. I believe after performing PEC, the red LED is always ON during subsequent sessions unless the PEC profile is erased for some reason or you deliberately turn it off. Either way, I will go through this exercise and report back just in the rare case that someone is actually doing what I am doing. :)?

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Avi

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Hi Avi,

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So was last night the night?? If so how did it go??

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Hi Jonathan,

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Yeah....PhD2 defaults to multi star guiding...or at least in my version.?

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I attempted calibration last night and made progress (I was fumbling with setting up the calibration run the last time...ultimately figured out that with ST4 guiding using PhD2, I need to setup an Aux mount as "ask for coordinates" and then manually punch in my approx Dec coordinate which was ~8 degrees for me last night).?

?

Then I had to stop for absolutely ridiculous/hilarious reasons: calibration kept failing or returning "poor calibration" messages because the roof of my townhome kept showing up in my FoV..haha. I had setup at the wrong location! And by then I was just too demoralized to relocate my setup, run PA and start over. The pains of not having my own private backyard to shoot from, let alone a dark sky location!?

?

I am hoping tonight is the night!?

?

I did go through the GM8 manual (right now I am focusing on the GM8...my G11 is in storage).....it doesn't provide a lot of detail around the post PEC steps, but I think it should be obvious. I believe after performing PEC, the red LED is always ON during subsequent sessions unless the PEC profile is erased for some reason or you deliberately turn it off. Either way, I will go through this exercise and report back just in the rare case that someone is actually doing what I am doing. :)?

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Avi

I don’t think using multi star guiding would be an issue. The drive is only recording the corrections received from PHD2. How PHD2 calculates those corrections would not impact what the mount receives. However, I never tried this so I’m basically just guessing lol. If PHD can use multiple stars while using an ST4 style guider then you should be good to go.

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As for activating PEC, once the recording phase is done the new PEC corrections will automatically start. The manual is not very clear nor do I remember well but, I suspect the PEC curve is stored in memory until you apply a new one. If the PEC light is on when you turn the mount on, then you know it’s working ;). However, if it’s deactivated after a power cycle, then you know it’s mostly just a 4 minutes investment to build a new one and, by the time you realize this, you will already know how to do this :)

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In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the .

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Good luck

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Jonathan

Hi Jonathan?

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This is indeed super helpful.?

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If I get time tonight I will attempt it.?

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I was actually going to use multi star guiding ..I am assuming that is perfectly fine but wanted to confirm since the manual mentions keeping the guide star centered. But I guess that was well before multi star guiding was even available as an option.?

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Once the PEC curve is saved on the controller, is it automatically applied for all tracking sessions going forward ? I assume that is the case until the time I regenerate the PEC profile.?

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Many thanks?

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Avi?

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Hi Avi,

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it’s been a while since I last used my digital drive so procedures are a bit fuzzy in my memory but, here’s what I’d suggest.

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The 492 drive has an internal feature to save and use a PEC curve. What it does is basically save to its internal memory the corrections applied by the user (or guide camera) while in the recording phase, and then applying those corrections automatically.

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I would start the guiding first with your guide scope/camera. Once the guiding has stabilized I’d turn the recording on and let it rip for however long it needs. After the recording it will start to correct on its own.

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You may wish to disable DEC corrections in PHD2 as those are ignored by the 492 box but, if there’s some drift in DEC leave them on so as to not loose the star.

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Hope this helps

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Jonathan

Hello All?

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I wanted to refresh this thread instead of starting a new one for a somewhat related question of my own.?

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I am a recent entrant into AP and have a Losmandy GM8 and CG11, both with 492 digital drives...so strictly push to. (I want to keep it that way for a while before upgrading to OnStep).?

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My question is around the procedure for generating a PEC profile using the 492 Digital drive. I went through the manual but that references a visual setup.?

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I want to do the same thing, but with my autoguider setup using the ST4 ports on the camera and the 492 digital drive unit. My autoguider setup is a 120mm scope attached to a Asi 120mm-s camera. I guess I need to find a way for PhD2 to talk to the 492 digital drive when the PEC setting is engaged. Is that something as simple as running an autoguiding session whilst PEC mode is engaged on the controller ??

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Just to be clear, I am specifically talking about applying a PEC profile to my mount and not about how to autoguide with my setup: I know how to do the latter.?

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Many thanks!?

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Avi?

On Sat, Apr 19, 2025 at 04:53 PM, Brendan wrote:

Yes , set time zone = 0

Enter UTC and your local date, you are now sweet. ?Don’t forget to press “set”

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cheers

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Brendan

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Good reminder, this is something people forget about 80% of the time then post wondering how it somehow has reverted back.?

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On Sat, Apr 19, 2025 at 09:34 AM, David Malanick wrote:

Looking to change my setups over to UTC time. Now do I just change over the time zone in the hand controller and the Gemini settings to 00?

This made the current time listed as the UTC time.? Also, Civil time is now displayed as UTC time.

Is this the correct way to set it up?? The GPS updated my site, and will it do the same to the time?

I assume this is how it gets the UTC time to sync with location and let the Gemini unit work correctly?

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Thanks,

David Malanick

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David

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Yes that way should work fine but I usually use the web interface to make that change.??I recommend using UTC but some apps will reset your time.? ASIAIR does something phoney like that and it changes the time to 12 hour time as it updates time and GPS coordinates from the phone or tablet.? It makes you crazy but I just learned to ignore it.?

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Yes , set time zone = 0

Enter UTC and your local date, you are now sweet. ?Don’t forget to press “set”

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cheers

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Brendan

Looking to change my setups over to UTC time. Now do I just change over the time zone in the hand controller and the Gemini settings to 00?

This made the current time listed as the UTC time.? Also, Civil time is now displayed as UTC time.

Is this the correct way to set it up?? The GPS updated my site, and will it do the same to the time?

I assume this is how it gets the UTC time to sync with location and let the Gemini unit work correctly?

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Thanks,

David Malanick

I did get mine working. This video really helped. You have to pay attention to the mount limits in the Gemini and how they relate to the settings for meridian flips in the ASIAir.

Hi Chip,

of course I've already sent an e-mail to Losmandy, but haven't heard back from them yet. Not sure if they really got my mail, since I received two automatic mails. One from the mailer daemon that the mailbox did not accept the mail and one that kindly asks me to be patient for 24-72h :-)

I definitely don't want to try to remove the bearing without knowing the proper procedure to do so. If really necessary, I'll swallow the bullet and send them the part.?

If time permits, I'll give them a call tomorrow.

Andre

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Hi Andre,?

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Based on that video how unlikely the bearings are to be contaminated given their location is irrelevant at this point.? IME a noisy bearing is a bad bearing and the fact of the matter is unless that bearing was delivered bone dry or it has been hot solvent tanked and blown completely dry the bearing is contaminated and should be replaced.? Experience has taught me it is generally cheaper to replace them than try to save it, unless of course your time has a zero value and you happen to have a clean hot solvent tank with fresh solvent you can commit to a good long soaking.? ? ? ?

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My suggestion is to have it replaced by Losmandy but being in Germany makes that somewhat impractical given the cost to ship it to the USA and back to Germany.? But that cost must be compared with the risk of damaging the worm gear if it is replaced locally without Losmandy's specific knowledge about the assembly.? Whatever the OP's decision, a main bearing making that kind of noise it will have a negative impact on the mount's performance sooner than later.?

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I know it's easy for me to say, I live 15-20 minutes from Losmandy.? But I'm not paranoid, but in doing the math it's really just about the OP realizing they need to bite the bullet and drop it in the mail to Losmandy.? But I am probably biases as I also didn't have an issue Fed-Xing a failed Gemini-2 to Brendan on the other side of the planet for repairs because I thought they are the right person to give my Gemini-2 the best chance of a successful repair.? ? ?

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Of course the usual Cavet YMMV applies.??

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I'm still having the same issue, have not figured out a solution. Mine starts the flip, I hear the RA and DEC motors start to spin up, and then they stop. I've only been able to

make it happen manually; pause the ASIAir's program, return to home position, and then do another "go to" (paying attention to the direction the mount moves, to ensure it's actually going to the "flipped" position), and then get back on track. Very frustrating. I had no issues with my Skywatcher EQ6R, worked flawlessly every time.?

Hi Andre,

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Good luck with your efforts. So far no one has reported replacing this bearing in the last seven or so years I've been on this forum, so there is not much further advice we could offer. I have a restored G11 from 1997 that I currently use, and these bearings are perfectly fine after all that time. I think they are more than capable of withstanding the load of this type of mount and much more. Once you get it relubricated and reinstalled you will probably be in good shape. Then on to the other adjustments :).

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CS,

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John?

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Losmandy G11G2 on pier; refurbed Losmandy G11 with OnStep controller; SkyShed design roll-off observatory; ZWO ASI2600MM-P; ZWO ASI071MC; Sky-Watcher Esprit 100 ED with field flattener; Celestron C925 Edge HD with 0.7XFR, William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO; PHD2, NINA, Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight user

Hi John,

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the shield on the bearing looks like it's the crimped on type. Opening would probably bend the shield. So I guess for the time being, I'll leave it as is, since it's not stuck or anything and concentrate on getting rid of the backlash.

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Thanks for your help.

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础苍诲谤é