How pleased I continue to be with my 2008 version of Losmandy G-11. After 12 years the?Gemini-1?electronics had quite working. On the recommendation several persons on different forums I entrusted the repair to Michael Herman. So I can add myself to the those who have been vary satisfied with the work he did in getting the repair accomplished. His expertise was very much in evidence. He admitted that the symptoms were very strange, puzzling to himself and the other Losmandy electronic repair specialists in the UK and Australia. But he didn't give up and expeditiously finished the job by an intelligent process - testing, replacing suspect parts. Eventually the EPROM, SRAM chips were replaced along with some smaller discrete components. He eventually tracked down the cause of the issue.

That issue was the result of an accident I had a couple of months ago. Let me explain. My G11/Gemini-1 had resided on a permanent pier in my garden observing site. At the conclusion of each observing session I had been covering the mount and electronics with a Telegizmo cover topped with a large plastic garbage can to provide some protection against our sometimes fierce winds here on the south Oregon coast. Since the mount usually had a significant amount of dew on it I thought it wise to place an open container of Calcium-Chloride crystals to absorb the moisture.?

So the accident I mentioned happened when I uncovered the mount for an observing session. This caused the container of Ca-Cl solution to spill, with significant quantity of the salt solution getting on the base of the mount and the Gemini electronics chassis. I wiped off what I could and continued with the observing session. This was a mistake on my part. I should have recognized the damage this could cause and thoroughly cleaned all mount and electronics components that were covered with this corrosive solution. Yes, I didn't realize that Calcium chloride as a salt solution is corrosive to metal, that could be damaging to all sorts of parts. So the cause of the issue Michael discovered was that some Ca-Cl had gotten into the "Hand Controller" RJ45 socket at the upper left corner of the chassis. This caused a short between some of the contacts there, leading to the bizarre symptoms that had him and the other experts puzzled.

So kudos to Michael for fixing the problem. Since he spent a number of hours over several days on the repair, his charge of $200 plus parts was most reasonable. The only part he charged for was $25 for the EPROM. Along with that came the latest version of software (Level 4, v 1.05). I wholeheartedly recommend him for any repairs to electronics that might be needed.

Moving forward from this I found the electronics works just fine. I needed to set geographic coordinates and mount limits. But everything worked as expected for two observing sessions. First night I used my little Astrotech AT115 EDT triplet APO refractor. The next night I installed my Celestron-11 with the refractor riding piggyback. This requires 53 pounds of counterweights. So no doubt the mount is maxed out.? But these were two most enjoyable observing sessions, examining some clusters and double stars in Cassiopeia. The revelation in moving ahead came when I examined the mount in the daylight, something I seldom do. There I saw that the Ca-Cl contamination had caused some corrosion to the extreme lower end of the mount. The most affected areas were the tabs for attaching the Gemini chassis along with the azimuth adjustment mechanism. Both showed evidence of salt corrosion.

So I removed the entire mount and its adapter clear down to the cast iron flange atop the 4-inch galvanized pipe pier. Everything was cleaned with hot soapy water. There was some surface corrosion on the bronze traveling pin that moves the mount in azimuth. But I removed all corrosion and reassembled everything ?applying lubricating grease where needed. I like to use a special anti-seize compound on all stainless steel and aluminum threads. So everything is back together and functioning properly.

I'm a bit wiser in that I've learned about the dangers of employing Calcium-Chloride. In the future I will refrain from wrapping up a wet mount, and will just place the large plastic garbage container over the mount. Even if it should rain, the mount will be open to the air so dew can evaporate without needing the Ca-Cl. After the mount has dried the next day I can cover the mount with the Telegizmo cover and plastic garbage can as needed.

This brings me to a question for the forum:

To protect unused RJ45 sockets from moist night time air I am considering inserting in each such socket a spare RJ45 jack (with no wire attached). To seal each socket from the moist maritime (salty) air I am inquiring if it would be wise to apply some sort of paste that would further seal the socket. As a HAM radio operator I know of some paste that is applied to coaxial cable connections to exclude moisture. This paste is non conducting and serves to exclude water. With dew settling on the Gemini chassis there is danger of salty deposits (from marine air) on the exposed pins of the unused sockets. I have two potential pastes:

• ?Stuf Dielectric Waterproofing Filler (for coaxial connectors, with Teflon)
• Permatex Dielectric Grease (for automotive connectors like spark plugs and 12 volt lines).?

Maybe I'm trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist. The dielectric paste could be applied around the edges of the inserted plug to exclude water. Maybe there is another technique that would accomplish the same thing. Perhaps just applying some sort of waterproof tape over the RJ45 socket. I know electrical tape would work for a while. But it eventually becomes a sticky mess as it ages. Any suggestions? I'm interested in suggestions from the forum.

Best Regards,
Russ

Thanks Brian for your useful comments. So am I correct in identifying the network type connector sockets as RJ-11 rather than RJ-45? If so I can get the correct Teflon plug. This can be inserted with a thin layer of Dielectric/Teflon paste to further seal against water intrusion. This can be renewed as needed.

Next I am going to open the Gemini-1 electronics chassis and look things over for any corrosion needing attention. I know that the chrome plating on the 12-volt input jack has corroded. Seems like at least one of servo-motor jacks has similar damage. I have a product called Ospho which according to the ?causes iron oxide (rust) to chemically change to iron phosphate - an inert, hard substance that turns the metal black. This can be painted with an oil-based paint if desired. The treated surface even without paint is not prone to further rusting. But it might be best to paint the treated surface as well, considering the moist working environment. Maybe a bit of galvanizing paint can be applied. That silvery color would better match the chrome next to the damaged area.

Losmandy mounts and the accompanying electronics are first rate products. But user mistreatment on my part has caused some damage. I'm just so pleased with what Michael Herman has done for me. The alternative would have been as much as $1000 for the Gemini-2 with touch-screen. I wasn't looking forward to that since my fingers on touch-screen iPad and iPhone are somewhat?dysfunctional. There is something about my electrical characteristics that sometimes makes for frustrating touch interaction. I know the Gemini-2 package is quite the improvement as far as features and capabilities. But I know at least 1 person who didn't like the Gemini-2 at all. And I'm quite used the Gemini-1 menu interface.

Best Regards,
Russ

How pleased I continue to be with my 2008 version of Losmandy G-11. After 12 years the?Gemini-1?electronics had quite working. On the recommendation several persons on different forums I entrusted the repair to Michael Herman. So I can add myself to the those who have been vary satisfied with the work he did in getting the repair accomplished. His expertise was very much in evidence. He admitted that the symptoms were very strange, puzzling to himself and the other Losmandy electronic repair specialists in the UK and Australia. But he didn't give up and expeditiously finished the job by an intelligent process - testing, replacing suspect parts. Eventually the EPROM, SRAM chips were replaced along with some smaller discrete components. He eventually tracked down the cause of the issue.

That issue was the result of an accident I had a couple of months ago. Let me explain. My G11/Gemini-1 had resided on a permanent pier in my garden observing site. At the conclusion of each observing session I had been covering the mount and electronics with a Telegizmo cover topped with a large plastic garbage can to provide some protection against our sometimes fierce winds here on the south Oregon coast. Since the mount usually had a significant amount of dew on it I thought it wise to place an open container of Calcium-Chloride crystals to absorb the moisture.?

So the accident I mentioned happened when I uncovered the mount for an observing session. This caused the container of Ca-Cl solution to spill, with significant quantity of the salt solution getting on the base of the mount and the Gemini electronics chassis. I wiped off what I could and continued with the observing session. This was a mistake on my part. I should have recognized the damage this could cause and thoroughly cleaned all mount and electronics components that were covered with this corrosive solution. Yes, I didn't realize that Calcium chloride as a salt solution is corrosive to metal, that could be damaging to all sorts of parts. So the cause of the issue Michael discovered was that some Ca-Cl had gotten into the "Hand Controller" RJ45 socket at the upper left corner of the chassis. This caused a short between some of the contacts there, leading to the bizarre symptoms that had him and the other experts puzzled.

So kudos to Michael for fixing the problem. Since he spent a number of hours over several days on the repair, his charge of $200 plus parts was most reasonable. The only part he charged for was $25 for the EPROM. Along with that came the latest version of software (Level 4, v 1.05). I wholeheartedly recommend him for any repairs to electronics that might be needed.

Moving forward from this I found the electronics works just fine. I needed to set geographic coordinates and mount limits. But everything worked as expected for two observing sessions. First night I used my little Astrotech AT115 EDT triplet APO refractor. The next night I installed my Celestron-11 with the refractor riding piggyback. This requires 53 pounds of counterweights. So no doubt the mount is maxed out.? But these were two most enjoyable observing sessions, examining some clusters and double stars in Cassiopeia. The revelation in moving ahead came when I examined the mount in the daylight, something I seldom do. There I saw that the Ca-Cl contamination had caused some corrosion to the extreme lower end of the mount. The most affected areas were the tabs for attaching the Gemini chassis along with the azimuth adjustment mechanism. Both showed evidence of salt corrosion.

So I removed the entire mount and its adapter clear down to the cast iron flange atop the 4-inch galvanized pipe pier. Everything was cleaned with hot soapy water. There was some surface corrosion on the bronze traveling pin that moves the mount in azimuth. But I removed all corrosion and reassembled everything ?applying lubricating grease where needed. I like to use a special anti-seize compound on all stainless steel and aluminum threads. So everything is back together and functioning properly.

I'm a bit wiser in that I've learned about the dangers of employing Calcium-Chloride. In the future I will refrain from wrapping up a wet mount, and will just place the large plastic garbage container over the mount. Even if it should rain, the mount will be open to the air so dew can evaporate without needing the Ca-Cl. After the mount has dried the next day I can cover the mount with the Telegizmo cover and plastic garbage can as needed.

This brings me to a question for the forum:

To protect unused RJ45 sockets from moist night time air I am considering inserting in each such socket a spare RJ45 jack (with no wire attached). To seal each socket from the moist maritime (salty) air I am inquiring if it would be wise to apply some sort of paste that would further seal the socket. As a HAM radio operator I know of some paste that is applied to coaxial cable connections to exclude moisture. This paste is non conducting and serves to exclude water. With dew settling on the Gemini chassis there is danger of salty deposits (from marine air) on the exposed pins of the unused sockets. I have two potential pastes:

• ?Stuf Dielectric Waterproofing Filler (for coaxial connectors, with Teflon)
• Permatex Dielectric Grease (for automotive connectors like spark plugs and 12 volt lines).?

Maybe I'm trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist. The dielectric paste could be applied around the edges of the inserted plug to exclude water. Maybe there is another technique that would accomplish the same thing. Perhaps just applying some sort of waterproof tape over the RJ45 socket. I know electrical tape would work for a while. But it eventually becomes a sticky mess as it ages. Any suggestions? I'm interested in suggestions from the forum.

Best Regards,
Russ

Way to go Michael,
Those little plugs came up about two years ago and I thought " Hey thats a good ideah.

HAPPY SKIES TO EVERYONE AND KEEP LOOKING UP DERIC

Since my recent problems resulted from efforts to deal with moisture on the G11/Gemini-1 mount, I have decided to institute some changes in how it is used. No longer will I leave the electronics outside, but covered when finished with observing for the night. This had lead to my misguided efforts to deal with dew that had accumulated during the observing session. While the use of Calcium-Chloride crystals to absorb the trapped moisture was effective, it only took one instance of spilling that corrosive (and sticky) solution to necessitate an extensive repair.?

But after Michael Herman resurrected the dead/dying Gemini-1 chassis, I have decided to do the following:

• Cover any unused data ports with silicone plugs to exclude moisture.
• Remove the Gemini-1 chassis safely indoors after observing has ended for the night. This will allow any moisture to evaporate and prevent any theft of that expensive piece of electronics.?
• During use the chassis will be covered with a cloth to exclude most of the dew that would otherwise collect on the front panel.?My wife made a nice polyester cover to prevent dew settling on the chassis.

?

This cloth can be folded around any of the cables to minimize contact with moist air. These efforts should be most beneficial improvements for longevity of the Losmandy G11/G-1. While such a quality product is not inexpensive, I've learned that "cheap isn't ..."

Best Regards,
Russ

Once the power is switched on there is no need to access the front of the Gemini unit until shut-down. So the cloth will keep some of the moisture at bay. I'm just surprised that my moist maritime (salty) air hasn't been much of a problem. But my wife's scrap of midnight blue cloth should help it last as long as possible. Even if an electronic component degrades, the Gemini-1 seems to be quite repairable as long as things haven't gotten too corroded.

I'm not too worried about anyone stealing the mount. A big 4-inch water pipe sticking up in the vegetable garden with a garbage can upended over it doesn't seem too attractive. But you never know. It does take quite a lot of effort with just the right allen-wrench to make off with it. That mount wouldn't seem to be the sort of thing that the wandering addict would steal to sell for his next fix. The Gemini electronics would be easy to remove, even if the they wouldn't ?know what to do with it.



Michael, I couldn't think of any clever color for the cloth. "Event horizon blues" sounds too ominous. So your "midnight blue" seems to be a better fit.?

Thanks, Michael. I'm getting it all back together. Replacement of SRAM and EPROM necessitates re-establishing all the previous setup information, such as geographic location. Tonight despite the sky being quite murky, it is time to set the safety limits. Also?SkySafari is now effectively controlling the mount. After 45 years of using star atlas and finder 'scope, I'm thoroughly enjoying the go-to experience of the Gemini-1. Here is what the C-11 looks like now with the OTA and dew shield covered with Reflectix. (See #317 in this )



Someone said it looks like a satellite. It has really helped with heat management and dew prevention. After tonight's maintenance (safety limits,?SkySafari connection) I'm looking forward to Tuesday night for a predicted clearing. My goal is to finish examining Cassiopeia cluster sand moving on to explore Cepheus. I may even give a try on Mars. But that's a whole different setup and operating procedure. Having the 115mm refractor riding on top as a finder of sorts will be a real plus. Such is needed for the tiny sensor of my ZWO ASI290MC video camera. Yeah I had better do it - it will be many years before Mars is this close again.?

Warm Regards,
Russ