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Hand Controller Time out

iOptron GEM28 Equatorial Mount Troubleshooting
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Aumarina avatar
Aumarina avatar
Hello all,
recently I purchased an ASIAIR and have been trying to use it in conjunction with my IOptron GEM28 mount. However, after focusing and polar aligning, when I go to slew my mount to an object the hand controller will shut down for half a second, causing the slew to stop, and then turn back on as if nothing happened. There's no issue in any other part of the workflow, and the mount will work without issue if I use the arrows to do everything maually. I was looking into EQMOD cables to bypass the hand controller entirely but I'm not sure which would be compatible with the mount. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
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Wolfgang Martin avatar
Wolfgang Martin avatar
Hello,
I use the GEM28 with ASIAIR Mini. After switching on all devices, I no longer use the HBX on the GEM28 and only work with the Asiar app. Everything works fine.
Greetings Wolfgang
Andrew Ford avatar
Andrew Ford avatar
You're not powering the GEM28 from the ASIAIR are you?  
The ASIAIR is renowned for not being able to supply enough current for mounts. it is possible the mount is losing power for a split second due to the power port on the ASIAIR giving up and resetting. 
Try powering the GEM28 from an external power supply brick
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Wolfgang Martin avatar
Wolfgang Martin avatar
I supply the Asiair mini with the 12v output on the GEM28, never any problems.
Wolfgang Martin avatar
Wolfgang Martin avatar
The GEM28 is powered directly via the power supply unit.
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Justin avatar
Justin avatar
Hello Aumarina,
I have the same mount connected to the ASIAir Plus. I had similar connectivity issues with one specific USB cable. After switching to a new cable, the problem went away. So, I'd check the cables first. Even when I was using a laptop, I'd have intermittent issues depending on the cable and USB port I used. I think the mount is definitely sensitive to bad cables. I hope you get it figured out.

Clear Skies,
Justin
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Rob avatar
Rob avatar
I have had something similar happen to me when I used the ASIAIR Plus with my GEM28.  The mount would become unresponsive and I'd hear the mystifying beep from the hand controller if I was nearby.  I would go out and check the equipment, and the hand controller would be on but the mount would not respond to even its commands. For me, the quick fix was power cycling the mount.
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Aumarina avatar
Aumarina avatar
Thank you all for the responses. I think I've tracked the problem down. I've been using a different power cable than the one that came with the mount and im assuming that it has to do with this. Going to put it to the test tonight. Thanks guys.
merrill love avatar
merrill love avatar
Hello all,
recently I purchased an ASIAIR and have been trying to use it in conjunction with my IOptron GEM28 mount. However, after focusing and polar aligning, when I go to slew my mount to an object the hand controller will shut down for half a second, causing the slew to stop, and then turn back on as if nothing happened. There's no issue in any other part of the workflow, and the mount will work without issue if I use the arrows to do everything maually. I was looking into EQMOD cables to bypass the hand controller entirely but I'm not sure which would be compatible with the mount. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

i have that issue if one of the power cables isnt snug with the box.
Rajat Kumar avatar
Rajat Kumar avatar
Hi, 

I have a miniPC mounted on my scope to control my imaging run so cannot say anything about ASIAIR. I use GEM28's inbuilt WIFI to connect the mount with the MiniPC. Initially, I use to connect HC with the PC using the cable which came with the mount but soon enough connection problems started showing up. A change of cable definitely helped but then later I changed the connection to wifi and it has worked flawlessly for me. I use a small USB shaped WiFI adapter which is connected to my MiniPC that connects to the mount's WiFi. The native internal wifi card in the miniPC is connected to my home wifi so that I can control the sequence remotely. 

The other benefit is that you have one cable less which would normally run from the hand controller to the miniPC. The mount is connected to the power supply directly through 12v power adapter which came with the mount. The miniPC is powered by 12V output supply from the mount itself. Cable management is lot easier that way. For GEM28, I do not think there is any way to bypass HC to make it work normally. 

Just my two cents.

CS!
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