LFEP down !

[Antoon]

Hi LFEP community,

An astro- friend of mine, who has a LFEP is in trouble. A year ago  I told him to buy an LFEP for his ALT7 mount, because the old ALT steppercontroller was defective.  I did the installation of the LFEP, and everything went well. But a month ago the trouble started. I must say he is an old guy (82 years) and I think he did something wrong while manipulating the controller-handbox. He has no internet connection. So I am his only hope.
It all began when he accidentely activated the password feature (I think). Fortunately I managed to give him the right password. And he told me everything was ok. But Yesterday he phoned me up with the message that his motors made a lot of noise and would not turn on slow speed. So today I went  to his house and looked at the mount set-up. At my big surprise the step angles of both  the motors were changed from 1.8° to 7.5° and the wormwheel parameters were changed from 272 and 210 to 180 and 180.
So I changed these parameters again, saved them,  did a reset, and tried to start up again. Big disillution. The display only shows  “display init…” and that’s it. It stays that way. No motors running, no nothing,  and the LFEP seems to be dead.  Pushing buttons or pull switches have  no effect. The central led is on and that’s it.
Please help wanted ! I am lost here.

Thanks Guys
Antoon

[the_lizardking]

Did you try to disconnect everthing - for me it looks like a short curcuit on the extension or focus port. I would try to disconnect all except the hbx and try again.
If it does not work I would try to make a Firmware upgrade starting with the display firmware, we have a short checklist for that here:
http://www.lfep.de/updates

LFEP looses the parameters when making a reset, so looks that this could have happened but could also be that your controller chip was damaged.

[Armando]

Hi Antoon,

be sure (with LFEP OFF) that the switch above the handbox connector (on the side of the LFEP unit) is on the right! 

CS
Armando

[the_lizardking]

Not sure not tested but doesnt it show nothing then?
But try out this could also be the problem,...

[Armando]

Hi the_lizardking,

Not sure not tested but doesnt it show nothing then?

with the LFEP switch on the wrong (left) side the display stays locked on "Display init.." indefinitely.
I hope/think this is the case

CS
Armando

[the_lizardking]

You made it more often than me 

[Antoon]

Hi Armando and Lizardking,

Sorry i did'nt answered anymore yesterday, i had family on visit.
Armando thanks for bringing up the forum back. 

I am very sure that the switch is in the right position.(to the right). And the display stays on "display init..."
If i switch it to the left, then there is no display at all. It stays dark.
I also switched everything off. Just the power and the handpad are connected.
It stays the same.
The controller is here with me. So i can do some testing.
Will look at what Lizardking said about the firmware upgrade today.
But i must say, i am absolutely no software or pc specialist.
So i will look and study this carefully first before doiing some stupid things. 

Thanks Guys for your answers, i will let you know.
Antoon

[Armando]

Hi Antoon,

Armando thanks for bringing up the forum back. 

Thanks to Roman: he is the forum administrator. 
Maybe the temporary forum off state occurs periodically because of maintenance and so no issue occurred.

If i switch it to the left, then there is no display at all. It stays dark.

Maybe I was wrong! 
Unfortunately just now I can't check: I always power my LFEP by a battery and a few hours ago I found my 12V battery at 9V (fully discharged - probably damaged too).

Will look at what Lizardking said about the firmware upgrade today.

I would suggest to wait for a confirmation that the display should stay locked on "Display init.." with the switch on the left...
If it doesn't occur only on your LFEP unit then maybe the handbox cable is defective...

CS
Armando

[Antoon]

Hi Armando,

Thanks for the answer. Ok i'll wait for confirmation.
Yesterday i opened the handpad plug to see if maybe a wire was off, but it seemed to be ok.
But maybe i can measure the cable point to point to see if there is any broken wire.
I'll try to do this today and let you know. But we have (again) some family visit. Sorry 

Thanks and till later
Antoon

[drknoppi]

Hello Antoon, i had a similar problem, i think the main problem is
A confused preference file . To solve this please reset the cu and videounit
With the help of ascom driver if can connect to LFEP . This problem is not new .
From time to time it was the same on my LFEP . Last attempt please load your FW again and the
LFEP will alive again 😀
I think how all another software the firmware of the LFEP have several bugs 😳.
That make it not so easy as i thinked at the start using LFEP 😥
Best regards
Rainer

[Armando]

Hi Antoon,

I just recovered my battery and I was able to check what happens when powering on LFEP with the switch on the left.
You're right: the display shows nothing and is not backlighted at all.

Hi Rainer,

I think how all another software the firmware of the LFEP have several bugs

what bugs are you referring to (excluding EPEC and polar alignment)?

CS
Armando

[Antoon]

Hello Rainer and Armando,

Thanks for the reactions. As i said i checked the cable between the HP and de CU. No failure found. As a proof i changed the HP with mine, and the fault remains.
So i'm absolutely sure that the cable is ok.
I think Rainer and Lizardking are right. The fault must be in the firmware. So i have to install new firmware. Very strange tough, Saturday i was able to change some parameters in the mountsetup menu, and after saving and resetting the LFEP is dead 
Ok, new firmware then. 
Can someone direct me to a clear procedure were i have to begin. The user manual is not so clear for me. But maybe there is a good discription on the intenet (i hope). Where can i find this "illustre" updateengine ?
I have not a single clue 
As i said before i am not so familiar with these things. I am a hardwareman from the babyboom generation. 
Sorry to be such a dummy Guys.

Thanks for reading
Antoon

[the_lizardking]

For the firmware you will need to register on this WEB Site:
http://forum.rajiva.de/forum/phpBB2/index.php
After registration you will need to add serial and type of your LFEP in your profile with the following format:
LFEP, Serial, 0, 0;

After updating or saving your profile you will need to push the firmware anfordern button at the end of the profile page and then you should get an email with the firmware - this may take a while. If it does not work, which could be if you never registered you will need to wait for confirmation of the admin.

Checklist for Updates, in your case you can start from here:

Update der Display-Firmware:

- Adapterkabel (Y) einstecken und (am besten die USB-Verbindung nutzen) mit PC verbinden

- EXE ausführen und dem Assistenten folgen

- die Option LittleFoot Elegance Photo Display auswählen

- der Prog. Schalter MUSS nach links verschoben werden (falls nicht schon geschehen)

- als Com-Port den von Windows der Steuerung zugewiesenen Port auswählen

- den Anweisungen weiter folgen

- Steuerung ausschalten

Update der CU-Firmware:

- EXE ausfuhren und dem Assistenten folgen

- die Option LittleFoot Elegance Photo auswählen

- der Prog. Schalter MUSS nach rechts verschoben werden

- als Com-Port den von Windows der Steuerung zugewiesenen Port auswählen

- den Anweisungen weiter folgen

- Steuerung ausschalten

Nacharbeit:

- Adapterkabel abziehen

- Steuerung einschalten

- ins Display Menu gehen und das Masterpasswort eingeben

CS

[Over50]

Hello,
the first indication that my english is terrible, so be lenient with me.

Perhaps it should be said that not every LFEP can be updated.
Controls a specific serial number pools are excluded if they were not authorized by Rajiva.
Also, a firmware update is available on the larger 6:00 only with appropriate hardware update.

CS Volker

[the_lizardking]

Of course everything depends on Rajiva,... but if he got a Firmware once should be possible to get it again normaly,...
This is one of the things that hopefully will change in future for LFEP if it gets non commercial - for one step back software or open developement it should not be a problem.

[Antoon]

Thanks Lizardking for the answer.
I'll give it a try, and let you know.

Best Regards
Antoon

[Antoon]

Hello Guys,
Just as i feared. Nothing is working !
When I open my profile and look for a request for updates, I see my own serial number.
When I change it into my astrofriend (Maurice) ‘s number and push “request”. I only get this screen:

See photo

When I push “confirm” I go back to my profile with my own serial number.
What do I do wrong ? I thought maybe I’m not authorized to download the firmware for Maurice ? But when I try my own serial number, the result is the same.
Why is this all so complicated ?? Normally if one buys a device, you get all the necessary software on a disk. In this case all we have is a few drivers and a manual.
Why is there not a possibility for downloading a sort of “basic firmware” without all the horns and bells. Hugh !
I experimented a while with the defective LFEP
I connected it to my computer and started up my planetarium program, and tried to connect. At this moment the HP display shows “No catalog data” and a moment later it says “ Elegance photo loading…” but nothing happens.
I give up. 
Please help me folks (in Maurice’s name). Next week wednsday I’m going  to Cochem (Mösel) for a few days. I buy a couple of bottles  Möselwine for the one who solves  this problem. 

Thanks and Best Regards
Antoon

[Armando]

Hi Antoon,

I think that to receive an update the owner of the LFEP is to be registered on the old forum. Then he has to click on profile and enter the required field (LFEP:xxx:0:0; where xxx is the serial number) and click on Request.
The software is licensed to the owner of the LFEP unit.

Anyway I suggest to check if a reset is still possible with no need to reflash the LFEP.
Maybe the unit is still able to receive commands. So, does RA motor rotate when you power on the LFEP?
Let me know...

CS
Armando

[Antoon]

Hi Armando,

I am registered on the old forum. (see several postings from me earlier). Otherwise i don't think i would be able to do a request for an update.
So i did a logon with name and psswd and the rest is as i wrote.
But you said to reset the LFEP.
How am i able to do that without the possibility to come further then "display init..." on the HP.

Thanks for reading
Antoon

[Armando]

Hi Antoon,

I am registered on the old forum. (see several postings from me earlier). Otherwise i don't think i would be able to do a request for an update.
So i did a logon with name and psswd and the rest is as i wrote.

I already read your message...
Did you fully read my answer?

The software is licensed to the owner of the LFEP unit.

I also told to use LFEP:xxx:0:0;
Maybe this is the reason why you receive no updates for your LFEP.

Anyway, as for the LFEP reset, maybe LFEP doesn't answer any more but it's still able to execute the received commands...
Could you send me your email privately? I'll send you 3 files to try to reset the LFEP.
You'll need to copy each of them to the COM port used by LFEP.

Before sending these files you could start by sending #:GV# to see if LFEP will answer with the FW release.
If it won't answer then you could power cycle the LFEP and send the f command: it should make RA and Dec motors moving at different speeds. So the idea is to send these commands and see what happens.
This could be useful just to see if LFEP receives the commands and executes them...

To send #:GV# (or f) command to LFEP you can try to useHyperterminal.
You need to open the COM port used by LFEP in 9600/8-N-1 mode.

Let me know...

CS
Armando