Problem with STC 428 P and the SKY X

Darien Perla · Aug 16, 2023

William B said: ↑

Hi Darien.

When I updated TheSkyX from the old 32-bit only version to the dual 32/64-bit version a few years back there wasn’t any impact to T-Point or ProTrack, those settings migrated across seamlessly.

There were a couple of missing config issues where the dome settings didn’t migrate from the 32-bit build to the new 64-bit bit build and my custom horizon was missing too but it was not difficult to put that back.

If you already are on the dual 32/64-bit build of TheSky then installing the latest “Daily Build” does not usually cause user config settings to be lost because these are not stored with the main application but stored separately.

If you are concerned about that aspect take a look in your User Documents folder, there you will find a folder called “Software Bisque” and inside that folder are all your “TheSky” user settings. If you make a copy of that folder to a different location before updating TheSky software then in the worst case you can completely uninstall TheSky, delete the Software Bisque config folder in your User Documents folder then re-install TheSky and finally copy back the original Software Bisque config folder to your User Documents directory and everything will be back as it was before you updated.

In my (limited) experience updating the visual C++ redistributable libraries has never had a negative impact on anything and has resolved several users problems in TheSky and in other applications that share the same libraries.

One can never say a software upgrade is guaranteed to go without a hitch, but I’ve never has any major problems with these specific updates myself and it’s worth trying if you are chasing rare and sporadic bugs, if nothing else to eliminate another possible problem source from the fault diagnosis procedure.

HTH.

William.
Click to expand...

Hi William,

Thanks a lot for your help I'll give this a shot.

Best,
Darien

Darien Perla · Aug 16, 2023

Colin Haig said: ↑

Glad to hear things are working better.
You can only have one application connect to the camera at a time.
Click to expand...

Hi Colin,

A bit off topic but we need to replace the power cable on one of our STC-428p CMOS cameras. Is there an off brand option to buy the power cable on amazon? I was checking the price on diffraction limited and its a bit pricey.

Best,
Darien

Colin Haig · Aug 16, 2023

Darien, can you use [Upload a File] to attach a photo of what you need / what is broken?
eg there's an AC power cord; the AC adapter "brick" which has about a 3-foot cord with a Kycon 6-pin connector; then there is a DC extension cable that goes from that to the camera.

Darien Perla · Aug 16, 2023

Colin Haig said: ↑

Darien, can you use [Upload a File] to attach a photo of what you need / what is broken?
eg there's an AC power cord; the AC adapter "brick" which has about a 3-foot cord with a Kycon 6-pin connector; then there is a DC extension cable that goes from that to the camera.
Click to expand...

Hi Collin,

lol I dont have it with me as it is at the observatory. But it is definitely the AC adapter "brick" with the kycon 6 pin connector for the stc 428-p. The DC cable is fin and works still.

Colin Haig · Aug 16, 2023

Can you describe the fault? eg does the LED on the brick come on or not?

Darien Perla · Aug 16, 2023

Colin Haig said: ↑

Can you describe the fault? eg does the LED on the brick come on or not?
Click to expand...

Simple as the 6 pin kycon is destroyed the pins specifically. So it can't be plugged into the CMOS anymore to supply power.

Colin Haig · Aug 16, 2023

Oh, so not a warranty situation.
I'll find out price for just the power supply.

Darien Perla · Aug 16, 2023

Colin Haig said: ↑

Oh, so not a warranty situation.
I'll find out price for just the power supply.
Click to expand...

Ok! I was hoping mabey a similar one will be on amazon

Colin Haig · Aug 16, 2023

I'm not sure what to tell you - buying knock-off items from Amazon doesn't help tiny businesses like ours stay in business to provide support.
That said, you could just order a connector and solder it yourself, if the power supply is still good.
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/kycon-inc/KMDLAX-6P/9975989
I will tell you it is a tricky repair job that requires some skill.

Doug · Aug 16, 2023

These power supplies are customized by the manufacturer to use our specified connector, so you can't buy one on DigiKey or Amazon.

You can order the connector on DigiKey, as Colin suggests... but I can absolutely confirm that assembling it is very, very difficult. It requires care and a surprising amount of strength in your hands. Our guys really hate doing them, which is why we order the power supplies with them already installed!

Also, if you decide to go this route, be sure to test it with the camera detached from the telescope and no other cables connected (especially USB). If the camera doesn't power up, then you've got it wired backwards. If you wire up backwards and power up with USB connected, you will basically connect 12V directly to the USB ground and blow the USB chips on the camera and the computer.

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Problem with STC 428 P and the SKY X

Darien Perla Standard User

Darien Perla Standard User

Colin Haig Staff Member

Darien Perla Standard User

Colin Haig Staff Member

Darien Perla Standard User

Colin Haig Staff Member

Darien Perla Standard User

Colin Haig Staff Member

Doug Staff Member

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Problem with STC 428 P and the SKY X

Darien Perla Standard User

Darien Perla Standard User

Colin Haig Staff Member

Darien Perla Standard User

Colin Haig Staff Member

Darien Perla Standard User

Colin Haig Staff Member

Darien Perla Standard User

Colin Haig Staff Member

Doug Staff Member

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