Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Evscope Card Replacement

 Evscope Card Replacement

If you have the beautiful and amazing new eVscope and Unistellar has determined it needs new software for proper functioning, a replacement microSD card may be needed. This is the story about how the card was replaced.

Remove the eVscope from the tripod and set it on a firm table with a special anti-slip grip matt. I used this arrangement to prevent any slippage during work and in the event of a sudden earthquake.


The security screw removal tool is everything - Taiwan makes this amazing TORX tool set forged from S2 Steel. One side is T10 Torx and the other side is TT10 Torx. The TT10 side has a center hole for removing the two security screws on the Unistellar telescope. (the security screw has a center peg) This Alstrong Tools Corp. www.alstrong.com toolset, made in Taiwan, was in stock and purchased today at a local hardware store in Taipei. It was conveniently located down the street, for only $13, a real bargain! The nine piece set name is "Extra long arm L tamper star wrench set, part number CDT-09X." Now it's time to remove the two screws, located one on each side of the telescope label.

With the two screws removed, slide the top cover plate, which includes the power switch, back towards you and remove it. Be very careful not to force anything.



You can see the second board under the top board. In the center is the microSD card. Fingers were used to feel the sensitivity of the card, its position, and then it was grabbed and gently removed. Then immediately, the new card was inserted, observing the cards position, top and bottom. Tools were not used to grip the tiny card as it could easily become flexed and damaged if using metal tools on it. Sometimes metal tools become magnetized and these can damage, modify or erase data stored on the card internally. Use common sense and exercise caution.


Now put the cover back on and install the screws. These screws have only slight pressure to hold in place. Now put the evscope back on its tripod do the first test - push the power button and hold a few seconds. The purple light will come on, release the switch, the light will stay on a short time followed by constant red light and you're good to go! The telescope should successfully boot up with the new software on the new MicroSD card.

When outside, remember to take a dark frame, then run more tests with the latest version app, take pics, etc. - ultimately focus on a bright star using the Bahtinov mask and also collimate the primary mirror. It's raining now but at 4am we're scheduled to have a beautiful clear sky with Venus and the Orion Nebula climbing high. We'll report how this goes in more blogs so stay tuned!