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SkyFi 3 | Dead - Won't Charge Or Power On

After using my SkyFi 3 once successfully, I went to charge it up using the supplied micro USB power adapter and the On LED started blinking erratically. I unplugged the power, tried again, and now the device won't power on at all or charge. It's dead on the second time I've ever used it. Help.

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    Keiron Smith

    Hi Seth, 

    Please try again, see if you can get the SkyFi 3 to charge.  The unit is out of warranty.  So, it would be ideal if we can troubleshoot the issue given a sign-of-life.

    If you can get the unity to charge then try reinstalling the firmware on the device to see if that fixes the issue.  Instructions and downloads are here:

    http://www.skysafariastronomy.com/skyfi-3-professional-astronomy-telescope-control.html

    If you can't get it to charge then I will discuss with Michael Goodman.  But, again, being out of warranty it's simply not a case of getting it replaced.

    Thanks for your patience waiting for a reply.

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    Bill Tschumy

    Seth,

    If you shake the unit, is there a large clunking sound?  I have seen one unit where the battery became unsoldered due to a hard knock and it cause the LED light to flash as you describe.  

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    Seth

    Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I can't get it to charge or power up to be able to do a firmware update, and I don't hear any clunking sounds... But maybe the solution is to open it up and check just the same. I'm not great with soldering but I'm handy and did repair a TV once by desoldering the capacitors and resoldering new ones so I'm not afraid to give this one a try if that's the case.

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    Bill Tschumy

    I took the SkyFi with the broken solder joint to a small TV repair place.  They desoldered it for $5.

    If it is out of warranty then you don't have much to lose.  You can open the case by prying off the rubber "feet" on the bottom.  The screws are underneath the feet.

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    Keiron Smith

    Hi Seth, 

    Michael Goodman asked that you contact him again regarding the SkyFi 3.  Please discuss the current state of the unit and see what he can do.

    Thanks!

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    Seth

    I unscrewed the device and removed the 18650 battery (not easy). I had another 18650 lying around so I tried that in place. The skyfi woke up again! But the data light started blinking. I plugged in the micro USB charger and the data light turned off, the on LED started blinking erratically, and the charging LED never came on. I unplugged the charge cable and the on LED shut off. I could not get the skyfi to power on again. So I pulledthe battery again, went back to the stock battery and the same process repeated itself. Meantime, each time I replaced the battery I could connect to the skyfi network. It's only once you try charging the device that the wifi stops working. So after a fresh battery reset once more, I thought to  see what the web control panel said about the bartery. I went to 10.0.0.1 and, interestingly, it says that battery charge is -290%. Clearly that's a misread. I tried the second battery I had on hand and foot the same results. I wonder why the device thinks this is the charge, and because it thinks this is the charge, if that's why it can't charge? Or because it's damaged electronically somehow, it can't charge and won't report the correct charge either? Odd.

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    Seth

    Contact Michael Goodman on the phone or through this site? Can't figure out how to message people directly on this site. Doh

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    Keiron Smith

    Hi Seth, 

    Matt Hjelle has contacted you via our support ticket system (ticket #43371).  Matt will assist with the resolution.

    Thanks!

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