Frozen domes don't move

Thursday, January 8, 2026 8:21 AM

Problem(s) Encountered:

 Around 5:30 AM I went from targets in the northwest to a targetin the southeast.  I realized I wasn't hearing the dome move, so I went out to investigate and it indeed was stuck very close to the park position.  I tried cycling the power on the dome rotation by turning it off and on using the TCS program.  When I cycled the power off I heard some noise stop, as if the motor had been laboring; turning it on again seemed to make a small lurch but it didn't keep going. 

I noticed a strong odor in the dome around this time, which could have been the motor overheating. It was stuck and trying to move for at least several minutes, maybe as much as 
10 minutes. I do hope it's not damaged! 

Fortunately the dome was stuck on the contact and I was able to close it normally.  


Solution:

Done was frozen in place. Motor attempted to move the dome for a significant amount of time but since objects were near zenith, light was still getting through to the telescope. So the issue was not noticed immediately. 
Found the motor completely fried today. Motor is replaced and all is well again.