SCOPEDOME 3M - Scopedome forum

The shutter can no longer be controlled – Bluetooth connection no longer possible.

Andreas_Roland — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 20:01:34 +0000

We are at a loss!

Problem:

In the driver software ‘ScopeDome Arduino Dome v10f13’:
The shutter can no longer be controlled on the ‘Shutters’ tab.
The lighting can no longer be switched on in the ‘Main’ tab.
The button in the ‘Relay Shutter’ frame changes status (dark red colour), but the light does not come on.

On the shutter box:
The ‘Open’, “Close” and ‘Light’ buttons on the shutter box itself also have no effect.

Status:

On the shutter box:
Only the ‘Encoder’ LED lights up red.
The shutter can be opened and closed using the yellow ‘Emergency Buttons’ “Open” and ‘Close’.

In the software:
Red ‘Bad Link’ note on the “Main” tab in the ‘Dome Commands and state info’ frame.
Green question mark on the ‘Main’ tab in the ‘Dome State’ frame on the dome sketch.

Arduino_Error_Log.txt:
26.02.2026 12:25:34 | slave=setTime=1772105134 | slave|ERROR|Bluetooth not connected | adruino_command_error
26.02.2026 12:25:34 | slave=getBootloaderVersion | slave|ERROR|Bluetooth not connected | adruino_command_error
26.02.2026 12:25:37 | slave=getFirmwareVersion | slave|ERROR|Bluetooth not connected | adruino_command_error
26.02.2026 13:00:31 | moveShutter=OPEN:50000:3000 | moveShutter|ERROR|Bluetooth not connected | adruino_command_error
26.02.2026 13:03:12 | moveShutter=OPEN:50000:3000 | moveShutter|ERROR|Bluetooth not connected | adruino_command_error
26.02.2026 13:04:59 | moveShutter=OPEN:50000:3000 | moveShutter|ERROR|Bluetooth not connected | adruino_command_error
26.02.2026 13:09:52 | moveShutter=OPEN:50000:3000 | moveShutter|ERROR|Bluetooth not connected | adruino_command_error
26.02.2026 13:12:48 | moveShutter=OPEN:50000:3000 | moveShutter|ERROR|Bluetooth not connected | adruino_command_error
26.02.2026 13:14:28 | Bad status format | board: master - section: relays
26.02.2026 13:14:28 | Bad status format | board: master - section: relays
26.02.2026 15:45:57 | getStatus | IP_command_error | IP_command_error

LEDs on the circuit boards:

Shutter box:
1) On the Bluetooth module: fast continuous flashing in blue.
2) To the right below the ‘Dome or shutter direction control relay’
(No. 23 in the circuit board description in ScopeDome_Arduino_Card_Manual_EN_PlugAnd_Play_2.0.pdf):
- Permanently lit LED in red.
- Below it, slowly flashing LED in blue; after flashing approximately 11 times ,
- a green LED flashes once between the two.

Dome box:
1) On the Bluetooth module: alternating fast and slow flashing in blue.
2) To the right below the ‘Dome or shutter direction control relay’
(No. 23 in the circuit board description in ScopeDome_Arduino_Card_Manual_EN_PlugAnd_Play_2.0.pdf):
LED continuously lit in blue.
3) To the right of the ‘Relay controlling camera power supply’ (No. 26 in the description):
LED continuously lit in red.

The dome is working without any problems.

Attempted solutions:

Switching all components off and on again was unsuccessful.
Bluetooth pairing by simultaneously pressing the Open + Close + Fan buttons (shutter box) and CCW + CW + CCD buttons (dome box) was unsuccessful!

Background:

In the log, we also find the entry ‘Bluetooth not connected’ from months ago. But the problem described has only occurred now.
In October, we updated the firmware and connected a new computer. After that, all components continued to function.
Since then, no further changes have been made to our knowledge.
The weather was cold and often wet for many weeks. Dew often formed inside the dome.

Please note the attachments regarding the flashing LEDs on the circuit boards!

104 103 105

ScopeDome does not move centrally in front of the telescope

Andreas_Roland — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:04:38 +0000

We are using ScopeDome Arduino v10f13 software with driver 5.5.24. The telescope with the EQ8-Pro mount is controlled by N.I.N.A.

We have tried everything possible. Most recently, we tried to use the “DomMapPoints” dialog to ensure that the dome follows the telescope correctly. We defined four map points at intervals of approximately 90 degrees. But so far, the telescope always looks at the edge of the shutter instead of through the center. What are we doing wrong?

In the “DomMapPoints” dialog, the telescope could not be addressed with “slew to”; we always had to use Stellarium or N.I.N.A. for this.

We entered the offsets in the Config-> Dome dialog. We measured the values directly in the dome.

We also experimented with the SideOfPier parameter, but have not yet found a suitable solution.

It appears to us that there is some kind of offset that we have not yet been able to enter correctly. On the main dialog with the graphic for the telescope and shutter position (dome radar), the telescope always looks at the edge of the shutter, regardless of which position in the sky we have moved to. There were also hits in the north and south in exceptional cases, for example, when we entered a negative value for “Scope Position X (+S/-N)” instead of a positive one. However, according to the instructions and our checks at the observatory, this would be exactly the wrong way around. With this setting, targets in the east and west were still missed, i.e., the telescope looked at the edge of the shutter.

Thanks for help!

93 94

Find Home position not working anymore

Bill110366 — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 10:26:36 +0000

After quite a few month with nearly no issues, I found my dome this morning open, and not in Park position.

NINA is set to close the Shutter, and park the dome to home position each morning after a shooting session. But today, it didn't work.

I tried to set "Find home", but the Dome is rotating with no stop at the park sensor. the Red "At Park" message never shows up as it physically passes though the sensor.

If I select "Go to home", It will slave the dome to Home position, and the Green "At Park" is showing up. That's ok. It knows the home position.

It looks like the home sensor is not working suddenly?

Any Tip or way to check if this sensor is out of service?

thanks

Eric

Cloudwatcher with SQM

Bill110366 — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 17:33:17 +0000

Hello everybody

I just received my new cloundwatcher including an SQM reader. System works really nice 👍 .

I like to use the SQM readout in the Dome Driver, and downloaded the ASCOM driver for the Cloudwatcher, but cannot find the correct driver in the SQM driver list of the dome driver?

Thanks

Eric

High CPU Usage

Henrik Riise — Tue, 06 May 2025 11:24:04 +0000

Hello,

I just wanted to check if anyone has seen similar behaviour. My ScopeDome application (operating a 3M dome) consistently uses 12-15% CPU while connected to Nina. Are there steps I can take to reduce this, any logs I can contribute with? Coming from software development myself, this seems unreasonably high for what it does. It also has an impact as it restricts the amount of resources available for applications such as SkyGuard (which rightfully will take all it is given). The CPU is a relatively powerful AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650 GE.

Best regards,

Henrik

ASCOM 7 supported ?

Bill110366 — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 15:36:48 +0000

Can you please tell if ASCOM plattform 7, update 2 is supported?

Thanks

ScopeDom programm just freezes on.

Epopovit — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 09:11:06 +0000

Very often ScopeDom programm just freezes on. And only restart of comp could help, but in 20-30 min it comes again. What to do?!?

No success on first connexion

Bill110366 — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 15:38:22 +0000

Hello Scopedome Team,

This was supposed to be my "Big day", since I connected for the first time power to my Scomedome installation.

I connected line 1 to a UPS (Fully charged), and line 4 straight to the grid.

But no reaction from the Dome Box. I cycled the ON/OFF switch 2 or 3 times, but nothing happened. The screen remains black, no sings of any activity for the time.

I didn't connect any computer yet, I just wanted to do a kind of "Dry start", see if everything is correctly wired.

Any hints, idea ?

Thanks

Eric

Shutter Slip

Gerald Kleyn — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:29:07 +0000

Hi,

My shutter started slipping and I found that the motor gear was not fully engaged with the teeth. Here was a shot when it was slipping.

So I adjusted the motor mount and it's working again. Is this level of engagement of the gear and teeth enough or should it be more snug? The shutter works, but does make some clicking noises part way through opening. Here is a shot after the adjustments.

The weather changed recently (cooler and less humid), not sure if that is what caused the slip. Thanks,

Gerald

Base Ring connetion box Wire

Bill110366 — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 18:02:10 +0000

Dear all,

I have another question about the wiring diagram. Specifically, the 230VAC Wiring from the Control box's to the Rolls of the slip rings. The Cable number 3 and 11 are connected from the control box's to the slip rings with a 3 wire harness: 1 brown wire, 1 Green wire and, and 1 white wire.

My question is about the drawing (page 20 of the 3M ScopeDome manual ver 3) : It shows a brown L wire, 1 blue wire N (not green), and, ONLY on the cable 11, a white wire PE.

So I guess my green wires (the one on my real connectors) corresponds to the blue N wire on the drawing ? Am I correct?

Also, where is the white wire from cable 3 supposed to be connected to? I see on the drawing, the white wire on cable 11 connected to the Cog ring (PE), but there is nothing about the one on cable 3.

Thanks for clarification

Have a great evening.

Eric