New Skywatcher Allview mount help and advice please.

[alfingido]

So, my new Allview mount arrived today.

I got it set up and powered it up. The manual says when you turn it on, you see the firmware version, then an option to use the mount for photography or astro, unfortunately, mine doesn't give me the choice, it just goes through the astro set up procedure.

Am I doing something wrong or is there something wrong with the handset. Anybody out there with an Allview mount that could give me advice on how to get it going.

Heres what happens.

Telescope mounted ( or camera mounted) Turn the unit on. Handset says "Initialising" then >>SynScan TM AZ<<

                                                                                                                                                      Version.03.09

I press "ENTER" then get the Warning screen with the scrolling message, Press "ENTER" again and get "Enter Location"......

What should happen?

Allan

[alfingido]

Well, it appears that the mount came with the wrong software in the handset. I assume the correct software can be installed, but to do that I need to get hold of a Windows computer with a serial port adapter I gave up on windows many years ago and went all Mac.

Still waiting to hear from the retailer, hopefully they will sort it quickly looks like another clear night tonight!

Allan

[alfingido]

Nothing from the retailer so I decided to borrow a laptop and do the handset upgrade myself, and Hey Presto! I now have the correct software installed. I have the choice of astro or photo mount.

So, quite excited at having a useable mount, I took it outside and set it up nice and level on 3 concrete blocks I made for my LX90. I know these are level, and the bubble level on the mount confirmed this.

I tried Brightest Star and 2 star align, got the successful message, but it all went wrong after that.

Everything I tried to Goto was way out.

Turn the mount off, realign, check level, follow instructions to the letter, and still no goto.

I tried this for 3 hours, although I did get to look at some things after manually skewing to the target, but even when I did see something, it drifted out of the FOV within a few minutes.

Something is wrong and I eventually gave up.

Yesterday, I took the mount apart, checked everything was tight, refitted to the tripod, fresh batteries, power tank charged up, AC supply at the ready, reinstalled the handset software, took it outside, levelled it to within an inch of its life and waited for the clouds to clear, which they did about 10pm. Checked and rechecked I was entering the correct lat long and time and date.

But, despite trying for another 2 hours, the Goto was out again, I reckon it is pointing around 5 degrees or so East of what it is supposed to be finding, but this error gets bigger the more I slew around the sky, it is also out vertically by a few degrees.

It seems to me that the mount thinks it is somewhere else, but I can't see a solution to this, other than sending the mount back.

I have checked and rechecked the mount is level. I know all the alignment stars are correct, the date and time is spot on to the second and lat long is absolutely right. I have used battery power, mains and a power tank. Neither make any difference.

Am I missing something basic here or is this mount just rubbish?

When I set my LX 90 up, even manually without using GPS, Goto's are always absolutely spot on.

Allan

[hobsey]

Sorry, I have no advice for you but I hope you get it sorted soon.

Nothing more annoying than having new kit and can't get it to work properly.

[alfingido]

Thanks, my solution was to return it and get something completely different.

Mount should be picked up tomorrow or Wednesday and new Celestron Evolution being delivered. It was that or an AZ Eq5, but I still want an Altaz mount and the Celestron was cheaper and came with a free OTA.

Fingers crossed........

[Carina Lass]

Daylight saving time?

[alfingido]

Daylight saving time?

No, I tried before and after the clocks changed and setup the handset with the right time with and without daylight saving as necessary.

I am ex Navy and well used to working out time zones and lat long co-ordinates in my head as part of my job.

I wish it were as simple as that!

Allan

[Carina Lass]

Sometimes it's the obvious we miss.

I had the same thing on my NEQ6pro and found it was the connection to the power supply - it lost track of where it was because the connection limited the throughput of watts.

Cleaned up the cigarette lighter socket and it worked fine

[alfingido]

I checked all connectors, I have a new AC power supply and also a Powertank type battery, also new. All connectors are fine and they all work with my LX90.

Anyway, I sent the mount back, gave up on Skywatcher ( I was going to get an AZ EQ5 )  and bought a Nexstar Evolution 6" 

It works perfectly, goto is absolutely spot on and I can mount my ED80 DS Pro on the mount too. Very impressed.

Allan