malc-c

As Geoff mentioned, worth reading the manual as that covers the points raised.

Oh right...stand corrected. Strange that the V3 and V5 appear identical, yet the V4 changed design..

Things may be different in the US, so some of the advice may not be relevant. Having set up one society, and co-founded another it's not an easy task. It's not so much the practical things like finding a hall to have meetings, or sourcing guest speakers, more so getting people to sit on the committee or volunteer to participate in activities such as manning a stand at local fetes and events. You also need people you can trust, especially when it comes to the treasurer position as they could be handling lots of money when the society / club grows. The strength of any society / club is its members, and without members the club / group / society will soon go under. So they need to feel that they are getting value for money, and I mean that in the literal sense. In order to hire halls, cover guest speakers, or newsletter production (some still like hard copies) you need to have a membership fee. At the start it's very likely that you will be paying these things out of your own pocket until the membership grows and the costs are covered. There is nothing to stop you getting together in a bar and talking astronomy with other like minded people over a beer or two, which is fine, and many a society started that way. On the opposite end you could be entered into a contract hiring a hall on a monthly basis, with a prominent astro related guest speaker attending to talk to several hundred people. But if you lean towards the latter then it has to be run almost like a business. You'll need 3rd party public liability insurance just in case joe public suffers an injury or an accident happens when they are attending an event you've organised. In the UK there is a federation of astronomical societies and any UK astronomical society becoming affiliated to them as a member can get cover through them at a reduce fee.

I would assume that all the SW handsets are physically the same size, and the versions relate to the internal hardware and firmware ?

Rich, a quick google suggests that the cables are available to suit specific cameras as one end will be fitted with a connector suitable for Canon or Olympus etc - Looking at the images the jack plug is TRS, that's tip, ring and sleeve Full details of how it works can be found in the StarAdventure user manual - Here is FLO's mini guide which should help Never used it, but Google is a wonderful thing !

Finally the second EQ6 board that had a hole blown out of it was fixed this evening. The old PIC was updated to the current firmware as well. So that's 2 x EQ6 mainboards for the exchange program. 👍

The thing is that whilst Resolve is a powerful application, and may look daunting at first, it is simple to use - with drag and drop to the timeline, simple in and out trimming and pre-sets for rendering the final video. If you do then want to get fancy with effects or transitions beyond basic wipes or crossfades it's all there

HitFilm Express is one, but if you really want a decent powerful program that is free then it has to be DaVinci Resolve

Two ways to check. Insert the EQDIR cable, then open device manager, and under Ports section see what's listed. Normally it will state FTDI or Prolific. If it doesn't state the chipset used then click on the properties button and select the Details tab. In the "property" dropdown list select "Hardware ID's and in the value box below it the chip ID will be listed. For example, I have a Lynx Astro EQDIR that just gets listed as USB Serial Port (Com4), but under the ID it states "FTDIBUS\COMPORT&VID_0403&PID_6001" - If you just get something like "ACPI\VEN_PNP&DEV_0501" then simply google that string and download the driver that matches.

I've used an old version of APT for years now. I did try NINA several years back, but having an old D400 SLR found that NINA lacked the ability / functionality to operate serial controlled shutter release, even though the interface appears to suggest it did. After consultation with the developers via the discord server I was informed that whilst the interface has the option, the code behind it was never written as cameras such as the D300 and D400 are obsolete ! - In fact it was the snotty, somewhat arrogant replies I got that from the developers that made me revert back to APT, which caters fine for my needs.

No worries, glad to hear you got to the bottom of it. CdC is not too hard to get to grips with, and typically, once you have right clicked on the target and sent the mount to slew to it the application can be minimised if required as it's more or less done it job... Anyway, pleased to hear you resolved the issue and have a working solution.

I think you need to re-read the thread... If you want to image DSO's then guiding is a must. In order to guide, BOTH axis need to be motorised in order to make small corrections in both plains. You don't need goto functionality, but most mounts that have options for basic drive also tend to have better more precision stepper motors than those which feature in the goto system for the same mount. An example being the EQ5 from Skywatcher. For £87 you can buy a standard single axis drive with basic handset seen here. For a further £12 you can get the same system, but with dual axis motors like this Entry level guiding is offered with the enhanced dual axis kit retailing around £150. All of these drives use DC motors to move the mount. Stepper motors only come with the go-to option, which also give the further option of interfacing with a PC for full software control. Naturally give the kit includes a Synscan handset and control board these upgrades are not cheap, being more than double the cost of the enhanced drive at around £360. But imaging isn't cheap, and things like the mount plays a bigger part of things compared to visual needs. Having the option to run precision motors to provide decent tracking with out requiring the software to work hard is something that needs to be considered at the start, it may also save money in the long run. If you are unsure of the direction you'll end up going, or the full upgrade (assuming the mount has that ability) is above your budget then choose a mount such as the EQ3 / EQ5 used in this example. that accepts the enhanced drive kit.

Some excellent advice given already. From personal experience I would agree with what's already been stated, that a 150PDS / EQ5 combo would be better than a 200PDS on the same mount, especially if you intend or feel that you will be heading towards imaging rather than visual. The HEQ5 has more precision and fine tuning than the EQ5, and as already mentioned has a decent load carrying ability. I originally purchased a 200P / EQ5 set up, and after a short period of visual use ended up dipping my toe into imaging. I purchased a second hand HEQ5 and fitted an Orion Optics secondary of the same dimensions of that fitted in the 200PDS and have been very pleased with the results.

Looks like a reflection of a dado rail, so I'm guessing the OP is observing through a window - and its that which is causing the deformed image

To look at any object in the sky you need movement on two axis. Think about it.. with an EQ mount the RA axis is always aligned with the Earths axis, so it rotates around this axis, and when driven in a goto system it will typically use the sidereal rate to counteract the Earths rotation. But in order to see anything other than the field of view around Polaris the DEC axis is needed to angle the scope. So rotating the RA axis and the DEC axis a goto mount can be pointed to any target in the sky. Some mounts only used to be drive in RA, with the user having to manually release the clutches, rotate the DEC axis, and then lock the clutches when the target came into view. Having both axis driven means the mount should centre the target without any need for user intervention (assuming polar alignment is spot on and the mount has no backlash in the drive train). Due to the relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun, the tracking rates are different to sidereal.

Have never used that mount, but my guess is power related. How are you powering the mount ?

Quick google came up with this image Hope that helps

Seeing how popular this thread has become over the years, and given that newer generations of mounts now have ARM based control boards in them, I've been thinking of how best to try and help out others who find themselves in the same situation as the OP. The idea is an exchange service, where someone with a faulty board can send me their faulty board(s) and in return will received a replacement that I've already repaired and tested. This means less downtime for the SGL member, and takes the pressure off me to get the board fixed and returned quickly. There will be a cost involved to cover the parts, return postage and possibly a pint or two for my time, but it will still be less than half the cost of a new replacement. The only drawback with this idea is that I need "spare" donor boards to start the ball rolling. To this end I would like to thank @SteveBz for his kind donation of a faulty EQ6 board and handset (plus associated cables) after it all stopped working one evening. Steve had already been out and purchased replacements, so rather than the parts end up in the bin he kindly started the process by donating them to the cause. So here's the first fix prior to clean up. It's been a while since I've last repaired a board so I was a bit rusty, and a few red herrings resulted in me straying down the wrong direction until the penny dropped and a likely cause was resolved. After a visual inspection there was nothing glaringly obvious so an EQDIR cable was attached and the board powered on. Communications were tested and sending :e1 and :e2 to the board resulted in no response form the board. I first thought the issue might b the diodes, but in a bid to remove the two diodes to test out of circuit both were damaged, mainly as they were a sort of hybrid between through hole and surface mount component. These were replaced with 1N4148s (through hole, but surface mounted to the pads). I knew it wasn't going to be that easy, so both PIC microcontrollers were removed (using hot air gun), and the board cleaned ready for the replacements. The EQ6 firmware was downloaded and then converted to HEX. I had two 16F886's left in my storage box so programmed them with the remastered HEX file. The PICs were then soldered in place and the board tested. Now this is where my miss-direction started. I came across a very comprehensive test program that basically simulates a handset and sends the strings of commands to interrogate the motor board. So I tried this out and it fell over after sending the :e1 command to get the firmware version back from the PIC associated with the RA axis. As it didn't get a response it halted running the rest of the commands rather than testing the second PIC. If it had then it would have been clear that the new PIC controlling the DEC axis was fine and responding. So thinking that the issue was with the TX (transmission line from PIC to PC) was still faulty on both PICs more testing was needed. I spent a good day trying to trace out possible causes. All voltages proved to be OK, including the 33v line for the stepper motors, so it wasn't a case of the PICs not running due to a supply issue. I also replaced the 1N4148's thinking that maybe I was unlucky and had one or two duff ones... Anyway, I took the dog for his daily walk and whilst he spent his time sniffing every bush and tree my thoughts were on the repair of the board, as I had clearly missed something. When I got back home I thought I would try an alternative means of testing and opened up a standard windows terminal. I then sent :e1 and nothing came back, but sending :e2 returned the firmware version... so I had a half working motor board. I checked all the connections once more and the solder joints were fine. I then thought that possibly the TX line was fine, but the issue was with the RX line. The RX line that receives the commands from the computer or handset has only one component in series with it, a ceramic inductor, after which the traces go straight to the RX pins on both PICs. Now I know the tracks to the DEC axis must be good as it was receiving and responding to the commands sent via the terminal application, so the fault could be the traces that run from the inductor to the PIC responsible for the RA axis. I spent a good few hours trying to "bell out" the traces, but on a four layer board fully populated it was impossible to discover where the brake was. My thoughts are that it's internal, so I simply bridged the link between both PICs with a wire and then tested using the terminal application. Finally it responded and I could then test the communications using the synta test application. This time the test application ran the full script and not only reported the firmware version, but also confirmed the board was an EQ6 and provided the mount specifics for the gearing and steps per RA revolution etc. The board was then cleaned up and is now the first board to become part of this exchange program. I also have a second EQ6 board donated to the cause. This one again reported "No response Both axis" when the handset tried talking to it, and on inspection there is a nice chunk blown out of the DEC axis PIC microcontroller. I'm hoping that replacing both PICs will resolve this, and that this board hasn't got internal damage like the other. This board will have to wait as I have had to order some more 16F886's before getting the soldering iron back out. Naturally this program will only work if the board being sent in for exchange can be repaired. If the board has a glaring burnt hole in it, or some other physical damaged then regretfully I won't be able to help. Also it is dependent on people who have already purchased replacements to donate their faulty boards to me. If I don't have a repaired board to exchange then a normal repair could be considered.

Motors Hybrid High Precision Stepper Motors (Belt Driven) Power Requirement DC 11~16V 2A (higher voltage preferred), 55W Motors 0.9° Hybrid Stepper Motor R.A. Worm Wheel Teeth 308 DEC Worm Wheel Teeth 288 R.A. Gear Diameter 155 Resolution 55,193,600 Counts / Rev. Approx. 0.023 arc-second Looking at the above specifications I would say that a custom gear ratio is required as it's not the same as the EQ8

Given the fact the mount uses the Skywatcher protocol it should be fine to work with EQMOD. However the mount isn't listed on the prerequisites page. It does list the EQ8, and EQMOD does have the option to set custom ratios should the ratios of the CQ350 be different. I guess joining and posting on the EQMOD User Group and linking to this thread might help. Mind you it's been a while since the OP posted so maybe he/she has resolved the issue

Yeah, I saw that. He offered to send me the screens form his old unit so I could see if I could resurrect a handset with a damaged one. I PM'd my details to him which is showing unread, hence the posts here.

@Sponcom Sorry to take this off topic, but the other threads regarding your handsets are now closed and locked. I sent you a PM with regards to the spare screens you mentioned earlier last week, which is showing as unread. Could you check your private messages and hopefully respond? - Cheers

Ray, don't get hung up on polar alignment using the polar scope. Its design is still open to error (the circle in which Polaris is placed is so large you could be a few arc minutes off depending where in the ring Polaris is placed). In an ideal setup you would have the polarscope centred in the mount and then once the mount is polar aligned ensure that any cone error is removed so the scope and RA axis are as for all purposes parallel. The if using a guidescope it is then set so it's axis is also parallel to the main scope. The reason I said don't get hung up on getting the polarscope perfect is because of you go down the imaging road you end up plate solving to get the PA set and then for any imperfections between the mount and scope (or guidescope) you use something like PHD2 to guide on a target star. If you still want to get the polarscope set, then the tip above about placing the tip of a landmark on the large circle and rotate the mount, making adjustments as you rotate the mount so the ring remains on the landmark will ensure the polarscope and mount axis are parallel. Taking this a stage further, remove any cone error by swinging the mount with scope attached until a star (ideally polaris) remains in the centre of the field of view when the mount gets rotated back and forth through 180 degrees, adjusting the small set screws in the cradle to tilt and angle the scope. Finally, align the finder / guide scope so that it too has the target star central when the mount is flipped through 180 degrees. You could then use the excellent plate solving PA tool in sharpcap to ensure the RA axis is perfectly aligned with the Earths axis, which should then mean that PHD2 shouldn't have to work hard tracking a target star.

Matt, with the EQDIR cable connected to the mount and plugged into the PC power up the mount. Then boot the PC into windows, and check that the EQDIR cable has bee assigned a com port, and that the comport is set to 9600 baud. Once checked close Device manager. Browse or navigate (or if listed under programs) to open Toolbox - the path is normally "C:\Program Files (x86)\EQMOD\EQMOD_toolbox.exe" When it launches, and with EQASCOM listed from the dropdown menu click on the Driver Setup button. The EQMOD ASCOM SETUP window will appear. In the section "Mount options" it should say SyntaEQ. Next, in the section Port Details ensure the rate is set to 9600 and that you select the same port number windows allocated to the EQDIR cable. You can also enter the location details in the form of degrees, minutes and seconds etc, and then click on Ok to close the setup window. From the Toolbox window test the connection by clicking on the "test connection" button. All being well EQMOD ASCOM will launch and interrogate the mount to acquire the model, gear ratios etc. Under the positioning details are the slew controls. To the right of the NSEW buttons are two sliders, RA and DEC rate. Between them is a drop down list with numbers 1 to 4, select 4 and you will note that the value in the rate boxes changes to 800. Now you can click and hold down the NSEW buttons and the mount should move. Once you are happy that the mount moves in all four directions click disconnect on the toolbox window to close EQMOD ASCOM down, and then close the toolbox application. I don't use stelarium, but in most applications there is a "telescope connect" option from the main menu. Most will launch the ASCOM Telescope Interface window that allows you to select the telescope being used. In CdC clicking the "select" button then brings up the ASCOM telescope chooser window. In this window there is a drop down menu selection box, clicking the "V" will then display a list of options one of which will be HEQ5/EQ6 - select that and then click Ok to close the chooser. Once selected the ASCOM Telescope interface will then display the chosen mount. Clicking the "Connect" button at the bottom of this window will launch EQMOD ASCOM. This can then be minimised and the telescope interface window hidden by selecting the HIDE button. Now the scope can be unparked and a target selected, which should then result in the mount springing into life. Hope that helps

A new HEQ5 is just over a grand. With the upgrade costing just under half that of a new mount it begs the question of whether to get a new mount rather than fit the upgrade.