malc-c

When I designed my observatory I made sure there was enough headroom to place the scope in the normal home position with the roof closed, but need to park it in a custom position to allow the roof to be moved.  EQMod does allow you to set custom parking positions, but how you would be able to tie the two functions and logic of "if roof switch is closed then disable EQmod from running" I have no idea.  Whilst you may be able to use a switch to turn off mount power until the roof has been opened, there may be nothing to prevent the roof being closed whilst the scope is in the way.

Maybe a bit late to the party, but selling something second hand is tricky.  It depends on a lot of factors, such as how rare the item is, how sought after the item is, and then its age and condition.  For me when buying anything that is mainstream I tend to be prepared to pay around 70% of the average retail price provided it's in A1 condition and (if applicable) comes in original packaging.  I then start deducting percentages for age, damaged or missing boxes, the condition of the item (ie are all the parts it's meant to have included) and if it works.  But  as mentioned, it depends how sought after an item is, and its not unheard of items being sold second hand for more than originally purchased (worst cases are known as scalping - just ask any dedicated PC gamer who wanted the latest graphics card !).

It also depends on how much you as a seller is prepared to let things go for.  When I pulled out of tropical marine hobby I sold corals that you would expect to pay hundreds of pounds for in the shops for £20 or £30 each... naturally it generated a lot of interest and achieved the goal of clearing the tank so I could shut it down.  I still made a few hundred pounds in the end, so was happy enough.  

1 minute ago, imakebeer said:

Is it fair to say that if you went for such a scope, F5, you could add a Barlow to increase focal length for planetary work?

Or is it not as simple as that / is this rookie missing something?

(Which is not to say that a dedicated longer focal length scope wouldn't be more optimum for planetary)

Yes you can use barlow lenses to give effectively double or triple the focal length.  I've stacked two 2x barlows with my 200P and taken an image of Jupiter.  The result was OKish, but the resulting 200mm F20 combination the image was quite dark and needed stretching a lot in post processing.  Part of the problem is that every time the light from the target passes through glass it degredates the image a little.  So in order to compensate that you really need high quality barlow lenses which are not cheap because they use better quality optically graded glass that gives less chromatic aberration.   

There are lots of similar posts on the forum so its worth browsing or searching and reading up on suggestions etc they cover.  The problem is that you will never find a scope that covers all the bases.   To resolve more detail in the planets you need aperture and focal length, this is why a lot of the images that grace the covers of magazines that have been taken by armatures have used 12" or 14" F20 Cassagrain or Mac's.   When it comes to faint deep sky objects the opposite is true.  A large aperture but fast scope with a short focal ratio of F5 or less.

Out of the two you list I would opt for the Explorer 150.  If you are considering connecting a camera at a later stage then the PDS version would be a better bet.  Place this on an EQ3 or better still an EQ5 and you'll have a rig that will cover for any future ventures into astrophotography should you later wish to go down the road.  The EQ5 will have a greater load carrying capacity, and provide a slightly more stable platform for the scope.

EQ mounts are not that daunting.  They are basically an Alt/Az mount tilted to match the latitude from where you are observing.  Granted the eyepiece can get into some funny positions when using a Newtonian reflector, but there are ways to overcome that without upsetting the balance of the scope.

Anyway, that's my 2p worth.... 

11 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

now we just need you to figure out a good way to replace failing displays @malc-c 😉 

That does seem to be the next most common problem.... It is sad that Synta forces people in to a position where they have to pay out a lot of money for a complete new handset for the sake of an LCD module that probably cost just a  few $$.  It would be nice if they offered spare parts at reasonable prices for the most common problems.  But I guess they wouldn't make money then.  I mean look at how may motor boards have been fixed by SGL members on this forum for a fraction of the cost of a replacement board or more as a lot of the Dobsonian owners would have needed a complete new base as the new boards are different.  And that is just one forum, there are similar threads running on forums in Europe and the US.

The problem with the display is that it is proprietary.  It may well have a common driver/controller, but the physical shape and size means that it can't be replaced easily with an off the shelf 16x2 LCD display.  If I ever do get a reply from Synta for the cost and process to obtain them then I will post details here 

Just to update this thread with another success.  @younghome contacted me via PM for some assistance and over the past few weeks has obtained, programmed and replaced the faulty PICs on the two MC004 boards.  There were a couple of issues that had both me and @ozarchie scratching our heads, but after the second attempt the handset finally communicated with the two boards and the mount is now working fine

16 hours ago, Adreneline said:

Interesting to read your experiences.

I have used the PoleMaster camera with SharpCap - it gave a different result to using the PoleMaster camera with its own software - hence my confusion and doubting as to which is best/better.

 

That's interesting, and something must had changed in either the camera firmware or Sharpcap for them both to work together.  As I mentioned, this was in the days when both options had just emerged onto the market.

Interesting thread...  When Polemaster came out I was lucky enough to be loaned one for my HEQ5 from Modern Astronomy to review for our society newsletter.  My mount is fixed in an observatory so once set PA shouldn't need adjusting.  I like the logic that having a camera in the RA axis should give the best accuracy of PA.  For ages after the review kit was returned I got various guiding results, and a lot of people suggested my PA was out.  I would always disagree as I had used what was then claimed to be the most accurate method of PA.  Prior to this I had polar aligned using EQMOD which would rotate the mount to the correct polar hour, but then required some manual input which given the tolerance of the polar scope could be hit an miss, but my guiding errors were normally better than after I used Polemaster.

When Sharpcap released the version with their PA tool I tried that.  But this time I used my finder guider.  My work flow was to centre a bright star in the main scope, and then centre the same star in the finder.  I then ran through the alignment routine until I received an "excellent" result. However when I first ran the steps to calculate the initial alignment after the mount had been aligned with Polemaster  it was way out (as Adreneline encountered).  My guiding graphs after PA'ing  with Sharpcap were better, but I felt could be improved upon.  I began questioning myself over using the guidescope as it's probably around 5-8" off the same axis of the main scope.  But then any cone angle formed using this would have been calculated as the software (as far as I recall) had me rotate the scope through 180 degrees E to W.    My thoughts were that in reality the angle over the millions of miles to the targets we are imaging would be so insignificant it's hardly worth worrying about.  Having close PA is better than having hardly any at all, and certainly miles better than using the polar scope and procedure in the SW manual !

I guess the best option would be to use a Polemaster camera fitted to the mount, but use the Sharpcap software.... something that apparently isn't possible as the camera is locked into to the software thus preventing it being used with any other applications. 

5 hours ago, Gumminess8083 said:

@malc-c@StevieDvd Thanks for your help!

Not sure which of the two things you recommended was the correct one, but now everything works!

My guess is that it was a combination of both.  Having the correct driver and a clean slate to install it on 🙂

Glad to hear you're back up and running

Mounts that use the Prolific chipset via a USB port need the comport set to 115200 baud speed.  You may also find that the chipset is different to the one used in the EQDIR cable.  I'm also guessing that the com port gets registered and shown in device manager without any yellow exclamation marks?

Similar issues have been resolved by clearing all the stored serial ports in Device Manager.  Under the VIEW option in device manager select "show hidden devices"  All stored ports will be listed with a lighter grey icon.  You could select and right click on each one and select "remove device" to give you a clean slate, or you could just remove all Prolific entries.  Then install the driver for the Prolific driver and connect the mount.  This would then be the only prolific comport on the computer.  Right click and set the speed to 115200 baud and run EQASCOM toolbox  and see if you can connect to the mount.

9 hours ago, solarboy said:

Try changing the baud settings 

Regards solarboy 

The OP replaced his faulty board and is now back up and running.....

 bit more info could help.  How are you connecting the scope to the computer?  What OS are you running (windows/ linux)? Have you installed the required driver (most SW mounts that have USB need the Prolific chipset driver installed under windows)?  If running windows and have installed the driver is it being registered in Device manager and if so have you tried setting the baud rate to 115200?  Have you installed the ASCOM platform for windows, or INDI etc for Linux?  Are you using EQMOD under windows or GSS?

Is this issue just with this item of software, or  is it the same with any planetarium application such as Cartes du Ciel.  Can you elaborate on "I have put in all settings into the laptop and when I turned it off the laptop and turn back on  all the settings disappeared"

On 23/10/2022 at 17:42, vlaiv said:

This is really interesting.

I actually have concern about this bit.

Small error on last stage can be significant in terms of absolute error.

When belt is placed at first reduction stage - then any error it produces is small in magnitude (but much faster - which puts strain on guide system). Belt at last stage can have significant amount of error. If meshing is not very precise there could be fraction of a degree of peak to peak error (which is much larger than say half an arc minute often found in even cheap mounts).

I must admit the instructions are a work of art with very clear and animated drawings.  The actual drive is geared, its not direct from the motor.  

Quote

Both RA and DEC are driven entirely by belts, resulting in extremely low backlash. On both axis there is a two-stage belted gearbox with a reduction of 9:1 which, in combination with the large RA and DEC wheels, gives a total reduction of 316:1 and 234:1 for RA and DEC respectively.

Personally I like the design.  By the time all the profile sections are screwed together the structure seems sturdy enough.  Seeing this is an open source project I'm sure the design would have changed to include extra bracing or plating as suggest in post above it it was deemed necessary.

There are quite a few commercial mounts costing £2500 upwards that look less sturdy.  But adding some nice CF plate to enclose the frames making it less open frame would look nice, and could add more stiffness if required

Whats interesting is that the two corrupted segments of the LCD  are displaying the same pattern of pixels., however I doubt that corrupted segments of a LCD would be the cause of the problem.  The fact you also updated the firmware and that went OK would suggest the processor(s) is (are) running OK , but without knowing how exactly the firmware runs when the fault happens it's impossible to tell if the issue is a result of a hardware issue with the motor drive chips.  Does the mount track, or does the mount advanced at the default speed when the directional buttons are pressed ?

How old is the scope / mount / handset ? 

Ascom can be downloaded from the link Chris has provided.  

How are you connecting the EQ6 to the computer.  If it's using a USB cable then the driver you require for the com port is a Prolific drive which you can find here.  If you are using an FTDI based EQDIR cable then windows should have installed the driver (or left it unchanged) as part of the update.

Gentlemen, please.  Normally it's only the ladies that quibble over the extra inch !!

From memory (seeing my nephew is now 18) it was more than likely the 76mm version as the tube had all the writing on it.  Can't recall if it was the SW or Celestron variant.  We struggled to get any detail on the disk of Jupiter, but you could see the larger moons that were on view at the time. 

When my nephew was around 10 or 11 his dad asked me for some suggestions as his son was interested in astronomy, partly because he has seen my 200P in the observatory, but also as they were doing Astronomy projects at school, and was considering a telescope as a Christmas present.  He was looking around the £100 mark and didn't want something that was really a glorified toy and would be a waste of money.  He ended up with a Heritage model, with a 3" mirror, liking the idea if can sit on a table and be easy to use. 

Shortly after Christmas we arranged a small star party so he could try the scope out.  It was a moonless night, but Jupiter was bright in the SW, so that was the first target.  It showed up nicely as a small disk with a couple of pin pricks of light either side.  My nephew was disappointed, expecting to see a similar image that I get with the 200P and a couple of stacked barlows.  We tried a few other targets, but he found it hard to look at a chart and star hop, becoming more and more frustrated as the night went on.  So I let him use my old Tasco 8 x 40 binoculars.  He got all excited the moment he first used them, commenting on just how many stars he could see through them.  He managed to hold them well, and being able to locate a bright star or constellation naked eye and then just raise the binos and see what it contained kept him amused for the rest of the night.  Granted he probably saw less detail of the Orion Nebula  through them than he did with the small scope, but that didn't seem to matter to him.  Needless to say the scope didn't see much use after that, but he did get a pair of binoculars for his birthday that came around a few months later.

Now I can't say that this experience will be the same for everyone.  We are all individuals and it may be that the OP's child is more patient and has less expectations.

Many thanks for the kind words and I was gutted that we couldn't get the board to respond, despite trying all the normal things that worked with in the past with other boards.  At least one positive thing has come about from this experience, in that it's given you confidence in dismantling and refitting things.  

Pleased to hear the new replacement motorboard is working as it should.

Not sure if it will do anything, but I know Chris often suggests using the Toolbox to backup and then delete the configuration files (general and alignment data) and then see if that clears the error - Maybe worth a try

Firmware and windows based application to perform the update can be found on Skywatchers website here.  The typical method of updating is as follows:

The mount needs to be connected to a windows PC, either by an USB cable, and EQDIR cable (that replaces the handset) or a serial cable to the handset which needs to be in PC-DIRECT mode.  Whichever method is used the computer will see the connection as  a serial port (If this mount is set up in an observatory chances are you will already have the connection and be using a PC for mount control ?).

With the mount powered up launch the loader software and have it find the com port or manually select it.  The software will communicate with the mount and return the current firmware version.  You then navigate to the firmware you juts downloaded and click the update button.  I don't have your mount, so can't comment if the version of firmware on the website resolves any issues you have

On 18/10/2022 at 11:31, malc-c said:

Not sure what's the way forward really, other than reseating cables etc there is not a lot more you can do.  If after the camera has been put back together its still bricked then sadly that's it unless you take it to a specialist, but then the cost of his time and any parts might make it prohibitive, and it would be better to look for an already modified camera on the classified section.

6 hours ago, Alijah12 said:

ITS WORKING!! Wow I never thought I would get it working. After I got it to turn on and it set error 70 I went back in reseated every cable and made 10000% sure they were perfect came out and it works and the mod was successful! If your camera isn't turning on after a mod CHECK THE CABLES I thought for sure they were perfect but cable F was slightly crooked. You will think the cables are perfect and there is no way they are wrong but 99% of the time its them trust me they are wrong. 

It only takes one of the tabs on a printed cable not to be making contact.  Glad to hear the camera is working 

No worries...glad its put your mind at rest 😉

Rob,

What issues are you having other than the limits mentioned above ? - For EQMOD issues it might be worth placing a post on their user group https://groups.io/g/EQMOD as disabling limits should remove that message of limits reached.

Personally I would suggest a pair of 8 x 40 binoculars.  From my personal experience youngsters often run through fads and interest in quick succession and are easily bored when things take an age, and then feel let down as what they see is nothing like the colourful and detailed images seen in books and online.  Binoculars also double up in daytime use.  At the seaside, looking at ships on the horizon, in a park allowing them to get close to birds and animals etc.

It's perfectly normal for HEQ5 and EQ6's to make a noise, even when parked.  It's the high frequency PWM that is used to control the motors.  Its not so much a hum as a zing !