malc-c

Are they a UK based company, if so then UK consumer law applies which basically is that you would expect something of reasonable quality to last a reasonable amount of time, and for £700+ you would expect the motor boards to last longer than say one in a cheaper mount such as an HEQ5. It doesn't matter about any "warranty", the consumer rights trump that. It would down to the company to either repair or replace the board, and any possible human error would need to be proven, such as any reverse polarity application, which then would make you liable for the cost. I would certainly be contesting the quality and reliability of these parts and sighting my rights as a customer. If however it's not a UK based company then you may find your're out of luck, unless you purchased it through a UK based agent. If this is the case your complaint should be addressed to them as they are responsible as you would have paid them the money, and that is whom your contract is with.

I'm more than willing to take it off your hands and have a play... I've fixed quite a few boards over the past few years... Saves the thing going to land fill !

Personally I would spend £40 more and get the enhanced drive as this has an ST4 autoguide port should the OP chose to get a finder/ guider or auto guider later. Or if they are sticking with the EQ5 then the synscan upgrade would be the way forward, but that wouldn't leave much of his budget for anything else

That's a shame.. I have two EQ6 boards that have been repaired sitting here, one of which I could have provided on an exchange basis... If you want to donate your old board to the cause drop me a PM. I'm sure that the supplied LED in that ring is used to provide polar scope illumination.

Have to agree with Olly, the mount is the most critical item when taking up imaging. Put a decent camera /lens or telescope on a poor mount and you will always be disappointing in the results. Put an average scope or cheaper end lens/camera on a decent mount and the results will be encouraging... Put a high end camera /lens or scope on a a really decent mount and any issue tends not to be equipment related

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is price. Decent eyepieces start form around £80. Decent Barlows, £100. Use a £100 barlow with a stock or cheap eyepiece and you will be wasting your money. Follow Geoff's advice... invest in a decent branded (Celestron etc) 7mm / 8mm eyepiece. Conversely, spending £800 on a top flight eyepiece and then using it on a low end scope is also a waste of money - There has to be a balance

Read through all the other threads that ask the same question. You'll soon see that your budget is around 2.25x short for what is normally considered the entry level mount alone, and then you need to buy the optics. Having said that, I agree with the above post, and purchase the synscan upgrade for your EQ5, and use the 200P. I would however suggest increasing your budget by around another £200 - £250 for a small guide scope so that you can track a target star as the EQ5 lacks the precision motors found on the more expensive mounts. Imaging is a rabbit hole.... it never ends up being cheap....

Yes you have basically hit the nail on the head... your scope has a long focal length of 1500mm with a focal ration of f11.81. Its this long focal length that makes it great for observing the Moon and planets. With the supplied eyepieces the magnifications are 60x and 150x. The 3x barlow lens effectively gives a 4500mm focal length so you'll get 180x and 450x with the supplied eyepieces. At those magnification the depth of field would make focusing difficult, assuming the image could be focused with that combination. But the main problem would be the focal ratio which would be around f35, meaning that the image will be extremely dark and lack any definition. The relationship between focal lengths of the telescope, the focal lengths of the eyepieces and the focal ratios are so intertwined that increasing one has a knock on effect. Increasing magnification by using smaller focal length eyepieces, or adding barlow lenses requires more aperture to gather more light to maintain the same brightness and detail as seen with lower magnifications. To be honest I would return the 3x barlow and consider getting a decent 6 or 8mm eyepiece. The image will be slightly higher magnifications, but no so much that the image is too dark.

I think its more to do with the max weight it can safely counterbalance. (before extension bars or additional weights are needed.) Also it relates to mass. Ignoring the slightly biasing for imaging, in an ideal world the scope and counter wrights will be perfectly balanced in all axis, but a setup with 8kg of equipment suitably balanced will put less of a strain on the gears and bearings than a 12kg load especially if the mount is driven

Guys we all know the answer is 42 and the Earth is just an experiment by white mice - what more is there to understand 😆

The PDS version of the 200P is quite a good all rounder for imaging. At f5 it's fast enough to get nice bright images of DSO's, and with the addition of a 2x barlow, nice detail of Jupiter and Saturn. If used in an exposed location on a breezy night it can act like a sail, but that's one of the caveats of a large aperture. It does need an HEQ5 as the minimum for use with DSLRs or dedicated imaging cameras, not only because of the load capacity, but also because the mount has better precision stepper motors and control board. The combination of HEQ5/200P has been the recommended entry point for imaging for some time. You can go smaller, such as a 150PDS on an EQ5, but whilst being more portable you lose 2" of aperture and the better precision the HEQ5 offers. As the above posts states, imaging is a deep rabbit hole.. You can easily end up throwing thousands of pounds at specialist scopes and mounts. There is no real one scope fits all, and where imaging is concerned, the mount becomes more critical than the optics sitting on it.

I have a chain of four 300mm white LED strips all fed via an inline dimmer with an on/off switch in the scope side, with a normal 40 lamp in what was the warm room. When I uses to use the scope it was done remotely from the lounge so no need for any red lights when in operation.

Jim, that's pleasing and reassuring to hear that the same fundamentals are being practiced in current teaching... Practical experiments and or demonstrations get turned into memories, especially if / or when they go slightly better than anticipated 🙂

Not read through the whole thread, but I too came from an era where the children in class could do their own experiments in groups or as individuals. From simply things like producing hydrogen in chemistry (every kid gets a thrill out of hearing that pop and seeing the flash in the test tube), through to dissecting a rat in biology. We also had demonstrations for things that were too risky. I remember our chemistry teacher demonstrating how a powder such as flour can become explosive using a large tin, length of rubber hose and a candle. The resulting explosion left the lid embedded in the false ceiling ! - Several years ago there was a program where three scientist were challenged with getting 12 of the worst pupils that resided in one of the worst schools in London to pass their GCSE science a year early. They had one girl who no matter what they did simply played up all the time. She was removed half way through the allotted time as she was a bad influence on the rest. The remaining 11 all passed their exams. How, well the scientist taught them through practical examples, some of which the kids done. They made science fun and the kids then wanted to learn more. Granted some of the things were not what every school could do and were done for the program, but these lessons also changed the kids. They became more respectful, their attitudes to teachers changed and they realized their own potential. My kids hated science... (hated most lessens really) because it was boring. Sat there watching a video demonstrating something rather than doing it themselves. Reasons, probably cost, health and safety, the fear of being sued should little johnny prick his finger or similar.

If he is only 16 then I wouldn't invest a lot as the interest my not last because he may want a motorbike or car a year or two later and his interest may wane. Not saying this is the ideal set up, but it has its merits. £439 will get him a 6" Skywatcher (150mm) f5 reflector on an EQ3-2 mount. It's a visual set up as no motors are include, but options can be purchased at a later date (birthdays or Christmas presents). Single axis motor option is £85 rising to £369 for the full blown synscan goto system. It would make a decent platform should he later wish to get into serious imaging, or if he does end up following other interests and the scope is just gathering dust, it will have a decent resale value.

With an imaging rig rather than visual the mount is the key component. It needs to be motorized and able to counteract the Earths rotation, and needs to be able to provide a rock steady platform for the camera / scope combination. The imaging components can be anything from a cheap Dslr with a lens between 80-200mm through to a dedicated astro CCD camera depending on the expectations of your friend. If he is happy with wide field images of constellations then even some of the compact cameras can do that on a small mount, but if he's after Hubble like images of fain nebula then he will be very disappointed as the equipment required will be way beyond his £500 budget. The 200P is nice for visual. The 200PDS is the version developed for imaging. However for stability it needs to be mounted on an HEQ5 mount or larger, so this will be double your friends budget and they still need camera's and a guide scope and camera to get the results. Often people compromise, they opt for a visual set up and then try and modify it / upgrade it several months after which again can be false ecconomy. Buying secondhand will make his money go further, but shop wisely as there are scammers out there and sometimes if genuine the equipment often is not in the condition claimed. If he's new to astronomy then he wants a decent start and not be in a position where he has to fix problems such as collimation with no experience. So your friend has two options, save up and extend his budget, or opt for a wide field camera option on a smaller compact tracking mount.

I've gone the other way and now my scope is gathering dust in the observatory which is now being shadowed by a large tree. I used to use a 12v 65w switch mode power block that used to power an old netbook. But all that had to drive was the HEQ5 and a Canon D400 via a 7808 linear regulator to drop the 12v to 8v

The biggest expense will be time, especially if you contract a builder to do the job. I know cost have changed since a decade ago, but I built my 2.2m x 4.8m ROR observatory for under £2,500 and that included the hiring of a mixer and the purchase of a chop saw, with the quality T&G cladding costing £400. My build thread is in my signature, and covers the construction of a 4 course dwarf wall, suspended joists and traditional studwork for the walls and roof. Even making a 2.5m x 2.2m roof from studwork and 18mm OSB the roof is heavy to move. A 4.m roof made in the same way would need some form of power assistance to move. I dare say that the use of aluminium would lighten the roof, but then the cost will be higher. Personally I wouldn't look at using sheds. There are very few sheds that will be strong enough to support the roof, and saving a few bob now might lead to a costly expense in a few years when parts need replacing. Companies that offer wooden workshops or garden houses may be more accommodating to constructing something more sturdy. Again, your circumstances may be different but as we needed planning permission we had to submit building plans at the time. Now these don't need to be full blown architectural drawings. So long as they are clear and have the various elevations and material specifications you can draw them up yourself. Now again I can't compare costs of when we built our observatory in Letchworth, but our estimated costs was around £3000 in 1993, and we secure a grant for 50% of the budget provided we raised the other half. With some rejigging of finances our treasurer soon had the bank statements demonstrating that we had met that condition and the grant was deposited shortly after. Using an inflation calculator that £3000 equates to around £7,800. Good luck with your research, and please keep us posted. Detailing the steps you go through may well be helpful for the next person / society wishing to do the same.

Can't believe that it was around 30 years ago ! - Here is a little background on the Letchworth & District observatory, which currently houses a 14" LX200. I was recovering from a fractured wrist and had my arm in a cast at the time, but still managed to lay the foundations single handed, not only due to the cast, but no one else could get the morning off. We met up every weekend to build frames in a barn and transport them up to the site at a top of a field (I'm the guy in the hi-vis jacket). I was also the main administrator for the project, dealing with planning permission, leases, rent, etc. There is more to setting up a society observatory than just the construction, that was the easy part. The main issue is the appointment of an Observatory manager who will be responsible for training any members how to use the scope and that all the Heath and Safety procedures are followed. Our manager handles all booking requests, and work parties to maintain the building and surrounding site. The site we chose was on land owned by the local council and forms part of a working open farm, so we had use of their car park which was ideal for public star parties as we could also use the on site cafe. However at the time we were based in Stevenage and our society name reflected this, so one of the criteria for this project to move forward was that the society needed to be based in Letchworth and our name changed to reflect the move. Even though the two towns are less than 10 mile apart we lost a few members, but then gained some new ones. In addition to planning permission and designing the observatory to meet acceptance form all parties (the farm manager, the council / corporation, and our committee) you need to look at insurance. Not only for the obvious things like theft of / damage to the scope or equipment, but public liability insurance to cover any accidents or injuries. It maybe worth contacting the Federation of Astronomical Societies and make your club / society an affiliated member as I'm sure they offer public liability insurance at a reduce rate due to so many societies signing up (I'm no longer an active committee member these days so things may have changed ). Hope that helps

And I thought it was only Reptile Forum UK where Decade old posts get resurrected by first time posters...... If the revisions are sequential, the handset has gone through a lot of revisions since the OP requested help !

I think you'll struggle to find a company that specializes in custom observatories that can meet your specification. Have a read through the DIY Observatories here as there is lots of information on how people built their own, or companies used to build and supply traditional shed designs with roll off roofs. Mind you 4m x 4m will require some engineering to be able to span that width and roll. If you come across a company called Home Observatories UK DONT place an order. There is a long thread where members have gone as far as court action to get back their deposits following failed orders. The alternative would be to contact Pulsar who produce Dome observatories - I'm sure they must have used reputable builders to work with when siting a dome on a large structure. Or contact a local builder who could draw up plans and quote for its construction. You will need planning permission for a building that size, especially if the site is a third party (I had to get planning permission when our society wanted to build their observatory on land owned by an open farm in Letchworth.) Good luck and I would suggest documenting your project in the DIY section so that the next person asking a similar question can learn from your experience, plus it will make for an interesting read

Given that an HEQ5 is over a grand for the mount alone, getting one with a 200P on top for £600 is such a bargain (assuming its in good condition). The motors and controller in an HEQ5 are superior to those used on an EQ5 so (in theory at least) give better control for guiding... I voted 200P / HEQ5... but then I'm biased 🙂

I've attached the driver that I've used with my QHY5 camera for the past decade. It runs fine on Windows 7 and Windows 10 QHY5.zip

It's worth checking the solder joints as suggested, but seeing that Olly has tried an alternative motor board and still gets the same result would rule that out. Also I'm sure Olly would have pushed these connectors home when exchanging the boards. The fact the handset runs through its initial set up routine rather than reporting a "No response" message suggests the microcontroller(s) on the motor board is/are working and that serial communications are established. The fact that it gives every indication that the mount is working fine but the motors are not running IMO points to either an issue with the driver stage of the motorboard, or with the actual motors which are the only things that have not been swapped out. I have never seen the insides of one of these mounts, but if they use the same control boards as synta mounts (an EQ6 in this case) the the 33v that is fed to the motors is generated from the 12v supply. With the motors connected it's worth checking if voltages are present between pins 1 and 2, and then again between 3 and 4 of the connector. Again, the fact that two motorboards would rule a failure of the A3959 driver chips, so my focus would be to check the wiring between the connectors of the stepper motors and the steppers themselves. The pairs of coils of the motors are between 1st and 2nd, with the second between 3rd and 4th pins of the connector, worth checking with a DVM to see if there is an open circuit by removing the connector at the board and test the pins in the connector. Also check any intermediate connectors between the board and motors if there is an intermediate connectors. If the motors and cable harness check out then I too am at a loss, and would suggest Olly contacts the retailer for advice, or Avalon's technical services as there may well be other test points that can be checked

Basic communications: When the EQDIR cable is connected to the computer it will be recognized as a new COM port. Open Device Manager and having made a note of the comport click on properties and check the baud rate is set to the default 9600. If its FTDI based then there should be no need to download and install any drivers, but if you do need them the VCP drivers can be obtained from the link in the above post. If it uses Prolific chipset then you'll need to download the correct driver from prolific website or the cable providers website. Close device manager. Having installed EQMOD and the ASCOM platform navigate to EQASCOM > Toolbox. Launch the toolbox utility. With eqmod.exe selected click on driver setup. In the toolbox application, set the port setting to match that of the one you noted. Enter all the location details and click OK. Then with the mount powered up and connected select the ASCOM connect. It should launch EQMOD and and communicate with the mount. Set the speed / rate value to 4 and move the mount via NSWE buttons. Once confirmed close EQMOD by selecting ASCOM disconnect on the tool box, and close the toolbox application. Now you should be able to select the mount from NINA or whatever application used for target acquisition or guiding. - I don't use NINA so can't advise on that, but it should be easy enough to select it from some menu as shown in the post above