malc-c

Thanks for the summary of what you have and what you have tried... Just to clarify things (not that I may be able to offer any more to the cause as other posters are more knowledgeable on PHD), are you still having the same issues as the first HEQ5, regardless if EQMOD or the Synsan app is used? One observation I made is that with your scopes 1400mm (as per calibration data) focal length (presumable you are using a reducer as the C8 is normally over 2000mm f10), and an OAG, could the issue be that the calibration pulses are moving the star too much, or that it moves it out of the FOV of the OAG?. Could it also be a factor that what has been suggested as poor seeing could be a combination of a faint star and f10 ratio giving a faint image of the star ? My experience of guiding has been with short fast guide scopes like the ST80 and now the 9 x 50 finder, with no experience of OAG, so apologize if my comments are irrelevant, or my assumptions are wrong.

The new generation of Ryzen processors are caning intel at the moment.... But as far as astro imaging or stacking is concerned any modern day processor is fine. You don't need a 32 core overclocked CPU to stack images in Deep Sky Stacker.....

Late to the party on this occasion. I've read through this thread, but can't seem to find info on how the mount is being controlled and how the guiding is set up, other than a comment that the OP is not using EQMOD. Just want to add to the comments on backlash. Belt mods do not remove backlash to these mounts. There is still backlash in the worm and in any small tolerances in the pulleys. When I was developing / experimenting with belt conversion years ago (before rowan engineering made a business from it) I opted to use EQMOD and went for a 4:1 ratio that helps with the harmonics for PE. - But I feel we're digressing ... The thing I can't understand is the fact that in this original image the calibration steps are not at 90 degrees to each other for RA and DEC Are you still having the same problem ? - or does the calibration now gives you the correct L shaped tracks ? What is bing used as a guide scope or is the OP using an off axis guider ? If the OP is not using EQMOD, is this something they would consider? Using an EQDIR cable - It would certainly rule out whatever method is being used to interface the PC to the mount.

I presume by the fact that standard serial communications and EQmod has meen mention in this "USB" post that the mount is connected to a PC via an EQDir cable. If so is the cable plugged directly into the PC or via some form of USB extension lead. If via an extension lead then this may be where the issue is as USB signals cannot be guaranteed to maintain integrity over 5m distance unless an active cable is used. However if the issue is with communications EQMOD will report a comms error. 25amp is overkill for a PSU to drive a Skywatcher mount. An HEQ5 / EQ6 typically draws 1.9amp on each motor so a 5amp supply would be the minimum, 10amp would be ample You mention that gotos are off, yet you also stated that you don't do the alignment procedure. Is the scope permanently mounted in an observatory ? - If not then the rouge goto's are probably more to do with poor PA than the instructions to direct it. Unless the mount is fixed, you will still need to clear and re-do the alignment points in EQMOD for each session, otherwise the corrections it used from the previous session will be used, which will naturally be wrong as the scope has been moved.

Whilst expensive, you can't beat genuine meanwell power supplies. I've been using a 48v Meanwell to power my DIY LED rig for the reef tank which has been running 24/7/365 for the past 8 years and not so much as a blip. Sounds like you have picked a good person for a neighbour... saving you a fortune on new motor boards and cameras

But you need to do this for polemaster or your suggested option in the first post. What guidescope / camera combo do you have. I used a QHY5 with a stock SW 9 x 50 finder to PA my HEQ5 using sharpcaps PA tool. Worked fine.

Whilst it would be possible for an update to fail and prevent communication with handsets or wifi etc, I can't see how it would kill a mounts power. There have been a few recent cases where updating the firmware on a handset or on a motor board has resulted in communication errors, but the mount still powered up. On a couple of these an EQDir cable had been plugged into the wrong port and a new PIC microcontroller had to be programmed to replace the damaged one. Assuming you had the handset in the correct port this shouldn't be the case. Maybe you need to update the handset firmware as well ? Just searched for similar issues and it seems that updates can fail - but are fixable https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/323595-az-gti-stuck-in-firmware-update-mode/

Its not so much as "will it fit" its more of a case of comfortably working around the setup. I have a modest 200P on HEQ5 in the observatory, this is 2.2m x 4.8m split in the middle which gives a scope room of approx 1.8m x 2.2m internally. This gives me ample space to move around, however if the scope is placed in the normal home position I still have to "limbo" around the OTA

I've been a beta tester, working on reptile husbandry software and used Virtual Box to test installs on all windows OS's from 7 through to 10. I already had genuine licences for 7 and 8, and you can run windows 10 without activation, even after 30 days.It's stable and makes for a decent means of running older software on modern machines without the need for additional hardware. I doubt that the software in the link is genuine. The VB image will have a "licenced" copy of the OS, plus the application. Most database applications like that are either linked to a manufacture of a scanning tool, and have been hacked to make them work without that device attached, or it isn't hardware dependent and the software has been pirated with a genuine illegal copy of the serial number... either way that is a lot for ten quid. I used to have a similar application that all Volvo dealers used for parts identifications, circuits diagrams and fault codes etc. It didn't need hardware interfacing to the car, but with so many copies circulating apparently Volvo changed their database diagnosis system to a server client system, and now only registered dealers can log in, and when a car is connected apparently the servers communicate directly with it and send back info on the cars condition, along with any part references and wiring diagrams etc so I've been told.

Bit late to the party, but I use DipTrace for my PCB work - then have the boards made from the exported gerber files by JLPCB in China...

Just googled 203mm reflector and nearly all the results came back as an Orion, but most were GEMs not Dobs... so it's anyone's guess

Its EU law... Spain has 14 day distance selling rules. The only grey area is that the OP has dismantled the scope which may affect their rights

Drinking RO water is dangerous, to a degree and depending on what stage of the filtration process you take the water from, and what size filters are used as RO units for domestic supplies are different from those sued in fish keeping. As mentioned above, I use a 4 stage aquarium rated RO unit for producing the water for top up and weekly water changes. Out of the tap the water has around 350-375 PPM of dissolved solids (including the additives the loacy authority drop in). Our water is also very hard. We tee off after the membrane stage and use that for making tea and coffee. The kettle has never been de-furred in years, and still looks as good as the day it was first used. The tea and coffee also taste a lot nicer. The water is around 30-50 ppm at this stage. We also use the water with squashes, and haven't suffered any long term health issues over the past decade. However, I wouldn't recommend drinking the water after the 4th stage, as the water after this stage is pure with zero ppm. If you did it would start to re-absorb minerals and calcium from your body, which is not ideal !

I keep a reef tank so have my own RO unit under the sink. This is a four stage unit, the last stage being the DI resin, so the output is fully filtered and deionized with zero PPM of dissolved solids. I used this to clean the optics of my 200P. You can get deionized water for use in car radiators, steam irons etc, or if you do get water from a local tropical fish supplier it will do the same job

To be fair to the supplier, presuming the scope is from a mainstream manufacturer such as Synta, Mead, etc, the supplier has no knowledge of the condition of the mirror as it's only going to be visible if the mirror cell is removed as is the case here. The issue is a lack of quality control at the manufacturer. If the supplier has raised an RMA and sent you a returns label, arranges collection, and ships you a replacement (hopefully one they have checked themselves to ensure the fault isn't consistent in the batch) then they have resolved the situation to the best of their ability and well within your consumer rights. If the replacement scope has the same issue then you would be well within your rights to return that, again at the suppliers expense, and this time have a refund for the full cost. If the scope was purchased via a website then you als have additional rights under the distant selling regulations and can return it for any reason for a full refund provided you notify the supplier of the fault or reason (it can be any reason, even if you don't like the colour) within a set number of days (I'm not a legal expert, but believe its 14 days). The only issue here is if the supplier is not based in the UK

Ahh... that is the one real advantage of a warm room....... but then again, is the rest of your family up at 2am?

Seeing that I seldom do an imaging session in the observatory these days as I remote desktop into the observatory PC I would suggest that you may not even need a shed near the mount. You could get away with a small form factor PC and house that with a mount power supply in a small box next to the mount. You could have the extension cable stored in the box as well so there is no need to have a permanently installed electrical feed. When you want to observe, open the box, reel out the cable and plug it in to the nearest 13amp outlet and away you go. If you want to image, have a wi-fi card in the PC and remote desktop into the PC from your main PC in the comfort of your living room. The box could be as small as 18" x 18" x 24" depending on the PC you use. A local shop was selling HP8200 SFF (i5, 4GB Ram, 500GB HDD) for £60 inc vat which is ample to drive a scope and run the software required...

Here's my 2p worth. I started with a 200P on an goto EQ-5 mount. Fantastic scope for visual observing, and with the use of a webcam (as was the trend back then) produced some good images of the Moon. However due to the level of light pollution in the area (pre LED street lights) I ventured into imaging with a DSLR (Canon D400). The mount was simply not up to the task. The weight of even a small DSLR camera body was pushing the mount to its limit. It was doable for bright objects that meant you got away with short exposures, but you needed very precise polar alignment, and no wind to get anything halfway decent. Adding additional weight for some form of guiding would also compound the issue, and for me I wanted to enjoy imaging and not have to fight the constant issues the set up threw at me. So I took the plunge and built myself an ROR observatory so I could remove a few obstacles such as wind and having to set up polar alignment every time. But whilst it helped a little, I was still having problems and needed to use some form of guiding. I also noticed a strange artifact in the images where bright stars had a 5th spike, and despite a lot of tests (and a post on here that rand for well over a year and into double digit pages) was resolved by fitting a secondary that was the same size as the 200 PDS version of the scope. Also, as I need to guide I needed to upgrade the mount to something that would take the weight of a guide scope, guide camera and all the cables that go with it, so purchased a secondhand HEQ5, ST80 and QHY5 from someone on the forum who was selling one at the time. However, even in the observatory, the Explorer 200 with D400, ST80, QHY5 and all the cables was really pushing the HEQ5 to its limits, and as I couldn't afford to replace it with an EQ6, U had to come up with a form of guiding that would reduce the mass, opting to convert the finder to s guidescope, which works to a degree, but having a short focal length that is half that of the ST80 means the guide ratio is on its limit, but it works. Looking back in hindsight I should have opted for the 200PDS on an HEQ5 or possibly the EQ6 from the start for an imaging rig. It would have been cheaper, and I wouldn't have had to run through the steep learning curve and try an overcome the issues I had.

Cheers, and glad to be of assistance...

Excellent, Nice to see another mount given a new lease of life. Please to of been assistance, and if my 21 year old Volvo V70 fails her MOT (so far she hasn't failed yet !)and I need parts I'll be sure to take you up on our offer 🍻

Which scope are you referring to Adam, the ED50, evoguide or ST 80 ?

The Evoguide is a nice scope, and benefits from a slightly longer focal length of a standard 9 x 50 finder, but the standard ST80 is £60 less, and almost double the focal length, which gives a better guide ratio with any given camera. But is twice the weight of the ED50....

It may well be, but at under 2kg would be well with in the load capability of an EQ6, and he already has the scope.

The ED 72 would make a very nice guidescope

Just some comments based on my own experience. Explorer 200P is fine for visual on an EQ5 or HEQ5 mount. The belt vs gear drive won't make any real difference for naked eye observing. However if you are also looking at an explorer 200 for imaging, then get the PDS version. A few years back there was a long thread that spanned 16 months of trying to resolve an issue I had with a 5th and sometimes 6th spikes of the image with any bright stars. The issue was resolved by swapping out the standard 200P secondary mirror for one the size of the PDS secondary. I also found that the EQ5 was at its limit for visual observing, and upgraded to an HEQ5. My setup was housed in a purpose built observatory so it is protected against the breeze so that may have had some bearing on the mounts stability. The Rowan belt mod originated from this forum. A few guys had done their own DIY modification to convert their EQ6's, and at the time (around late 2011 if memory serves me correctly) I started messing about with pulleys and a belt to convert my own HEQ5. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/121114-heq5-experiments-with-belt-drive/?tab=comments#comment-1198047 https://youtu.be/dh3F1xkdj98 As I used EQMod to control the scope I could use a 4:1 ratio, and even though I made up and sold a few kits for others, it was another guy with his own CNC engineering business that took both the belt drive for EQ6 and HEQ5 to the commercial level as he could machine the small pulley to maintain the default ratio so the mount could be used with the standard handset. For imaging the belt driven mount is far better than the geared version, not only making the mount quieter, but it removes one area of backlash in the gear train and thus makes guiding less of a challenge. In my case having a even ratio of 4:1 helps with PE as the error is very regular. Some form of guiding is essential when imaging, and yes an ST80, small dovetail and rings, plus the camera and cables is soon going to put the total weight to the max for the HEQ5, and unless you have a sheltered spot it might be an issue. For me I went around seven years with an ST80 / QHY5 arrangement However, recently I've tried to reduce the mass that the mount has to swing about, so I sold the ST80, small dovetail and rings, and converted the 9x50 finder to a Guidescope using a £30 adapter ring to mount the QHY5 camera to it, and whilst a scope with a longer focal length helps with tighter guiding, the recent results in testing and calibrating the set up are very encouraging. The stars are small and round which is the main thing. So to summarise, opt for the PDS version of the 200P, if you can stretch to it, opt for the EQ6 with a belt drive, or if you observe from a sheltered area, a belt driven HEQ5. The EQ6 has a better load rating, and would handle a 200P with a ST80 (or larger) guidescope, and should be more stable in a light breeze. But no mount would hold a 200P steady enough in windy conditions. Hope that helps,