AstroGeorge84

Definitely! It’s all moving as should now which is great. Will be much easier to achieve PA now too. It was a real challenge trying to get it accurate with the stiff alt screw.

SOLVED! After playing around and loosening a few bolt I have managed to fix it. I had a couple of the Allen key bolts way too tight.

I have the NEQ6 pro mount which has the upgraded EQ6 wedge kit attached. However when adjusting the Altitude screw I don’t feel the mount is adjusting with it. If anyone with the same set-up could tell me if I should noticibly see a different whilst adjusting the altitude screw. i may need to resort to removing the wedge and reinstalling if I’ve not perhaps tightened something well enough.

Great news folks. Sorry taken a while to update but had the scope out last week and pleased to say it’s all working great. During that afternoon I had the scope upstairs (in my dogs room) where I can see the Forth Bridge (just outside Edinburgh) so I managed to achieve focus on that. During the evening everything just seemed to work really well, auto focuser did its thing, then polar alignment was great. Just before clouds spoiled my fun the scope went to M81 and managed go get one image of it as it was clouding over. So im super pleased and cannot wait to get back out with it!

Ouroboros thanks for that, very helpful. I am struggling to get focus with the main ASI533 cam. I’ve had it set up during daylight to try focus on distant roof tops. I had my 55mm back focus but using a 0.9 Coma Corrector so not sure if that alters back focus at all? I do have extension tubes which I’ll try next time I get out.

Hi Ian, thanks for responding, the bird is with the guide scope but can’t seem to get anything on the main scope/ camera which is frustrating. Im going to try again tomorrow with some trees which are a bit further away, I’m not sure if the roof top was a bit close for the main scope. I did have the focus tube all the way out and took preview images every so often as it wound in but never managed to get near focus at all. Hopefully with more fiddling about tomorrow I’ll manage to get something.

Update: so I set up my guide scope (Skywatcher 50ED) pointing out my back window and managed to get focus on some distant trees with the ASI533 which im super chuffed about lol! I also got focus with my guide cam (ASI120MM). So… I set my big scope up outside earlier this evening and got the guide cam on some rooftops over the road from me but I couldn’t get anything on the main scope cam. Tried adjusting the focuser (EAF) out fully, but no success. Do you think I need an extension tube to get the camera further out at all? it could be the roof tops I’m aiming at are quite close… I may try again tomorrow and point to some trees much further away (I’d need to open my back gate to point the scope out of).

Yeh back focus is 55 so should be all good

Yeah I have the skywatcher 50ED for my guide which I’ll remove and attach to the camera, will let you know how that goes

ok, so I’ve rigged up the camera to my laptop using USB3 cable. ZWO advised me to use ASI studio take a very short exposure/ low gain photo in a well lit room (I pointed my camera outside from a window) without any scope attached to the cam. The result was a bright green screen, I’ve tried making small adjustments but to no avail. Any ideas?

Thanks so much for all of that. Yeah I don’t doubt it’s operator error, I am relatively new to the hobby but appreciate all the help. I realised this morning also that I was using a USB 2 cable and not the USB 3, not sure if that would make a difference but I’ll try all your advice when I get home form work today. kind thanks

Yeah I did play around with the exposure lengths etc but still nothing.

Hi folks. Firstly my setup- Skywatcher 250pds - ASIAIR+ - ASI533pro - I am having issues with the ASIAIR+ and getting an image. I had tried at night and it just wasn’t picking up anything. So today I tried during daytime (on video mode) and again just a white screen. It must be picking up something as it does turn dark when I put the dust cap on the scope. I’ve tired adjusting gain but doesn’t do anything. I’ve got 55mm back focus with my ASI camera so that should be good. The scopes collimated ok as well. It’s getting so disheartening and just frustrating, so if anyone can help suggest a fix would be great.

That’s fantastic Louis thankyou so much.

Thanks for the reply, that all sounds good and easy enough to do. Will get a dedicated lens cleaning kit.

So I just purchased a coma corrector second hand for my skywatcher 250pds. just checked it and the lens is pretty grubby… what would be the best way to clean this? Or is better getting it sent to a professional? thanks in advance George

Thanks, yeah everything seems to be super tight, but I’m maybe missing something. It was a pretty scary experience when I took my scope off the mount and the bloody thing just fell forward, weights battering into the front leg of the tripod. I’ll go over all the bolts tomorrow and make sure it is all proper tight.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I have the clamp at the other side. It seemed to hold ok when I first got the mount so don’t know what’s going on with it.

I recently bought the NEQ6 mount second hand and very happy with it so far. However, I’m having an issue with the mount dropping forward when the counterweights are put on. I’ve tightened the Allen key bolts ok the mount but not sure if there’s something I’m missing. im using three counterweights as I have the Skywatcher 250pds. It even fell forward when the scope was attached. I’ve added a photo as an example of what happens when the mount falls forward. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!