souls33k3r

I seriously am pulling my hair right now and no love for the new mount right now. I just can't seem to get along with this new mount. Another night being wasted and I haven't even managed to take one sub yet. When I polar align (using PoleMaster) the mount, my star jumps which isn't really evident when I first made the video but when bringing it back to home position you can clearly see in the video below. VID-20190907-WA0080.mp4 In PHD2, my polar alignment error shows up as 50 arc minutes. Please help.

Just the mount head/counter weights (over night) but maybe the scope if I set it up during the day. Sorry this might be the small size, I was actually looking at the large size. I only need to cover the mount head with the counterweight bar attached and maybe the scope but the scope will only live underneath it during the day.

Ta muchly guys. Someone also recommended me this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06ZXXLNR2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&th=1&psc=1 Certainly looks the part. What do you think?

No worries mate, would appreciate it A friend of mine recommended some towels and then a BBQ / Garden Furniture cover

Hi Sara, Yeah TG are great at what they do but it's the price bracket which is out of my budget unfortunately for the purpose I'll be needing. I'm sure they're worth their weight in gold. I agree mate, that's why some times we might have to resort to alternatives which for our needs are sufficient which is exactly what I'm looking for. Would be nice to find out if there is a cheaper yet good alternatives to the premium brands out there that will do the job. Also would be handy if you could remember which one you bought and how long have you used it for and any your take on it

Hi all, I'm looking for some telescope cover recommendations which has been tried and tested and doesn't break the bank. Situational factors: Only the mount will live under the covers if there are clear nights in succession. The scope will come inside during the night but might live under it during the day time (for a couple of hours) only. Thanks in advance.

Trust me it is. I guess the fov is not narrow enough to notice this.

That's really awesome. I'm also surprised to see that the bright star did not have the age old chequered problem. A lot of us suffer from this issue. What filter did you use if you don't mind me asking?

I agree Steve, replacing the rings with a new set of SW may or may not work. I am happy for my rings to be sent to you but I am equally happy for you to send me thicker felts and I can apply them, since I have applied them already so know exactly how to do them. That will surely be time saving exercise for me and less headache for all. Needless to say I trust you and leave this in your capable hands to let me know what works best and will resolve this issue once and for all.

Perfect, Cheers Steve. I replied back as well

That is seriously weird. I sent yesterday at 12:34pm. Yes I did receive the auto reply. Let me forward it once again

Can you kindly explain what these mean?

Cheers mate, what I ended up doing for the interim is use a very thin rubber with a pattern which I placed a piece each on the top side of the tube ring (couldn't use two pieces because the tube ring wouldn't close) and it looks like it might work but I wouldn't know unless I test this out which God knows when we'll be blessed with clear skies. But like I said, this is an interim solution and I would want a permanent fix. @FLO Steve, did you guys get my email?

Oh wow, yes I remember you and I both had the same issue and got our felts around the same time. Seems like these felts do have a life of only a few months. I'm sure I would've noticed this issue sooner if I hadn't been out of the game for the last few months. Lens cloth idea sounds really good, as long as it works. I don't mind it being messy because it will be a temporary fix while I await for the proper fix which whatever it might be.

Wasn't sure so didn't think of it but one to keep in mind. Cheers Steve Maybe I might try and find an interim solution while I wait for the proper fix

Done sir. Thank you Because the scope is still under warranty, I didn't want to mess about with it otherwise sounds like a great idea and one I'll keep in mind Ouch! Well I wouldn't mind if it rotates but my scope slips within the rings and makes the scope slide backwards

@FLO, can you kindly assist? Thank you.

I suppose that's one way to do it and I'm sure someone has tried this already. Weird, maybe my kit on the top is not central axis balanced after all then but you're right, once the threaded rod with washers went in (in to the counterweight hole), it was was fine afterwards. Not going to re-invent the wheel.

Resurrecting and old'ish but still very much an issue thread. Over the weekend I went out and balanced my scope and was getting ready for the clear night on Sunday (last night). When I brought the scope back in on Saturday, I noticed the scope had slipped from its tube rings, about a good inch. I thought that maybe I accidentally did it or maybe the tube rings were slightly loose so left it as it is for the day. Last night was going to be the first night in 3 months that I was going to image. So before I went out, I moved the scope back to a position that I now know is where I've left my scope, tightened the locks for the rings and took the scope out. Apart from battling the issues with the new kit, I started to notice that my stars were getting elongated. I put that to bad polar alignment (separate issue for a different thread). At the end of the session when brought the scope back in, it had slipped again. @FLO were great at getting me the new felts on time but did fear that this might happen again and now it did. I don't know what else to do now. It's pointless if my scope slips and with such sensitive mount if not in perfect balance will start to pick up on these issues.

Seems like this is a common issue with many, I'm not the first one it seems and those who have had the same issue have been able to fix it. Depends on what weights you'll be adding but this threaded rod solution firstly works and secondly it cost me £7 altogether so far cheaper solution but what's really annoying is that a LOT of people are having to use this method to balance their RA. I've got 2 counterweight but both are 9.5kgs. Tried to have them both on but it's was just too heavy so had to remove one.

Hi John, Thank you for the share. And you scope balanced in all 3 axis I take it? Because my scope of I leave in RA horizontally, its balanced and the same goes for the Dec but when either RA or Dec in vertical position, it just wants to swing one way or the other. Basically towards the side it reckons has more weight. Its so sensitive this mount that it's weird and getting it perfectly balanced it an art for sure.

Hang on, from the documentation of the mount that bolt thay you highlighted is to be used to move the counterweight shaft if you're living in low altitude because at low altitude there's a chance of the counter weight bar hitting the tripod. That's all, never knew that it was also used for balancing the RA too 🙄 The RA axis was balanced when the scope was in horizontal position but that's the only place it was. As soon as I move it to a different position, the RA wants to come back to horizontal position. But this threaded rod trick worked like a treat.

Sorry about the late reply but I went out today and bought myself a 1m M12 rod, 4 nuts and a bag of washers. Cut the rod to 1 foot first and added 20 washers and voilà, the RA came to balance straight awat, cut the threaded rod to another 3" and added a few more washers and its still balanced. Couldn't be any more happier. Many thanks to @Anne S and her images for that.

Appreciate your input Anne, my dovetail is plenty long but maybe it's not long enough for this mount everything of mine stays on the top. Here's what my setup looks like I know you've got the threaded rod on tge counterweight, wasn't sure if you experienced the same issue as I am. I guess i wouldn't mind as well but then again I will try to eliminate any slight movement as well. I haven't seen Dion videos for so long but will watch it again for a refresher. Maybe there's something in there that can also help. EdgeHD is a tricky scope, there's a limit to the amount of dovetail that you can use. I have not had the chance to try it on this mount yet but it sure will be happening some time soon once I get this balance sorted out on the refractor

Cheers mate. Nothing of mine sticks out from the side at all, everything sits directly on the top apart from the focuser and the fw motor sticking out. So now I'm stumped. Very nice and tidy. I need to learn from this I will at some point do through the mount cabling but then I only have 2 cables that come out of it. I've been balancing my NEQ6 for years and never had this issue. So quick question, how do you balance your RA then? Put the counterweight bar and scope parallel to the ground (horizontally) and adjust the weight accorindlgy? If so, do you try to move the RA in different position to check if it moves or not?