Simon Dunsmore

Thanks so much for all your help. I'm going to do some more reading and research. Stay safe 

Simon 

Hi, Sorted. Seems like I was missing the EQMOD driver for the Heq5 mount. Installed and now working! 

Cheers all

Hi Folks, 

Can someone please help before I rip out what little hair I have left!!! 

I have had ASCOM, EQMOD and Stellarium working on my old laptop connected directly to my Heq5 pro mount. I recently hgot another laptop as my old one was on the way out. Installed everything as before but ASCOM does not detect mount nor does stellarium scope. I'm using Windows 10.

Thanks for your help 

Simon 

Hi Guys, 

So this is what the workings of my Heq5 pro mount looks like. What do we think? 

2 hours ago, Mr Thingy said:

Haha. Doesn't bode well for me that I didn't work that out for myself 😂... Maybe I should leave this alone.

I really must buy some vernier calipers though - not sure my kids' school rulers will be accurate enough to discern 3 mm from 4 mm. This task isn't looking like it will go well for me, is it? 😳

Simon, sorry for hijacking your thread, but thanks forthe inspiration (I may not be thanking you in a few days when I break something though 😂). 

Hey Mr Thingy, 

Looks like we're in the same boat 😂

OK, thanks, maybe I could take a picture and you could confirm? 

Hi Neil, 

Thanks for your reply. Can I ask if your mount workings look like the ones in the link? 

Thanks 

Simon 

Hi James

Thanks for your reply. 

I probably didn't explain very well. Please see the link below for a better explanation of my concerns. 

https://indilib.org/forum/mounts/4295-rowan-astronomy-heq5-pro-belt-kit-review.html

Hi Folks, 

I'm considering fitting the Rowan Belt kit to my Heq5 pro. The problem is that I own the older model which I believe poses something of a challenge compared to the newer version. Not being overly confident, I was wondering if anyone could suggest a fitting service. I appreciate that this may have to wait until restrictions lift here in the UK. 

On a separate note. How do people rate the upgrade, beyond curing the grinding noise and hopefully reducing backlash? 

Thanks 

Simon 

3 hours ago, fifeskies said:

The HEQ5 works very well with APT and PHD2 guiding.

 

 

Thanks, that's great to hear. Still struggling to sync though. I've not progressed onto plate solving just yet. 

2 hours ago, fifeskies said:

You don't say what mount you have.

I use Stellarium combined with APT (on my NEQ6pro)

Using Pointcraft in APT to centre on targets works extremely well , you can then platesolve and use the "Sync" button in APT to correct the Stellarium telescope crosshair icon to the exact target.

 

From then on I use the "ctrl 1 " function in Stellarium to select my target

(easier than going through the list in APT targets as I have a custom Stellarium horizon so can select targets not behind trees or buildings from the Stellarium Screen, and can also easily see how far I am from a meridian flip to decide if I want to image the target, the Stellarium Oculars function also lets me see if its a good target for the scope I have on the mount)

 

Once there if imaging I will use pointcraft again to get exactly centred so that images from sessions a few days or weeks apart can be stacked.

 

 

Hii, Thanks for your reply. The mount is a Heq5 Pro. 

Hi Folks, 

Hoping someone can solve this for me. Presently setting up stellarium to run my set up. 

All drivers installed etc and mount responds to slewing command from Stellarium. Here's the problem. I select a star and the red target moves to the selected star, so far so good. Next I centre the star in the eye piece (not actually outside right now due to cloud). I thought the next part of the process was to press cntrl 3 to correct and misalignment and then continue to repeat the process for 3 stars until aligned. The issue is cntrl 3 doesn't do anything 🤔

Any suggestions, greatly appreciated! 

Thanks 

Simon 

6 hours ago, Andy R said:

Have you tried just using the default settings to see if there’s any better functionality. If not what other game controller did you use, was it the same type? I think maybe the usb cabled Xbox or PlayStation type controller would be the type to use as this has more buttons. I’ll have a quick look at the video again

Hi, I unfortunately only have two of the same controllers. The default settings didn't work. 

Hi, Thanks for your reply. Yes, that's correcti selected the action on the menu and then pressed the button that I wanted to assign it to on the controller 

On 12/01/2021 at 00:18, Andy R said:

the game pad install 

Thanks for this. I watched the tutorial, really helpful and it almost worked. I have attached a photo of the hand controller I'm attempting to use. I followed the steps and can get the directional controls to work with the telescope orientation. Unfortunately I cannot assign any of the other buttons to other functions. I've tried two different controllers and two different laptops but no joy. Any thoughts?? 

7 hours ago, smashing said:

Great effort...so...basically get a USB hub and make sure you use the same ports for each bit of equipment each time you use it (I have a text file on my pc to remind me)...have a powered hub as well as mine struggles without it... oh and plate solving aaaaalllll day long it's so easy now I just chuckle to myself when I'm powered on, aligned, focused and imaging in about 10 minutes.

Hi, 

Thanks for your reply and the helpful hints. I'm really not sure what plate solving actually is. But I'll look into it. 

Thanks 

Simon 

Hey Andy, 

The helpful video link. Perfect 👌 

Hi Folks, 

Any suggestions for a powered usb hub that can be powered from a celestron power tank? I'm looking to run qhy guide camera, polemaster, dslr.  Ideally looking for an affordable option. 

Thanks for your help 

Simon 

Hi Folks, 

Any suggestions for a powered usb hub that can be powered from a celestron power tank? I'm looking to run qhy guide camera, polemaster, dslr.  Ideally looking for an affordable option. 

Thanks for your help 

Simon 

Hi Folks, 

So, I feel like I'm making progress. With my newly purchased polemaster, polar alignment is now good and I finally managed to capture something (see attached picture). 

I am now looking at getting my guide camera working through phd2 , controlling the mount through stellarium and the dslr through APT. The question is, am I about to embark upon a nightmare journey. 

Oh and I figured just to mix it up, I'd use a game controller to move the mount. I've read an awful lot on the individual programs, star alignment etc, but just not sure how to get all the software working together. 

Thanks for for your help. 

Simon

1 hour ago, rnobleeddy said:

The coma corrector needs a specific distance between it and the camera's sensor. This means you can't add the vari-lock spacer and in your case, appears to mean you can't focus the camera (and even if you could, the coma corrector would not do what it's meant to!).

There's a good explanation of what's needed at https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/downloads/dl/file/id/483/product/3004/mpcc_mark_iii_instruction_manual.pdf 

Thanks for your reply. 

That's a really helpful document. Looks like I will need an additional adapter. 

1 hour ago, bottletopburly said:

The t_adapter threads need to match the same as coma corrector , you need to take off that mid section 

Hi, Thanks for your reply. Yep, I messaged FLO to see which adapter is needed. I have sooo many T daters any typically none of these fit!! 

Morning Folks, 

Well after a lovely frosty but CLEAR!!!! Night under the stars I thought to pick your collective brain. 

My set up consists of Skywatcher 130pds, Heq5 pro goto mount and Canon 60D DSLR. 

Last night I attempted some astrophotography however, using the Baader Planitarium Comma Corrector proved to be a problem. I couldn't get enough inward travel to bring the camera to focus. The comma corrector does break down into two sections but without the second section it will not screw into my T ring adapter. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've attached a few photos to help. 

Thanks for your help 

Simon 

Hi Folks, 

Thanks for your responses. So this morning I took the handset apart, just to see if anything obvious had come adrift. Nothing obvious, so I just cleaned the keypad contacts and reassembled it. Hey presto, it seems to be working now! 

Just hope it works next time I'm under the stars. At least I know it’s a hardware issue now. 

Thanks again 

Simon 

Hi Folks, 

So, I'm hoping someone can help. After waiting what seems like months for a clear night, finally got out under the stars. Power pack fully charged. Here we go! Polar aligned fine then the Synscan handset on my Skywatcher Heq5 pro just jams. I can't get past the location settings. No matter how often I turn it off and turn it on again. I tried plugging it directly into the power supply, no joy. I left it off for half an hour, no joy, only this time I can't move it past the do not point your scope at the sun prompt. 

Any help would be much appreciated, really can't afford £150 for a new handset. 

Thanks in advance 

Simon