Anthony1979

I have the eq5 with the synsccan upgrade kit is the 12v 2A the right power adapter... Just wondering because the black box was getting warm and i dont want to blow the thing

So its not as difficult as it looks then

2 hours ago, Nicola Hannah Butterfield said:

 

As @Jamgoodsay's, set mine up last Friday as above and managed two 5 min exposures before the clouds came back.

 

Is this a 5 min sub

Im hoping to start guiding for the first time next time i get out... My setup is a SW evoguide 50ed, asi 120mm-s, i am lost on what settings i use in phd2.... Ive done a lot of reading but ive got all confused on what i should be doing.. I just havent got a clue... 

3 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Like you, I think this is normal. It arises from slight eccentricity and explains why some mounts use a spring mechanism to maintain constant pressure in the mesh. Is the backlash in the RA drive or the Dec? If it's RA just run the east side slightly heavy to keep the worm pushing against the wheel.

Olly

Ive got it going round smooth now... I loosened the two bolts behind the 3 on the front and then adjusted it then tighten the bolts back up... Seemed to have done the trick

I can turn back hand smoothly and there no change in sound in the motors... Thanks

Thanks ive got the slack out but how tight is to tight..... I can rotate it all the way round and it feels smooth

Yep amazon....Good arnt they

Misses found these and bought them.... 

I will have another look when i take the motors off.... I dont really want to strip it down as im not that confident 

It really frustrating because i cant get rid of it... All bolts are tightened after ive adusted the grub screw

I dont understand sorry 

Ive just done a full circle in the ra axis on my eq5 and theres a bit of play and a bit of tightness in certain areas.... I tried adjusting with the grub nut but when i take the slack out its more tight in places and when i tighten it a bit it becomes more loose in other areas anyone no why

I will have a look tomorrow... Then i need to figure out where all the cables go.... Thanks for the help on this

19 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

You're best to remove the scope from the mount.

I did mine one axis at a time. I started with the RA because it's easy to get too and to see what you're doing. All you need to remove for this axis is the two screw which hold the cover on the motor so you can see the gears. Then the one allen bolt which holds the motor in place. That will reveal the adjusting bolts & grub screw and allow you to check for slack in the worm screw. 

If there isn't any slack, you can put it back together again.

With the Dec axis, you need to remove both cables, undo the three screws which hold the black cover together (one at the thin end and two at the thicker end). The cover without the wire connections will come away on its own, the other side is connected to the mount by two wire connectors. To avoid damaging the wires I disconnected these connectors, ease them out with a thin screwdriver, and remove the cover.

You will now be able to see the motor and the gears. To remove the motor on this axis you will need to unscrew the altitude bolt under the polar scope so you can tilt the mount head up to reveal the hole for the motor mounting screw. It's the same size allen key as the RA motor. Hold the motor as you unscrew the bolt to avoid dropping it and with the motor removed you can see the adjustment bolts & grub screw.

The process is in the following video starting at 7 minutes.

Note: He removes the polar scope, which I didn't do and if you only remove the altitude bolt under the polar scope and leave the other one in place it make it easier to get it back in the right location when you put it back together.

 

As yours is a new conversion then it should be set right, so I would leave it, unless PHD2 is complaining too much.

So really i need to just check the worm cog on the mount its self and leave the motors alone

Ive just took the casing off to have a look and the very small cog turns a bit.. Does this need sorting out

7 minutes ago, wuthton said:

Throw out the anchor!!!

Forget tuning your mount for now (unless PHD will not calibrate), the best way to bypass a bit of backlash is to have each axis slightly out of balance thereby the weight is always bearing in one direction. You take some pain after a meridian flip but it sounds like you're a little way off that.

But as above, while it's cloudy get everything mocked up indoors. Check that the mount is slewing in approximately the right direction, sort your home/parked position, mark your balance points and sort out your cable management and snag points. Niggling little problems are so much easier to sort out in daylight.

This is what im doing while the weathers bad thats why so many quetions

Just now, Anthony1979 said:

Alot to take in.... 

Ok so this is the first thing to check then and does everything need to be off the mount..... Sorry for all the silly questions but this is my first real setup ive built up and i want thing to be right

25 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

You can check it indoors by removing the motor, say on the RA as it's easiest, and rock the brass gear back & forth with the clutch engaged to feel for any freeplay. If there is any then it'll be loose as you rock the gear and will tighten as the freeplay is taken up. Be sure to rotate the axis using the gear to check at various points on the gear wheel as it can be tighter/looser in some parts more than others.

If you use the tightening process in the video to eliminate as much freeplay (backlash) as you can indoors and then do a check with PHD2 on your first clear night to see if it brings up any other warnings.

Most of the backlash on my EQ5 was in the Dec axis, which PHD2 warned me about during a calibration run.

Don't over-tighten the adjustment as this puts strain on the motors and can ware the gears out faster. Adjust until all the play has gone, then slacken off until you feel it again, then tighten until it's gone to find that sweet spot.

Lastly, when you put the motor back on, check there's no play between the small gear on the motor spindle, the double gear and the gear on the worm-drive. You can adjust the worm-drive gear to double gear by moving the motor assembly. The motor gear to double gear freeplay can be adjusted by loosening the three allen screws on the face of the motor and push the double gear towards the small motor gear, then tighten the three screws. 

This is my RA axis with a little play in the motor gears, which I've now taken out.

 

Alot to take in.... 

8 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

Take the motors off and there are two bolts and a grub screw to adjust the worm gear. There are also a two other bolts which hold the plate with the worm gear shaft, loose off these for the adjustment. 

Here's one of the videos I found - Go to 22 minutes on the video:

 

Thanks.... Can i check if i have backlash indoors or do i need to be setup outside

54 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

I've been through this with the EQ5 over the last few months after a 5 year break.

I didn't have any issues getting the EQDIR working in Windows 10.

I'm also using APT & PHD2 and my advise would be to add one part at a time to get used to it, saves overload. Read up on the software and in APT I use the plate solving, which does mean you have to download extra files for the star catalogues but saves having to star align and you get your target in the centre of the image + you have the ability to aim where you want the centre of the image to be. 

At the first opportunity, do a calibration run in PHD2 and also use the guiding assistant to find out if & how much backlash you have in the mount. Then you can try to correct this for better guiding. There are YouTube videos which will assist if you haven't done it before.

One other thing you may want to look into is getting the Pro version of Sharp Cap, so you can use the Polar Alignment tool. It's easy to use when you get the hang of it, saves wet knees and only takes a few minutes to get alignment.

The EQ5 is a good starting mount for astrophotography and can do a good job when setup correctly. The best I've managed is a 10 minute exposure, which I did as a test just to see if it would cope, although I'm using a Skywatcher Evostar 100ED refractor. Below is my latest image with my setup of the Eastern Vail which is 20 x 5 minute exposures using my new astro modded Canon EOS 1300D.

Wow thanks.... I have sharpcap pro and using windows 10....... How do you correct backlash if i have it

2 hours ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Well done, must be something missing at my end then as it gave me the com port but just would not connect. At least I know it is possible with this mount.

Let us know how you get on with guiding. That is my next step for sure.

Marv

Ive just got to figure out how to use it all together.. I want to use cam through apt,  guide through phd...  I followed some instructions from light vortex astronomy.... It all looks very complicated

3 hours ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Ahh, the eqmod question! I too have the five meter Lynx Astro cable and After weeks of trying I gave up. I used the same computer and cable combo on an NEQ6 and I had it working In twenty minutes.

I looked all through this site and was offered a lot of suggestions all of which did not work. I 100 x checked the com port but the mount never connected. I suspect that the NEQ5 is not compatible with Eqmod. I found lots of info about the HEQ5 but nothing from anyone using our mount.

Frankly it drove me so mad I didn’t touch a computer for a month. If there is anyone out there has got the NEQ5 Eqmod connected please speak up, both of us would be most appreciative.

Marv

Im using the eq5..... I managed to get it connected... I downloaded some ftdi driver and went back to device manager and my com number was there... Havent got a clue how i did it..... 

How do i connect to eqmod im using the lynx astro ftdi eqdir usb cable but doent seem to be able to find a port/com number