Ian McCallum

9 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Yes, those two hex bolts fix the DEC to the RA. It won't damage anything or fall apart, the RA and DEC are two seperate units. Once off you can spin the RA to position the clutch where you want it and then replace the DEC axis. I don't think they even notice where they put the clutches on the assembly lines because I've seen EQ5s and GPs and SPs with the clutch in any of the four possible positions. You're basically moving the DEC through 90deg so that when you're in the home position the RA clutch is on top of the RA axis (instead of at the side), behind the DEC axis. That way it won't get in the way and scrape across the RA cover.

I hope this video will help clarify the situation. 🤔

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

In the video you have the mount the wrong way round. There are 2 hex bolts at the front that fix the DEC to the RA. If you undo them and remove the DEC axis, you can then turn the RA till the clutch is round the back rather than on one of the sides.. Then fix the DEC back on. That way the clutch will never go near the RA cover in use, but it will if you spin it upside down like in your video.

Do you mean these ones?  I'm confused, unfortunately. The mount head was preassembled, when I got it. 

1 minute ago, StarryEyed said:

So if I throw mine on the law will it track better? 

Does it need to be arrested for that?🤔🤣

1 minute ago, neil phillips said:

Well as i said mine brushes the box too so its normal you havent bent it. In the daytime check the polar scope hasnt been knocked out. Do you know how to check for that ? 

I did the collimation/alignment on that earlier today.😉

@neil phillipsif you're talking about how the mount hit the dirt, that was due to me removing the mount from the tripod, instead of leaving it on and folding the legs up.  I forgot to remove the counterweigh and the mount toppled from the top of the tripod.  I did try to catch it, but only broke it's fall somewhat.  I was very, very lucky, as a bit earlier I was observing on concrete.  I had moved it onto the grass, so that I could get a better view of Polaris.

When the RA clutch lever is tightened up, it won't be a problem.  It's just that I thought I had bent or bust something, but there's absolutely no sign of that. All the spindles, bolts, etc. are perfectly straight, thank goodness!  The RA clutch lever probably scraps off the plastic before the fall, I must have missed it till I had a good close up look at everything, after the incident.🙄

Next time it goes on a trip, I'm going to ask the mount to send me a postcard!.🤣

1 hour ago, vlaiv said:

Yes, excellent point - once you undo it - you can "keep" undoing it (until you unscrew it completely).

I'm probably being petty, it being a relatively 'cheap' Chinese mount - but I just like things not to be so rough.  Perhaps I should have invested in a more expensive mount or another brand?  It's just that I can't justify any more money on a mount.

5 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Above was taken from a youtube video on eq5 strip down - it is square base, so you can rotate clutch lever by 90° degrees from current position.

After removing the lever and rotating it by 90 degrees, I get the same result. 🙄

4 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

I think that you can solve that quite easily.

There is a bolt holding clutch in place - if you undo it, you'll be able to pull away plastic leaver that you can then put back on at a different angle and fasten bolt again.

Look at strip down guide somewhere - it should show clutch leaver removal.

 

 

I can remove the lever and shift it to another position, but it will still rest against the metal stop and scrap along the plastic box.

I was going over the mount, in detail afterwards. I think I've noticed little quirks that were already there, but I never noticed before. 

One is when the RA clutch knob is fully released and resting on the stop, it tends to hit off the plastic box below it. The box has one or two minor scrapes on it, but doesn't seem to be deformed. 

I'm probably being too picky. 🙄

5 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I don't image - I'm visual only 

It's less hassle, isn't in.😉

I wasn't that bothered about the goto option, as it was more "it would be nice to have".  The cost put paid to that...

Nothing fantastic to report from last night, apart from testing a second hand 2" diagonal I got.  I've read that a diagonal shouldn't add or subtract from what you're viewing i.e. it shouldn't mar the quality of the image.  Well with this diagonal, the image of the moon was crystal clear, using my SW 28mm 2" LET EP.  It certainly saved me a lot of neck strain.

7 minutes ago, Franklin said:

You won't be doing that again!

I've done it in the past and nearly broke my foot!

That's not good. I'll need to re centre the polar scope, mind you, it may not have been centred in the first place. 

I saw a YouTube video on it, just the other day.  What a coincidence! 😮

I still had the counterweight attached. 🙄

2 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Oh no!

They're pretty robust and sturdy things. The part to be mindful of if they do take a tumble is the ends of the worm shafts. They are soft metal and easily bent and if they get bent they will not turn properly.

The RA and DEC knobs turn freely and the bendy bolts aren't bent! 🙄

Rather than do things in my normal way, I decided to remove the mount from the tripod. 🙄

My new EQ5 Deluxe mount took a dive into the dirt! 😱

I nearly had a laxative moment, but thankfully there was nothing damaged, just my pride! 

Nothing was bend or broken and I very carefully took apart and cleaned the polar scope. 😮

3 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

Congrats your better driven than me now

I still need to get it and fit it yet!🤣

1 minute ago, Franklin said:

No worries Ian, good luck with the dual axis. I've got dual drives on one of my mounts and it's handy for centering stuff. I think for getting into imaging and guiding with the EQ5 you may have to tweek the worms a little to remove as much backlash as possible

I may go for a modified webcam or something similar, not sure at the moment.  I really want to get to know the mount, before adding loads of stuff to it.  My rationale is to get to know a bit of the kit first, rather than get overwhelmed by trying to take everything in mentally and physically at once...

4 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Hi Ian, if it's just for visual tracking I have a spare single axis RA motor, clutch, handset and battery pack that is for the EQ5. PM me if of interest, doesn't owe me much.👍

Thanks for the kind offer, but I've just pulled the trigger on the Enhanced kit from RVO.

9 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

In my opinion Ian unless you really want to have quick easy access to lots of deepsky objects. Its likely not needed. if you live in a light polluted area visually most wont be that impressive. Yes easier to get targets for imaging. But if your just starting out. I would suggest getting your head around the imaging aspect with the brighter targets first. That dont need goto like the orion nebula or M57. M13 Ect. But ts your money your call

I've just ordered the Enhance Dual Axis Motor Drive kit from RVO, as they have them in stock.

47 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

Yeah the price of the mount again isnt it. Ive had goto on a neq6. its how i was imaging uranus and neptune in a light polluted area. Its good to have for sure. Especially if you want to find lots of faint deepsky objects. 

Cheers on the other question. See if anyone knows. looking at  the two motors one looks different to me. mine are both RA 

I'm still very tempted to just get the Enhance kit and I believe there's an interface to the laptop, if I want to do any guiding/imagine.  It'll probably be just dipping my toe in the water and nothing serious, as it's far too expensive a rabbit hole to plunge down!😱  After all, poor weather, hobby killer toy telescopes and astrophotography put many off the hobby!

Just checking with RVO if they have any of the Enhanced kits in stock...

34 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

Actually Ian i am wondering for myself if i can use the other motor i have as the declination drive and just buy this handset. Could have started a new thread, but may have distracted away from this one. if you dont mind me exploring that question here. Dont want to derail the thread. Wondering if all i need to do is get the handset and fit the other motor that was being used as a second RA. 

Skywatcher EQ5 Enhanced Dual Axis Handset - Rother Valley Optics Ltd

Go right ahead.  I like the idea of a goto type mount, as it would be a luxury for me, coming from a manual GEM or Dobsonian mount.  The big problem is compared to the Enhanced dual kit, it's a lot of money!😱

47 minutes ago, malc-c said:

I've had dealings with RVO (purchased my original EQ5 goto / 200P from them).  Can't fault them - their service is on par with FLO.

If you want full flexibility for future options the full goto kit will make dipping your toe into guided imaging a lot smoother.

It's something that I want to do a bit more research on.  I don't like to commit to buy expensive things, until I'll really looked into the pros and cons.

2 hours ago, adyj1 said:

I would use the term 'slewing' to refer to the 'goto' movement between targets a reasonable distance apart, and you only get that with a stepper motor, so the £350+ synscan upgrade (or diy alternatives). The DC motors of the dual axis kit are not able to move the mount at anything remotely close to the same speed, and are just used for 'adjustmemts' once you've manually rotated the telescope to approximately the right location... No wonder they are quieter 😉 (a 15 second slew on the SynScan would literally take minutes if you were to try it with the dual axis kit) 

I've probably read far more into your use of the term slewing (and applied my own personal definition), but as you were comparing stepper and DC motors thought it worth pointing out just in case it helps. 

I've probably used the wrong terminology. 🙄

I've noticed in YouTube videos that the SynScan stepper motors should louder than the DC motors, whilst slewing. 

I know that the stepper motors are more precise and faster at slewing than the DC versions, but the louder noise puts me off. 

Thoughts? 🤔