JDKay1

I got the power supply with the mount from the shop where i have bought all my stuff - Rother Valley Optics. Its a 240v in / 12v 8A out so should all be fine. Interestingly i believe i have managed to set it all up whilst inside (cloud out till later...) whereas i can control the telescope as planned. I have sent it off in all directions & it seems to respond well. Next step... photos.... At least my star adventurer takes only 10 minutes to setup and away it goes.....!

As it’s in my back garden, I power it from the mains so power not an issue.

Thanks for that. I will give this a go next weekend when I get the chance. Thanks

Thanks for your reply. I am trying every which way, however repetitive, to get this right. I understand that NINA can control everything and it looks a great program if I can get it to work but NINA keeps saying that the polar alignment is constantly failing. Coupled with that I get a ZWO windows error saying that it now cannot find the ZWO drivers. I will take some photos later and hopefully it will make more sense..!

Thanks all. Here is what I managed to achieve last night after 4 hours (until the clouds rolled in…) Levelled & pointed the equipment / scope to North. No issues. Switch on mount & manually polar aligned using the reticle / iphone. Switched off mount. No issues. Connected the guide camera and mount cables to the laptop. No issues. Fired up ASCOM, PHD2 and then NINA. Clicked ‘Connect All’ in Nina and it connected the guide camera, guiding and telescope. No issues. Checked all the settings and seemed fine. So far so good… Clicked on Polar Align in NINA and it fails every time. I can see a black picture with some stars but it never gets aligned. It has also started to throw up some ZWO driver errors which I haven’t seen before. Should I just bit the bullet and get an ASIair plus..?! Really don’t want to do that yet as I need to prove this concept. Thanks

Thanks all for your replies some good stuff there that I will try when 8 get my stuff back out. Looking at the forecast, clouds all the way now…. Malcom, that’s correct - I leave the handset connected as I tried to get it without the PC first then switch over. Obviously this then may have caused some issues and I will disconnect prior to trying again. When it comes to star alignment, it’s not as much as 180 or even 90 degrees off - something like 30-50 degrees. There a few things in your reply that I will try when I get my stuff back out. I appreciate the reply.

Thanks for the reply. What I cannot understand is, if you strip away all the photography stuff for the minute, why the mount still does not go anywhere near a star for the first star alignment. I can understand if it was in the vicinity and I could then fine tune but it is always way off. If I cannot get that right then surely all the computer stuff is going to be way off as well..?!

Hi all again. Well, first clear skies last night for a while and the conditions were great and I loved being outside for 7 hours and still managed to achieve….. nothing..! Well, not strictly true so I will give you a summary and I would really appreciate your help again as I do not know what steps to take next. Here goes…. - EQ6R Pro mount is located on a sturdy and level base (my patio). I have imputed the time, date and Co-ordinates correctly. - SW120 EDDS Pro scope is attached to the mount. - Canon 600D DSLR is attached at the end of my telescope. - Dedicated laptop is attached to my mount using the USB A/B connector. - Guidescope - ZWO120mm. Connected with cable from camera to laptop - telescope and mount, I believe, are in the home position I.e weights down and telescope pointing up and the mount and scope aligned. - used the Bahtinov mask on my scope/canon camera and managed to get a bright star focused after a couple of test shots. ……all good so far (I think)…. I have installed many programs including NINA / ASTAP / ASCOM / Prolific USB drivers / GS Server. My laptop now sees my telescope and my guide camera and I can control them from my laptop. Before I have connected all the programs, I believe I have successfully manually Polar aligned using the mount polar alignment reticle and my phone tells my where Polaris should be in this reticle. This is when i have the issues and maybe I am missing a step..? If I then, for example, use the laptop to send the mount to a known star, it sends the mount to a completely different part of the sky from where the stars are. I have also tried this using the handset with the same results - the mounts just moves to an area nowhere near the star..!! I have no idea where to go next. Although I love being outside, it is demoralising when the mount doesn’t seem to know where to go. I appreciate this is a learning curve but could there be an issue with the mount or is there something I have overlooked..? I am resilient and will persevere however long I takes..! Thanks

Thanks all for taking the time to reply. Just to confirm the mount is connected to my laptop via the B USB cable. However it got me thinking - this cable is 10m long which may not be as reliable after a specific length. I have ASCOM/GS Server installed but there are other things from the replies that I will also check. On a side note - If I take away the laptop & once I was Polar Aligned (I believe accurately) when i try and align an object (a bright star) it slews to a completely different area. Surely i am missing a step here..? Also, if everything is working/aligned etc. how does it then track..? Does it do it automatically or do i need to tell it to do it..?

current equipment: - EQ6R Pro mount - SW120 EDDS Pro scope - Canon 600D DSLR - Dedicated laptop - Guidescope - ZWO120mm. Cable from camera to laptop - USB B cable from Mount to laptop Got this mount a few weeks ago and it’s solid and sturdy to say the least..! However, it will remain as a permanent external decorative fixture unless I can get this Polar alignment / tracking sorted out…… I have the Star Adventurer 2i which I use with my Canon 600D DSLR and is soooo easy to PA / find a target then track (I have a little finder scope on top of my camera which puts me roughly where I need to be). Had some really good wide FOV photos. Not so easy with the EQ6R Pro though… when I think I have PA with this (same principal as the SA) I then use the handset to align. I pick one star (just to get going) and it always slews to a different place from where the star is..! I use a spirit level on the RA & DA and twiddle the number things to what it shows in the manual (and online) but still it is way off from the stars. if I do actually manage to get the PA and alignment correct, how then does it track..? Do I have to tell it or does it do it automatically..? I have my laptop hooked up to both my guide camera and mount with all the required programs and drivers but it doesn’t see my mount at all. All in all - very frustrating but determination and some knowledge from others will definitely help..!

Great advice. Basically, if I want go better than what I currently have then it wall cost a bit more than I thought..! I think I will squeeze the Canon for all it’s worth before looking at upgrading. (That Calculator tool website is great.!) Thanks for all your help.

Hi all, I currently have the following equipment: - Skywatcher 120 EDDS Pro Telescope - Skywatcher EQ6R Pro mount - Skywatcher 50 Evo guidescope - ASI 120mm guide camera - Canon 600d camera i have had some decent shots from my camera but looking now at the next investment. What the best Astro camera for around £500..? thanks I currently have the following equipment: - Skywatcher 120 EDDS Pro Telescope - Skywatcher EQ6R Pro mount - Skywatcher 50 Evo guidescope - ASI 120mm guide camera - Canon 600d camera i have had some decent shots from my camera but looking now at the next investment. What the best Astro camera for around £500..? thanks I currently have the following equipment: - Skywatcher 120 EDDS Pro Telescope - Skywatcher EQ6R Pro mount - Skywatcher 50 Evo guidescope - ASI 120mm guide camera - Canon 600d camera i have had some decent shots from my camera but looking now at the next investment. What the best Astro camera for around £500..? thanks