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Showing results for tags 'eq6'.
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Hey Guys, Recently i startet to try Astrophotography. First untracked with my Olympus Camera and an absurd amount of frames to stack. Then a friend offered me his equipment, because he can't use it anymore. This equipment is a Skywatcher EQ6 Classic (the black one with the very simple hand box controller) and a i think 8" (maybe 10"??) TS optics newton telescope. This Skywatcher Mount has caused me some Problems. At first pretty much nothing worked. Now its working fine, except for some random error in Tracking. Most of the Times i can get 60-120 seconds Subs, but then sometimes inbetween the mount just starts to fall behind. After a few Minutes its working perfectly fine. Does anyone have any idea what could be the problem here? The mount is obviously pretty old, could it be just that simple, that it needs a rebuild? Wormgear spacing is already tuned, the mount has no Play in any axis and feels very solid while handling, slewing etc.. Im very thankful for any tips. Cheers
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M13 - Great Globular Cluster in Hercules from 06/09/2018 22,180 light years away, 145 light years wide Quite a close crop on this due to its scale in my scope, but happy nonetheless. Looks like better flats are definately helping me out now when it comes to processing. The only thing I couldn't work out is the faint fuzzy at around 2 o'clock. With a bit more research it looks like it is the spiral galaxy NGC6207 (distance 30 million light years) - and VERY faintly you can just make out IC4617 (489 million light years away) TS65Q / Modded 1200D / EQ6 Guided - 83x30s© 2018 S Fields
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From the album: CCD venture
A h-alpha and OIII shot of the Wall section of NGC7000 aka north america nebula. Processed to resemble the hubble palette colour scheme. ED80 - ATK16HR - Ha clip filter - EQ6 - finderguider 9x50mm PhD2 - photoshop - DSS. -
From the album: CCD venture
A h-alpha shot of the Wall section of NGC7000 aka north america nebula. ED80 - ATK16HR - Ha clip filter - EQ6 - finderguider 9x50mm PhD2 - photoshop - DSS. -
From the album: CCD venture
A h-alpha shot of the pelican nebula in Cygnus. 2 x panel mosaic. 10 min subs. 9 x 10m + 9x10m stacks stitched together in ms ICE. ED80 - ATK16HR - Ha clip filter - EQ6 - finderguider 9x50mm PhD2 - photoshop - DSS. -
From the album: CCD venture
A h-alpha shot of the Wizard nebula in Cepheus. ED80 - ATK16HR - Ha clip filter - EQ6 - finderguider 9x50mm PhD2 - photoshop - DSS. -
From the album: CCD venture
A h-alpha shot of the Wall section of NGC7000 aka north america nebula. ED80 - ATK16HR - Ha clip filter - EQ6 - finderguider 9x50mm PhD2 - photoshop - DSS.© 2016JayBird
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From the album: EQ6
Skywatcher EQ6 mount with a modified 12v power connector. REAN Tiny XLR 3-pin (only 2 pins used).© M.Gough 2015
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From the album: EQ6
Skywatcher EQ6 mount with a modified 12v power connector. REAN Tiny XLR 3-pin (only 2 pins used).© M.Gough 2015
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© Copyright - Jamie R Mathlin 2019
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From the album: Equipment Pictures
Trend Lever Bolt used for quickly attaching and detaching EQ6 from my pier. -
Hi everyone, Over winter I purchased an EQ6 non GOTO mount. As it was dry today, I thought that I would have a go aligning the polar scope within the mount. It looks so easy on the eBay video's! On the positive side I found that the cross-hairs kept steady on a distant television aerial when I rotated the Dec axis through 180 deg. What I didn't expect to find was that the TV aerial itself swung through an arc when I rotated the dec axis! I took a not very good video of this rotation using my mobile, which happened to be to hand but I think it is sufficient to see what happens. The video is below (hopefully). First what is happening here - anyone had this problem? Secondly, I took a photograph of the adjustments available to me near the polarscope. Which fasteners do I adjust? (image attached) Any help would be greatly appreciated, Errol Video of rotation problems
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Hello Just a quick question about the weight distribution on a eq6. I have a SW 150pds and I have a situation where I am able to balance the scope using 1 or 2 weights. I noticed while setting up I can place one weight low on the weight bar and balance the scope or I can use two weights but move them both up close to the main bulkhead. Am I correct in thinking that 2 weights closer to the centre of gravity or higher up the pole is better than 1 weight? Or am I adding unnecessary weight to the mount. Thanks for your advice. Gerry -
Hi All I need the combined brains and experience of SGL please, I'm stuck!! I've been an astronomer for 30+ years and have had several Skywatcher telescopes over time, including my current EQ6-Pro for about 10 years. This is largely irrelevant to my post, except that I hope to convey that I'm not a total novice to getting telescopes to work as they should...although I feel like I am today. I recently picked up a very battered early-version EQ6 with 10" reflector, cheap. It hadn't been looked after well and when I first fired it up...it didn't fire up at all. No life. I noticed that the power supply wasn't suitable as it only had a 0.5A output. So after digging out a spare one from the cupboard outputting 12V 1.25A, the Synscan chirped into life. My first attempt to slew the mount was met with a horrible grinding noise and refusal to move. Needless to say, I didn't do that again. Clearly the motor/gear train was seized. So a quick look on the internet brought up the amazing website posted by Astro Baby, with step by step instructions on how to strip and rebuild an EQ5 or EQ6 mount. This kept me entertained for a couple of nights, followed by a lovely smooth running mount slewing in RA and DEC as it should. Many thanks Astro Baby! Last night was the first clear night, so I took the mount out, popped the 10" scope on (had a full respray, new finder, new focuser and laser collimation), and awaited the fall of darkness. Here comes the rub. I roughly aligned the mount on Polaris, not bothering too much for this first test. The Synscan controller is (unfortunately) running Version 2.05, which is one of the early versions that are not flash upgradable. Although I didn't realise this until after I had downloaded all of the upgrade files from OVL's website. ? When I picked the first alignment star (Capella, rising nicely in the north-east sky), the mount did something completely unexpected and slewed around to east of the meridian and pointed somewhere in the direction of Alcor! What the ...? After several unsuccessful attempts at carrying out an alignment, I gave up and looked online for any similar problems. I've checked and confirmed all of the following things are correct: Location - yep as per my Cumbria coordinates Date - yep in the right format (mm/dd/yyyy) that good old confusing American format Time - yep I tried with BST and without BST (not really expecting any significant difference) Made sure the mount was in the "parked" position (weights down, scope pointing towards Polaris) before turning the mount on Tried all sorts of initial alignment stars, but none of them were in the right area of the sky at all Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anything on the web that offers a solution. I did wonder if I've done something during the disassembly of the mount - but I know the mount doesn't have encoders on it. I didn't see anything that looked like a counter of any kind? I don't think it can be anything to do with the power supply...surely that couldn't introduce such a wild error in pointing? It's like the handset has no idea where it is. Any help would be much appreciated. This was going to be a second mount for me, but at this rate it's going to go on the scrap heap. I did think about buying a V3 handset, but didn't want to commit another £120 in case it's something in the mount itself that's the problem. Yours hopefully Jeremy
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Background:Even though I'd really like one, it's not entirely practical or financially viable at the moment for me to have a permanent observatory in my garden.I therefore thought the next best thing is to build a pier - which should offer superior stability than a tripod and not take up much room.This idea was run past the wife and surprisingly approved without much fuss. When not in astronomical use it was agreed that the pier will be topped with a sundial in order to make it blend in a bit better.Since I was looking for a low cost option, I've taken the inspiration for the build from the piers at Todmorden Observatory, which I know a few other SGL members have also implemented.Materials for pier:M10 Stainless Steel A2 Threaded Bar (1m) x2 £10.46 Toolstation http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p79966M10 Stainless Steel A2 Dome nuts x8 £ 1.95 Ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160881328576M10 Stainless Steel A2 Nuts x12 £ 4.49 Ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181036635594M10 Stainless Steel A2 Washers x16 £ 2.69 Ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360543852606440mm x 215mm x 215mm Hollow Concrete Block 7N x2 £ 3.30 MKM.B.S. https://www.mkmbs.co.uk/prodb004313-440mm-x-215mm-x-215mm-hollow-concrete-block-7n/Postcrete 20kg x3 £17.97 Wickes http://www.wickes.co.uk/Blue-Circle-Postcrete-20kg/p/221100Wood off cut (approx 20cm x 20cm) x1 £ 0.00Masonry Paint x1 £ 0.00TOTAL £40.86Tools:PencilRulerSpirit LevelDrillMasonry Drill Bits (5mm, 10mm)Wood Drill bit (10mm)SpannersSpade/TrowelSaw suitable for metalConstruction Instructions:Select a suitable site in your gardenDig a hole approx (30cm x 30cm square) x 40cm deep Cut the M10 threaded bar into 4x 33cm and 4x 10.5cm lengthsBend the M10 threaded bar 33cm lengths at right angles approx 8cm from one end (may need to heat them up to do this)Drill 4 holes into one of the concrete blocks using the 5mm drill bit, then go through again with the 10mm bitPlace the other block on top and mark through the holes with a pencil, then drill the second blockUse the 4x 10.5cm lengths of M10 threaded bar to attach the two blocks together using washers, nuts and the dome nuts on topDrill 4 holes in the base of one blockPut an off cut of wood on the block and mark through the holes with the pencilDrill the holes in the woodAttach the 4x 33cm lengths of M10 threaded bar using nuts. This is only temporary, since this is effectively a 'former' in order to ensure that the bars line up with your block holes when they've been set in the concrete Mix most of the concrete and pour into the holeInsert the 'former' ensuring that the underside nuts are not submerged, that approx 50mm of bar is above the concrete, and most importantly the 'former' is level Add more concrete if necssary & tamp down to make the top smoothWait until the concrete is set & remove the wooden 'former' Smooth out any unevenness in the concrete, ensure it is approx level and that the block fits onto the exposed threaded barsAdd a small amount of concrete & place the block on top, adding more concrete around the sides as necessaryMake sure the block is as level as possibleWait until the concrete is set and fix it into position using washers and dome nutsPaint the whole thingOther notes:You could use cheaper zinc plated threaded bar and nuts/washers, I selected A2 stainless steel for longevity and anti-rusting.Stainless steel comes in A2 and A4. A4 is generally more expensive and is mainly for marine use.Another option for the base is bolting it to some freestanding paving slabsAnother option for attaching the blocks and base together is using specialist glue
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Hi all I'm currently in process of maintaining my eq6 mount and noticed that my ra axis worm gear carrier roller bearing(s) have a bind to them when turning the motor gear. There is a definite stop when turning the gear slowly. It seems that both of the roller bearings at the end of the worm carrier rod would need replacing (see pic below, of the bearings that I mean). Have others noticed same thing? Does anyone know the item/skf number for these bearings so I could search for replacements from local shops? Btw the worm gear in both dec and ra axis were covered with huge amount of very sticky black grease and it has been a pain to clean this off. It sticks and stains everything, there are black stains all over the place ? Thanks for the help!
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Took the bull by the horns and done the power modification on my Eq6 pro to connect via the 2pin connector , bit nerve racking haven’t really done much soldering before ,managed to do soldering without frying anything, used Blu-tac to isolate surrounding area so I didn’t solder anything I shouldn’t have , mount powered up checked slewing with handset , steady red light voltage reading 14v dropping to 13.9v slewing phew ?
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Hi, My EQ6 mount is old now. Very stiff RA and DEC axis, it's time to dismantle it and see how bad the inside is. I followed the Astro Baby guide and it was not any big problem to dismantle it. It looks fine inside, I suspect some earlier owner already have done this cleaning and put new grease on. But that must be years ago. When I now have dismantled everything, shall I rebuilt it and install timing belt drives? I feel it's a little to much money to put on this old mount. I have to think about it and see what alternatives there are. Here is my EQ6 dismantling story: http://www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/projects/project-eq6-dismantling-rebuilding/01-eq6-dismantling-rebuilding.html Only first part, now I'm drawing plans. /Lars
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I'm trying to update my v3 handset prior to selling the mount. I need to update the bootloader from v1.0 to v1.7 before I can upgrade the firmware from 3.12 to the newest version. I've tried following the instructions in the bootloader download but the upgrade loader refuses to install anything. Before I realised I needed to update the bootloader, the synscan loader v3.3 just showed 255 255 255 where it should display the handset software, ie 3.12. Can anyone advise what I'm doing wrong? The handset won't run the mount probably because I had a replacement motor control board a few years ago., I'm guessing. It worked fine before that. I've been using eqMod for years. Thanks. Anne
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Hi all, Just wondering if anyone could help me out with a bit of weirdness that was happening last night as i was trying to polar align my NEQ6 mount. I'm using the drift alignment method found here with an exposure time of 125 seconds - 5 seconds where the mount is still in order to 'burn in' a starting point, 60 seconds slewing 'left' and then 60 seconds slewing 'right'. Often, the resulting image wouldn't be in straight lines, but rather lines with kinks in them - the image attached should help give a clearer image of what I mean. This happened when i was aligning both the azimuth and altitude axes. Does anyone have any idea what might cause this? Could it be mount damage or am I just not holding down the directional keys on my keypad properly? Many thanks!
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Hi folks I have a Skywatcher set up with a 200P on an Eq5. I am pondering on a new mount prior to building a fixed pier in the garden. My thoughts are that the AZ-Eq6 seems to be an improvement on issues recognised with the (N)Eq6, but have some of their own. The Eq6 issues seem to be well documented with available fixes. An Eq6 syntrek upgraded with belt mod and bolts upgrade / Eq6wedge and maybe an ADM saddle would come in around roughly the price of the AZ-Eq6. Do I save a few more pennies and go for an Eq8 head ? or go with the previous option and have a few quid spare for another Delos (or two) I mainly view at the moment but plan on imaging. Also, as I have a synscan handset with the Eq5, presumably this can be used with an Eq6 ? Any thoughts on this would be welcome, apologies if this has already been covered somewhere else on this forum.
