First light with SW 80ED PRO & NEQ6 PRO

[iwatkins]

Hi All,

A week ago I got my telescope and mount, my first "proper" setup. A week later the weather finally cleared enough to get out there, so last night I did (25/04/2011).

Having had a week to mess about with the mount it didn't take me long to get setup. However, I was unable to do a polar alignment as the LED in the polar scope was just too bright. Took me an age to find the LED brightness control in the handset. Anyway, got that sorted then got a good polar alignment.

Followed that up with a 2 star alignment and away I went.

I started with the supplied SW 28mm EP and just generally did a lot of looking around while my night vision got established. Once that was all settled down, I fitted the 8mm Baader Hyperion EP and started dialling in objects to look at via the handset and goto. Gotos were bang on in the majority

On the handset there is an option to take a tour and it'll show you all the various objects that are above the horizon at that time. Of course, some are behind the house, tree etc. but once it starts to slew and is obvious you won't be able to see it, you can just cancel the slew and choose the next object. Even better, before you tell it to go ahead and slew to the object, it'll give you an RA/Dec so you can get a rough idea where in the sky it is.

Next thing I know three hours have passed

I was never interested in goto and only got it as I would like to get into imaging, but even for visual use, I'm sold.

Few things I did wrong/wished for/tips:

1. Don't spend ages trying to see Polaris through the polar scope with the main telescope pointing the same way (in Dec.), the opening in the mount isn't exposed unless you turn the main telescope away

2. While setting up, also turn the polar scope LED brightness way down or you still won't see anything when it comes to polar aligning.

3. Altitude control bolts are hard to turn, especially the one on the south side of the mount that sits under the polar scope. Think I'm going to grease those bolts/threads.

4. Running on 12v from a mains feed is very restrictive, even with a 5m run of cable. Battery pack coming up I think. Mainly to reduce a trip hazard and also allow me to get further from the house.

5. Tripod is a noise maker. Any time to tap it with the controller, your foot etc, *BOING*. Also packing up, its impossible to be really quiet (sorry neighbour if you heard me).

6. Need some glow in the dark paint for tripod legs/feet. Or a down lighter red LED etc.

7. Even though you tighten the tripod locks, once they cool down, they need tightening again. One of my legs was close to collapse even though I know I tightened them while setting up. One to watch, as I reckon a NEQ6 with an ED80 on top would make a hell of a crash if they hit the ground.

Overall, thoroughly enjoyed myself and climbed into bed with a big grin on my face.

Cheers

Ian

[rowan46]

looks to be nice kit , I will lookout for your first images

[ollypenrice]

Excellent! Glad you enjoyed yourself. There are aftermarket upgrade bolts for the EQ6 because nobody likes them. I haven't bothered because my EQ sixes are observatroy based but I think it is worth doing.

Olly

[JamesM]

Hi Ian, great to read your report and I'm glad that it went so well for you - so from now it can only be onwards and upwards! Thought I would make some suggestions to the points you raised and will reply to them in the same order:

1. I would suggest that you only mount the scope after the alignment procedure, keeps the weight off any of the adjustments and makes the whole task easier.

2. If you set up early enough in the evening when it's still light (always a good idea so you can see what you're doing:)), there is no need to use/apply any power to the mount and hence the internal light should never be a problem.

3. Learning the lesson that others have sadly created, please change those bolts as they are not up to the task. I will post a link later when I remember who sells them. Should you accidently force them and they then bend, you will have an interesting DIY project on your hands trying to free those bolts. For the sake of £25 (....expensive I know!) and peace of mind I would change them ASAP.

4. Given that at the top of your post you mention imaging, don't bother with a power pack as it won't be up to the job, especially in the cold. I got myself a small leisure battery instead that helps me run the scope (plenty of juice for a whole night of slewing around:D) running my laptop and supplying my dew heater with a couple of straps (Like you I' use refractors) and any imaging 'toy' you can imagine. Once bought it will future proof your power needs.

5. I use an elastic band and an old flat washing up sponge and wrap it around the bolt handle that fastens the spreader plate to stop it clanging around within the legs. The legs don't make a noise as long as you keep pressure on the legs when carrying.

6. You can either make the lights yourself (Sky@Night Magazine March edition or buy them from Telescope House.

7. I haven't had a problem with the leg fastenings but I admit to giving them a fair tightening at the start without over doing it.

Hope that helps a little and I look forward to some of these images that are clearly now in the pipeline.

Clear skies

James

Edit: Sorry Ollie your bolt comment came up whilst I was typing - must get a secretary!

[iwatkins]

Thanks for the advice guys, very welcome.

Found the bolt set, ordered :-)

Cheers

Ian

[iwatkins]

Bolt set delivered and fitted. Wow, that's much better and doesn't feel in danger of bending now. Really like the southern bolt with the ratchet handle, makes small adjustments easy with it being under the polar scope. Recommended

Cheers

Ian