Skywatcher Skymax 127 Synscan - how accurate is the GOTO?

[Leebert]

Hi all,

A quick question on the GOTO abilities of the 127 Skymax. I have experimented with both the brightest star alignment and also the two star alignment and am wondering if I am expecting too much with the accuracy.

I have tried setting up the tripod using the in-built bubble and also a 'boat' level across the top of the tripod in 2 axes but no matter what I do, I've found the GOTO accuracy lacking somewhat.

Getting to an object requires finding it in the finder scope and then centering to see it in the eyepiece - all very well if you can see the object in the finder first. Once on an object, the tracking seems quite good.

Is this typical of these sorts of telescopes and alt/az mounts?

Many thanks.

[Veracocha]

I have this to a lesser degree with a mount that costs close to a grand. However, the Celestron 127 Nexstar I started with was the most accurate setup I ever used. It was spot on wherver I sent it.

[cyborg421]

With my goto dob I also have these issues. I find the goto gets it in roughly the right area but I have to use my visual skills to centre the object. I use a 32mm eyepiece initially then centre. I can then use a variety of other eyepieces.

Simon

[hemihaggis]

i found my 127 mak very accurate , it took a bit of practice at first , but i soon found i could align very well , use the low power ep first then use a high power ep and center , ! a bag of sand on the tray also helps !! (5kilos)

you can also update the tracking as the night goes on, for instance if you slew for one side of the sky to the opposite ,and the object is off by a bit sim-ply center object and hold down the enter button and the computer will update the precision of the tracking

[brucen]

Works fine on my Skywatcher 130P - now that I realise the Daylight Saving option is 'yes' in BST and 'no' now. Had a few words with it when I had these the wrong way round! Always start with the 32mm then use the 10mm to fine tune. Only ever use the built in bubble. Probably beginners luck but I have managed to get Jupiter in my webcam within a few seconds every time I have tried and it tracked for about half an hour the other night without me having to adjust it once.

[M4lcs67]

I have accuracy problems with my 127 mak in 3 star alignment mode. Have never been able to get an accurate lock-on. Even in 2 star alignment I have to use the 25mm ep which gives a wider FOV therfore giving you more sky to aim at.

[hemihaggis]

a mak scope will give a narrower patch of sky to look at than other scopes because of the mag , i loved mine and have used several others , all were very acurate , . precise lat and long co-ords , correct time inc daylight saving or not , also the inbuilt bubble levels can be off , hope this helps

[Leebert]

Thanks for the replies.

I think it may have been a combination of Newbie errors here. I did all the set up with the 25mm EP and then changed to the 10mm for observing the Moon's terminator. When the Moon set behind next doors hedge, I then slew'd around to Jupiter which is where I found the possible issue.

It seems I really should have gone about it the other way around and set up with progressively higher magnification to get the alignment stars spot on and then remember to drop down to a lower mag when slewing between objects.

Guess what I'll be doing on the next clear night!

[Tinker1947]

I never gave up with the Finder Scope and replaced it with a Red Dot Finder, when we get some clear sky's will then try the alignment as a i never really got to this bit on Tuesday night.

[Capricorn]

I think that the Moon and planets are probably the most prone to errors.

The scope and software is really intended for stars and other bits that do not really move, or at least do so at a constant angular velocity.

Planets move at a slightly different rate, even going backwards. Doubt if this is accounted for for every year that scope holds data for.

The moon basically moves faster and isn't in the same plane all the time. So again more data and corrections that the software needs to calculate for.

Might be easy on a PC, but the handsets on a goto are a long way from a PC in processing or memory.

Also just thought, if you look at the top of the moon then the movement to get to Jupiter is different then if you look at the bottom of the moon. There is quite a bit of error there alone.

[ghostbuster113]

HI everyone.

I have a skymax 127 synscan goto,can somebody please tell me

how you collimate this scope i have looked everywhere for the

way to ajust the scope, on the other scope i had celestron 130 eq

you ajusted the scews on the rear but i cant find anyway to ajust

the skymax no ajusting screws anywhere Please Help.

ghostbuster113 Teeside england.