Meade 127 APO and EQ6 mount

[mindburner]

HI I just got my EQ6 Pro and Meade 1267 APO. This is my first equatorial mount having just used AZ before. I was pleased my home made Eqdir worked. The Alt plate is a custom made model.

I have a couple of q's:confused:

I have been playing with the mount and learning how to put the mount into home position and getting the mount to talk to EQmod. All seems to be ok apart from the fact that the threads on the polar scope are shot, so had a nighmare of a time trying to align the scope so that the + was central when the mount was rotated. The 3 thumb screw adjusters didn't have enough travel. It's pretty much there now though so hopefully it will work ok.

The mount makes a kind of high pitched noise when not slewing. Is this normal, just the stepper motors?

I tried a polar align using my laser dot as a stand in Polaris. The method seemed to work ok in Eqmod. I just cant rotate the polarscope, but I think this will be ok as I hope to use EQmod for final polar alignment?

This is a pretty daft question i'm sure but I got an 'across the way' twin mounting sadle (maybe put a guide scope on there) so that when the mount is in home position the scope is horizontal, will this matter?

The scope lens has some pollen on it, a thin coating. I was told by the seller that it was not a big deal and best left. Although he said baader sell some cleaner which may work. Is cleaning a good idea?

[austen4]

On the heq5 the polar scope is rotated by moving the guiding axis around. For me the telesxope is near the complete opposite side to yours in the picture. I cannot see the polarscope being much different from the eq6. At last resort read the manual .

The scope will sit horizontal in home position as if its rotated the hole for the polarscope will not be on top of the scope resulting in not being able to see through the polarscope.

Sorry I cannot help with anything else

[ollypenrice]

So far as I know it matters not at all whether you mount the scopes parallel with the dovetail or across it. It only matters that the position on the encoders be known to the planetarium software, which you achieve when you do your star alignment. Nor does it matter where the the dec axis is pointing while you are using the polar scope, so you can rotate the hole in the shaft to make the polarscope useable. I presume you are not running the setup as you show it in the picture because it will be horribly unbalanced with the 127 off centre like that.

I don't know the EQ Mod polar alignment but I gather its good. Failing that you can drift align easily enough.

I did a piece on the Meade 127/HEQ6 for Astronomy Now a couple of years ago. It is a very competent setup. For imaging you might find the coarse stepper motors of the standard EQ6 struggle to give the tracking accuracy needed at nearly a metre but give it a go. Visually I thought the 127 truly excellent. My last night out with it was on Mars where the detail was exquisite.

Don't helitate to clean off the pollun. Baader Wonder Fluid is good but you can equally well use normal specs cleaning fluid and a lens cleaning cloth using curved, light strokes and not re-using the same part of the cloth. I clean lots of expensive glass this way without any issues.

Enjoy your nice big refractor! They are a treat to use.

Olly

[mindburner]

many thanks Olly & Austen4.I think it is starting to make a bit of sense. I think I read that it's not really the scope you are aligning at first but the mount. I think I will invest in a new polar scope as the threads are really shot in this one and the slightest knock and it's off centre.

I take it this must be absoutely central for decent astro imaging?

I have been using polar align tool in EQmod. It seems brilliant. As a totaly newbie it aligned Polaris where it should have been and after a star align with only Capella, I slewed to m31 and it was pretty much dead on centre in the SCB4000 video camera.

I have taken the right angled plate off as it was as you say well off balance. I just have the 127 on it now and it balances very well.

Last night I had a shot at m42 and it was excellent. Almost as good as the 12 inch dob for brightness and sharper to boot. I was expecting amazing things from Jupiter as it is wonderful with a 8mm televue in the dob. It was pretty good in the 127 but not just as good. It could well have just been my eyes/seeing as I had been out a while in the cold and the brain had started to addle.

This EQ6 I have has been upgraded to a skyscan kit with uprated stepper motors and GOTO. The seller told me it was basically the same as an EQ6 pro now. It didn't have a polar illuminator which proved to be a bit of a pain. I have got the soldering iron out and bodged my own so I will see how it works out.

I ordered some Baader wonder flud and I think I will start with the finder scope then if all goes well, tackle the big piece of glass. You must have a heart like a lion when cleaning the 140 TEC

[mindburner]

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[austen4]

Great sounds like your enjoying the scope. May I ask how did you make your own polar illuminator?

Thanks

[mindburner]

Great sounds like your enjoying the scope. May I ask how did you make your own polar illuminator?

Thanks

hi well the stepper motor control board has an output for a LED. I tried this and it didn't work. I think it was putting out about 5v. I used a feed from the 12v power input of the mount to connect a red LED via a 500k pot. This was mounted inside the case as I didn't want to drill the case. I can alter the brightness if I want although that shouldn't be very often in real world use.

I used a paperclip wrapped around the LED to position it between the stepper motors so that it shines into the polarscope and gives 'just' enough illumination without drowning out the starlight.

[glowjet]

Great sounds like your enjoying the scope. May I ask how did you make your own polar illuminator?

Thanks

For those interested Maplin sell LED`s that will run direct from your 12v supply : code CJ66W is a 3mm standard brightness and CJ70M is a 3mm high brightness, if you want to alter or vary the illumination then put a 470K ohm pot in the circuit. How you mount it is up to you, some just stick the LED with hot melt glue into a piece of tube that will fit into the opposite end of the hole in the mount, some standard plastic water piping fittings I have read are a close fit

[i-CONICA]

Nice scope, watch ya don't do anything daft 'n' drop it or anything!