Skywatcher 200P setup...at my wits end

[Sandgrounderjen]

Bought the 200P on EQ5 last year, and have not had much success with it.

Bought and fitted the goto upgrade, but whenever I try to use it it points at the ground/nowhere near an alignment star.

Two other big problems...if its balanced the eyepiece is on top so I can't reach it and if I get the eyepiece into a position where I can see through it the setup is not balanced...and the motors just can't shift it.

Also can't see polaris easily...even though other major stars are easy enough to find.

At my wits end after spending so much money on kit, books and courses....grateful for any advice or sensible offer for the kit.

So soul destroying, they don't warn you you need to be so clever when you're getting into the hobby and paying out good money.

[littlebeagle]

I can't help with the mount as I've never used an EQ mount but sure someone will be along who has.

As for the goto, my goto did that the first time I used it. Despite reading the instructions I still entered the date as DD/MM/YYYY which it thought the stars were somewhere completely different.

Date must be entered in MM/DD/YYYY format.

[hemihaggis]

do you have a local astro group ?

do you know how to ploar align ?

do you know what the polar home position is ?

[g0ibi]

Are you sure you are inputting the correct data to start you off?

I have fitted a strap around my 200DPS which allows me to undo the bolts on the tube rings and rotate it as I want, then do them back up again, any help?

[Sandgrounderjen]

Don't know about a local group...and I understand the principles of polar alignment and I know what the home position is (this is where I've discovered the balancing/EP issue)

I've read everything I can get my hands on and completed two Open University courses...so when I say Im at my wits end you can see why

[Grunthos]

Don't know about a local group...

Your nearest astro club would appear to be Altincham and District Astronomical Society.

Next meeting is this Friday at 8pm in Timperley. Little bit of a drive but not particularly grim.

Why not get in touch with them? (contact details of officers on their web site)

[hemihaggis]

Bought the 200P on EQ5 last year, and have not had much success with it.

Bought and fitted the goto upgrade, but whenever I try to use it it points at the ground/nowhere near an alignment star.

Two other big problems...if its balanced the eyepiece is on top so I can't reach it and if I get the eyepiece into a position where I can see through it the setup is not balanced...and the motors just can't shift it.

Also can't see polaris easily...even though other major stars are easy enough to find.

At my wits end after spending so much money on kit, books and courses....grateful for any advice or sensible offer for the kit.

So soul destroying, they don't warn you you need to be so clever when you're getting into the hobby and paying out good money.

????? where do you start ???

eypiece on top when its balanced ?? you can turn the tube so the eyepiece faces any way you want ...up ,down ,left right ..just loosen the bolts on the 0 rings .

"Two other big problems...if its balanced the eyepiece is on top so I can't reach it and if I get the eyepiece into a position where I can see through it the setup is not balanced...and the motors just can't shift it."

eypiece on top when its balanced ?? you can turn the tube so the eyepiece faces any way you want ...up ,down ,left right ..just loosen the bolts on the 0 rings .

to balance the scope you loosen the 0 rings ,and pull the scope forward and back till it balances ....leaving the eypiece where it is convenient . you also have to balance the other axis with the counterweights

as for the scope pointing the wrong way ....could you have the scope facing the wrong way in the rings ?? there is only two ways it can face , the right way or wrong way .

if it always ends up pointing the wrong way .......????

try it the other way ????

"they don't warn you you need to be so clever when you're getting into the hobby and paying out good money"

find a local astro club , im sure they have many members who have experiance of eq type mounts

[pvaz]

Probably somethings ware not setup properly in the goto kit or you're missing a step. A local group or a nearby forum member with experience could give you a hand.

Meanwhile I would leave the electronics alone and try to find some easy objects manually. Start with Jupiter, moon and then move on to Orion nebula and andromeda galaxy. Unless you live under harsh light pollution finding your way around the sky becomes easy. In the beginning you do need to stay calm and take your time, but once you found an object a few times it's like driving home from work, you don't even think about it.

[Sandgrounderjen]

Hi...yep Im aware that you can move the scope within the holding rings...but when through EP is in a 'normal' viewing position AND the scope is in the home position its not balanced...yet the only way I can stop it turning is by putting the EP on top

[Sandgrounderjen]

Yep Jupiter and the Orion nebula are the only things I've managed to see and the desire to see Andromeda is the reason why I upgraded to the goto...as I couldn't work out how to use the setting circles...I understand the principle of them, but actually working them is something else.

I am rather shy and this is why I haven't approached a club and why I've spent (literally) months researching, reading and studying instead.

[Grunthos]

Can you post some photos of your setup?

[hemihaggis]

Hi...yep Im aware that you can move the scope within the holding rings...but when through EP is in a 'normal' viewing position AND the scope is in the home position its not balanced...yet the only way I can stop it turning is by putting the EP on top

im sorry but you have got something way wrong , way way wrong . once the scope is balanced by moving the scope in the rings it is balanced , home position or not . once the scope and mount is assembled does it look like it does in the pictures of it on the box ??

[Jiggy 67]

Don't panic. I've got the same setup and I had problems for months, even now I sometimes have problems and the GoTo doesn't go where I want it to. A bit of patience and a fresh start could sort the problem.

1) Make sure you are inputting the data correctly into the Synscan....American date format and no daylight saving at the moment

2) Make sure you have the correct Lat and Long. Wigan -

53.54544, -2.637474, read the instructions for the correct way to input them

3) Get your Home Position as perfect as possible, the link below will show you how

4) Polar align. Perfect polar align is not necessary for observing but try and get Polaris into the centre of your polar scope.

5) Choose your alignement stars from Stellarium making sure you know where they are in the sky and that they are above the horizon and visible from your site, preferably choose 3 near your targets for the night

4) Ensure your finder scope is aligned with your main scope as accurately as possible

5) Watch this

and

and

and

I may have got them in the wrong order but the same guy covers all you need to know, just search his channe

[Sandgrounderjen]

cheers...would you enter the -2 as '-2' or '2'?

also...once you've balanced and you swing to home position do you lock your clutches?

Yep I've had my steel rule and marker pen out, as per astronomyshed

[Sandgrounderjen]

im sorry but you have got something way wrong , way way wrong . once the scope is balanced by moving the scope in the rings it is balanced , home position or not . once the scope and mount is assembled does it look like it does in the pictures of it on the box ??

Yep I can balance very easily as per the RA balancing instructions in the manual...its just when I move to the home position that the EP assembly pulls the scope to one side

[Jiggy 67]

We are West of Grenwich so it will be minus

[Jiggy 67]

Yes, once you've setup you lock the clutches and don't unlock them again, the mount slews WITH CLUTCHES LOCKED. Make sure that before you turn the GoTo on that you are balanced, polar aligned and in the home position with clutches locked....then turn the synscan on, one of the first questions it will ask is "start from home position?", you say "yes"....if your doing this and then balancing, polar aligning etc, your home position will be all wrong and the mount won't know where its pointing

[Jiggy 67]

Yep I can balance very easily as per the RA balancing instructions in the manual...its just when I move to the home position that the EP assembly pulls the scope to one side

Can't explain this, there's something wrong in the way you are balancing

[littlebeagle]

2) Make sure you have the correct Lat and Long. Wigan -

53.54544, -2.637474, read the instructions for the correct way to input them

If it's the same as the synscan on the flextube isn't that format incorrect? Wouldn't Wigan be

53.32 N

-2.38 W

[Jiggy 67]

If it's the same as the synscan on the flextube isn't that format incorrect? Wouldn't Wigan be

53.32 N

-2.38 W

Apologies...I think you're absolutely right, I was trying to do it from memory and didn't have the synscan in front of me

[pvaz]

I couldn't work out how to use the setting circles...

No need for that. If you learn how to find it with the naked eye or binos by star hoping then all you need to do is point the scope there. Star hoping is the most basic way to find things. It's also the most useful as it works with any optical aid you have (binos, manual scopes and scopes with motor when you run out of power).

Anyway it's a good thing to workout what's wrong with your setup and make it work. GOTO is a great tool but it's also great to learn the sky so you won't be dependent on gadgets in case something goes wrong.

[Cornelius Varley]

If it's the same as the synscan on the flextube isn't that format incorrect? Wouldn't Wigan be

53.32 N

-2.38 W

Entered as 002 38W, 53 32N

Peter

[hemihaggis]

Yep I can balance very easily as per the RA balancing instructions in the manual...its just when I move to the home position that the EP assembly pulls the scope to one side

so why does the ep face up the way as you stated in your earlier post ?? once you have balanced the tube ,go to home position , lock clutches .

finding polaris ? i take it you mean finding it in the polar scope ?? ...

set the alt az on your scope to you location (im near glasgow so im 56 degress north ) and point the mount north with a compass , you should now be roughly aligned with polaris , just a little fine tuneing will put polaris in the center of the polar scope . if you are not sure if it is polaris in the finder scope , just go for a cup of tea , when you come back polaris will be where you left it ,it does not move !!

if its not polaris it will drift out of view

[sabana]

Ouch. This is painful to read. Of course theres solutions, there is to everything mechanical and electronic. It al depends how much time you've got to put in. Sometimes the fun factor is lost because of too many variables. Thats what makes the 200P Dob such a success. It has reduced astronomy to the basics on a grand scale. Maybe a simple answer is the hardest to find?

[Rustysplit]

Hi,

By what you said about the eyepiece pulling the scope round in the home position, it sounds as if you have forgotten to re tighten the clutches after balancing and setting to home position.

Don't give up!! I have a 200p and I love it