Am I expecting too much?

[Applemac]

Hello, I've now had my new (to me) set up for a week now (Orion Optics Europa 200 F6 on a Synta EQ4 mount with dual axis motors) , to start off the motors didn't work, now they seem to have freed themselves up and they are turning the cogs. I have had a go and on the whole I'm happy but... tonight i connected the drive as it was super clear and I wanted a clear view of Orion. Even with the motors on the nebula drifted out of view quickly, the cogs are turning, so I'm a bit miffed. I don't doubt I have done something wrong, I'm wondering if I have over complicated my set up as a novice. I have my tripod facing north. Can anyone please let me know what I may be doing wrong? I wondered about Latitude, if that's set up incorrectly will it throw out the tracking? your help is appreciated, frustrated in B'ham!!

[Tinker1947]

Have you Polar Aligned the mount....???

[rowan46]

simple answer is yes if the latitude is out it will affect the tracking however for visual a couple of degrees wont make much difference and again that is true for the polar alignment. the fact is though if they are not exact some manual adjustment will be necessary its just the greater the error the more adjustment will be necessary

[Applemac]

Thanks for responding, I can't see polaris as I have a narrow garden and the house is blocking the north sky, I face due south so I am confident I have the leg marked N facing north. What latitude are we in Birmingham Rowan46?

[rowan46]

I think its about 52.4

[umadog]

If you just want tracking for visual use then you don't need to accurately polar align or even be able to see Polaris. Just set your latitude, point to magnetic north, and level the tripod. If the object is drifting out of view "quickly" then something is very wrong. The most simple piece of idiot-checking you can do is to set up the mount, don't engage the motors, go to high power and confirm that you only need to move the RA axis to keep the object in the FOV. If that's the case then the mount is aligned well enough. Your problem, then, resides in the electronics or the motors. Perhaps the RA and Dec axes are switched somewhere, or something like that.

[Mr Spock]

If you have released the RA and DEC to move the scope, did you tighten them up again? If they are not tight the mount won't move.

[Tinker1947]

Have you turned on the tracking in the handset..??

[Applemac]

Great news, last night I spent a lot longer preparing for the nights viewing. I used a compass for north. I moved up the garden a little and I can see Polaris around a foot above the ridge tiles of my house. I couldn't see a thing through the polar scope. I took the OTA off and reset the latitude, there was some movement in the mount which was cured with a few bolts tightening. I think this scope has stood still for some time (hence the stuck motors and loose bolts). I leveled the mount, rebalanced the scope and aligned to the moon. I Switched on the motors and left the scope for a few minutes. I'm happy to say on my return it was still aligned to the moon!!!! I was able to photo Jupiter, the moon and Orion. Whilst there is much more I can do I am thrilled at the results, don't get me wrong the Nebula clearly has some blur and there's no detail in Jupiter, but to me they are priceless. I'm saving for a webcam/CCD camera as I think I may get better images. Thanks to everyone who helped me out. Rich:)