Carl83 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hi everyone,I'm a COMPLETE novice!!Got hands on a Sky-Watcher SKYMAX-127 SynScan AZ Goto Telescope. Having trouble with the tracking and auto go to. I've entered my coordinates and other specifics accurately (to the best of my knowledge!) and used the two star alignment. I picked Betelgeuse and Polaris as, bring a novice, these were easlyly recognised. When picking things to look at, I often find the scope is looking at nothing and occasionally when returning to either Polaris or Betelgeuse, it's way off the mark!I've also noted it doesn't track anything and I lose what I do find very quickly. There might be an easy explanation but the instructions provided are probably great if you know what you're doing to start with...but I don't!! Am I expecting too much from this scope?Many thanksCarl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker1947 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Ok, the tracking has to be turned on in the handset, its default is off so you can Polar Align, so the Mount is level, the scope pointing to the north, when you select your first star and centre it in the EP, change to a higher power EP and centre again, then change back and repeat for the next star, that should sort you out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I have the Skywatcher 130p and I 'think' it has exactly the same tracking system.I too had mega trouble the first time I tried to align it - an entire evening wasted, and I got nowhere.The second time, I used 2-star and chose a nice easy target that was obvious in the sky, using 'Stellarium' on my PC to make sure I was looking at the correct star.I had date, time and co-ordinates entered (make sure you get the date bit in the correct 'US' format) I centred the 'scope on that star and pressed 'enter' on the handset once I'd found it in the database.I then selected a second star (using Stellarium again to make sure it was visible in my area!) and the 'scope slewed to it on its own, virtually spot-on. I adjusted the view slightly and pressed enter again. In all, about 3-4 minutes and everything after that was found almost spot-on.Have a look at the 'deep-sky tour' on the handset when you get sorted.It's a brilliant intro to the sky and the views are fantastic.Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucen Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I am sure it is the same mount as the 130P. Make sure your co-ordinates are correct - find your location on Google Earth and they will be shown at the bottom and use hours, degrees and minutes. Date and time in American format and daylight saving off at the moment. Also, make sure the mount is level - using a spirit level is easier than the built in bubble. There is no reason why you should not then be able to find most things quite accurately. Mine tracks Jupiter for at least 5- 6 minutes no problem. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon1000 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I had the same problem the first time I used my Goto last Tuesday, I have the 130p, I too wasted a night trying to get it to work, I have found that the best thing to do is place the scope on a grassed area and press the tripod slightly in to the ground, this will help in preventing the tripod from moving, after all, if it moves when you have aligned it you will be back to square one. Now I get it more and more accurate every time I use it and it tracks the object in question perfectly.Give it a few more tries and you will be amazed at how good you will get at aligning it.Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl83 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Thanks everyone! I'll take these tips on board for the next clear night...tonight's out of the question!I haven't read anywhere about Polar alignment with this scope, Tinker. Is it a definite must for this scope? I did wonder why they supplied a compass with it!! Thanks again everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornelius Varley Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 The AZ mount doesn't need polar aligning. Try an alternative star to Polaris. Polaris is very cloce to the NCP so if you don't get Polaris dead in the centre of the eyepiece your star alignment can be way off.Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucen Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 The AZ mount doesn't need polar aligning. Try an alternative star to Polaris. Polaris is very cloce to the NCP so if you don't get Polaris dead in the centre of the eyepiece your star alignment can be way off.PeterWhen you centre the object I would also suggest you use your 10mm eyepiece. When you centre in a 25mm then check again with a 10mm it is often a fair way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl83 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Thanks again! Got lots of good info for the next session!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Laws Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 ... and defocus the star to a blur and centre on the bigger object Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl83 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 ... and defocus the star to a blur and centre on the bigger object Sorry for a stupid question but you only learn if you ask!...You defocus to help you precisely align to the middle of the star? I suppose because trying to exactly center a small star would be impossible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Laws Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl83 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 I'm still having troubles people, despite following all the above advice. If I adjust the scope after selecting a target because it's out, does it still track to object?Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon1000 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Yes it should do for an amount of time. It depends on how much the scope is out on setup. I had problems the first time few times I set mine up. You will get better at it and it will be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl83 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Another one if I may...Would you Barlow your highest power EP to align stars. I'm guessing this would assist making it dead Center? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon1000 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Yeah the more powerful your lens the more accurate it will be. Start with a 25mm and get it centre and then quickly change to a 7/10 mm and centre again. Then do the same for the second star. Also it helps to have decided on the 2 best stars before you begin as I believe that the faster you can align the stars the better.Also in the winter time the clock on the synscan should be +00:00 I have been told and summer time -00:00 (I don't know what the difference would be but I'm guessing it's to do with the hour difference and the trajectory of the stars/planets at different times of the year. You may have noticed that some stars do not do below the horizon during the winter but do in summer and vice versa. (use stellarium and speed up time if you have not already tried it, also it's a good piece of software to decide on what stars are visible for your alignment).Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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