EQ5 pro goto

[Leigh81]

Hi all,

I've been re-directed to this section... I recently purchased a skywatcher 150pds and EQ5 Pro Goto mount, only thing is, I've just got into this hobby, I haven't a clue what I'm doing, don't fully understand the Polar Alignment process or setting the mount up correctly - I had a good - when I used the goto the scope went completely in the wrong direction from where the star actually was :S

Can anyone help please.

I live just outside Witney (Oxfordshire)

[A320Flyer]

I have only recently upgraded to this mount so I am certainly no expert on this. Assuming that your polar alignment is ok, sometimes when you slew to a star, the scope will appear to go in the wrong direction. What it is doing is making sure that it will arrive with the scope on the correct side of the pier. Have you let it finish the slew? or have you cancelled the slew as soon as it appeared to go in the wrong direction? Let it fnish the slew then check if it is on the star.

Bill

[Leigh81]

Thanks for the quick reply...

I think my main problem is the polar alignment, I understand that I get the information from my goto of when Polaris was last in transit, it also gives me the info I need to put into the dials on the polar scope - This is proving rather difficult has I havn't seen an idiots guide to using these dials so I havent got a clue how to use them - the manual is pretty useless (unless its just me being thick).

For the slewing, I've let it come to a complete stop and finished making these weird noises, then all I hear is like a quiet ticking from inside the mount...

[themos]

ll I hear is like a quiet ticking from inside the mount...

That means you have 20 seconds to get away :-)

[themos]

If you do turn up on Monday, bring the manuals as well.

[A320Flyer]

Even if your polar alignment is spot on, often the first star you slew to will not be in the field of view. This is because the starting position (ie Home position) of your scope was not 100% accurate. Setting up an accurate Home position is easier said than done. There is a good video on how to do it on the Astonomy Shed website.

I dont bother too much about setting an accurate Home position. I just accept that the first slew might be way off. To correct this, after having slewed to my first alignment star, I just release the clutches and manually poition this first star in the centre of the field of view. Then I use the handset to accept this first alignment star. I then find that each subsequent slew to an alignment star usually places the star somewhere in the field of view. To position these susequent stars in the centre of the view, I use the handset to slew the mount and accept the alignment.

Bill

[Leigh81]

Even if your polar alignment is spot on, often the first star you slew to will not be in the field of view. This is because the starting position (ie Home position) of your scope was not 100% accurate. Setting up an accurate Home position is easier said than done. There is a good video on how to do it on the Astonomy Shed website.

I dont bother too much about setting an accurate Home position. I just accept that the first slew might be way off. To correct this, after having slewed to my first alignment star, I just release the clutches and manually poition this first star in the centre of the field of view. Then I use the handset to accept this first alignment star. I then find that each subsequent slew to an alignment star usually places the star somewhere in the field of view. To position these susequent stars in the centre of the view, I use the handset to slew the mount and accept the alignment.

Bill

Thanks for the reply Bill, it will be really useful to know all these tips - I didn't realise that you could manually move after the slew has finished...

Cheers

[A320Flyer]

Yes, but only on its very first slew can you undo the clutches and slew manually. Basically, you are fooling the scope into thinking that your Home position was 100% accurate even though it wasn't. After that, you must tighten the clutches and never touch them again. Any subsequent slew must be a goto or a manual slew using the direction keys on the handset.

Bill

[Leigh81]

Cheers Bill, I'll have to remember that once I get going

[malc-c]

Basic setup of an EQ5 /HEQ5 mount :

Place the tripod on the ground. On Skywatcher EQ mounts there will either be the letter N next to one leg, or there will be a spigot cast into the mount next to one leg. This needs to be facing North and a compass helps with this rough positioning. Level the base of the tripod and attach the mount and place it in the default home position with the weight bar parallel to the leg that is pointing North, and the dovetail shoe vertical when viewed from behind the mount. Unwind the altitude bolts and tilt the mount up to the approximate position for your latitude.

Balance the mount:

Attach the OTA to the mount so that the tube is central on the dovetail, or where you feel the balance point should be. Carefully release the DEC clutch and rotate the OTA so that it’s horizontal, noting which end appears heavy. I would suggest the best way to move the OTA to achieve balance is to slightly release the screws on the tube ring clamps and slide the OTA left or right. Once balance has been obtained in the horizontal position, tighten the ring clamps back up and place the scope in the horizontal position and lock the clutch on the DEC axis. Release the RA clutch and carefully rotate the mount until the weight bar is horizontal, and position the weights until the scope is balanced on that axis. With the weight bar horizontal lock the RA clutch and release the DEC clutch. Now the next step really applies to Newtonian scopes, but is worth doing with refractors. Release the DEC clutch and place the OTA vertically, you’ll find that it wants to tip and seems top heavy. Undo the ring clamps slightly and without letting the OTA slide down, rotate the OTA in the tube rings until the scope can be placed at any position around the DEC axis and it will stay there. Release both the RA and DEC clutches and place the scope back into the home position.

Polar Alignment:

To perform polar alignment for visual use, look through the polar scope and using the altitude and azimuth bolts on the mount place Polaris dead centre on the cross-hair of the polar scope reticule. Using just the altitude bolts, position Polaris so that it then intersects the circle with the bubble on it. The mount is roughly polar aligned, and should be good enough for visual tracking.

Synscan start up:

With the scope in the home position connect up the handset and /or synscan controller. Turn on the controller and run through the initial set up menu. Enter the date as MMDDYYYY and enter your longitude and latitude as Hrs Min and Seconds, NOT DIGITAL co-ordinates. Set the time up as GMT, and if viewing in the winter say NO to daylight saving (or YES in the summer) and if viewing from the UK, set the time zone to ZERO. When asked to perform alignment, select 2 star and choose a star that you can identify from the list. Let the scope slew round to where it thinks the star is. Once it’s stopped, with a low power (25mm) eyepiece in the scope, release the clutches and centre the star in the field of view and lock the clutches again. Confirm the scope is pointing at the target star and then move on to the second star. The scope should then slew to point at the target star, and it should appear in the field of view of the eyepiece. Use the direction buttons on the handset to centre the star and then confirm this on the handset. You should find that once the handset confirms the alignment you can now select objects in the handset database and they should be within the field of view once the slewing has stopped.

[dmahon]

Yes, but only on its very first slew can you undo the clutches and slew manually. Basically, you are fooling the scope into thinking that your Home position was 100% accurate even though it wasn't.

Alternatively, slew somewhere random then tell the mount to park to the home position. Once parked, undo the clutches and move it to the default home position (weights down, scope pointing North).

Now you can start up and the first slew should be close (as long as the mount is level - don't worry if it isn't, you'll just have to correct a bit more and the second alignment star will sort it all out anyway). If you remember to park at the end of a session, you will be close with your first alignment star next time too.

[Cornelius Varley]

It is better to polar align before attaching the telescope and counterweights. There is less load on the latitude bolts and the risk of bending the bolts is reduced. Also the handset only requires the coordinates in degrees and minutes. And you don't need to level the tripod.

Peter

[Leigh81]

Thanks very much for the responses, you,ve been really helpful

[Leigh81]

Basic setup of an EQ5 /HEQ5 mount :

Place the tripod on the ground. On Skywatcher EQ mounts there will either be the letter N next to one leg, or there will be a spigot cast into the mount next to one leg. This needs to be facing North and a compass helps with this rough positioning. Level the base of the tripod and attach the mount and place it in the default home position with the weight bar parallel to the leg that is pointing North, and the dovetail shoe vertical when viewed from behind the mount. Unwind the altitude bolts and tilt the mount up to the approximate position for your latitude.

Balance the mount:

Attach the OTA to the mount so that the tube is central on the dovetail, or where you feel the balance point should be. Carefully release the DEC clutch and rotate the OTA so that it’s horizontal, noting which end appears heavy. I would suggest the best way to move the OTA to achieve balance is to slightly release the screws on the tube ring clamps and slide the OTA left or right. Once balance has been obtained in the horizontal position, tighten the ring clamps back up and place the scope in the horizontal position and lock the clutch on the DEC axis. Release the RA clutch and carefully rotate the mount until the weight bar is horizontal, and position the weights until the scope is balanced on that axis. With the weight bar horizontal lock the RA clutch and release the DEC clutch. Now the next step really applies to Newtonian scopes, but is worth doing with refractors. Release the DEC clutch and place the OTA vertically, you’ll find that it wants to tip and seems top heavy. Undo the ring clamps slightly and without letting the OTA slide down, rotate the OTA in the tube rings until the scope can be placed at any position around the DEC axis and it will stay there. Release both the RA and DEC clutches and place the scope back into the home position.

Polar Alignment:

To perform polar alignment for visual use, look through the polar scope and using the altitude and azimuth bolts on the mount place Polaris dead centre on the cross-hair of the polar scope reticule. Using just the altitude bolts, position Polaris so that it then intersects the circle with the bubble on it. The mount is roughly polar aligned, and should be good enough for visual tracking.

Synscan start up:

With the scope in the home position connect up the handset and /or synscan controller. Turn on the controller and run through the initial set up menu. Enter the date as MMDDYYYY and enter your longitude and latitude as Hrs Min and Seconds, NOT DIGITAL co-ordinates. Set the time up as GMT, and if viewing in the winter say NO to daylight saving (or YES in the summer) and if viewing from the UK, set the time zone to ZERO. When asked to perform alignment, select 2 star and choose a star that you can identify from the list. Let the scope slew round to where it thinks the star is. Once it’s stopped, with a low power (25mm) eyepiece in the scope, release the clutches and centre the star in the field of view and lock the clutches again. Confirm the scope is pointing at the target star and then move on to the second star. The scope should then slew to point at the target star, and it should appear in the field of view of the eyepiece. Use the direction buttons on the handset to centre the star and then confirm this on the handset. You should find that once the handset confirms the alignment you can now select objects in the handset database and they should be within the field of view once the slewing has stopped.

Thanks for that great write up Malcolm, can I ask, you mentioned longitude and latitude as Hrs Min and Seconds, NOT DIGITAL co-ordinates... As a complete noob.... what would mine be....

Here is my info for where I live (got this of Stellarium)

1'29'31"W 51'43'18"N

Thanks

[Cornelius Varley]

Entered into the handset as 001 30W, 51 43N

Peter

[themos]

I think he meant not DECIMAL coordinates like -1.52 51.74

edit: when we give fractions in "minutes" and "seconds", we are using the "sexagesimal" system instead of the decimal system.

[Leigh81]

Entered into the handset as 001 30W, 51 43N

Peter

Ah ok so how come it didn't say that in the instructions??? I have just been entering 1'29...............

why has it gone from what I have been entering to 001 30W, 51 43N

[Cornelius Varley]

Ah ok so how come it didn't say that in the instructions??? I have just been entering 1'29...............

why has it gone from what I have been entering to 001 30W, 51 43N

The manual does state how to enter the coordinates (page 5, item 6) http://www.skywatcher.com/swtsupport/Instruction_Manuals/Synscan%20Hand%20Control%20271206V3.pdf. It does assume the the user understands the units used in mapping. degrees, minutes and seconds. Longitude is a value between 000 00W/E and 180 00W/E. If you enter 1 2 9 the handset assumes that this is 129 degrees, 00 minutes. Each number of the coordinate has to entered into the handset, this includes 00 in 001 degrees.

The 31" is rounded up so longitude becomes 001 30W.

Peter

[Leigh81]

The manual does state how to enter the coordinates (page 5, item 6) http://www.skywatcher.com/swtsupport/Instruction_Manuals/Synscan%20Hand%20Control%20271206V3.pdf. It does assume the the user understands the units used in mapping. degrees, minutes and seconds. Longitude is a value between 000 00W/E and 180 00W/E. If you enter 1 2 9 the handset assumes that this is 129 degrees, 00 minutes. Each number of the coordinate has to entered into the handset, this includes 00 in 001 degrees.

The 31" is rounded up so longitude becomes 001 30W.

Peter

OK thank you for clearing that up.... I just checked that link..... I did read that section and it gives and example of 123 04W 49 09N

So I assumed when I got my info of 129.... I just entered that format.....

Thanks for clearing that up...

[Fatbloke-Dim]

The setup of home position video on Astronomy shed is very good , watch it a few times until it becomes drilled in . I agree the manual is not the best ,but most of the info is in there someplace , although the manuals that I got with mine seem slanted more toward the EQ/HEQ series 6 . The manual for the Synscan is common to all . I have only tried once , so far to run the 3 star setup ,and the first slew was a good deal off , and I could'nt get close by the directional buttons because my polar setup was slap-dash . If I have got the manual correctly , as each subsequent star is aligned , the software will "learn" the finer points and act and track accordingly . Assuming the polar jobbie is "close enough for government work" . Stick with it , it will come good , there's heaps of these in circulation , because they work pretty decently . Just wish I could get a proper look at Polaris , it's not only behind my house when I'm in the back garden , but the blasted skies are always milky and rubbish to the north , as tho' some celestial entity has spotted me setting up -" He's at it again ,put the fog machine on !"

A321 flyer - could it be having a "What's it doing now?" moment ?!!?

[Anweniel]

as tho' some celestial entity has spotted me setting up -" He's at it again ,put the fog machine on !

Made me lol true though!

[Bamo]

Hello everyone,

Sorry for commenting on that very old post. I just acquired EQ5 pro some time ago and having some common difficulties that other users already faced so I thought it's wise to browse old threads before creating a new one.

Anyway, my two questions are

1. Regarding that mentioned video on "Astronomy Shed" website which explains a Home Position. Is there a link that I can get directly to?.

2. Also, after performing my polar alignment and Polaris is accurately positioned on the reticle dial of my polar scope then parking the scope to an accurate home position, looking in the FOV of my 28mm eyepiece, I can see that Polaris is not anywhere near the centre of my view. I can see it low in the view of my eyepiece. Does that mean that my setup suffers from Cone Error (CE) and that should be compensated?.

Please click on attachment for more clarity.

Cheers,

Bamo

PA, CE.pdf

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Polaris is never in the centre of the main scope after alignment, it moves in a circle about the true North Celestial Pole (NCP). 

As for the Astronomy Shed videos, start with this one, & work through 

 

[Bamo]

Cheers Julian and thanks for taking the time!.

 

[carastro]

Quote

Also, after performing my polar alignment and Polaris is accurately positioned on the reticle dial of my polar scope then parking the scope to an accurate home position, looking in the FOV of my 28mm eyepiece, I can see that Polaris is not anywhere near the centre of my view. I can see it low in the view of my eyepiece. Does that mean that my setup suffers from Cone Error (CE) and that should be compensated?.

You won;t see Polaris in the same place in your eyepiece through the OTA as you would through the polarscope, due to the increased magnification.  If you have a very high magnification scope you won;t see it at all.

Carole