need some help with skywatcher 127

[bigwheels]

hi guys just need a bit of help with my skywatcer 127 az synscan first off if my lat north is 52.5426 and my long west is -1.9230 am i right in thinking that i imput 52.54 lat and 00001.92 long west next does the scope have to allways point north to set it up.last of all when i have imput all this and it asks to find the stars do i need northern sky northwest and so on bit confused about it ps im in birmingham sorry if this is a easy thing to set up for all you pros but iim new to this and the write up on the scope said its easy to use mmmm

[brucen]

Welcome to the forum. The lat and long you have is in the decimal format which you can't use. If you go to Google Earth and enter your postcode and zoom in on your location you will get the correct info at the bottom of the screen in hours, mins and seconds - just leave off the last couple of digits. You can start with the scope in any position and select the area of sky you want to use to start the set up. This may well depend on your location as it will need to be a direction you can see without anything in the way. There is no right or wrong direction - it's up to you to choose. It will take a while to get it right the first few times but it does get easier - promise!

I think your coordinates will be N 52 32 W 01 55

[hemihaggis]

remember to click NO when it ask for daylight saving and set the scale/mount on the scope to zero/horizontal

[brucen]

Good point about the mount - it needs to be level. The bubble in the tripod is ok but is very hard to see in the dark as the mount gets in the way. A spirit level across the eyepiece tray is easier to see if you have one. Also, the date is in the American format - month, day year. If you notice a lot of vibration when using the scope try lowering the legs as this make it more stable but take care to keep it level.

[bigwheels]

thanks brucen i got that bit right but why does it have to be on zero horizontal to start with ive not seen that in the book

[Cornelius Varley]

Only the tripod needs to be level, the telescope can start anywhere.

peter

[bigwheels]

ok thanks again i will give it another go tonight and hope to see somethink apart from the next doors top window

[Cornelius Varley]

Remember to get your coordinates right. These should be entered into the handset in this order 001 55 W, 52 32 N.

Peter

[brucen]

Hope it goes well for you. A couple of other things that might help. First, if you haven't already got it I suggest you download Strellarium and enter your coordinates to give you an idea of what you will be seeing when you get out there. This enables you to select stars that will be in view at the time you are setting up. Second, when centering stars start with the 25mm eyepiece then fine tune with the 10mm. Even when you think it is centered with the 25mm it will almost certainly not be in the middle of the 10mm. If all else fails I hope your neighbour is worth looking at at high magnification!!

[hemihaggis]

Only the tripod needs to be level, the telescope can start anywhere.

peter

my 127 mak needed the scope horizontal

[Cornelius Varley]

The AZ-GOTO mount needs to be level, this is in the manual. The telescope doesn't need to be level at the start or pointing North because the star alignment only starts when the telescope has been manually slewed to the first star, the handset uses this as the start point and calculates the location of the second star from this point. Using brightest star alignment and selecting the area of sky to use the handset calculates the brightest star in that region and gives the approximate location(azimuth and altitude) for that star. The user then manually slews the mount to the location, centres the star and then presses return to accept. Where the mount starts from or if the telescope is level or not doesn't matter.

Peter

[hemihaggis]

Where the mount starts from or if the telescope is level or not doesn't matter.

Peter

yep i agree it should not matter , but i had a 127 mak for two years .... and i had to level the scale to zero or it would not align .. scope needs to be horizontal !! trust me

[Cornelius Varley]

The requirement to start with telescope level and North was removed with firmware AZ03.07.

From the release notes:

"SynScan AZ-Mode Firmware (Ver.03.07) Release Note

Date: Aug. 10, 2009

===============================================================

1. Improve the initial setup of the system -- The telescope no longer needs to be level and pointed to the North as its initial position in order to accurately perform the star alignment procedure.

Peter