EQ2 Mount and Motor

[SwampStar]

Hello...

This is only my 2nd post on here so be gentle!

i'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction for an article or website showing the setting up of an EQ2 Mount. It did come with instructions but they're incredibly difficult to follow and I'm sure what I've done isn't right.

Am I right that in theory, I should be able to find a target and then 'lock' on to it as it moves across the sky? I've been chasing Jupiter for at least an hour! (Was worth it, though!)

And I haven't even started on the motor...

[AliMac]

I take it you've managed to align it roughly with Polaris (the North Star) using the little white line on the RA axis? if so, that should allow you to track an object manually just using the RA control knob. Try it on something bright like jupiter or venus at a high magnification. That should let you check if you can track with any accuracy. I don't have the motorised version myself, but I think you should probably only fit that once you've made sure you're properly aligned.

Unfortunately, the EQ2 is never going to be 100% accurate as you can't align it with any real accuracy, and I think you'll probably experience quite a lot of drift within a few tens of minutes, unless you've been very fortunate in your alignment.

If you can save the pennies, a slightly more advanced mount, such as the EQ3-2, would allow you to fit a polarscope so you can get a much more accurate alignment to Polaris. I've been trying to scrape the cash together for just such an upgrade myself, but something always seems to get in the way!

[Obi Wan]

Hi there,

Very new ourselves and like you was bamboozled by the instructions for the EQ2- read them so many times and still didn't make sense. However did find this video on you-tube and after watching it we managed it.

Hope this is of some use. At least you managed to see something- too much cloud here last night- only glimpses of stars.

[SwampStar]

Thank you both so much. To be honest, I'm not sure whether the mount is even the right way up! Basically it's just sitting inbetween the scope and the tripod.

I'll have a look at the video and see where that gets me!

Thanks again.

[SwampStar]

Great vids...but I just have one (rather daft) question. Once that is set up with the 'scope slanted to 51 degrees, how do I look at objects that are lower in the sky?

(Told you it was daft!)

[proflight2000]

entered in error.

[AliMac]

No such thing as a daft question!

The 51 degrees bit is to set the mount to your current latitude. Basically, you set that and forget about it, apart from checking it's still in the right place occasionally!

You're limited in what you can see to what's above the horizon at your time and location, but within those parameters your scope can be moved to point in any direction. Sometimes the motion needed to point your scope at what you want to see can be somewhat counter-intuitive, and you can end up with your eyepiece the wrong way up. Depending on what type of scope you're using, if it's attached to the mount by rings, you can loosen those to rotate the scope until the eyepiece is where you want it. Otherwise, just loosen the star diagonal and rotate that.

What scope are you using, by the way?

[SwampStar]

Hi AliMac,

Thanks for that. I suppose it's just a case of having a go. The videos were really helpful...but I didn't get a chance to play last night because of clouds and stuff.

I've got a SkyWatcher 1309 with the EQ2 mount, by the way...loving it, and so far, everything I need at this stage.