Umm.. HEQ5 slews to opposite side of sky

[Apostate]

Hi

I've just been testing my new(ish) HEQ5 mount with Stellarium and EQMOD.. Everything seems to be ok except (and, well, it's a pretty big "except") the mount slews in the opposite direction to that it should.

For example, from Polaris (home) the mount will turn the scope toward the western side of the sky, rather than the east, when asked to target M31. It looks as though it is a mirror position - like the axis have rotated the right amounts but the wrong direction.

I'm pretty sure the mount does the same with the handset - but I've only pointed it under the sky once so I might be mistaken - it might have been operator failure.

Thanks

[nmoushon]

I've had mine slew to completely wrong places a couple times. I simply reset the mount. Turned it on and off and re put in all the setup information, time,place, etc. Worked fine afterwards. Still dont know why it did that.

[steppenwolf]

Latitude set to north in EQMod?

[Steve Ward]

Date set in US format as opposed to UK , ie MM/DD/YY ?

Caught me out more than once .

Steve.

[ianaiken]

The only fix, as already stated, I have seen for this is to reset (factory reset) the mount using the handset. We battled for a couple of hours one night with someone's mount and this was the only solution. It was weird as it wasn't even the complete opposite direction, but it certainly was the wrong way and pointing down.

[malc-c]

Check or un-check the reverse RA / reverse DEC tick boxes in EQMOD.....or the puck is upside down (dec axis 180 degrees out)

[alan potts]

I have had all sorts of problems with my mount and it seemed to be a power problem or it know I don't like it . I don't want to sound silly but is yours set to the southern hemisphere by any .

chance?

Alan.

[Apostate]

Hello

Thanks for the help, chaps - gave it another bash this evening and all seems fine.. Looks as though something got in a knot during set up and got put straight when the connection was re-created after shut down..

Kinda pleased - at least the mount doesn't need rebuilding.. But I would liked to be able to track down the issue and eliminate it properly - I don't want it reoccurring under a clear sky..

[Drakester]

Check or un-check the reverse RA / reverse DEC tick boxes in EQMOD.....or the puck is upside down (dec axis 180 degrees out)

... The puck being upside down occurred to me the other night too.. does it matter? Should the two puck bolts be on the left or right of the scope?

[66mikeg]

I bought my mount second hand and (foolishly) assumed (stupid) that it had been left parked, first attempt at three star align it was searching for Altair somewhere in my lawn. Mount had been left 180 degrees out.

[Auntystatic]

It doesn't matter which way the 2 bolts on the puck point, mine point down as I have a side by side bar on.

[malc-c]

... The puck being upside down occurred to me the other night too.. does it matter? Should the two puck bolts be on the left or right of the scope?

Mikeg described what I was trying to get at better than I did...

[Apostate]

I'm not sure what was happening..

I took the mount out for it's first clear night and it was hunting for M31 in the NW sky when using the handset. It also threw a wobbler at one point and kept restarting and clearing the handset settings. I figured it had been sold on with a duff handset.

So I pulled out an old laptop and got an EQDir cable and plugged it all together in the sitting room. Same thing - moving NW on goto M31 command from Polaris.

But last time it was fine.. I suppose I could be enough of a clutz to have re-set the home position without realising I'd done it..

[malc-c]

Sounds more like a power issue - how are you powering the mount. The mount can draw around 1.5 - 2 amps when both motors are slewing. If the power supply can't provide this amperage at 12v then this can cause the mount to drop out and lose its position

[Apostate]

It has been running on a mains adapter..

[dtr42]

i found that running my mains adaptor direct into the goto caused that problem a couple of times , i now use my power tank into the goto and the 12volt charger plugged into the power tank when i'm using scope in my garden

[malc-c]

It has been running on a mains adapter..

Specifications of which are ??

If you want to power from a mains outlet then any if the 13.8 volt regulated supplies (linear or switched mode) are a better option. Or use a power tank as previously suggested

[Apostate]

The output of the adapter is 12v 5000mA.. Is there something wrong with this?

[malc-c]

5amp (5000mA) should be fine

[pilkinn]

When using EQMod and things go wrong, press "Park" and let the mount move to where it thinks the Park position is. Then unlock the clutches on the mount and physically move the mount to the park position - counterweight bar pointing directly down, telescope in-line with the counterweight bar pointing north towards polaris. Then clear the alignment data - press on the >>> button to see the advanced settings and then press the delete alignment button. Then "unpark" the mount and try doing the alignment again. If you have your location settings set correctly, the mount should slew to roughly where your alignment target star is.