eq3 syscan goto

[skysculptor]

Hello,

wandering if any body knows if the skywatcher eq3 syscann goto mount is usable if your batteries die on you? am thinking of buying one and was wondering if it had a manual mode so to speak, doesnt say on the FLO website.

many thanks

[Patrice Lanteigne]

Most of the Skywatcher EQ mounts with sysnscan do not any slow motion manual controls but you can release the clutches any time to slew to scope manually. Not optimal put it can work.

[skysculptor]

oh, ok thats not to bad then it can be roughly positioned manually but no manual slow motion control with out power, at least it wont just go rigid if theres no power!

thanks for you reply.

[P_Monty]

Just tried re-fitting a slow motion wheel to my EQ3-2. You can turn it by hand with the goto attached and powered off. I think to be on the safe side, if I were going to do this I'd power the electronics right off to make sure I'm not fighting against motors struggling with a dying battery.

[skysculptor]

ok thanks, i'll see what the possibilities are when the mount arrives.

[ianfiat]

The mount does come with slow motion controls in the box- I haven't found it necessary to use them though, my power pack usually lasts long enough for the 4 sec view of the sky we may get once a week!

[skysculptor]

yes apart from the last few nights when the sky has been clear, for a few hours at least, hardly saw the stars for a month before that !