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Any EQ8 News?

RobinW

By RobinW
in Discussions - Mounts

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George

George

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I thought long and hard about this as well but couldn't see skywatcher releasing a dud especially after more than 18months of development.

If it tracks as well as or better than an eq6 and carries 50Kgs I'll be happy.

Any new product needs testing in the field to iron out any bugs and short comings, I don't know if SW do this in house with any astronomers they have in the workforce or they have a band of tight lipped beta testers......either way like I said, even if I could afford the mount......I wouldn't want to be one of the first :)

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RobinW

RobinW

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Found another video ->

I've been asking the distributors what sort of pier adapter it needs but they had no idea.

From this video it looks like an MX style coupling, as in it just bolts down, no machining of adapters required.

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RobinW

RobinW

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Any new product needs testing in the field to iron out any bugs and short comings, I don't know if SW do this in house with any astronomers they have in the workforce or they have a band of tight lipped beta testers......either way like I said, even if I could afford the mount......I wouldn't want to be one of the first :)

Sorry didn't mean to insert that video, I just pasted a link.

George, Would you apply this formula to the new AP mount or the SB MX2 that's coming? How about software updates? Did you know that the last synscan update stopped skywatcher mounts doing alignments in the southern hemishpere?

I just want to know if the eq8 works with eqmod. I have to have computer control with POTH or it will not work in the dome.

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George

George

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I just want to know if the eq8 works with eqmod. I have to have computer control with POTH or it will not work in the dome.

Im sure once the mount is actually put on the market Chris Shillito who maitains EQmod will port an interface for it that works with EQmod........until then we can only speculate :smiley:

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pete_l

pete_l

Posted
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I see there are some tracking test results also at that Austrian site

http://www.teleskop-...ng_PE_graph.jpg

http://www.teleskop-...ing_graph_2.jpg

Interesting that one of the other photos in their directory tree shows details of an EQ7 spec from March 2013.

http://www.teleskop-austria.at/information/goto-eq7-sw/EQ7-public.JPG

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chrisshillito

chrisshillito

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Im sure once the mount is actually put on the market Chris Shillito who maitains EQmod will port an interface for it that works with EQmod........until then we can only speculate :smiley:

Thanks for that vote of confidence George! :D

However, I'm sure you'll understand that I really can't commit to providing EQMOD support for mounts I don't have myself. I can't see myself affording an EQ8 just for EQMODs sake and my EQ6Pro does all I need at present. So, if future EQMOD support and development is of any importance to Skywatcher - the ball is in their court.

Chris.

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Dark Matter

Dark Matter

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My w/sale supplier (Tasco Australia) says May is the time they will be getting them in from Synta.

As for price.. they don't know that yet, but they expect to know in late April.

Either way, I've ordered one.

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RobinW

RobinW

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I've paid my deposit for a $4150 delivered mount. I've ordered via Claude, the tak/starlight dealer.

I was told they had a delivery of bad bearings and they have to replace them all, hence the delay.

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Jessun

Jessun

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Centring the polar scope would be a nightmare.

Depends on the software. I know AP (and quite possibly other brands) has a PA routine that by slewing between stars and moving the Alt/Az bolts in iterations will nail the NCP. Once you've done that you adjust the PA scope with three screws to point where it should. After this is done you can align with good accuracy using the polar scope alone.

The problem with the proposed SW design is that it so much in the way I think. The risk of bumping it seems to be high. Cables could snag etc. It's ugly as anything, but most importantly how well does it transport colimated? I mean, the idea of the polar scope is to align without star hopping routines, when setting up quickly in the dark field. So I'm guessing a user would have to take it off during travel due to its placement. How accurately does it bolt back on?

For a more permanent setup you don't need one at all, so I don't really get the design of that piece.

/Jesper

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DaveS

DaveS

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I *think* the polar scope is optional, which would make sense. But I don't know....use it once for alignment in an obsy and then what? Perhaps if the mounting is disturbed or you have to de-mount it for servicing or some other reason? Sorry just rambling here and putting thoughts in no particular order. But it *is* going on my retirement short-list even so.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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Why bother with a polarscope in an observatory mount? Yves and I just fired the laser at Polaris while holding it against part of the mount parallel with its polar axis (most mounts will have something) and then went straight to a drift alignment. It took very little time. I wouldn't call it an issue.

Olly

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DaveS

DaveS

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I rather think that if I fired a laser upwards in *any* direction I'd very soon have the boys in black dropping down on ropes to haul me off, never to be seen again.

Paranoid? Perhaps. But living under the Heathrow flight path I'm uber-cautious about such things.

In any case I think the polar scope is optional, at least that's what it says on the FLO listing.

We'll see when the mount is released over here and actually has a price in £

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Jessun

Jessun

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Agree that lasers are dubious, and a few cases have thrown people behind iron bars recently - aiming for aircraft. (Probably not fans of astronomy though, but close to Heathrow I'd certainly be careful).

I wonder what is blocking the path inside the mount for a polar scope.

/Jesper

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DaveS

DaveS

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I wonder what is blocking the path inside the mount for a polar scope.

/Jesper

A thumping great Dec axis shaft without any holes in it!

TBH I've always been a bit dubious about putting holes through shafts but that's probably just me, and being a bit irrational

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DaveS

DaveS

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You're thinking of a flat plate sort of Dec axis? Not sure of the technical term but something like the Dec stub of a springfield mount? With a non-rotating counterweight.

I think I'd rather have a thumping great 2" axis supported in big tapered rollers at each end for something like this, perhaps with a couple of ball races in the middle. And something a size bigger for the Polar axis.

But then I always did go in for "battleship engineering" :grin:

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