Synscan Tracking - Help please

[Altomar718]

Hi All

Can anyone tell me please - Is it possible to track and object without going through star alignment (but roughly polar aligned) using Synscan? I was looking at the moon the other night but without doing alignment and obviously, it kept drifting so I wondered is there any way of getting the Synscan to track so you do not have to manually keep pressing the cursor keys to keep it central.

Thanks

[Keiran]

Im confussed, you have tried, and it didnt work?... Synscan works by following its alignment process, with out this the mount will not track accuratly. You could do a rough polar alignment and do a one star alignment, but dont expect this to be as accurate as a drift alignment with a 3 star handset alignment. Also you will need to change your tracking rate to lunar, if it is the moon you are trying to observe.

Keiran

[Merlin66]

If the polar axis is pointing at least close to the pole star....then using the EQ mount in "manual" ie just setting the tracking rate (doesn't need the alignment process...) will usually keep the object in the field of view for visual observing...

[lensman57]

Hi All

Can anyone tell me please - Is it possible to track and object without going through star alignment (but roughly polar aligned) using Synscan? I was looking at the moon the other night but without doing alignment and obviously, it kept drifting so I wondered is there any way of getting the Synscan to track so you do not have to manually keep pressing the cursor keys to keep it central.

Thanks

Hi,

I asked the same question last night under the title of EQ5 pro gripe. If your mount is EQ and not AZ and you properly polar align it then it is apparently possible to do an auto track, if during the initial set up you say NO to alignment then go to set up menu and scroll till you get to tracking then press enter and you are given 4 options, sidereal, lunar, solar and sidereal+ pec I think. For the moon choose lunar and press enter and loosen the clutches and center the moon, tighten up and the mount will track untill you interupt the tracking. I tried it briefly lastnight for the moon before it clouded over and it seemed to work then but I need to further experiment with Jupiter and the stars to make sure that I have got it right.

Regards,

A.G

[Altomar718]

Hi,

I asked the same question last night under the title of EQ5 pro gripe. If your mount is EQ and not AZ and you properly polar align it then it is apparently possible to do an auto track, if during the initial set up you say NO to alignment then go to set up menu and scroll till you get to tracking then press enter and you are given 4 options, sidereal, lunar, solar and sidereal+ pec I think. For the moon choose lunar and press enter and loosen the clutches and center the moon, tighten up and the mount will track untill you interupt the tracking. I tried it briefly lastnight for the moon before it clouded over and it seemed to work then but I need to further experiment with Jupiter and the stars to make sure that I have got it right.

Regards,

A.G

Lensman57 (A.G) - What a star, that is exactly the answer to my question - I have just tried it although it is daylight, cloudy and trying to rain!! - but as soon as I entered the settings you mentioned, the motors started with the sound they make when tracking so I see no reason why it wont work. Thanks a lot Lensman57 and thanks to you others who took the time to answer - Cheers - Chris