Ordered the big guy...NEQ6 Syntrek

[laser_jock99]

No altetnatives?

If you don't want to spend £27 why not make your own using M10 Lever Clamp Handles (that is all the expensive ones are)

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/levers/0478951/

All you need to do is cut down some M10 studding (preferably from a longer high tensile steel bolt) to the right length and Loctite into the female clamp handle. In facct you probable only need to make as it is always the South side (lower) one that bends.

[emadmoussa]

If you don't want to spend £27 why not make your own using M10 Lever Clamp Handles (that is all the expensive ones are)

http://uk.rs-online....levers/0478951/

All you need to do is cut down some M10 studding (preferably from a longer high tensile steel bolt) to the right length and Loctite into the female clamp handle. In facct you probable only need to make as it is always the South side (lower) one that bends.

Have you done it yourself?

[ollypenrice]

I'll just endorse Chris's point about precise PA. For imaging precise does mean precise. Check up on the drift method. The best tutorial I've seen on it is this one; http://www.andysshotglass.com/DriftAlignment.html

Olly

[emadmoussa]

I'll just endorse Chris's point about precise PA. For imaging precise does mean precise. Check up on the drift method. The best tutorial I've seen on it is this one; http://www.andysshot...tAlignment.html

Olly

Thank you!

[Tinker1947]

I wouldn't worry about the bolts, they will bend if people tighten one without loosening off the other there's nothing will stop that happening, have a look at Astro Babys Web sight theres a strip down of the mount and once you see how they work it will help should you want to do any sort of maintenance, I just re-greased mine due to our cloudy sky of late more for something to do than it required doing....

http://www.astro-baby.com/EQ6%20rebuild%20guide/EQ6%20Strip%20Down%20Home.htm

[kirkster501]

One day you will forget to loosen one before tightening the other and bend the bolt. It is a more pronounced issue on the 6 because it is heavier than the 5. I have no axe to grind on the matter, I just know a lot of folks who have bent the bolts and needed to take it apart to fix which you may not really want to be doing on a mount under warranty. Up to you whether or not to follow the advice of many.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[emadmoussa]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. Off the topic slightly, do you recommend a usb hub? So far I will have 2 long wires, one from the Canon and the other from the EQMod interface adapter.

At some point I am going for a guide cam - a third wire. I need to get my head around the concept in relation to the mount first.

[Tinker1947]

i have 2 USB, 2 Power Leads, 2 Dew heater leads, there 5 metres long with the mount end shorter or longer as required, there held together with self amalgamating tape, at 18" intervals,,,,takes me a minute or so to wire up all the bits and about the same time when i pack up , unplug and roll the wiring loom up and hang it on a hook in the warm room.....cable can be sourced on screwfix , in 10, or 50 metre option,,,,

The tripod legs are in there indents, so its aligned every time....

[emadmoussa]

Very nice, Tinker1947. You almost have a tranformer robot there I ordered a bunch of plastic ties. Will use them to tie all the cables together.

What kind of guiding do you use?

[Tinker1947]

Very nice, Tinker1947. You almost have a tranformer robot there I ordered a bunch of plastic ties. Will use them to tie all the cables together.

What kind of guiding do you use?

I tried cable ties, they shred you hand as you slide the cable along....very nasty little things....the guiding when i get some clear sky is a LodeStar and the ST80, i have a OAG on order but it may not give enough inward travel, unguided it will do 2 minute subs with no star trailing...

[dmahon]

I use cable tidy and 3m cables. I've just changed my hub for a d-link 7 port one as the previous one kept causing different things to drop connection.

The EQ6 often comes with one leg southbound - move the little peg on to of the tripod before you mount the head so it has one leg northbound instead. This stops the whole thing toppling over if you take the scope off before the weights, and also makes it more comfortable to use the polar scope.

[ollypenrice]

What I don't do is bind the cables together too permanently because, as soon as I do, one of the USBs goes dodgy and needs changing!

Olly

[kirkster501]

You guys who say you just put the tripod down into some indents you made on the slabs and you are polar aligned "everytime". That may be OK for visual but that is not my experience with AP. There is enough [slight] movement when moving the mount that the PA is off again next time you line the tripod up with the indents.; you can't prevent slight movement of things like the mount head on the tripod for instance when you have to break down/build up following day.

I am redesigning the whole side of my house/patio/terrace area and was going to plan strategic slabs in the design to accommodate this method.

EDIT: BTW - sorry for slight thread hijack.

[Tinker1947]

You guys who say you just put the tripod down into some indents you made on the slabs and you are polar aligned "everytime". That may be OK for visual but that is not my experience with AP. There is enough [slight] movement when moving the mount that the PA is off again next time you line the tripod up with the indents.; you can't prevent slight movement of things like the mount head on the tripod for instance when you have to break down/build up following day.

I am redesigning the whole side of my house/patio/terrace area and was going to plan strategic slabs in the design to accommodate this method.

EDIT: BTW - sorry for slight thread hijack.

When i put the mount away its in one piece, the NEQ6 fits under my right arm and the short distance to the warm room isn't a problem, i remove the OTA thats all, the tripod is solid when the EP tray is tightened, 2 minute unguided subs are ok...

[emadmoussa]

It seems like opinion battle of alignment down here I am aware there are set rules and methodologies, but like every other aspect of life these rules could be slightly bent - which is not very British - achieving similar results to the original one. I personally use chalk marks on the patio floor and GPS to align the mount, it seems effective and can get it to lock on Polaris. It's mainly for visual observing and some lunar and planetary imaging - which as you all know don't require much exposure. It might be a different story for AP, hence the questions.

As for cable ties, I do agree. It's wise not to permanently to tie wires together in case some go ''haywire''.

As promised, questions will keep pouring, apologies for those who already find me such a nuisance OK, I'm a bit confused over the concept of auto guiding in relation to accurate alignment.

I understand with auto guiding you lock on star and it tells the mount to try and keep it locked on, subsequently compensating for the earth rotation. Correct me if I'm just babbling. So, if your alignment is not 100% accurate, will the auto guiding still work?

I already have the guidescope (SW ST80 piggybacked on top of the 200p), just not sure which guide camera to get, considering how pricy they are. Are there any cheap options? Say, under £200?

IM

[dmahon]

Don't know about cheap, but most people settle on a SX Lodestar or a QHY5.

[laser_jock99]

Have you done it yourself?

You can just about make out my orange coloured 'home made' M10 clamp handle in this photo:

[russellhq]

I bought some cable wrap from Maplin, works quite well:

http://www.maplin.co...able-wrap-26849

I've a hub velcro'ed to the mount which has the DSLR, guide cam, EQMOD cable & Bluetooth adapter connect. So i just connect a 5m USB cable and I'm good to go.

I also have the mount power cable, fan power & DSLR power cable wrapped which run back to an extension lead: which is in a bag to keep things tidy. So basically I have 2 cables running from the mount instead of 7! Makes setting up and taking down a lot easier!

[emadmoussa]

I bought some cable wrap from Maplin, works quite well:

http://www.maplin.co...able-wrap-26849

I've a hub velcro'ed to the mount which has the DSLR, guide cam, EQMOD cable & Bluetooth adapter connect. So i just connect a 5m USB cable and I'm good to go.

I also have the mount power cable, fan power & DSLR power cable wrapped which run back to an extension lead: which is in a bag to keep things tidy. So basically I have 2 cables running from the mount instead of 7! Makes setting up and taking down a lot easier!

Pretty neat setup. Worth adopting Thanks a lot!

[russellhq]

Thanks! If you look at the last picture, you'll see I wrapped the DEC cable in with the rest of the cables as they came off the telescope. I figured that as the DEC cable was designed to accommodate the movement of the mount, it made sense the other cables followed it to avoid snagging.

[emadmoussa]

Thanks! If you look at the last picture, you'll see I wrapped the DEC cable in with the rest of the cables as they came off the telescope. I figured that as the DEC cable was designed to accommodate the movement of the mount, it made sense the other cables followed it to avoid snagging.

Indeed, I can see that.