SW 127 Mak AZ with GOTO?

[jambouk]

As promised:

[jambouk]

How i use the spirit level (i think i got it from a cheapy shop):

[jambouk]

Having dodgey alignment, like it suggesting something is below the horizon when it's clearly not, is probably related to setting up the handset incorrectly. The. Common errors appear to be entering the wrong latitude or longitude, entering the date in the english and not american format. I use an app on my i phone called "scope help" which tell me the date, gps location and exact time. It also has a spitit level on it (which i've never used), a red light, and a screen to help with polar alignment for equatorial mounts. I've only ever used the gps screen but it's very helpful as long as there is some mobile signal!

james

[Paulus17]

Thats great thanks everyone

Nice idea for the feet James.My tripod goes onto grass which is still soft as i push the feet in slightly then adjust to level.

Do you level in both planes N-S and E-W,?

Also is there any particular way the mount fits onto the tripod as therE are no marks to line up and nothing saying it should face North.

What i have done is have the bubble leg on my side with the scope facing North to start with,and start from the Parked position.

Not sure what happened the other night as the settings were correct as i used before,and as i say it worked fine after i set it back up,apart from the object been slightly out when it slewed which may have been down to the levelness?

[jambouk]

I honestly don't know if the facing north thing is important, but i now do it, and it all works better, but i also probably just do everything more carefully so that might be the real reason.

I don't worry about which way the mount initially faces, but once the scope is on, i make it point north and get is at 0 degrees, level. Then i just unplug it, and re power up, and so the alignment from that position. I use a wide field eye piece to get the stars i'm aligning on in the centre of field, then swap and put the reticule eye piece in and get the star bang in the centre, then accept the position of that star, and repeat on the second star. I've never done brightest star alignment.

Ny spirit level has three bubbles on so i think it is doing n-s and e-w if that is what you mean. The more level you get it the better i suspect.

I do clear the pae each time too, as i'm sure the pae data from one night from a different location won't be relevant another night at another location. I do use pae to update the goto thing if it's off.

I use a big batter to power it. I'm not sure if a flat battery would affect anything so i just keep it fully charged.

I hardly ever park the scope as i set it up completely fresh each time.

James

[jambouk]

The other thing i've noticed, when just messing around with it, is that you can lie to it about where the two stars are, and it still says alignment successful, so take that message with a pinch of salt.

Level tripod

Start from level and facing north

Very accurate two star alignment

Happiness

James

[jambouk]

Feet for tripod:

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=280617692553&index=0&nav=SEARCH&nid=62401040575

I have no conflicts of interest with this product other than i own a set and they are quite useful.

James

[Paulus17]

Thanks for the link James,i do have some mud feet for my bedchair, which i had from my fishing days some where,i wonder if they would be ok to use??

Just gotta wait again now for some clear skies to try this all out now.

Yes i had that alignment successful bit on Saturday night when it started doing its own thing,thats when i switched it off and went back in the warm for a bit.

So what is the Park Scope for then.I was told when i had the HEQ5 to park the scope every time it was gonna be switched off??

[jambouk]

I don't know what the mud shoes are like, bit if they are like saucers and have a notch where the tripod feet can sit in, they sound perfect! Saves you £20

I am no expect, but parking the scope just puts it level and north facing, like a neutral position. I've never tried, but if you left the scope where it is and power off after parking, i wonder if it remembers it's alignment, as mine certainly doesn't remember the time, date etc. if you move the scope between uses, i don't see the value of parking the scope with the Goto alt az mount we have, as we still have to do a two start alignment each time.

I've never owned an equatorial mount so i don't know about he importance of parking it. Sorry.

James

[jambouk]

I'd be interested to know the tolerance of error before the handset said "alignment unsuccessful"

James

[Paulus17]

James when you say you set up fresh each time,is that at the beginning of each session,what do you do if you have to start again while out?

Using the park scope allows you to switch the scope off and start again,but it doesn't keep the time still.

[jambouk]

Each observing session i set up the tripod, level, mount and scope, align to north and level scope to 0 degrees, power off, power on, two star alignment, good to go.

If i parked the scope, remove the power, and then go back and power up again, if i update the date and time, will the alignment settings still be correct?

James

[Looeewoo]

As I understand it, if you park the scope and don't move it then the PE data is still valid when you power back up. Otherwise it's best to clear the PE data on startup along with all the other alignment steps.

[jambouk]

What do you mean by PE? Just the PAE data, or the two star alignment data?

I don't see the point of keeping PAE data if you are doing a new two star alignment as it suggests you've moved the scope and as such the PAE data will be wrong and make any goto or tracking accuracy worse!

James

[dtr42]

my scope power adaptor comes with a screw which locks the power tip onto the goto [will pop photo on later]

[dtr42]

this is the adaptor [ i thought this was a standard power adaptor

[jambouk]

I can't make out what the roughened edge device does. I don't have that anyway. My power jack just plugs into the mount, and can very easy be pulled out, which is why i tape it to the mount and tape the lead to the mount to minimise any traction being applied to the connection.

James

[Paulus17]

Each observing session i set up the tripod, level, mount and scope, align to north and level scope to 0 degrees, power off, power on, two star alignment, good to go.

If i parked the scope, remove the power, and then go back and power up again, if i update the date and time, will the alignment settings still be correct?

James

When i power back up after parking the scope it does lose all the info,apart from the date,and i have to do the alignment again.

Thinking of it now i suppose its to help when you have found and aligned to the Pole star,as i had to with the HEQ5??

DTR-That jack plug is different to what i have also,how old is your scope?

[dtr42]

I can't make out what the roughened edge device does. I don't have that anyway. My power jack just plugs into the mount, and can very easy be pulled out, which is why i tape it to the mount and tape the lead to the mount to minimise any traction being applied to the connection.

James

it pushes into the mount then you tighten the knurled nut which holds adaptor in place [i got this mak second hand i just assumed this was the standard adaptor

[jambouk]

There is no polar alignment with the az goto scope; if you happen to chose polaris as one of your alignment stars, that is interesting but not polar alignment.

Having read that thread listed above, it reinforces my opinion that it's important to clear the old PAE data, as if the telescope has been moved the old PAE data will make any new alignment worse, not better.

The more i think about it, the more i'm thinking it shouldn't make any difference what the starting point of the scope is at start up if you are doing a two star alignment, as it will know sirius is 20^ above he horizon and due south, And capella 50^ above and north west at that time and date and latitude and longitude, so it will know exactly where the horizon is and the zenith etc, irrespective of its starting position.

The only time setting it level and north is when you don't do an alignment, which i have done once when doing solar in day light ( with a baader filter). I started it up facing north and level, then said no to alignment, then told it to find venus a d it went pretty much straight on the sun which was my intention. It tracked really well too on solar tracking mode given it hadn't been aligned.

Right, bed tome. Cloud in Nottingham so no reason to stay up

Night

James

[Paulus17]

That connector looks a better option then the one that comes with the 127 now,i wonder if it was replaced by the previous owner??

Yes James,i think you are right re the set up.I do use Polaris as my second star on the alignment set up,and it slews to it,but i do have to center it in the EP?

What reticule EP do you use?

[Nibor]

A very interesting and helpful discussion - I have the S/W AZ GOTO and find it an immense help in my light polluted skies. I generally use it with my widefield 80mm refractors which it handles fine.

The Mak 127 is a slightly different issue..... My Mak was purchased new on an EQ3/2 mount and because of the contortions I found myself getting into with finderscope viewing I fitted tube rings - which were a great success - the original dovetail was removed.

When I tried to fit the original dovetail back and try the MAK on the GOTO the finderscope brackets are practically impossible to make use of so I have to use the tube ring arrangement - which TBH makes the scope IMO a bit heavy for the mount. A bag of sand or a spare counterweight or two does help but ultmately I may have to purchase another self adhesive finder bracket and remount the otiginal dovetail.

It would appear that the dovetail and/or finderscope bracket is mounted in a different position on the scope depending on whether the packaged mount is an EQ or AZ GOTO.

All in all I think the AZ GOTO / MAK combination is a great value for money package and good for both planetary and the not so wide DSOs.

[jambouk]

Yes, I am still relatively new to astronomy after a long break, and I'm still getting to grips with the Mak 127, but I've done some stuff I'm really pleased with; not a touch on what others do, but it just shows how relatively easy it is to image with this kit. Jupiter below with a cheap (£35) webcam off ebay, and M42 using my exisitng Canon 600D:

[jambouk]

And the sun using Baader solar film and a solar filter I made, using my Canon 600D again:

(These are largely first attempts at these objects so I think iwth time and patience and learning more of others, I hope to get greatly improved results).

[Paulus17]

Blimey James i'd be happy with all those.

Were they taken on the normal tripod that comes with the 127,seems a bit flimsy for AP?.

I still have my camera connections and was wondering about doing some AP but was worried about the weight of the DSLR and the gears of the mount??

Another question though-How do you power your scope down when you are packing away?