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AstroEQ for EQ mounts

Oily

By Oily
in DIY Astronomer

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

There shouldn't be any, but could you have a quick look at the boards and see if there are any solder bridges between any of the pins on the motor side of the driver boards (the 8 pins on each board on the side where the motor connectors are).

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

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Final thing to try is if you pull out the driver boards (they both just plug in to sockets). Now turn on the power with them removed and measure the voltage between where the upper most two pins on the right of the image I posted before (the one I highlighted blue and the one above it) would plug in to the green board.

You should see 12V DC.

If that is correct then I can only assume that the driver boards have failed.

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

It seems like the current limit has failed on the driver boards which means the motors will be drawing excessive amounts of current. There will then be very high currents through D1 as it is in line with the power connector to prevent damage if the supply has the wrong polarity. [Don't worry about D1 heating - it will keep working well beyond 150 degrees C without being damaged].

I'm not entirely sure what is wrong, but I've sent you a PM.

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mr jambon

mr jambon

Posted
Posted

Thanks to the advice from QM, Tom and others earlier in this thread I found the correct PSU on eBay and it arrived today (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251407530679?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649). It's the same one as sold by Farnell but I didn't have to spend >£20 with Farnell to get delivery of it. 

Now I have it, it is clear that neither standard battery pack nor the 1A mains PSU I had to hand could provide enough current to the controller and the motors because this worked first time.

So, now I have everything connected and configured (in a basic sense) I can use use EQMOD to move the mount around. 

Being a complete novice with CDC, EQMOD and my new controller, what is the process to get it all working in the field? I presume that the first step is to polar align the mount as normal and then.......? Do you sync with the NCP or manually slew to a target and sync with that? 

Thanks,

Matt.

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

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Posted

You can either polar align first, or use EQMOD to help you polar align (if the former do it before opening EQMOD, if the latter, google "EQMOD Polar Align" as there is a document explaining that).

For EQMOD when you start up you need to unlock the mount axes and then move them to the 'Home' position (Declination pointing to 90 degrees, RA axis arranged such that the weights are positioned directly downwards). If you are not quite right, don't worry, you can do 3 star alignment to correct any error in your home position. Once the mount is positioned, lock the axes again.

Now open CDC, and connect to EQMOD. You should see the EQMOD screen open up.

Next open the EQMOD advanced settings (little spanner with three >>> in the top right corner). There is a picture in the middle of the screen of a notepad with a red x on it. Click this to clear any alignment data from last time (unless you are lucky enough to have a pier from which the telescope never moves - wish I was, lol). You are ready to start alignement. Make sure to set the Track Rate to Sidereal so that it is easier to align to stars - the pesky things move otherwise ;).

In CdC, tell the mount to slew to a nice bright star that is visible. Once it gets there, unlock the mount axes and move the scope so that it is pointing directly at the star you chose (centred in your eyepiece). Then lock the axes again. This corrects any error from your home position being wrong. From this point on NEVER unlock the axes again until the end of your session. Every movement from this point on must be driven by AstroEQ. In CdC select the star again and click "Sync". It will as you to confirm the telescope is pointing at the star, so say yes.

In CdC, slew to another bright star somewhere else in the sky. Once the slew completes, use the NESW buttons on EQMOD to move the scope so that the new star is centred in the eyepiece. Once it is centred, then in CdC select the star again and click "Sync". This is your second point aligned.

Now pick a third star in another part of the sky that forms a rough triangle with the other two. For best accuracy, the centre of the triangle should be somewhere near where you plan on observing/imaging. Again tell CdC to slew to this star, use EQMOD to centre the star if it isn't already, and once centred click 'Sync'. This is your third point aligned.

If you look in EQMOD you should see that the point count is now '3'.

And that should be you ready to go. Pick your target and say slew. You should find the target centred in your eyepiece.

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Quatermass

Quatermass

Posted
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The basic steps after you have all your setting in eqmod and CDC done are as follows...

First polar align your scope then put it into the home position.

Next. Turn on CDC and connect to eqmod once your connected picks target star in CDC unpark your scope in eqmod and hit the slew to target button in CDC.

The mount will slew to the target and stop but will not be on target normally just a little off target.

You can manually set the target in the centre of your eye piece by undoing the bolts and moving by hand then clamp the bolts and hit the synch button in CDC. After that you can not undo the bolts again and must use the eqmod slew buttons.

However if you install astro tortilla it will do all that for you and is most certainly what you should be doing instead.

Pm me with your questions and I will do my best to help you out. QM

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mr jambon

mr jambon

Posted
Posted

You can either polar align first, or use EQMOD to help you polar align (if the former do it before opening EQMOD, if the latter, google "EQMOD Polar Align" as there is a document explaining that).

For EQMOD when you start up you need to unlock the mount axes and then move them to the 'Home' position (Declination pointing to 90 degrees, RA axis arranged such that the weights are positioned directly downwards). If you are not quite right, don't worry, you can do 3 star alignment to correct any error in your home position. Once the mount is positioned, lock the axes again.

Now open CDC, and connect to EQMOD. You should see the EQMOD screen open up.

Next open the EQMOD advanced settings (little spanner with three >>> in the top right corner). There is a picture in the middle of the screen of a notepad with a red x on it. Click this to clear any alignment data from last time (unless you are lucky enough to have a pier from which the telescope never moves - wish I was, lol). You are ready to start alignement. Make sure to set the Track Rate to Sidereal so that it is easier to align to stars - the pesky things move otherwise ;).

In CdC, tell the mount to slew to a nice bright star that is visible. Once it gets there, unlock the mount axes and move the scope so that it is pointing directly at the star you chose (centred in your eyepiece). Then lock the axes again. This corrects any error from your home position being wrong. From this point on NEVER unlock the axes again until the end of your session. Every movement from this point on must be driven by AstroEQ. In CdC select the star again and click "Sync". It will as you to confirm the telescope is pointing at the star, so say yes.

In CdC, slew to another bright star somewhere else in the sky. Once the slew completes, use the NESW buttons on EQMOD to move the scope so that the new star is centred in the eyepiece. Once it is centred, then in CdC select the star again and click "Sync". This is your second point aligned.

Now pick a third star in another part of the sky that forms a rough triangle with the other two. For best accuracy, the centre of the triangle should be somewhere near where you plan on observing/imaging. Again tell CdC to slew to this star, use EQMOD to centre the star if it isn't already, and once centred click 'Sync'. This is your third point aligned.

If you look in EQMOD you should see that the point count is now '3'.

And that should be you ready to go. Pick your target and say slew. You should find the target centred in your eyepiece.

Thats great Tom. Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed explanation. I knew asking would speed up my learning curve and it also has the added benefit of being there for other people who are going to inevitably ask the same question! 

Matt.

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mr jambon

mr jambon

Posted
Posted

The basic steps after you have all your setting in eqmod and CDC done are as follows...

First polar align your scope then put it into the home position.

Next. Turn on CDC and connect to eqmod once your connected picks target star in CDC unpark your scope in eqmod and hit the slew to target button in CDC.

The mount will slew to the target and stop but will not be on target normally just a little off target.

You can manually set the target in the centre of your eye piece by undoing the bolts and moving by hand then clamp the bolts and hit the synch button in CDC. After that you can not undo the bolts again and must use the eqmod slew buttons.

However if you install astro tortilla it will do all that for you and is most certainly what you should be doing instead.

Pm me with your questions and I will do my best to help you out. QM

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Thanks QM. Cant wait to get outside now and have a play! Guess what though, in Manchester the clouds are firmly fixed for the night  :mad: typical!

I will have a play with Astrotortilla too. I have downloaded it and set it up but need to get out there and tinker really.

Hopefully my next post will include an image or two  :eek:

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The_PSY3NTIST

The_PSY3NTIST

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Posted

All clear here tomorrow night !!! First field run for me :) can't wait! Not sure I'm going to get the guiding going till my obssy is done. Warm room is ready so the scope can go outside for now :) any good target you would recommend? Nice easy ones except m42 and m45.

Cheers

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Quatermass

Quatermass

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Posted

M81 and M82 are nice and bright to image try ISO of 1600 and 55 second subs about 60 of those with the same amount of darks flats and bias shots. In fact if its cloudy do all your darks tonight and your bias shots you can do the lights in the morning if you want. I cover my scope with a sheet and a bungee rope so its taught then take the subs so the histogram is showing the peak a 3rd of the way across you aiming for a dull white flat point the scope at a window with the curtains drawn or your laptop screen good guide on darks flats and bias can be found in the deep sky stacker tutorial section. Bias shots are taken after the darks rattling off on the fastest exp time you have. Darks are temp relent so need to be done outside at the time you will be imaging.

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