Can you use EQMOD to simulate Alt-Az Movement?

[Barry]

After some years of using an EQ5 and then an HEQ5 mount I still find it difficult to slew to a target using Dec and RA movements  . 

Is it possible to set up EQMOD to simulate Alt-AZ movement by combining the axes?

Barry

[Bizibilder]

If you are three star aligned with EQMOD then you should have a very accurate goto facility and no need to use the manual slew buttons.

[chrisshillito]

After some years of using an EQ5 and then an HEQ5 mount I still find it difficult to slew to a target using Dec and RA movements  . 

Is it possible to set up EQMOD to simulate Alt-AZ movement by combining the axes?

Barry

No, for that you would need AZMOD - but  no one has written that yet!  

Manual slewing of an EQ mount isn't much fun - but that's why we have EQMOD to get you close enough using a goto initiated by a. Once I have a target in the eyepiece or finder its not too hard to slew in RA and DEC to get it centred.

Chris.

[Barry]

Thanks. I thought that might be the case but you can always hope. 

What made me ask was that I had an EQMOD/CDC failure - with 2 different lat/long settings after using the simulator. I didn't discover the cause until the next day. The finder mount was being used by the finder-guider and getting the OTA lined up manually seemed near impossible. As you say, though, normally there is not a lot of manual slewing required when the system is set up and working properly.

Barry

[Bizibilder]

As you found out you must ahve the same Long and lat in both EQMOD and CdC.  Another "must" (I couldn't possibly say how I discovered this one   !!) is to have them both set to the same epoch as there is a choice provided.