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Eq5 Motor drive Help needed. (Can't track)

AstroJones

By AstroJones
in Discussions - Mounts

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AstroJones

AstroJones

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone

I was able to get out for about 1hour tonight to test my Eq5 dual axis motors, i polar aligned my mount to Polaris as accurate as i could.

Once i was aligned i put my counter-weights on the bar and mounted the scope on the tripod.

i wanted to try and track M42 as it was nice and bright, but it was nearly opposite Polaris so i rotated the scope towards M42 and locked both axis.

Then i centered M42 in the eyepiece and turned on the tracking, i then knew that something was wrong! the RA axis wasn't moving left to right but infact it was moving up and down due to the orientation i had my scope.

(the tripod was still facing the NCP)

So my motors were not tracking anything, they were moving it up and down so if i were to track anything it would have to be pointing north.

Can someone please help me and explain what i am doing wrong, i am still a little bit new to this so im sure it's me and not the mount or motors.

I have read various polar aligning tutorials and threads but i guess i seem to missing something.

Any help is much appreciated :)

and thank's in advance

- Harvey.

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ronin

ronin

Posted
Posted

I have an idea that it is esy to install the drive cogs incorrectly.

Hopefully someone will come along and clarify this, just sure I have read it happening.

If that is so then it would be simply remove the motors etc and put the bits back on in the correct setup and put them back into the mount.

Could search out reported problems.

Another thought is what is holding the cogs on the motor shaft, as in there is a pin through the 2 bits ?

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AstroJones

AstroJones

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I have an idea that it is esy to install the drive cogs incorrectly.

Hopefully someone will come along and clarify this, just sure I have read it happening.

If that is so then it would be simply remove the motors etc and put the bits back on in the correct setup and put them back into the mount.

Could search out reported problems.

Another thought is what is holding the cogs on the motor shaft, as in there is a pin through the 2 bits ?

I have searched online but i can't seem to find anyone with the same problem, i installed the motor drives as the instructions told me and if i have installed them wrong then i will feel a bit stupid

as i am capable of building my own pc.

You also may have to clarify on "As in there is a pin through the 2 bits" as i dont understand, thanks for the reply though :)

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Sandancer10

Sandancer10

Posted
Posted

Hi Harvey, I'm not sure what a dual axis mount is but if you have the normal Skyscan handset etc. I can help you. Once you have polar aligned the scope (3 star method is better) just enter what object you want to look at. The scope will automatically goto that object, (without having to turn tracking on) and will track it for you. If you have adapted the mount motors I'm afraid that's way beyond me.

Good luck and hope you get it sorted.

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AstroJones

AstroJones

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Hi Harvey, I'm not sure what a dual axis mount is but if you have the normal Skyscan handset etc. I can help you. Once you have polar aligned the scope (3 star method is better) just enter what object you want to look at. The scope will automatically goto that object, (without having to turn tracking on) and will track it for you. If you have adapted the mount motors I'm afraid that's way beyond me.

Good luck and hope you get it sorted.

I'm afraid i don't have the Skyscan, i just have dual axis motors that guide my eq5 mount.

Thank's for helping! :)

i'm sure someone on these forums can help me get it sorted :D

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Pete Presland

Pete Presland

Posted
Posted

Just a daft thought - did you plug the RJ11 cables in the "appropriate" motors?

exactly what i was going to say! very easy to get the wrong way around. the mount will only track in RA (right ascension) so if you have the motors the wrong way around the DC (declination) will be driven not the RA

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AstroJones

AstroJones

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Just a daft thought - did you plug the RJ11 cables in the "appropriate" motors?

Nope i have plugged both cables in the appropriate sockets, i guess i have to wait untill it's clear all night so i have longer to fiddle around with things :)

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Cornelius Varley

Cornelius Varley

Posted
Posted

Things to check :

1. The clutches on the mount are locked so that the mount will not move unless controlled from the handset or slo-mo cables.

2. Check that the handset is set to the correct hemisphere (N)

3. Set the mount up indoors and switch on the tracking. Leave the mount running for an hour to see if the mount has rotated 15 degrees in the RA axis.

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AstroJones

AstroJones

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Things to check :

1. The clutches on the mount are locked so that the mount will not move unless controlled from the handset or slo-mo cables.

2. Check that the handset is set to the correct hemisphere (N)

3. Set the mount up indoors and switch on the tracking. Leave the mount running for an hour to see if the mount has rotated 15 degrees in the RA axis.

The clutches were locked and it was set to (N)

i will set the mount up and leave it for 1 hour and see if it moves by 15 degrees.

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haitch

haitch

Posted
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Just trying to get my head around what you are saying about the RA going up/down because of the way you have orientated your scope.

The RA can only go around and around. Sometimes it's motion may appear up or down because of the position of the object you are pointing at but that will just be a segment of the circle that it travels in.

So long as the RA wire is attached to the motor that sits in the box slung under the axis rather than the other bare motor that is "up top" on the Dec access you should be ok. Just mark the position on the RA and turn it on and leave to see if it moves clockwise standing at the end of the mount as though you were looking down from Polaris (no clear sky needed for that basic test). 

HTH

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haitch

haitch

Posted
Posted

Btw I am also assuming you turned your scope towards M42 after polar aligning by just unlocking the dec & ra knobs and pivoting without altering altitude or azimuth?

I have come across someone polar aligning then picking up the tripod and turning it round to view a different part of the sky before so I try not to make assumptions ;)

edit... and before anyone says anything it wasn't me! :tongue:

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AstroJones

AstroJones

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Just trying to get my head around what you are saying about the RA going up/down because of the way you have orientated your scope.

The RA can only go around and around. Sometimes it's motion may appear up or down because of the position of the object you are pointing at but that will just be a segment of the circle that it travels in.

So long as the RA wire is attached to the motor that sits in the box slung under the axis rather than the other bare motor that is "up top" on the Dec access you should be ok. Just mark the position on the RA and turn it on and leave to see if it moves clockwise standing at the end of the mount as though you were looking down from Polaris (no clear sky needed for that basic test). 

HTH

I thought the RA motor was at the top, where the telescope connects to the mount and the DEC motor was alot lower in that little box. 

i'm going to feel stupid if it's the other way round lol :)

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AstroJones

AstroJones

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Glad you're sorted - sometimes it needs going back to basics on the explanations and assume no knowledge when describing hence why I referred to the bottom motor rather assuming you knew which was which ;)

Yeah i'm happy to say that it is sorted and i now know what cables go to what motors, And i agree with what you said. :)

Thank's for your help :D

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