Help with EQ6 Syntrek !

[halli]

Hi All

Just bought an EQ6 Syntrek mount but I seem to have a problem or I have missed something !   I would appreciate any help !  

 I have fixed the mount to the tripod an it has been waiting around for a DC power supply.  I have now got hold of one from Maplins with a cigar lighter on the end.  Today I powered it up for the first time.  Everything appeared normal the power light came on and I could hear the motor ticking away which I assumed was tracking mode.   I thought I would try a fast slew to check the mount would visibly move.   After I worked  out how to go into slewing mode, the Syntrek controller did the correct thing and I set it to fast slew.  I tried the dec axis first and I could see movement ! Eureka.  However after trying this again I saw no movement although the motor appeared to be running ok!  I then tried the RA axis and there again was no movement although the motor appeared to be running as if to slew the mount.    

It seems like the motors aren't engaging with the drive properly - or am I doing something basically wrong ?  Both axis are free to move and appear to turn as normal.  I am not sure what else I can do !

Any help would be appreciated !

Thanks in advance

[ronin]

If everything is moving freely I would suspect the clutches are not tightened up.

Will cover myself by saying I have no idea on the mount but I would expect a clutch or two somewhere needs to be tightened up.

They probably hide them just to make life difficult.

[halli]

Thanks for your response  Ronin seems to make sense  - doesn't appear to have any obvious adjustment points from the outside  - manual is next to useless !  

I guess I will need to contact the supplier on Monday and discuss the issue with them,   unless any one else  here understands what I need to do ! ?

Thanks to anyone who can shed anymore light on this. 

[Steve Ward]

You need to be in "Tracking Mode OFF" to get the faster slew speeds , in "Tracking Mode ON" you just get up to 8x rate which is barely noticeable .... Page 4 of Manual ... 

[Bizibilder]

There is a black plastic clutch lever on each axis - these need to be tightened "on" for the motors to drive.  If you can move the mount by hand the clutches are "off".

[halli]

Thanks for your responses guys.

Wrt setting tracking mode to off Steve I think I did this - certainly I missed that the first time and then decided to read the manual !   I think I  successfully turned tracking mode off and the slew buttons didn't flash and the noise from the motor appeared to be responding as if it was trying a fast slew - in fact it did visibly move the dec axis for a short while !

I shall investigate further the clutch lever suggestion Roger - hopefully this will be the solution !

Thanks again and I will let you know how I get on.

[halli]

Ok guys I've rushed to the mount to try out the clutch lever suggestion - and all is ok  - both axis now work on fast slew.   Phew!

I thought the black plastic levers where simply to lock the axes solidly in place - it hadn't occurred to me to put them in the lock position  to engage the motor drive - in fact I thought quite the opposite that these had to be released otherwise the motor would stall and overload as it wouldn't be able to drive the axes.  A note to this effect in the manual may have been helpful !  

I have had no experience of these motorised mounts as I am returning to astronomy after a bygone age back in the 80s !  The last equatorial mount I used was a Fullersopes MKII utility mount which had shaft locking blocks which tightened against the axes shafts themselves and that was their only purpose in life.

I am now  embarking on a  wonderous journey to use the latest technology for imaging.  Next step will be to download EQMOD and connect my laptop to the mount and establish Go To functionality.  Then muck about with my camera on the mount and  on to buying a telescope !  I guess there will be more joyous problems on the way.

I have to say that this forum is really great and by reading a lot of the subject matter here has given me the  motivation to spend the money and move forward.

Thanks again to you fine gentlemen

[Bizibilder]

Glad its sorted!  (You're not the first to have that problem with the axis locks! - As you say the manual is pretty useless).

[r3i]

Yes, the Sky Watcher manuals leave a lot to be desired.  Fortunately their equipment is quite the opposite - you've got yourself a great mount there, you should get years of pleasure out of it.  As you've found out a lot of SGL members have them so there's a wealth of experience to tap into here, if you need any more advice.

[halli]

Thanks again all for your support

[ronin]

You had better get some good images now, and we want to see them.

[halli]

Will certainly post my first images here !    

I set the stand up recently outside (night before last)  to try a polar alignment.  

I seemed to get my way through it although I wasn't sure of the outcome !  I discovered a very useful Iphone app called "Help Scope" which had a bubble level/compass as well as providing info for the time of Polaris transits at my location. My reticule alignment didn't seem too far off from the factory  although I should bite the bullet and attempt to make some adjustment - I chickened out on this occasion !  

I roughly set my latitude to 51 degs although I found one of the adjustment bolts quite stiff.  I think I found Polaris in the polar scope and set the reticule diagram for the fully down transit position, set the date and zeroed the RA circle then adjusted the RA axis  to the last transit time and then positioned Polaris in the  small circle using the adjustment bolts.    Think I had the sequence correct but need to try it again a few times to be sure of it.    I then clamped my Canon 1100D in the mount saddle using the standard 18-55 lens and tried some exposures.  I found focussing the camera on a star quite difficult as the sky was not very dark, I eventually had to focus the camera on a distant window which was lit so I dont think the focussing outcome was very good !

I took 3 subs up to  max of 10 mins for the last one in the region of the sky around Polaris, 2 darks and 3 offset/bias.  The subs looked ok without trails as far as I could make out but the focus was a little off as I suspected!  I then popped them into DSS and stacked them.  The output was a picture with some stars !  

I will post the pics on here when I get a chance and learn how to do it !  I would be interested in people's opinion of the alignment from the pics.

I guess I can say it was first light for the stand !  Although  a hasty polar alignment with a technique which requires further verification and a bad focus -  but at least I gained some experience !

I am now going to look around for a cheap used 200mm lens to muck about with as well  - as I now appear to have been bitten by the bug !

Cheers for now !

[halli]

Just worked out how to attach an image - hope it opens ok.  

It is simply an area of sky in the vicinity of the NCP as that was were the stand was pointing after doing a polar alignment.

I dont think the focus is very good as I didnt use a star !

 It was a 10 minute single shot with the lens set to 55mm -  it is the standard Canon 18-55mm lens.  The image was taken as a screenshot from the Canon digital photo pro program after downloading from the camera.  I need to learn how to process the raw image so apologies for is crapiness !

It is my first polar alignment and use of the stand so would welcome any comments about the tracking for a 10 minute shot.

Thanks in anticipation for any feedbak/comments - this would help me establish if I am on the right lines with the mount !

Cheers