Help with Minitower?

[Donkeiller]

The first time I used it, I just roughly aligned South and had the OTA vertical, by eyeball.

Asked it to slew to Arcturus, which it did, and was quite close. Did “sync to target” and got accurate slews to other objects.

That was pleasing, then I started running into “problems”

1) Manual slewing- massive overshoot except on the slowest settings
2) Manual clutches are "all or nothing"- either locked or loose- no in between.
3) Cannot enter SAO numbers directly- surely you don't have to scroll through them all to get to the one you want?!

4) Doublestars are identified by SAOs! What use is this? Plus many common ones are missing?
5) NO EP tray on the spreader (this is a major design fault).

6) Cannot get battery holder out of compartment

Managed to get most things sorted out except (2) and (5), which I find MAJOR irritations

Anyway  I bought it because I liked the idea of using two scopes at the same time. So last night- some 3 weeks after first buying it, I tried using it for the second time, having bought a good spirit level and compass.

Spent well over an hour wresting with the clutches in a vain attempt to level both scopes. I simply do not believe that it is possible to use two scopes on this mount, simultaneously (tried a 6SE and a small 90mm refractor)
Gave up decided to just use just the 6SE.

Tried "select and slew" and used “sync to target” to centre star (after using spirit level and compass to align scope). NO joy when I tried slewing to other stars.

Then tried

"Easyone star align"
"One star Align"
"Two star align"
All said "alignment OK".
But no it wasn't- it would not get closer than about 3 degrees to the next object selected after alignment

GPS is giving correct date & time. Day light saving is on. I'm in the right hemisphere & time zone.

What is going on? Please help!

[ronin]

Wouldn't GPS be picking up UTC/GMT so you do not need BST as On ?

[Donkeiller]

Red Dwarf- have checked everything.

I'm now of the opinion that the Minitower is a ill-designed, user-hostile, not fit-for-purpose crock.

Wish I had never bought this heap of junk.

 Avoid like the Plague.

[johnpd]

The first time I used it, I just roughly aligned South and had the OTA vertical, by eyeball.

Asked it to slew to Arcturus, which it did, and was quite close. Did “sync to target” and got accurate slews to other objects.

That was pleasing, then I started running into “problems”

1) Manual slewing- massive overshoot except on the slowest settings

2) Manual clutches are "all or nothing"- either locked or loose- no in between.

3) Cannot enter SAO numbers directly- surely you don't have to scroll through them all to get to the one you want?!

4) Doublestars are identified by SAOs! What use is this? Plus many common ones are missing?

5) NO EP tray on the spreader (this is a major design fault).

6) Cannot get battery holder out of compartment

Managed to get most things sorted out except (2) and (5), which I find MAJOR irritations

Anyway  I bought it because I liked the idea of using two scopes at the same time. So last night- some 3 weeks after first buying it, I tried using it for the second time, having bought a good spirit level and compass.

Spent well over an hour wresting with the clutches in a vain attempt to level both scopes. I simply do not believe that it is possible to use two scopes on this mount, simultaneously (tried a 6SE and a small 90mm refractor)

Gave up decided to just use just the 6SE.

Tried "select and slew" and used “sync to target” to centre star (after using spirit level and compass to align scope). NO joy when I tried slewing to other stars.

Then tried

"Easyone star align"

"One star Align"

"Two star align"

All said "alignment OK".

But no it wasn't- it would not get closer than about 3 degrees to the next object selected after alignment

GPS is giving correct date & time. Day light saving is on. I'm in the right hemisphere & time zone.

What is going on? Please help!

 There are a couple of keys to getting it working properly. (1) Get the mount level. The bubble level on the mount may or may not be accurate. It can be difficult to find a spot on the mount to use a regular level because the top of the mount is not flat. I use a small triangular shaped double level on the ledges to check mine. (2) Balancing the mount in azimuth. You can use the short leg method (shorten one leg a couple of inches and adjust the counterweight until the scope no longer swings towards the shortened leg). (3) I have used two scopes on the mount without a problem. You want to balance the primary scope in altitude first. Then put the second scope on and balance it. Once both are balanced, you can adjust the second scope so that it is level with the first.

  The Alt clutch can be a problem. There was a guy in the USA who made a nice replacement clutch that allowed you to get enough torque to tighten the clutch sufficiently. It would be nice if they included an eyepiece tray. It would also give the mount a little more stability. I never used the battery pack. I always use an external 12v battery. I don't use the regular alignment methods. I use a compass to align the mount north/south and point it up as close to 90 degrees as possible (you can use a level here to be more accurate) although some people don't bother with either. Once you pick a star or planet to initially align to and it slews to where it thinks it is, just declutch the axes and move the mount to the object and sync it.

  You said that the location information is correct. Make sure that the minutes before/behind UT is accurate.

JohnD

[Donkeiller]

Thanks for the info. John.  Looks like I'm doing what you do.

Like you I bought a small triangular shaped double level on the ledges to check level

Like you  I use a compass to align the mount north/south and point it up to 90 degrees using the the spirit level  level

I'm using a really light scope (whole setup with rings, diagonal, EPs and finder is less than 8lbs) and got balance point marked.

GPS is giving correct output- checked with satnav.and I have set the minutes to zero before/behind UT as I am on the Greenwich meridian.

As I said it doesn't matter which alignment method I use from this point on- it says "alignment successful"- but it isn't.

As I said a heap of overcomplicated, ill-conceived, poorly designed, badly constructed  junk!

[johnpd]

You might want to join this Yahoo Group Forum (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Mini_Tower/info). There are people there (especially Graham) who might be able to help. They have been using the MiniTowers for a while. You can find out some of the issues people have run into with the MTs. You might also try iOptron Support. They are usually pretty good. Or try a local dealer that sells iOptron products. There may be a mechanical issue with the mount that could be fixed.

 I use the Pro usually with a C-8 and I find that pointing can be iffy at times but it is not off by much. I also have the regular MT. It worked fine initially. I sometimes had the C-8 on one side and a C-6 on the other side. Then one of the motors went bad. I got it fixed but it never was the same after that. I use the Pro more often now for solar with a Coronado SolarMax 40 and a ST80 refractor with a white light filter. It works fine for that. Of course you are only going to one object under that setup. I have a Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 now as my primary mount. You can also mount two scopes on it in Az Mode. It is a little more expensive and they have some firmware issues that need to be fixed on it. Otherwise it is a great mount.

Good Luck,

JohnD

[trazor]

I too have a minitower, and have found the same problem with the ALT clutch, its all or nothing.

If you remove the counterweight/counterweight locking knob/clutch wheel, you should see a washer inside.

This is the clutch washer, and looks like its made out of some sort of brake pad material, this will slide out if you tip the mount over.

I measured this and made one from nylon, it now seems appreciably better.

Good luck

[Donkeiller]

You might want to join this Yahoo Group Forum (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Mini_Tower/info). There are people there (especially Graham) who might be able to help. They have been using the MiniTowers for a while. You can find out some of the issues people have run into with the MTs. You might also try iOptron Support. They are usually pretty good. Or try a local dealer that sells iOptron products. There may be a mechanical issue with the mount that could be fixed.

 I use the Pro usually with a C-8 and I find that pointing can be iffy at times but it is not off by much. I also have the regular MT. It worked fine initially. I sometimes had the C-8 on one side and a C-6 on the other side. Then one of the motors went bad. I got it fixed but it never was the same after that. I use the Pro more often now for solar with a Coronado SolarMax 40 and a ST80 refractor with a white light filter. It works fine for that. Of course you are only going to one object under that setup. I have a Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 now as my primary mount. You can also mount two scopes on it in Az Mode. It is a little more expensive and they have some firmware issues that need to be fixed on it. Otherwise it is a great mount.

Good Luck,

JohnD

John I'd love to join the Yahoo User Group Forum- believe me I've tried and tried. Yahoo simply refuses to register me!!! Not just for this group but for anything

I'm beginning to think the whole thing (Ioptron mount) is jinxed.

[Marki]

Apologies if you've already done this, but have you waited for the GPS unit to properly lock on? When you fire it up the handset will say something like GPS OK - you have to wait until it says GPS ON (or vice versa - not got the documentation to hand). I found this can take a good 5 to 10 minutes, especially if I set up close to a building. Once again, sorry if you've already tried this.

I had the same issue with the battery holder too - bad design. But I found that once I had it all sorted, the mount tracked accurately, reasonablly quietly and found targets pretty much bang on. Hope you get it sorted soon.

[Donkeiller]

Apologies if you've already done this, but have you waited for the GPS unit to properly lock on? When you fire it up the handset will say something like GPS OK - you have to wait until it says GPS ON (or vice versa - not got the documentation to hand). I found this can take a good 5 to 10 minutes, especially if I set up close to a building. Once again, sorry if you've already tried this.

I had the same issue with the battery holder too - bad design. But I found that once I had it all sorted, the mount tracked accurately, reasonablly quietly and found targets pretty much bang on. Hope you get it sorted soon.

Mark- I do wait for the GPS to go from GPS "ON" to GPS "OK". I have checked time and time again that position and time is correct.

I have contacted Ioptron and they say all the times/positions/daylight savings/mount setup is correct.

I use an external 7AH power supply.

The damn thing just won't work.

As I said an ill-conceived heap of junk.

[Macavity]

As I said an ill-conceived heap of junk.

Oi!, I might just want to (repair and) sell one.

I was quite surprised how quickly Ioptron (USA) replied to my query (on a Sunday).

Initially (still) mightily miffed, I feel more frustrated re. things that "might have been"...

No mount (equipment) should require - Car analogy: replacing the engine & wheels.

Bizarre that a whole US "cottage industry" has sprung up re. righting / upgrading this.

I suppose we make the best of it. Still *some* intrinsic value (re-sale value) I hope.