Skywatcher 130 / motor?

[craigfoot]

Hi all,

Just joined this forum after owning my skywatcher 130 for about 18 months and having made some basic progress using apps and books. I've also got the celestron 15x70 binoculars and just ordered the Olympus 10x50.

So far done some moon observation and also seen Saturn and Jupiter. Deep sky objects seem more difficult and any advice on this would be welcome (so far only managed the Orion nebula)?

I've also just started looking at the 2 motors for my eq2 mount. I've seen the basic one at around 30 quid and the multi speed one at around 60. What I'm not sure about is why/if I need the multi speed or if this has any extra benefits?

I'm also not sure how easy it is to polar align the mount to ensure the motor tracks the ra axis accurately? Sounds as though this may not be straight forward?

I'd appreciate any advice or experience of others with this equipment?

Thanks

Craig

[ronin]

My opinion only: But for the EQ2 I would keep the money and wait to get a better mount and then get motors for that.

The multi speed is so that you can use the box to drive to the next target, on the EQ2 pretty useless - the distance is likely to be a long hop so takes a lot of time to move. The next object is almost certain to be at a different declination, so you would have to manually move the scope in Dec, in which case you may as well manually move the scope in RA and Dec.

To use motors "easily" you really need a high slew speed in both RA and Dec.

Unfortunately none of the Skywatcher add-on motors really deliver this.

I will say that motors to track are a good thing, they make viewing much more pleasurable, which kind of goes against the previous.

I am not sure what to suggest therefore as I think keeping the money fopr a better mount is preferable but a motor makes observing more pleasant even now.

Not sure of the construction of the EQ2 but I have a feeling that you cannot fit a polar scope, in which case any polar alignment will be approximate. Also remember that you are aligning the mount not necessarily therefore the scope.

Depending on your location (suggest you add one, just town) you would set the latitude scale to your latitude, then I guess set scope to be as parallel as you can top the RA axis and get Polaris in the centre by adjusting the mount not the scope positioning. Then you move the scope by whatever mechanism moves that. In effect you are using the scope to do the polar alignment and that will jsut therefore be approximate.

If the mount can take a polar scope then you will need to buy one and work it out with that.

Any polar alignment on an EQ2 will not be good for AP, for that you really need a mount with polar scope and a better mount.

Just read the FLO EQ2 blurb and polar alignment will just be approximate, no polar scope or fitting for one.

[craigfoot]

Hi,

Thanks for your comments. . I'm not sure what a polar scope is? But based on your comments they 30 quid motor maybe worth a try just to get started.

I'd never considered getting a different mount to the eq2 as this is just what was supplied with the scope. . something I'll need to look into in the future as this all gets expensive but I want to be able to do this properly. I think the other things I need to upgrade are the standard eye pieces supplied.

I think setting the latitude accurately will be the most difficult part, but I'll need to play around (I'm in hull by the way)

Cheers

Craig

[D4N]

I have on of those and polar alignment is indeed rough.

There is just a white RA line where the polarscope should be.

Even so you can align well enough so that your mostly turning the RA dial, this is a good thing as you can only adjust the Dec so far before you hit the stop and have to de-clutch.

The problem you will have with DSOs is that the setting circles are useless. You will need to learn to star hop to find things.

The latitude scale on the mount isn't accurate (mines nearly 10 degrees out), don't rely on it for your alignment.

The stock EP's aren't great but they are a good starting point, there are plenty of EP advice threads on here already.

TSED70Q, iOptron Smart EQ pro, ASI-120MM, Finepix S5 pro.

[craigfoot]

Thanks D4N,

Do you have a motor fitted?

By the way, what's a polar scope?

I take it the best way to polar align is to centre polaris by adjusting the mount not the ra or Dec scales?

The tricky part of star hopping is understanding the mirrored/upside down image you are seeing. . do you just start with one star and then use the ra and Dec adjustment wheels to move to the next?

Cheers for the advice

Craig

[Cornelius Varley]

A polar scope is a small telescope fitted to the larger equatorial mounts (EQ3-2 and upwards)  on the centreline of the RA axis.  Looking through the scope gives you an image similar to this one

depending upon the make and model. The etched asterisms are an aide to correctly aligning the mount with the north celestial pole. the latitude and azimuth bolts on the mount are adjusted so that Polaris is centred in the small circle. 

[NGC 1502]

Hi Craig.   A polar scope is to accurately align your scope to the pole of the sky, close to Polaris.  As the EQ 2 doesn't accept a polar scope, I'd forget that. But not to worry, because for basic star gazing, accurate polar alignment is not needed.  Just set your latitude as best you can on the scale that runs from 0 to 90, and point the polar axis north.  Near enough is good enough to get you going.

What you will find with "near enough" polar alignment is that when tracking objects with the RA slow motion control, is that over a period of time the object will drift either up or down within the field of view. Just give a tweak on the declination control to centre the object.

I'd forget all about the Right ascension and Declination circles ( RA & Dec ) and find objects by aiming the finder at bright objects and star hopping to fainter ones. Start with your lowest power eyepiece because that will have the widest field of view and therefore more like to find your target. You can switch to higher power if desired once your target is acquired.

If all this sounds daunting, trust me, it gets easier with practice.  Joining a local astronomy club is usually a good idea, nothing beats first hand advice.

Good luck, Ed.

[craigfoot]

Thanks again for the advice, having just done a bit further research I'm thinking my next purchase rather than a motor would be the skywatcher 9x50 right angled finderscope to replace the red dot finder which should help the star hopping

[D4N]

I don't have a motor for that mount, I opted to buy a new mount instead.

The way I used to align it is as follows:

1. Make tripod level.

2. Fit mount and line up RA line with Polaris visually.

3. Fit OTA to mount and set Dec to 90.

4. Adjust azimuth and latitude so Polaris is centred first in the finder then in the EP.

If done right adjusting the RA control will make Polaris do small circles in the EP.

After you have done this once you don't need to touch the latitude again unless you go someplace else. Then it's pretty fast to just line up the RA line and away you go

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[craigfoot]

Thanks again. . but what is OTA?

Did you just get a new mount and keep the existing tripod? Which mount did you go for?

[craigfoot]

Or do I get the telrad finder which looks good?? Is it possible to have the telrad and a finder scope fitted at the same time?

Sorry for all the questions, so much to think about once you get started!

[Cornelius Varley]

Thanks again. . but what is OTA?

Did you just get a new mount and keep the existing tripod? Which mount did you go for?

OTA = Optical Tube Assembly

[D4N]

Yes you can use more than one finder at once, you either get a duel finder shoe or drill the OTA to fit a second finder.

A lot of people swear by telrads, not used one myself.

My new mount came with its own tripod, it's in my sig.

TSED70Q, iOptron Smart EQ pro, ASI-120MM, Finepix S5 pro.

[craigfoot]

Thanks. . I'll take a look. . building up quite a shopping list!