can i use a heq5

[phatlad]

hi i am hoping i will be able to get some help he i am thinking of getting a skywatcher 200 on a heq5 mount the problem i hae is that i have just come out of hospital and am not able to move things so ajusting the scope after i get someone to set it up for me is going to be hard. i am looking at the heq5 mount cos it has a motor drive, will i be able to use the motor dive to realine the scope from star to star or is this only ment for tracking once i am looking at something

cheers glen

[Ant]

The standard HEQ5 will need to be moved manually from object to object. But if the scope is balanced OK you can release the clamps and the strength involved in moving the scope around is minimal. Probably no harder than lifting a bag of sugar.

If you really want full auto control via the handset, then the HEQ5 PRO will give (once a star alignment is completed) full GOTO - you'd never have the move the scope manually again!

Ant

[Vega]

I can vouch for the above. My 10" Newt on EQ6 can be moved with a single finger if balanced properly. However if it was set up for you slightly unbalanced or you swapped in a particularly heavy eyepiece, you would have to re-balance the tube in the rings (DEC) to avoid it moving when unlocked. To be honest, there are ways you can rebalance the tube with hardly any effort. You can do this by loosening the tube rings and using the force of gravity to move the scope down the rings by facing the tube downwards. (Just take care not to let it slip too far too quickly) then re-tighten the rings when balanced. Surprisingly, balancing the scope in RA takes little effort. Although the counterweights are heavy, the do slide along the bar fairly well when unlocked (moving the counterweights horizontally along the bar then re-tighten).

Matt