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NEQ6 & HEQ5

Davie

By Davie
in Discussions - Mounts

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Peje

Peje

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Another question (you did say keep asking ;) ),

I plan to control this from Stellarium, would this mean that paying the extra £100 for the SynScan vs the SynTrek is a bit of a waste?

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jambouk

jambouk

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I was trying to find a video comparing a mount pre- and post-belt modification.

In the 5 and 6, the motors turn cogs whoch turn cogs which moves the mount. [my limited non-engineering understanding] the cogs are imperfectly manufactured so a) the teeth don't mesh 100% with the neighbouring cog, so there is some play between cogs (backlash), and B) the imperfect engineering also means there are intermittant errors in tracking (periodic errors). The belt mod, in part, reduces these errors. Back lash and periodic errors arise elsewhere but i am led to believe the belt mod greatly reduces them. But as i say, i am not an engineer. You would be best asking in the inaging section from the guys and girls who do lots of long exposure imaging. I do know that there is a lot of interest in getting heq5 and neq6s modified with the belt modification, so it's certainly "fashionable" even if it doesn't offer significant improvements in performance. The AZEQ6 is built with belts.

Bed time for me, but keep asking questions.

James

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jambouk

jambouk

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I would get the synscan handset as you will probably want to play with the mount before you get connected to stellarium. Once you are using stellarium you could sell the handsrt as they go for £80-100. If your new mount were to come with a version 4 handset (i think it is largely the same as version 3, just updated in some ways) then it would sell for more i'm sure.

James

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Davie

Davie

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Just popped back in and found this :)

I was using the HEQ5 with an 8" reflector and it was fine although our garden is pretty sheltered. The NEQ6 on the other hand would need a bulldozer to move it!! it weighs a LOT more than the HEQ5 and this is one reasons I am still not decided on selling it as its easier to cart out of the garage and set up but this is only once out and once in per session and do I really need a second mount?  no probably not and just think on all the stuff I could buy with the cash!!

I only bought the NEQ6 as I was on Astrobuysell at the right time and got an utter bargain, basically put in a note of interest quickly and after that plucked up the courage to tell the boss :)

as mentioned above the mounts are basically the exact same thing apart from the physical size and load bearing capacity so if you can work one you'll be able to work the other

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Chris-A

Chris-A

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Another question (you did say keep asking ;) ),

I plan to control this from Stellarium, would this mean that paying the extra £100 for the SynScan vs the SynTrek is a bit of a waste?

Horses for courses, but if you know you'll only be imaging, and it will always be via EQMOD/Stellarium then I'd save the cash and go for a Syntrek. I was in this exact scenario when I bought my first mount (HEQ5), chose Syntrek and had no issues. For some reason when I upgraded to NEQ6 a couple of years later I decided to go for full Synscan - 18 months later I've never even connected the handset, which sounds kinda ridiculous as I type it ;-)

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Chris-A

Chris-A

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Sorry, I should also have given my own HEQ5/NEQ6 comparison. I have 2 configurations, one Newtonian setup at about 7kg and an SCT setup at about 10kg. For the 7kg setup there was no particular issue with the HEQ5, but there is a big improvement using the NEQ6 with the heavier SCT - I used to lose far too many subs due to dodgy guiding on the HEQ5, but the NEQ6 flings it around with ease.

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Peje

Peje

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Thanas for the input guys, it looks like I'm gonna have to man up and buy the NEQ6.

Does the SynTrek handset have the computer connection port or do you need the Eqmod attachment?

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Chris-A

Chris-A

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Thanas for the input guys, it looks like I'm gonna have to man up and buy the NEQ6.

Does the SynTrek handset have the computer connection port or do you need the Eqmod attachment?

No, you need an EQDIR cable.

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Peje

Peje

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Horses for courses, but if you know you'll only be imaging, and it will always be via EQMOD/Stellarium then I'd save the cash and go for a Syntrek. I was in this exact scenario when I bought my first mount (HEQ5), chose Syntrek and had no issues. For some reason when I upgraded to NEQ6 a couple of years later I decided to go for full Synscan - 18 months later I've never even connected the handset, which sounds kinda ridiculous as I type it ;-)

How do you do tracking without the handset? Perhaps youre one of these advanced Auto-guide folk I aspire to be like!

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Peje

Peje

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You would need to be running EQMod, there are a couple of options, use a X-Box wireless control, use the 4 direction arrows on the EQMod screen layout...

http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/

I do like the look of that. since the EQ6 has a DB9 connector do you connect the PC directly to the mount rather than through the SynTrek handset?

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Cornelius Varley

Cornelius Varley

Posted
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ok,

So is the difference between the EQ6 SynTrek and the NEQ6 Pro Synscan just the handheld controller?

Apart from the handset the only difference is that the EQ6 uses the narrower vixen style dovetail saddle, the NEQ6 has the broader Losmandy type dovetail saddle and an extension bar for the counterweight.

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Peje

Peje

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Apart from the handset the only difference is that the EQ6 uses the narrower vixen style dovetail saddle, the NEQ6 has the broader Losmandy type dovetail saddle and an extension bar for the counterweight.

are these features worth the extra, I vent imagine myself needing them but then again I'm a Noob...

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jambouk

jambouk

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The more chunky saddle is much more secure and just "chunky" than the smaller EQ6 one. IIt also allows you to attach a range of dovetails. I suspect it would cost in the region of £100 to upgrade this yourself on the EQ6.

The extension bar is a nice touch which you are unlikely to need if using a carbon fibre tube, but if you get a heavy SCT in the future this is handy, and again would probably cost £30 to get hold of.

As I said before, you could easily sell the SynScan handset for at least £100 if you no longer needed it.

Interesting to see the AZEQ6 is now only £1295 on FLOs website I think they xost a bit more a year or so ago; they also come with the dual-saddle, extension bar, and belt modification, and improved elevation mechanism.

James

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