Moving an NEQ6 for every session

[Marky1973]

Hi all. In my continuing quest to work out my upgrade strategy I have been looking at the HEQ5. When I found out the Syntrek version just isn't available anywhere, I realised that (because the synscan version is £100 more) the NEQ6 syntrek is just(!) another £100 more than that. Now, from reading, I realise the advantages of the NEQ6 over the HEQ5 and can see that it would last me (hopefully) many years even if it was a bit "overkill" to start with.

The big issue for me is the weight of the mount and just how much hassle it would setting it up for each session, or whether people really think it is most suitable for permanent installation. I generally use my kit in the front/back garden and set it up for each session. At the moment, with an EQ3-2, that is pretty easy but, if you have an NEQ6, how much of a burden is the weight of the mount if you also have to set up each session? Would I be cutting myself off from travelling to darker sites in the future, or is it perfectly manageable weight-wise, just cumbersome? The plan would be to move the tripod, mount and weights separately of course?

I can manage the weight, I just don't want to put myself in a situation where the set-up becomes a PITA and I end up not bothering.

Cheers

Mark

[laser_jock99]

An EQ6 is a heavy thing to lug around especially for quick observing sessions.

If your garden is fairly secure there are two possibilities- you could just leave the mount outside covered up, on it's tripod (I have one in my garden like this). Or build a garden pier and leave it ouside on that.

The garden pier is the best solution as the mount is more secure, once covered up it's less obvious what it is to any intruder. Also the polar alignment is more reliably fixed than a tripod so less set up time. A sort of halfway house to an observatory, useful if you are limited for space.

My garden pier is steel tube concreted into the ground. Once covered up it just looks like a washing line or barbeque or something!

EDIT- a futher advantage of the pier solution is that you could run all your cabling up to it in a buried conduit, thus saving more time and reducing the trip hazard.

[Marky1973]

Cheers! I had thought about putting a pier in the garden - I can can get some half decent views from the bottom end, but it is also quite overlooked, and I would be fearful of leaving it out all the time. I am mainly indulging in imaging, so I may well get a portable AZ mount or similar for quick observing, but the NEQ6 is very tempting from a quality and longevity point of view. I just don't want to be sat indoors thinking I can't be bothered to do anything because of the set-up time. I don't have to carry it very far - maybe 20-30 ft depending on where I am setting up, so maybe it will just be a useful, extra workout?

Your garden is much nicer than mine.... and much better views of the skies! Must be great viewing/imaging from there...

[MattJenko]

For non-fixed observing, nothing I have found beats a Dob as they are the ultimate in ease of setup (although a friends SkyTee2 + little refractor came close). Imaging is a different story. I have an HEQ5 and setup/teardown each and every session, but I also have access to an NEQ6 through a local society. It is noticeably bigger and heavier, but the setup time is comparable, just a few more calories involved in the same set of steps to get things setup. Owning one would mean that some shortcuts I take, like carrying the entire tripod/mount/scope/camera a few yards here and there might not be on the menu anymore, but if you can lift one comfortably, then the setup hassle will be the same. The physical movement of the kit is not the longest part in setting up each time by a long way. The cabling/polar aligning is the sucker punch in it all.

Having a bigger mount will make you look at bigger scopes though - beware

[Matt Scunthorpe]

I have a HEQ5 and to be completely honest, the main reason I have barely been out with the scope the last few years, is because I cant be bothered to put it all up and take it down every time. So I am making some changes, got rid of the 200p, keeping the ED80 for imaging, and getting a dob so when I want to do visual, I can go straight out with no fuss.

A garden pier is a good idea, but like you say, id be fearful of leaving a practically £1k mount outside all the time, just for security. But unless you can build an obsy, putting it out every session may be the only option.

Matt.

[Marky1973]

Ha! Yeah, although the price of the NEQ6 will mean it is ONLY looking for a while - I am tempted to upgrade to the SW ED80 later, but nothing much more expensive.

THe EQ3-2 is light as a feather, even with sand filled legs to pick up and carry - probably even with the scope on it, but I'm not going to start doing that - but the NEQ6 is obviously a bigger beat. I guess if I can move the trip and then the mount, the set-up isn't going to take much longer. But I can appreciate that the cabling is also an issue - which is why I am trying to decide between a QHY5L-II for guiding as opposed to something like a Synguider to cut down on the connections to the laptop - but that's another story!

And yes, the Dob is great for observing!

Thanks Matt.

(Jenko that is - what are the chances of another MAtt posting while I was replying to the other Matt without bothering to "quote" the post because I didn't think another Matt was going to post inbetween! )

[Marky1973]

I have a HEQ5 and to be completely honest, the main reason I have barely been out with the scope the last few years, is because I cant be bothered to put it all up and take it down every time. So I am making some changes, got rid of the 200p, keeping the ED80 for imaging, and getting a dob so when I want to do visual, I can go straight out with no fuss.

A garden pier is a good idea, but like you say, id be fearful of leaving a practically £1k mount outside all the time, just for security. But unless you can build an obsy, putting it out every session may be the only option.

Matt.

So I guess, if that is a problem with the HEQ5, I might as well go for the NEQ6? 

[IanL]

I move my NEQ6 from the lounge about 10 yards to the patio. That involves navigating it through a doorway with three shallow steps outside it, through a wider conservatory door and on to the locating marks I have made.

It is fully cabled for imaging so a complete breakdown is not possible. I move the mount head and open tripod as one piece, then fit the weights and OTAs separately. It is manageable in one lift but if I was going further down the garden I would stop for a rest at least once. It is more awkward than heavy. I am no strongman.

Takes maybe five minutes to get it outside and back in again. The real timesaver is that the laptop, extension cables, power supplies, etc. are all fitted in to a plastic tool chest with a shelf installed or fixed to the tripod. The cabling is arranged in to a couple of umbilicals so it just needs plugging together. This saves a lot of messing about trying to get a good cabling arrangement.

[BlueAstra]

I used to have to move my scope and kit from the shed to the patio for every session. I've made various DIY solutions including a sack trolley to move the mount and a mobile cable box for all the electrical stuff. I could usually be up and running in about 30min. I dispensed with the tripod and went with a skywatcher pillar mount. Much more rigid and stable. I had pre marked points on the patio for the mount, so polar alignment was quite quick. Here are some pics:

[Marky1973]

Thanks BlueAstra - the pillar mount is definitely something that I would be interested in for the future....

[Bubbles82]

this is a great solution, I have to ask is that an outside usb socket you are using because I have looked for them and had no luck. Please if it is could you tell where you got it from?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[BlueAstra]

I did it some years ago so its difficult to remember. The outside is a B&Q weatherproof wall mountable socket. I think I removed the mains plug facia plate and substituted a network facia plate with two holes cut out for the panel mount USB sockets. I then got some rear mountable USB sockets (Amazon) and terminals (from Maplin?) and fitted them to the internal box. I ended up with two USB and one network connection through the wall. You can get USB mountable facia plates from Euronetworks (see link), although I didn't use them. The other socket is an internally switched mains socket.

https://www.euronetwork.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=50-3009

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/neutrik-usb-panel-mount-socket-n57fl

http://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-Panel-Mount-Motherboard-Header/dp/B002O1W7FY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430407967&sr=8-1&keywords=Startech+1+Feet+Panel+Mount+USB+Cable+-+USB+A+to+Motherboard+Header+Cable+F%2FF

[Roy Challen]

I used to have to move my scope and kit from the shed to the patio for every session. I've made various DIY solutions including a sack trolley to move the mount and a mobile cable box for all the electrical stuff. I could usually be up and running in about 30min. I dispensed with the tripod and went with a skywatcher pillar mount. Much more rigid and stable. I had pre marked points on the patio for the mount, so polar alignment was quite quick. Here are some pics:

I have exactly the same trolley! I used to use it to take my tripod, telescope, mount, battery packs, camera box and chair 3 miles to  a nearby golf course for my imaging. 3 miles back of course!

Now I only do visual from my back garden

[Bubbles82]

Thanks for that this is now on my to do list

[jonathan]

I have an SE8 and NEQ6, neither have seen much action probably for a year now.  My main interest thus far has been purely visual and so I have a nice easy 102 refractor that sits very nicely on a Celestron Omni CG-4 mount; the motor drive runs on a tiny AA battery pack so it's as if it's not even there compared to the huge power requirements of the NEQ6 and 8SE (dew heater tapes and controller). 

For me it is simple - for visual and ease of use it's the refractor and CG-4 every time, or the Skywatcher 150P on same mount.  When I do get the 8SE and NEQ6 out it will be for a special occasion, like I want to view Saturn, but at the moment I'm thinking that the 102 refractor will give me sharper views even if they may be a little smaller in the eyepiece, that steady sharp image makes a big difference.

Of course, the NEQ6 comes into its own for imaging, but that requires some studying of books and such to get anything half-decent, polar alignment too which I've never managed to do properly.  All just a big faff!

To sum up, if I want to get the CG-4 out it's a couple of trips (mount+tripod, counterweight), for the NEQ6 it's several trips (tripod, mount, counterweights, battery / power), that's before I even worry about the scope - 102 refractor is in a custom fitting self-contained case, I never had a case for the 8SE so have it in a big plastic tub - even more bulk to cart about.

[Marky1973]

Well, thanks for all the comments, although I am still not sure what to do... seems that there probably won't be much in it when taking either mount out each time I want to image, but I am also erring towards the HEQ5 as my current scope is only little and my plan would be to move on to an ED80 if everything goes to plan... which is probably well-within the limits of the HEQ5... but then the NEQ6 means I wouldn't have to upgrade the mount for a very long time.

Time to think over the weekend... especially as my good lady has said, "...whatever you like, if it's your money..." 

[laser_jock99]

Your garden is much nicer than mine.... and much better views of the skies! Must be great viewing/imaging from there...

Thanks-it's a good site when not cloudy/raining!

[borderfin]

I've got the same problem with an AZEQ6GT and when I found out how heavy it is I held off setting up and left it in its box, as I did with the new C925 I was going to use.  I'm thinking of selling this kit without using it and getting something simple for just casual observing.

The alternative, however, could be a 6ft x 4ft Garden Storage box with an openable front with the box on wheels so I could wheel it out leaving the tripod, mount and scope left set up inside it.  If I did this would I have to do any aligning each time I used it, or could I just switch it on and go?

Paul

[Snaxmuppet]

I've got the same problem with an AZEQ6GT and when I found out how heavy it is I held off setting up and left it in its box, as I did with the new C925 I was going to use.  I'm thinking of selling this kit without using it and getting something simple for just casual observing.

Paul, who did you buy your mount from? If it was FLO then I am certain they would take it back for a refund if it is unused. Having said that... you will not get a mount much better than the one you have if you can cope with the weight.

If you didn't move the tripod at all between sessions you wouldn't have to re-polar align but if it were me I would do a star alignment on each session... but that only takes a couple of minutes.

[borderfin]

Thanks,  Paul

[Xiionn]

Some great home observatories here, nice job. I am just getting the necessary scaffolding to erect an observatory on top of my stable block. Once done i will have great views of the countryside and coast, as well as dark skies. The pillar tube welded to the scaffolding will be my solution!

[Marky1973]

Well, thanks again for all the thoughts. I've thrown caution to the wind and gone for the NEQ6 Pro Synscan, purely because I found an ex-demo version with a 12 month warranty for a good price....so will be itching to get my hands on it later this week to look at some clouds....

[laser_jock99]

Well, thanks again for all the thoughts. I've thrown caution to the wind and gone for the NEQ6 Pro Synscan, purely because I found an ex-demo version with a 12 month warranty for a good price....so will be itching to get my hands on it later this week to look at some clouds....

Sound choice- heavy, but relatively future proof.

[Marky1973]

Yeah, thought it was probably a bit of overkill for a 70mm frac... but if I get on with it, I am sure I will be wanting to upgrade the scope at a later date, so should be sorted for the foreseeable future... or until I win the lottery!

[Gazabone]

Speaking personally, I have a eq3-2 (RA motor drive) and a NEQ6 pro syntrek. Yes, the 6 is a lot heavier than the 3-2 but I put up/take down either quite happily in my back garden.