Setting up NEQ6 pro mount

[souls33k3r]

Hi All,

Will be getting my kit by the end of this week and was trying to familiarize myself with every bit of it.

Silly question, is setting up the NEQ6 pro mount really this much of a faff like this dude is telling?

I thought it was much more simpler than that, like level the tripod mount, polar align and balance the damn thing? He goes on about setting it to home position blah blah blah ... really?

[Coastliner]

This series of videos (I think there are 5) is excellent, you will get to know your scope/mount really well. If you do what he says re using a marker pen for example you will be able to set the mount up outside in a lot less time than it would normally take.

[souls33k3r]

Cheers for the reply Coastliner. 

Pardon my ignorance on this topic, why is getting the home position (like he was doing that thing with the marker) so importance? Can/Should it not be a simple thing as level tripod, face the peg north, mount the scope, and balance it?

[Tinker1947]

Cheers for the reply Coastliner. 

Pardon my ignorance on this topic, why is getting the home position (like he was doing that thing with the marker) so importance? Can/Should it not be a simple thing as level tripod, face the peg north, mount the scope, and balance it?

Yes, if all you are doing is viewing, the PA needs to be a bit better if you going to image with the mount, there is a PA routine in the handset that does away with getting on your knee's for the Polar scope, just use the finder scope although i found a Telrad to be a lot better, all the info is in the manual......

[souls33k3r]

Eeeeeek!!! cool, cheers mate. I'd sure be back here asking more questions. I just hope it doesn't take me 2 hours to do the initial setup

[Tinker1947]

Eeeeeek!!! cool, cheers mate. I'd sure be back here asking more questions. I just hope it doesn't take me 2 hours to do the initial setup

With 3 indents in the patio so the mount went in the same place every time, for viewing, just a couple of minutes to sit the 10" newt on top, gets a bit more complicated with Imagine doing PA ect but if you have the space look at a Obby slide the roof open and you're good to go...... 

[souls33k3r]

With 3 indents in the patio so the mount went in the same place every time, for viewing, just a couple of minutes to sit the 10" newt on top, gets a bit more complicated with Imagine doing PA ect but if you have the space look at a Obby slide the roof open and you're good to go...... 

No idea what you just said lol sorry

[Tinker1947]

Ok if you have a flat space to put the tripod on makes some marks (draw round the tripod feet) then  in my case a electric drill with a masonry bit drill out small indents so the tripod feet alway go in the same place, once you have attached the weigths and scope you ready for viewing...

[Freddie]

Sounds like this would be a good investment for you.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

Well worth the money and covers a wide range of topics

[souls33k3r]

ah that makes so much more sense. Cheers for sharing the pic. That does give me the idea but my patio is designed so poorly that my house and my neighbors house is in the way. I'll see what to be done about that

[Tinker1947]

ah that makes so much more sense. Cheers for sharing the pic. That does give me the idea but my patio is designed so poorly that my house and my neighbors house is in the way. I'll see what to be done about that

You don't need to see Polaris to align the scope  a compass will do, for PA the alignment method that uses the handset will allow any star from a list to be uses East, South or West which every has a good view....

[CodnorPaul]

Don't be put off - it is worth doing the initial setup properly, and make sure you mark the dial and the mount for the home position as the dial will slip but if it is marked properly then it is a 1 second job to return the mount to the proper position.  You also want to check it is properly set up with the dials before aligning - I have had my dials slip before and then aligned OK but goto was way off.

For the money the NEQ6 is a cracking mount - and PA is really not that hard to do

[souls33k3r]

Cheers for the help on this guys. 

Mind me asking what does it mean by setting the mount on a home position? What are the benefits for doing this all of this?

I went for NEQ6 pro mount just because i wanted to future proof my obsession with astrophotography

[Tinker1947]

When you place the scope in the home position, it just pointing at Polaris, so next time out you set it up the same way and the GoTo should put it on a star you select, now once you get your head round this you can dispense with this and provided the tripod legs are in the same place undo the clutches and do a Goto to a bright star, when it stops slewing just move the scope to the star and lock the clutches job done, the next GoTo should be good, so the next step will be a PC or a Laptop with Stellarium controlling the mount i do the same thing Stellarium slews and stops on a Star i move the scope to the star, the next GoTo is close and a realign and sync sets it up and couple or slews and it will put anything right in the centre of a camera sensor, then your want to start guiding worth doing i regularly do 20 minute exposures, so just look what you can look forward to......

[souls33k3r]

wow! Cheers Tinker1947 ... sounds super complicated but yet super challenging ... mind you, this is my first ever scope and mount so expect me to be a little scared of doing all of this ... lol ... NOT going to give up on this until i get this right. Will keep all these points in mind and will most definitely be referring back to them

[sloz1664]

Best advice I would give is to anyone looking into astroimaging with an EQ6 is to use EQMod. Check Chris Shillito's Youtube Video's on setting up & using EQMod.

You won't regret it.

 

Steve

[souls33k3r]

Cheers sloz. EQMod was mainly the reason why i went for NEQ6 mount (Plus it's cheaper than the equivalent CGEM)

[Coastliner]

Tinker, thanks for your input, I am new to the eq thing. I like the Astroshed vids, and thought I was doing the right thing by setting up a repeatable home position using markers and dials. I like what you said re doing a GOTO with the clutches disengaged and then lining up the stars manually, that was quite a revelation and has made my understanding of my mount much clearer. Also , I now know that I have wasted my money buying a polarscope for my az-eq5!

[Tinker1947]

Tinker, thanks for your input, I am new to the eq thing. I like the Astroshed vids, and thought I was doing the right thing by setting up a repeatable home position using markers and dials. I like what you said re doing a GOTO with the clutches disengaged and then lining up the stars manually, that was quite a revelation and has made my understanding of my mount much clearer. Also , I now know that I have wasted my money buying a polarscope for my az-eq5!

Be careful with the AZ_EQ5 if its like the 6 version it does have encoders, but they can be turned off.....

[souls33k3r]

Morning all, yesterday evening i popped in to WSC to pay for my new kit. I mentioned to them about this video and all the malarkey this dude in the video was doing and asked them whether it was all necessary to do all of this. They said i don't have to as long as the tipod balanced and tge peg is facing north, polar aligned and GOTO done properly and i should be good enough for viewing and imaging.

My new kit is being delivered tomorrow so am super excited and now equally confused. Don't even know how to start and where to start

[Coastliner]

Are we saying that it is not necessary to start the mount off in an accurate home position, i.e. with the weights pointing exactly downward and the tube at exactly 90 degrees to the axis of the weights?

[souls33k3r]

That's how i understood.

Again, what is the advantage of doing all of this? Sorry my mind has gone all so numb

[Tinker1947]

On the first set-up get it as close as you can use the handset Polar routine, make sure the tripod feet will always be in the same place, when you finish viewing ect, there is a option in the handset to park the scope this will park it in the home position for you, next time out you should be able to unpark and GoTo a star, when it gets there and stops slewing undo the clutches and move it to the centre of a EP/Camera Sensor, this should bring any other GoTo's close to where you want it to go adjust any difference with the handset, there is a sync option i believe, just remember to turn off the encoders with the AZ-EQ5 or 6 

[souls33k3r]

cool cheers mate, will make sure of that. I'm sure it will all make sense when i get my hands dirty with it. Can't wait for clear skies on Saturday for me

[Coastliner]

Soul, I think the best thing for both of us is to just get out there and use it. I have not had chance to use mine much yet. As for the video, as I understand it ( or more likely don't understand it) you have to have the scope level and in the home position before you start. The only reason you have to have the peg (in your case) or the leg marked with a "N" (in my case) pointing roughly North is because the AZ bolts have limited adjustment to move the scope left-right. If the AZ bolts could rotate the scope 360 degrees it wouldn't matter which way you had the scope to start off with.

Forgetting all this brain-ache stuff, I have found that if you want to do some quick observing with minimal set up, just point the mount roughly North, swing the scope around to wherever you want to look, tighten the clutches , don't do any aligning with the handset, just use the handset to switch to Sidereal Rate tracking (it's in the manual). This will not track perfectly, but you will be able to keep the target in the eyepiece by using the direction buttons.

Tinker, keep 'em coming, your input is appreciated!