200p and HEQ5 balancing issue

[Nadine2704]

Hi there,

 

Asking on behalf of my neighbour, as I feel useless not being able to help him!

 

He recently got a Skywatcher 200P on an HEQ5 mount and says that he can't get it to balance. The weights are right at the end of the bar and he hasn't attached a camera or anything.

 

Having not yet upgraded to a motorised scope, I had no clue, so I'm hoping someone will know what the issue is! My only suggestions would be to add an extra weight or get a longer bar, but surely the setup couldn't be sold together if it was unable to be used as is? 

 

He mentioned something about not having locked it... do the locks need to be secured before it can maintain its balance when the motor is on?  

 

Apologies if these are stupid questions, as I say, I only have a manual scope so I don't know all the ins and outs of setting up a motorised one!

 

Any advice much appreciated!

[iapa]

Sorry, Idont know what weights come with the HEQ5 - the 200P weighs about 20lbs tho'.

Balance is the same princple for mortised or manual mounts..

I think that the weights need to move further way from the end of the bar.

When you are behind the telescope, while holding the telescope, release the clutch and turn it so the bar is horizontal without letting go of the telescope and the weights are to the right and the 'scope to the left.

DO NOT LEFT GO but gently allow the 'scope to rotate.

Which way is it moving?

If it is turning clockwise, the weights need to move further from the end of the bar. Others, yes, additional weights are required.

AstronomyShed has a series of videos on youtube on how to set up your telescope - worth a look. 

 

[MARS1960]

Try this, it's also well worth subscribing to.

 

[iapa]

@MARS1960

snap

[Nadine2704]

Excellent, thank you both! That video is incredibly helpful - I'm popping round to his house tomorrow to have a look at the scope, so I'll just follow the steps in the video.  Much appreciated!! 

[Hadron]

I have the same set up and have never had any problems balancing it. I'm wondering whether the issue could be related to you saying the counterweights are at the end of the bar?? Presumably he is using both weights (and they are the correct skywatcher 5kg ones) I'm just wondering if your friend has assumed that because it's a relatively heavy scope the weights need to be further out than they do, I have mine just over half way down the bar and it balances perfectly (see the attached photo). Hope this is of some help  

 

 

 

[Nadine2704]

Brilliant, I'm so grateful for your help... at least now I can go round and work through the balancing process with him tomorrow, rather than looking like a clueless numpty!  I felt terrible. as I had recommended the setup to his wife to buy for his birthday, and wondered if I had made a huge mistake

[brantuk]

I've balanced up a 200P on an HEQ5 plenty of times so it can definitely be done. But your friend needs to do it one axis at a time whilst the other is locked. He will need two 5kg weights though cos the 200P is quite heavy. Balance is very important so as not to over stress the motors nor cause excessive wear on the axis screws inside the mount.

[Nadine2704]

1 hour ago, brantuk said:

I've balanced up a 200P on an HEQ5 plenty of times so it can definitely be done. But your friend needs to do it one axis at a time whilst the other is locked. He will need two 5kg weights though cos the 200P is quite heavy. Balance is very important so as not to over stress the motors nor cause excessive wear on the axis screws inside the mount.

Forgive my stupidity, but if we balance the declination, lock it, then balance the right ascension, would we then lock the right ascension as well?  Or do we just leave it unlocked?  Or unlock them both?  

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Hi Nadine,

No, they have both to be locked, after balancing. It should then be easy to point the OTA to any point in the sky...

[brantuk]

What you do Nadine is lock both axes, put the weights on, then mount the scope in the rough position you expect everything to be. Then unlock the RA and slide the weights along the bar till the assembly balances horizontally. Lock the weights off and lock the RA in that horizontal position.

Then unlock the Dec axis and the scope will take a dive downwards at the back most times, cos the weight is at the bottom end where the mirror is - so be ready to catch it. Then loosen the mount shoe slightly just enough so the dovetail can slide up and down in the shoe until the scope balances and no longer tends to drop at the mirror end - and lock off.

Once that's all done then you should be able to loosen both axes at the same time and the whole lot will sit balanced in any position without moving - enabling you to move it easily to point anywhere in the sky N,S,E,or W before locking off to engage the motors and track. Then comes polar alignment. Hth

 

[Nadine2704]

Thank you!  Going round tonight to get it all set up, so will let you how it goes!  Another silly question but as it's a GoTo scope, should I still lock everything off before programming in the target, or do the locks need to be loose for the scope to move to find the target?  (I suppose all these questions now will help me when I finally upgrade my own scope!!)

[Dr_Ju_ju]

after balance, point the OTA towards Polaris (usually, weights down) then lock the clutches...

Then you go through the setup procedure...

[Nadine2704]

Excellent, I'm all out of questions now thankfully haha!  Thanks so much everyone for your help, I'm fairly confident that I know what I'm doing now and I'm not going to break his new telescope 

[Marci]

The locks are like a clutch in a car (which is why you'll find folks occasionally refer to them as such). If unlocked (push clutch down), the drive gear mechanism is disengaged and produces no movement or resistance to movement, and thus you can swing things about to work out your balance. Locked (clutch up) and the drive gears are engaged and can drive the mount / resist movement.