EQ6-R owners club

[Marc2B]

Just received my own a few days ago. Already learned two things reading here :) The home position markers and the possibility to dim the polarscope built-in LED. That last one was really a problem, the LED being stuck in the brightest position.

I adapted the EQMOD server on a Raspberry  Pi running under Fedora Linux. So, the Raspi is now linked to my local network through WIFI,  and I can control everything from inside my home. I can drive the mount, take pictures, align, change filters etc, whatever the temperature outside is, without catching a cold in winter or sweating in summer :)  I plan to start the first tests as soon as the weather permits it.

BTW, English isn't my native language, I hope you'll forgive my mistakes ;)

[Luna-tic]

3 hours ago, Marc2B said:

BTW, English isn't my native language, I hope you'll forgive my mistakes

English is my native language, and you're doing a better job than I do most times.?

Of course, I live in the US South, so our English can be a little.....different.

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

On 20/07/2018 at 11:48, ste7e said:

Hi Obi

I had the same problem with mine - a little bit of play in the RA axis.

This was my second EQ6-R, my first one having been replaced because of the clutch slip problem I posted about above.  I knew that it was possible to have no play in the RA axis because the first mount didn't have any. 

And, I had experienced the same problem with my HEQ5 and adjusted the worm drive on that to remove the play.  But as this was a different mount I didn't know how to adjust the EQ6-R.

So, I got in touch with the supplier - the ever-helpful Adam @ Rother Valley Optics - who managed to get a document from his suppliers with the necessary instructions for adjusting the worm drive to tune out the play.  

Now I have virtually zero play and I'm a happy bunny.  Instructions for adjustment are attached for anyone else with the same problems.

Steve

SW_EQ6-R_backlash_adjustment.pdf

Hi Steve. Just tried this pdf and it works like a charm! No backlash anymore. Thanks a lot. I've emailed the document to my supplier as well.

Obi

[AstroBrome]

Hello everyone, my mother language being French, so please apologize for all my English mistakes... 

I got my EQ6-R mount in September 2017 and I'm still in the "learning curve" about all its capacities. I also have to improve my skills at polar alignment for long exposures yet. Currently, I can hardly expose more than 2 minutes with my reflector telescope (720mm focal length) if I want to avoid star trails at a higher magnification. Trying to solve this issue, I am going to use the parameters proposed by Shelster1973 in PHD2.

To Mikey2000: the nebula that you captured is called the "Tulip Nebula" in Cygnus... Congratulations it's a very nice picture of it. You can find other great pictures of it in AstroBin.

All the best to everyones.

Serge

 

[Shelster1973]

Serge

Welcome to the forums and do not worry about the language.  Your command of English is probably better than mine and the amount of French I can speak is much less than you can speak english.  Can just about get by ordering a few beers and food.

Getting your polar alignment down is the big one for getting longer exposures.  As you have said you are using what I have put into PHD2, then you must be guiding.  Would recommend getting your PA as close as with the polar scope and then use the Polar Alignment routine in PHD2 to get it as close as.  With this carried out and accompanied by guiding there should be no reason why you can't get 5-10 min subs that are useable.

As with all thing in astro, it is a learnign game from day one and everyday is a school day, as we say.  Do not be worried about asking questions, even if you think they are stupid.  As I have said in many situations, the only stupid question is the one that is not asked.

 

[AstroBrome]

Thank you so much for your welcoming message Shelster1973.

The coming night (August 26th) should be fine to test your PHD2 parameters... although I know it's full moon!

My plan is:

1) have a rough polar alignment with the polar scope of the EQ6-R (is it really perfectly aligned with the mount?)

2) fine tune PA with SharpCap pro 3.1 and my ZWO ASI 120MC + Kepler 60/240 as guiding scope equipment

3) start guiding with "optimized" PHD2 on either Pacman or Crescent nebula. Since I'm using an UHC filter on my Canon 500Da, full Moon should not be a big issue.

If the result is convincing enough I'll post it here!

Clear sky

Serge

 

 

 

[AstroBrome]

Hello everyone,

Have you already tried the PEC training mode on this mount? Does it really bring something to the tracking mode? Thank you for sharing your experience with it.

BTW I shoot at the crescent nebula yesterday (under the full moon...) to check if my guiding was better with Shelster1973 parameter in PHD2. I did 45 subs of 240 sec each. Definitely, tracking was improved compared to the native parameters of PHD2 ? 

I enclose a my first attempt after a GIMP processing.

Best

Serge

 

[lynk1973]

I am now the proud owner of the EQ6-r.. Been waiting for a few days to get it out and have a go at anything with it. I know the handle is a really nice feature, but I have removed mine and replaced it with a power board to hold all my power packs. I have had to stick guide scope either side just for balancing.. Come on clear skies, I am super excited

[Miguel1983]

That's a lot of power you got there !

If you don't mind me asking, how do yo manage to do your polar alignment with that board ?

Edited August 31, 2018 by Miguel1983

[ste7e]

On ‎27‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 11:57, AstroBrome said:

Hello everyone,

Have you already tried the PEC training mode on this mount? Does it really bring something to the tracking mode? Thank you for sharing your experience with it.

BTW I shoot at the crescent nebula yesterday (under the full moon...) to check if my guiding was better with Shelster1973 parameter in PHD2. I did 45 subs of 240 sec each. Definitely, tracking was improved compared to the native parameters of PHD2 ? 

I enclose a my first attempt after a GIMP processing.

Best

Serge

 

I've been searching through this topic but I can't see what the parameters suggested by @Shelster1973 are... Can anyone enlighten me?

I'm struggling with some strangeness in PHD2 with this mount at the moment - GA is reporting really high Dec backlash which I can't detect in the mount myself and I'm getting distinctly inconsistent reports of bad PA although guiding is pretty good (under 1" most of the time anyway but it seems PHD is working hard to keep it at that) so maybe I shouldn't worry about it.  Anyway just thought I'd give Shelster1973's parameters a go … if I could only find them ...

[Stub Mandrel]

32 minutes ago, ste7e said:

GA is reporting really high Dec backlash which I can't detect in the mount myself and I'm getting distinctly inconsistent reports of bad PA although guiding is pretty good (under 1" most of the time anyway but it seems PHD is working hard to keep it at that) so maybe I shouldn't worry about it. 

1) I don't fully believe PHD2's PA figures.

2) How high is 'really high' even a full minute of backlash is almost imperceptible by hand.

 

[ste7e]

29 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

1) I don't fully believe PHD2's PA figures.

2) How high is 'really high' even a full minute of backlash is almost imperceptible by hand.

 

1) it's not so much that I think the figures are wrong.  It's more the inconsistency that I'm finding a problem.  I use PHD2's drift alignment tool to fine tune my PA and I'm getting a pretty flat line - down to a few arc mins and settle for that.  But then I do GA and I'm being told that it's much worse that the drift alignment reported - something like 26'.

2) GA is showing 9.28px 3157s.  My scale is 2.68 arc-sec/px, so that works out at about 25 arc-sec.  Is that something I should try to tune out of the mount or should I let PHD handle it?

Edited September 7, 2018 by ste7e
more details added

[Stub Mandrel]

59 minutes ago, ste7e said:

1) it's not so much that I think the figures are wrong.  It's more the inconsistency that I'm finding a problem.  I use PHD2's drift alignment tool to fine tune my PA and I'm getting a pretty flat line - down to a few arc mins and settle for that.  But then I do GA and I'm being told that it's much worse that the drift alignment reported - something like 26'. 

2) GA is showing 9.28px 3157s.  My scale is 2.68 arc-sec/px, so that works out at about 25 arc-sec.  Is that something I should try to tune out of the mount or should I let PHD handle it?

I find that GA gives high figures like that, approaching half a degree, even though Polaris is pretty much following the ring on my polarscope, which is nearly a degree in radius so I can be sure I'm not that far out.

My backlash ()HEQ5) is around 1000ms so I would say you can reduce it by a third.

[ste7e]

I have a trivial question on a damp cloudy Sunday afternoon while I sit contemplating my AP rig...

Why does the SynScan handset on my EQ6-R Pro ask me to select EQ or AltAz mode every time I power up?  Does it identify the mount as an AZ-EQ6, maybe?

[f300v10]

Hello, my EQ6-R arrives today, and I have a question about the cable required to run EQMOD.  Will any USB-RJ45 cable work, or do I need to get the one from shoestringastronomy.com that seems specifically designed for EQMOD?  I can find several USB-RJ45 cables on amazon, but I have no idea if they work the same as the shoestring cable.  Thanks

[f300v10]

Some other questions, this is my first GEM mount so all this is new to me.  My old scope was a fork mounted C8 I bought in 1988.  I will be using a SW Pro 80ED for AP and the C8  for visual observing on the EQ6-R.

 
1) If the mount is slewing and it appears the scope will impact with the tripod, what key on the hand controller can I hit to stop the mount? 

2) Is there a way to force the mount to do a meridian flip, or will it do that automatically?  I see in the manual where you can set the flipping mode, but that seems to be during a GOTO only.  What if you are tracking a target and the scope is approaching the tripod?  Will the mount flip automatically, or do you have to command it?

 

Thanks, and I promise to try and keep the stupid newbie questions to a minimum.

[mikey2000]

5 hours ago, f300v10 said:

Hello, my EQ6-R arrives today, and I have a question about the cable required to run EQMOD.  Will any USB-RJ45 cable work, or do I need to get the one from shoestringastronomy.com that seems specifically designed for EQMOD?  I can find several USB-RJ45 cables on amazon, but I have no idea if they work the same as the shoestring cable.  Thanks

Enjoy!  Sorry, I'm not sure about the cable.  I have a USB version but I ordered it specifically from First Light Optics here in te UK.  I'd recommend buying a 'decent' cable from a reputable astro supplier as USB issues with slightly poor cables/hubs have given me all kinds of trouble in the past...

[mikey2000]

4 hours ago, f300v10 said:

Some other questions, this is my first GEM mount so all this is new to me.  My old scope was a fork mounted C8 I bought in 1988.  I will be using a SW Pro 80ED for AP and the C8  for visual observing on the EQ6-R.

 
1) If the mount is slewing and it appears the scope will impact with the tripod, what key on the hand controller can I hit to stop the mount? 

2) Is there a way to force the mount to do a meridian flip, or will it do that automatically?  I see in the manual where you can set the flipping mode, but that seems to be during a GOTO only.  What if you are tracking a target and the scope is approaching the tripod?  Will the mount flip automatically, or do you have to command it?

 

Thanks, and I promise to try and keep the stupid newbie questions to a minimum.

Not stupid questions!  Very sensible questions, to protect your investment from avoidable damage.

 

I don't have the synscan manual to hand at the moment, so I can't help at the moment.  I prefer to use EQMOD instead of the handset and I believe it has 'limits' you can set and there is an Emergency Stop you can assign to your preferred gamepad-style controller.  I've never tried an auto-meridian flip though, especially unattended, just in case it goes wrong.  I, too, am afraid of bashing my scope!

[f300v10]

1 minute ago, mikey2000 said:

Enjoy!  Sorry, I'm not sure about the cable.  I have a USB version but I ordered it specifically from First Light Optics here in te UK.  I'd recommend buying a 'decent' cable from a reputable astro supplier as USB issues with slightly poor cables/hubs have given me all kinds of trouble in the past...

Thanks mikey, I saw that cable at FLO and it looks well made.  I may order it from here in the US if I can't find a good one here.  I assume this is the one you have?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-cables-leads-accessories/lynx-astro-ftdi-eqdir-usb-adapter-for-sky-watcher-eq5-pro-heq5-syntrek-pro-az-eq5-gt-az-eq6-gt-and-eq8-mounts.html

  The EQ6-R and scopes are in the car to go do some observing after work, and the weather actually is cooperating.

[mikey2000]

I just checked my cable - it looks very very similar to the one pictured, but mine is a 'HiTecAstro' branded cable.  I wonder if I maybe I didn't get it from FLO after all.  It was a while ago now (!!!).  I seem to recall spending a similar price though.    After struggling for a while with my USB ---> Serial  ---> Syscan adapter set, I noticed an immediate and complete improvement in reliability with the proper EqDirect cable and leaving the handset out altogether.

I think if you post a new thread somewhere here, you will get a more technical/complete answer.  Maybe ask "Are all EQDirect USB cables created the same?" or similar.   That might get a bit more attention than in this thread.

[f300v10]

Well my first night out with the new mount didn't go as well as I had hoped.  Clouds rolled in around sunset and the lights were on at the football pitch across the road making finding stars next to impossible.  Eventually it cleared enough for me to use the polar scope (which I have not yet checked the alignment on).  I think the polar alignment was fairly close as Saturn stayed centered in the high magnification eyepiece for several minutes.  I attempted to do a 2 star alignment, but with so few stars visible it didn't work.  More troublesome was when executing a slew command the mount started making a very loud noise as if it was impacting something or binding, so I hit the escape key to stop the slew.  I only had the power and handset cables attached, and they had plenty of slack.  The scope was not hitting the tripod, so I have no idea what the cause was.  After this incident what was bad goto became off by 90 degrees goto, so I turned off the mount, put it back to home position and re-initialized.  Later on, and again during a goto slew, the loud noise/binding occurred again and I had to stop the slew.  I double checked the balance on the scope, and it was good on both axis.

I'm concerned there is something seriously wrong with this mount.  Has anyone here experienced something similar?  Any ideas what it could be and what I should do about it?

Another question, how accurate does the 'home position' need to be during initialization?  And how do you go about getting an accurate home position?

Thanks

 

[alexbb]

10 hours ago, f300v10 said:

Well my first night out with the new mount didn't go as well as I had hoped.  Clouds rolled in around sunset and the lights were on at the football pitch across the road making finding stars next to impossible.  Eventually it cleared enough for me to use the polar scope (which I have not yet checked the alignment on).  I think the polar alignment was fairly close as Saturn stayed centered in the high magnification eyepiece for several minutes.  I attempted to do a 2 star alignment, but with so few stars visible it didn't work.  More troublesome was when executing a slew command the mount started making a very loud noise as if it was impacting something or binding, so I hit the escape key to stop the slew.  I only had the power and handset cables attached, and they had plenty of slack.  The scope was not hitting the tripod, so I have no idea what the cause was.  After this incident what was bad goto became off by 90 degrees goto, so I turned off the mount, put it back to home position and re-initialized.  Later on, and again during a goto slew, the loud noise/binding occurred again and I had to stop the slew.  I double checked the balance on the scope, and it was good on both axis.

I'm concerned there is something seriously wrong with this mount.  Has anyone here experienced something similar?  Any ideas what it could be and what I should do about it?

Another question, how accurate does the 'home position' need to be during initialization?  And how do you go about getting an accurate home position?

Thanks

 

What power source do you use? Does the red light blink when you slew? I encountered something similar when using a not powerful enough power source.

Home position matters only to get you close to the first star in the aligning procedure. Makes things easier for alignment, but nothing else.

[f300v10]

2 hours ago, moise212 said:

What power source do you use? Does the red light blink when you slew? I encountered something similar when using a not powerful enough power source.

Home position matters only to get you close to the first star in the aligning procedure. Makes things easier for alignment, but nothing else.

Alex,

I'm using a 12V battery, which I now see is on the low end of the recommended range in the manual.  Here is a link to the actual unit:

https://www.telescope.com/Orion/Accessories/Power-Supplies-Cables/Orion-Dynamo-Pro-155Wh-ACDCUSB-Lithium-Power-Supply/rc/2160/pc/-1/c/3/sc/396/p/118187.uts

I did notice that both times the 'stall' occurred, the mount was attempting to slew at high speed on both axis simultaneously.  I think you could be right that the power supply was not sufficient.  Is it possible to set/reduce the slew rate the mount uses on a goto command, I would be willing to go slower if it stopped the stall from occurring again. 

If it is the 12V battery that is the issue, what voltage should I get as a replacement?  Also thanks for the info on the home position, I guess I won't worry about getting it exactly right.

Thanks,

Scott

 

 

[f300v10]

Well I answered my own question about setting a lower goto slew rate, and the answer is no you can't do it:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/316329-synscan-goto-speed-change/

[alexbb]

2 hours ago, f300v10 said:

If it is the 12V battery that is the issue, what voltage should I get as a replacement? 

12V is fine as long as it stays >11V. You can even see the voltage live on the handset (somewhere in info). When slewing at max speed on both axis, it shouldn't drop below 11V. I use now something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/LightingWill-Waterproof-Transformer-Voltage-3-Prong/dp/B01MRO3NYU/

 

Edit:

actually:

 

Edited October 4, 2018 by moise212