EQ6-R owners club

[discardedastro]

Think you can plug the GPS "cursor" into the hand controller - the ST4 port is just for guiding. I just use the Synscan init app on Android which gives you all the values in the "correct" formats without any guesswork.

[tonylumley]

Thanks Discardedastro, that answers that, was thinking when away i could  set up and run from caravan via laptop, cheers anyway, Lum

[Tom33]

Please can I join this group. To say I am a novice astrophotographer is an understatement !

I decided to have a go at astrophotography during the first lockdown. I have been photographing wildlife for a long time and had an interest in astronomy so it seemed a good fit. Having placed an order for some gear in July it has finally arrived and I am the proud owner of an EQ6-RPro and a SW Evostar 80 ED. So far I have managed to polar align the mount but have LOTS to learn

[discardedastro]

3 minutes ago, Tom33 said:

Please can I join this group. To say I am a novice astrophotographer is an understatement !

I decided to have a go at astrophotography during the first lockdown. I have been photographing wildlife for a long time and had an interest in astronomy so it seemed a good fit. Having placed an order for some gear in July it has finally arrived and I am the proud owner of an EQ6-RPro and a SW Evostar 80 ED. So far I have managed to polar align the mount but have LOTS to learn

If there's anything I've learned in my short time doing AP (a few years so far) it's that you'll never stop learning - but that won't stop you doing great things from the outset! I'd definitely recommend skimming through this thread for some good "lessons learned" on care and feeding of your shiny new mount...

[Tom33]

Thanks discardedastro, I will have a food read through all the thread, spend some time learning and come back with questions later! The best thing I have bought is a red torch headlamp, lots of cables and a hand torch don’t work. 
 

As a friend of mine said “ if your outside fumbling about in the dark not sure which way is up you are an astronomer “

[CedricTheBrave]

Hi everyone

running astroberry to drive my eq6rpro all works fine but

my order of setup after i plug everything in is as follows

1. check focus on polaris or close star
2. slew to a target not polaris
3. recheck focus
4. platesolve (slew to target)
5. polar align
6. platesolve again 
7. sync target
8. take images etc

now if I then park the mount after i have done the imaging and slew to another target it is never aligned not far off but always the same amount off so I have to platesolve again

this is not a massive issue but a pain if I want to do some visual as I would like it to go where i want after plate solving before.

so am I missing something? is this a mount issue in setup that I have not done or an Astroberry issue?

or do I just not park it and remove my camera and carry on !

many thanks

 

 

 

 

[SupernovaF1]

It is curious to see how different other people do things. I generally do focus first, polar align (I target less than 1arcmin), slew to target (takes usually 3 iterations to get within 15arcsecs), activate guiding and then take pictures with focus for each filter. No plate solving at all.

Regarding your issue, how far off is it? And how far off was it when you were doing it initially?  5 to 10arcmin differences should be normal. If its more and you already checked that date, time and GPS are accurate, it could be cone error. Cleaning the mount model helps.

I would suggest in any case, mot parking the mount indeed. Keep it tracking at sidereal rate. Dont switch off either. 

For visual, i would also suggest using the guide camera on your scope, make sure its aligned so both scope and guidescooe point at the same target and use that to plate solve / slew to target in EKOS. Should be less than a minute to get spot on.

 

[badhex]

New member of the owners club here! Decided to treat myself (ordered early Oct) and just arrived a few days before Christmas. 

Will be mostly using as a sturdy long-term investment for visual; initial setup will be with an Evostar 80ED. I finally have a mount sturdy enough to use my Panoptic 41mm! I enjoy using the synscan app with the AZ-GTi so I've also bought the WiFi dongle to give me more flexibility in the setup. 

Eventually I may plan to do some AP which I know is where this mount shines, but in the medium term I wanted a tank, and the EQ6-R Pro is certainly that! 

 

[rbeard47]

Just got the EQ6-R yesterday and it seems totally awesome.  Obviously it's cloudy for another week as a result, but got it working with EQMod.  Can't wait to get it out in clear weather.

Cheers

 

[tonylumley]

yea. good luck with the clouds, had my ED6R pro for a month and havent been able to use it in anger yet,  too cloudy and wet, lol

[CedricTheBrave]

On 29/12/2020 at 09:05, SupernovaF1 said:

It is curious to see how different other people do things. I generally do focus first, polar align (I target less than 1arcmin), slew to target (takes usually 3 iterations to get within 15arcsecs), activate guiding and then take pictures with focus for each filter. No plate solving at all.

Regarding your issue, how far off is it? And how far off was it when you were doing it initially?  5 to 10arcmin differences should be normal. If its more and you already checked that date, time and GPS are accurate, it could be cone error. Cleaning the mount model helps.

I would suggest in any case, mot parking the mount indeed. Keep it tracking at sidereal rate. Dont switch off either. 

For visual, i would also suggest using the guide camera on your scope, make sure its aligned so both scope and guidescooe point at the same target and use that to plate solve / slew to target in EKOS. Should be less than a minute to get spot on.

 

this far out 'Target is within  04° 37' 37" degrees of solution coordinates.'

[discardedastro]

1 hour ago, CedricTheBrave said:

this far out 'Target is within  04° 37' 37" degrees of solution coordinates.'

That's quite a lot - likely the mount is being pushed around or moved if there's that much error between sessions.

I don't use Astroberry but in KStars/Ekos I start all my sessions by wiping the alignment data after unpark and a quick focus if required, and then running the Ekos mount model tool which will point the scope at 8 or so (configurable) different areas of the sky and give you a great basis for future alignment calculations. Only takes a few minutes and sets everything up pretty well regardless of the intervening conditions.

I do find that - especially since I slacken my clutch bolts a little once I'm done for a night - the wind will tend to push my mount around a bit under its cover, so parking won't guarantee a repeatable alignment that's worth considering, so just starting from scratch each night is easier. Within an observatory, parking for the purposes of maintaining alignment is probably viable.

[CedricTheBrave]

6 minutes ago, discardedastro said:

That's quite a lot - likely the mount is being pushed around or moved if there's that much error between sessions.

I don't use Astroberry but in KStars/Ekos I start all my sessions by wiping the alignment data after unpark and a quick focus if required, and then running the Ekos mount model tool which will point the scope at 8 or so (configurable) different areas of the sky and give you a great basis for future alignment calculations. Only takes a few minutes and sets everything up pretty well regardless of the intervening conditions.

I do find that - especially since I slacken my clutch bolts a little once I'm done for a night - the wind will tend to push my mount around a bit under its cover, so parking won't guarantee a repeatable alignment that's worth considering, so just starting from scratch each night is easier. Within an observatory, parking for the purposes of maintaining alignment is probably viable.

going to try the wipe data and see how it goes 

thanks for the time

[M Waugh]

Hi,

Id first of all like to say Hello,

Im in the process of waiting of delivery of an EQ6 r Pro, Im after info on how to connect with the ZWO ASIair Pro, Ive bought a USB A-B cable and will be going through that, do I need to do anything or will it all be automated and recognised through Zwo Asiair. Id originally had the Celestron AVX mount and for the life of me could not get it to do anything through the Asiair.  Anybody out there with a guide sheet on the process that I could have would be great.

Clear skies

Mark

[billhinge]

If you had the cash, no questions asked, would you be tempted to upgrade to an eq8-r just to be 100% certain weight was never a problem? Say mounting a C11 plus heavy cameras for example

[CedricTheBrave]

1 hour ago, billhinge said:

If you had the cash, no questions asked, would you be tempted to upgrade to an eq8-r just to be 100% certain weight was never a problem? Say mounting a C11 plus heavy cameras for example

on my list

[billhinge]

Thanks, I'm tempted to get one, do I want one, yes, do I need one, not sure

[TerryMcK]

Can you get one? That is the main problem at the moment with supply chain issues.

Edited January 12, 2021 by TerryMcK

[billhinge]

I could order one and hopefully lock in the price, 3 or 4 months would fit my timeline perfectly, I'm taking the delay into account (been waiting on a filter since October 😉 

[OJ87]

Hi Everyone, 

I'm an owner of this monster since 2019. Unfortunately  last month the mount wouldn't turn on: i used to run it through an AC-Adapter, which was for sure working. When i tried to turn it on i could hear the usual ''Click'' sound,but the red led wasn't working and i couldn't connect the mount to  PC. After all i send it back , as it was still in warranty-time (2 years). after about one month i get it back working perfectly. 
The Manufacture didn't cleared why did it happend, but i assume the problem was in the Mainboard. 

i just wanted to let you know, if someone face this problem. 

clear skies!

Edited January 18, 2021 by OJ87

[Greg Shaw]

Hi Everyone 

I was wondering what are you using to power your mount?

I initially used a 12v 8A mains to cigarette adaptor sold to me by RVO when I purchased the mount from them. I later swapped to the Pegasus Pocket Power Advance with their own power brick which is 12v 10a. When I look at the Pegasus control panel I can see the input was 12.4v.

I have been told that I should be driving the mount with 13.8v.

This annoys me bit because the Pegasus unit is not cheap and is sold as a unit to do this exact thing. So I am wondering how you are al powering your mounts from the mains as I only use my mount in the garden.

Thanks Greg

[Dinglem]

@Greg Shaw I have the same setup as you EQ6R and Pegasus PPA, at home I use a Nevada PSW-30 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/power-accessories/nevada-psw-30-25-30a-switch-mode-power-supply.html

On the rare occasion I go somewhere remote I used to use an old lorry battery someone gave me but now I have 90AH leisure type battery.

[Greg Shaw]

3 hours ago, Dinglem said:

@Greg Shaw I have the same setup as you EQ6R and Pegasus PPA, at home I use a Nevada PSW-30 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/power-accessories/nevada-psw-30-25-30a-switch-mode-power-supply.html

On the rare occasion I go somewhere remote I used to use an old lorry battery someone gave me but now I have 90AH leisure type battery.

Brilliant, I actually ordered one of these myself today. I was wondering what made you use this over powering the mount directly from the PPA?

Do you also power the PPA from this or does that have its own power supply?

[Dinglem]

@Greg Shaw I power the Pegasus PPA from either the Nevada PSW or the battery, depending if at home or away. I then power my mount, camera, focuser, dew shields etc. from the PPA.

[Greg Shaw]

@Dinglem Does the mount get 13.8v doing it this way or does the PPG limit to 12v