EQ6-R owners club

[JSeaman]

No problem, the issues are the usual in terms of any wind making things wobble and balancing such a big beast which is offset to fit in an observatory and has an ED80 hanging off it. My mount has DEC backlash issues which poses a challenge sometimes. The clutches can't lock this level of weight beyond normal operation i.e. if you bump the scope it will move. I get sub arc-second guiding most nights though on my fixed pier. 

Note that I have a RoR observatory now rather than a dome so wind is still very much a factor despite being surrounded on 4 sides. 

[Grant Fribbens]

On 01/03/2021 at 18:56, discardedastro said:

Well, did a manual calibration bang on the equator/meridian intersection and got similar wonkiness alerts. But only the second time. Backlash as measured by the guiding assistant appears fine (450ms correction pulse). So thinking some mechanical still. I'm not sure what a wobbly OAG/guide camera might look like but that's one possibility (though the revised ZWO one is pretty solid, with grub screws cinched down) and beyond that it's got to be something more fundamental.

Maybe this is the year I get the courage to do a rebuild and replace bearings etc. It has sat out in wet and unpleasant conditions (under cover, but still) for best part of 3 years now.

I have had my EQ6-R for a while and started to get issues like you had in PHD2 when I put on my GSO 8" RC. So I have decided to take a look and found that I could feel backlash in both RA and DEC so have tightened this as per the video which was done by Cuiv, The Lazy Geek. Then I also checked the status of the belts and sure enough found that using the hand controller on rate 2 had quite a lot of backlash on the RA belt similar to what this chap, Rosco Bird DEC backlash, had. So I adjusted the belt tension slightly (1/8th of a turn clockwise on the grub screw after loosening the stepper motor screws) and it has made it so much better. 

[discardedastro]

On 11/05/2021 at 17:23, Grant Fribbens said:

I have had my EQ6-R for a while and started to get issues like you had in PHD2 when I put on my GSO 8" RC. So I have decided to take a look and found that I could feel backlash in both RA and DEC so have tightened this as per the video which was done by Cuiv, The Lazy Geek. Then I also checked the status of the belts and sure enough found that using the hand controller on rate 2 had quite a lot of backlash on the RA belt similar to what this chap, Rosco Bird DEC backlash, had. So I adjusted the belt tension slightly (1/8th of a turn clockwise on the grub screw after loosening the stepper motor screws) and it has made it so much better. 

That's a great set of videos. Belt tension would make quite a bit of sense and I'll take a look at that for sure - it's about that time of year when I take the whole setup apart and inspect/clean/maintain it all anyway given we're now getting too bright to do anything much with DSOs! I've been doing alright in more recent times - I wonder how much those belts and the whole tensioning setup "walks" with temperature variation.

[mckinnell]

Hello all, I have a Sky Watcher 12in atop an NEQ6PRO and it is so stable you would not believe, it is where you stand said scope and mount, my new and permanent site will use a dolly with 3 x 5in wheels and stored in my garage now uesed for cars as of 20 years ago due to health problems causing me to stop driving do not miss driving so better use of building, but Yes, the NEQ6 PRO was designed for that size and type well before the EQ8 came along. ask the chaps at ROTHER VALLEY optics, I have nothing to do with them BTW, just great adice and knowledge.  

               Tom.... 

[barbulo]

Proud owner of this great piece of gear here! 
I hope I have a few clear nights after this holidays to play around with it. The plan is firstly, load a good PPEC curve on it and then to manage the DEC backlash (pretty sure it has some). Not yet ready to open it and tune it up. 
I don’t have a pier so I have to set it up for every session. Heavy and robust, transmits stability. Let’s see the results with a fat 200pds and a 600D on it.
Cheers.

[pahgo]

Hey there! I've read on this thread some people are using the SW EQ6R-Pro with pretty big OTA's, some without issues some with a few issues... Would you say using it with a f5.9 8'' tube at 11kg is a safe bet for AP? I am trying to find a sufficient mount to move from my dob while keeping the tube. 

Thanks a million!

[JSeaman]

My experience is that it is capable but not the perfect mount for it. I'm having over 30kg off mine and it's holding up pretty well for astrophotography, this is one of my best with a 300PDS ...

 

[pahgo]

4 minutes ago, JSeaman said:

My experience is that it is capable but not the perfect mount for it. I'm having over 30kg off mine and it's holding up pretty well for astrophotography, this is one of my best with a 300PDS ...

 

That OTA alone is 25kg, right? 5 more kg for equipment and all that sat on a SW EQ6R-Pro for this stunning picture??? Sure, starts at the corners seem a bit stretched (coma?) but that's a wonderful pic!!

If it can hold that well with a 30kg setup I am more confident with my 16ish kg setup!

[JSeaman]

Yes this was pre coma corrector too, it's not without it's challenges but it works

 

[SupernovaF1]

On 24/09/2021 at 17:36, pahgo said:

Hey there! I've read on this thread some people are using the SW EQ6R-Pro with pretty big OTA's, some without issues some with a few issues... Would you say using it with a f5.9 8'' tube at 11kg is a safe bet for AP? I am trying to find a sufficient mount to move from my dob while keeping the tube. 

Thanks a million!

I use it on a 200pds with equipment (two big and heavy dovetails, nuc, pegasus powerbox, etc) without issues.

The problem with these similar newtonians isnt generally weight, but wind. 

 

Edit: in my case also helped to add a third counterweight and keep them closer to the RA axis.

Edited September 25, 2021 by SupernovaF1

[discardedastro]

3 hours ago, SupernovaF1 said:

I use it on a 200pds with equipment (two big and heavy dovetails, nuc, pegasus powerbox, etc) without issues.

The problem with these similar newtonians isnt generally weight, but wind. 

 

Edit: in my case also helped to add a third counterweight and keep them closer to the RA axis.

Absolutely on the wind front. The EQ6-R will handle quite a big scope - but in quiet conditions. If it's a bit breezy, you'll find it wandering a little - unavoidable on any mount at some point due to flexure of everything and "easily" fixed with a windbreak and/or observatory!

[ItsmeMaw]

Just recently bought and received my EQ6 but haven't set it up yet.

I'm in central Florida, the heat and humidity is brutal probably 300 days a year. Its not like it will get wet if I set it up in the observatory, but I worry about all the humidity. 

What are your thoughts on protecting it? This will be my only mount and it has to out last me!

[discardedastro]

3 hours ago, ItsmeMaw said:

Just recently bought and received my EQ6 but haven't set it up yet.

I'm in central Florida, the heat and humidity is brutal probably 300 days a year. Its not like it will get wet if I set it up in the observatory, but I worry about all the humidity. 

What are your thoughts on protecting it? This will be my only mount and it has to out last me!

So I've got mine 24/7 in a damp British rural garden - there is a small river about 35m from the mount and we're in a low part of the country so it gets humid, and I have no observatory - this thing lives under a Telegizmos 365 cover. Leaving aside coastal areas where salt spray is a concern, this is as bad as it gets!

This thing will corrode in lots of places externally because the material quality isn't great - as you'd expect from a mount at this price point.

I would personally recommend replacing all the fasteners you can access with proper stainless steel ones - the stock ones are coated and this fails within 2-3 years.

• It's all standard metric (none of that silly Imperial nonsense, sorry) so you can just buy M4 (10/20/30mm) screws and grub screws (mostly M4, 4-8mm long) and remove the originals one at a time and replace. The grub screws on the worm carriers and the worm carrier mounting bolts are worth doing along with the dovetail mounting (3 screws at top of Dec). The flatheads in various places seem to be stainless, so don't worry about those.
• The handle is mounted by some particularly chunky screws - this is M6 I think. These corrode, too.
• The big alt/az adjustment bolts? They'll corrode, too, as will the spring on the altitude adjustment handle. I pulled these all out, coated them in an Ambersil corrosion inhibitor, and then put them back in with some corrosion-inhibiting anti-seize. The spring got a second coat of ACF-50 inhibitor.
• The counterweight bar will also corrode since it's just coated. Most anti-corrosion products tend to be slippery, so you're best off getting your countweights in broadly the right spot and then coating around. The counterweights are painted and will absolutely corrode, so a fresh coat of paint if there's any nicks or dings (any enamel paint will do) and again treat with a corrosion inhibitor.
• The tripod bottom mounting rod and threads? You guessed it. Treat as the alt/az bolts.
• The tripod's at least aluminium, so that doesn't rust!

Other than that, I'd give everything a careful coat of ACF-50 or similar once all's said and done to act as a final protective layer. In an observatory you'll probably fare much better than I have, especially if you're able to run a dehumidifier continuously. Internally there's some mild steel parts (e.g. worm gears) so keeping it as dry as possible is a Good Plan.

[ItsmeMaw]

Thanks for the information.

I'm sure I'll be asking a lot of questions but I am looking to see it working!

 

[discardedastro]

Cross-posting this for those who are interested in pulling their EQ6-R apart, now I've got it back together and it's working again!

[Andyy]

The RA motor on my EQ6-R Pro motor is stalling during goto. It does not happen when sleewing using HC bacause I can only move one axis at the time. The HC reads 11.5v at the lowest when sleewing. I can slew full motion with HC with no problem but once I load up the mount (carefully balanced) and use goto the motor is stalling.

Can it be a power problem (voltage drop) or is it something else? I'm currently using a 12v 5amp switching power.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Andyy

[badhex]

15 minutes ago, Andyy said:

The RA motor on my EQ6-R Pro motor is stalling during goto. It does not happen when sleewing using HC bacause I can only move one axis at the time. The HC reads 11.5v at the lowest when sleewing. I can slew full motion with HC with no problem but once I load up the mount (carefully balanced) and use goto the motor is stalling.

Can it be a power problem (voltage drop) or is it something else? I'm currently using a 12v 5amp switching power.

I would guess that the low voltage is your issue. I have read multiple reports suggesting that really anything below 11.5v-12v can cause problems under load - e.g. when batteries have partially discharged and the voltage drops.

If you are using AC, you may want to look into a power adaptor that gives you a steady 12v even under load. I have also read that some people use power adaptors which provide ~13-14v to account for voltage drop but I'm not totally sure what the actual Skywatcher recommendation is, so you might want to wait for others to chip in as well.

[Merlin66]

I’ve been using 12v to 15v 120w car converters on both my HEQ5 and NEQ6 for the past ten years. Works well for me, no issues, no dramas.

 

[Andyy]

Thanks! According to the users manual: Power Requirement DC11~16V 4A

Guess it safe to adjust the output on my power supply to 13v and see if helps.

[discardedastro]

Yeah, "12V" is generally considered to be a 13.6V nominal voltage in practice and you'll want a couple of volts of headroom to accommodate short-term slump from a supply, especially if it's a switched-mode type. Set it at 13.6V unloaded off a voltmeter, see how much it slumps under load (best if you can stick a min/max voltmeter on it and look at the minimum) and adjust up if needed.

If it's slumping way down - below 11V, for instance - then you're going to need something with a few more amps in it! If you have an oscilloscope this can be really helpful for debugging short transients which can be harder to spot but can effect drive circuits and level converters e.g. for 5V rails powering microcontrollers.

[Andyy]

The problem went away at 13.8v

Also I did adjust the worm slightly and now the mount is running very smooth.

Edited October 17, 2021 by Andyy

[badhex]

4 hours ago, Andyy said:

The problem went away at 13.8v

Also I did adjust the worm slightly and now the mount is running very smooth.

Great to hear you solved it!

[Andyy]

I noticed almost no voltage drop during slewing so my mount actually needed 13v operate properly. I'm not sure this is normal but there a multiple threads online implying the EQ6-R is voltage hungry.

[badhex]

3 minutes ago, Andyy said:

I noticed almost no voltage drop during slewing so my mount actually needed 13v operate properly. I'm not sure this is normal but there a multiple threads online implying the EQ6-R is voltage hungry.

Yes I've seen the same general advice in threads too, that's the main reason I was confident agreeing with your thoughts. It seems strange that this is not really made clear by Skywatcher.

[Andyy]

16 hours ago, badhex said:

Yes I've seen the same general advice in threads too, that's the main reason I was confident agreeing with your thoughts. It seems strange that this is not really made clear by Skywatcher.

Yes, very strange. But 13v is well within Skywatcher voltage spesifications for the EQ6-R listed on their website. I have the older version of the mount without USB connection. They may have changed this in newer version. I plan to do a full strip down of the mount when the seson is over. Hopefully I'll get it to run even smoother. It’s a great mount.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Andyy