EQMod : Scope/camera collision with tripod legs

[feilimb]

Just wondering if anyone has tips on avoiding possible collisions between a telescope & DSLR mounted on a HEQ5, and the legs of the tripod?  On a couple of occasions now this has come very close to happening for me, sometimes due to software error when I instructed my (aligned) mount to slew to a target and a slew brought the telescope to a completely different area of the sky.  If I am inside the house and issuing slewing commands remotely, there is no way of keeping an eye on the scope to ensure it is slewing to the correct area.

Is the safest thing here to always be by the mount and if one sees the scope or camera starting to get dangerously close to the tripod legs to just kill the power to the mount? Surely there must be a better way of handling this.. does anyone know if the EQMod software, or mount itself has a safety mechanism built in to stop a slew operation if it encounters something 'blocking' the slew, or is there a danger of motors / camera being damaged?

[lux eterna]

@feilimb It happened to my HEQ5 Pro once, the dslr hit a tripod leg but I was lucky it hit no fragile part of the camera. The mount seemed to have a built-in current limit triggered safetyguard because i could hear and see that it repeatedly stopped, started, stopped etc. But still, that may damage things if the usb plug etc is hit. I have no suggestions for EQMod because I use no pc with my mount. If I leave the mount unattended I try to evaluate how many degrees it can safely move in RA, then I count one hour per 15 degrees of rotation and set the alarm in my phone.

To increase the amount of free movement, I can suggest three things :

Attach the scope a little front heavy, and it will have more clearance for the dslr.

I raised the Vixen bar from my tube rings with two spacers, which allows for the dslr travelling further away from the legs.

I also raised the mount from the tripod with a wooden block.

BTW, the bottom plate under the wooden raiser is a diy hinge, so I can fold the mount down during car transport.

Ragnar

 

[LightBucket]

Just set mount limits in the software used...

[feilimb]

@lux eterna

Many thanks for the suggestions, the very basic one of estimating 15 degrees per hour in RA is a great tip in terms of where the scope can move to safely from a starting point. Your setup and cable management look really well in the photo - out of interest is the bubble wrap surrounding your OTA for some kind of insulation / dew control, or just for protection when transporting?

@LightBucket

Thanks, I hadn't realised there are mount limits in the software, I will take a look but after seeing the software send my scope to the entirely wrong place in the past I'm not sure how much confidence I have in it.  Maybe I should check the firmware version on my HEQ5 and ensure I have the most up to date.

[tooth_dr]

51 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

Just set mount limits in the software used...

Can you set up a total range of limits or is it only for each specific nights imaging?  I've come out quite a few times and my scope is resting against the pier.

[laser_jock99]

Install a pier- the only thing the scope can clash with now is my head....

[LightBucket]

25 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Can you set up a total range of limits or is it only for each specific nights imaging?  I've come out quite a few times and my scope is resting against the pier.

You can certain,y set limits so that does not happen, but it will depend on what you are imaging, but when you have chosen a target in an area of sky, you should  be able to work out where to set the limit... 

[LightBucket]

3 minutes ago, laser_jock99 said:

Install a pier- the only thing the scope can clash with now is my head....

I would assume without limits set, your set up can still clash with the pier in certain situations, you can never be completely safe...

[laser_jock99]

1 minute ago, LightBucket said:

I would assume without limits set, your set up can still clash with the pier in certain situations, you can never be completely safe...

Never hit itself yet (one reason I advocate a narrow pier design and no 'leveling plate'.....). By far the bigger issue for me is cable managment- always a risk of something going wrong there!

[tooth_dr]

6 minutes ago, laser_jock99 said:

Never hit itself yet (one reason I advocate a narrow pier design and no 'leveling plate'.....). By far the bigger issue for me is cable managment- always a risk of something going wrong there!

This is my flaw, I made large square levelling plates.  I'm now changing these to small round ones.  My scope and or camera catches on the corners.

[lux eterna]

1 hour ago, feilimb said:

@lux eterna

Many thanks for the suggestions, the very basic one of estimating 15 degrees per hour in RA is a great tip in terms of where the scope can move to safely from a starting point. Your setup and cable management look really well in the photo - out of interest is the bubble wrap surrounding your OTA for some kind of insulation / dew control, or just for protection when transporting?

 

Thanks, the bubble wrap is only for insulation. I have to be mobile due to limited sky views at home, so I must not waste any battery power. With this scope I never need more than 0.3 Ampere for the dew heater.

Ragnar

[chrisshillito]

Below are a couple of video tutorials on setting limits within EQMOD and one video on how limits affect movement stategies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LightBucket]

2 hours ago, laser_jock99 said:

Never hit itself yet (one reason I advocate a narrow pier design and no 'leveling plate'.....). By far the bigger issue for me is cable managment- always a risk of something going wrong there!

I recently got a Pegasus Ultimate power hub, that solved all my cable issues, as its mounted on the mount head itself, as it so small, only 130 x 100 x 30mm, and does everything and co trolled via PC..

[alacant]

10 hours ago, feilimb said:

there is no way of keeping an eye on the scope

If you have a laptop at the mount, leave the built in camera streaming to you inside. There's enough light from the screen to be able to see the mount. HTH.