How to convert manual mount to computerized mount

[Articunos]

Down on this page you can see another upgrade kit

Will it work on my telescope mount?

http://www.tejraj.com/reflectors-sk1507.html

[Cornelius Varley]

3 minutes ago, Articunos said:

I didn't get you

Won't the motors have to be strong enough to lift the weight of the telescope?

Yes they will.. An EQ5 with dual axis drives, or goto, will handle a 8" telescope. An EQ5 mount has a payload capacity of about 9kg.

[Cornelius Varley]

5 minutes ago, Articunos said:

Down on this page you can see another upgrade kit

Will it work on my telescope mount?

http://www.tejraj.com/reflectors-sk1507.html

That kit is for the smaller EQ3-2 mount, it won't fit an EQ5.

[Articunos]

On 20/06/2018 at 13:32, adyj1 said:

Hi Articunos, and welcome. 

I have recently looked at this myself and came to the the conclusion there were 3 options;

1. The official Skywatcher upgrade kit for around £300.  https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-synscan-pro-v3-goto-upgrade-kits.html

2. A DIY upgrade using AstroEQ.  https://www.astroeq.co.uk/tutorials.php Building the board yourself and sourcing the stepper motors can cost in the region of £100-£150.

3. Sell your mount and buy a second-hand goto mount. £??? 

Unfortunately the Skywatcher dual axis motors are not geared correctly for goto - they are just far, far too slow*.

Option 2 is *very* DIY. The AstroEQ project is excellent but you do still have to do a lot of a) soldering and b) tinkering with the motors and drivers to get everything working.

Do not underestimate option 3. It may be your cheapest option. 

I chose option 2 and have very much enjoyed the soldering and tinkering, learning along the way - but it has taken me many weeks and I don't have a reliable setup just yet... (I'm so close!) 

Hope this helps

Ady

* technically you *can* run AstroEQ on the SW dual axis motors - and I planned to do this for a few months while I worked out what stepper motors to get and how to mount them - but it was so, so slow it made goto unusable, IMHO. I got second-hand steppers within a week.

I didn't understand option 2

Is the 2nd option for making a telescope Go-To?

I already have experience of using the Arduino so maybe option 2 won't be difficult for me

But will it add Go-To capabilities on my telescope mount?

[Articunos]

2 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Yes they will.. An EQ5 with dual axis drives, or goto, will handle a 8" telescope. An EQ5 mount has a payload capacity of about 9kg.

I wrote to Bresser.They said that their Go-To kit is for Exos-II and Mon-2 mounts.They also said that the kit will fit normally on any EQ-5 mount,but they can't give any guarantee about this

[adyj1]

1 minute ago, Articunos said:

I didn't understand option 2

Is the 2nd option for making a telescope Go-To?

I already have experience of using the Arduino so maybe option 2 won't be difficult for me

But will it add Go-To capabilities on my telescope mount?

Option 2 does indeed make a telescope goto, but it does also require a PC to be connected to control the goto (which runs ASCOM and EQDIR software).

The AstroEQ (https://www.astroeq.co.uk/index.php) emulates the 'brain' of a skywatcher goto computer, and is able to control stepper motors attached to your Dec and RA drives. *You* have to sort out the stepper motors and their mounts, which has turned out to be the tricky bit of the project for me.

The first two photographs in this 3D printing project https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1833860 will show you what you would need to sort out on the mount end - both the stepper motors and the brackets.

If such a solution were possible for your mount (bearing in mind I have no experience of clone mounts), then you could actually call it 'better-than-goto', as it is much more flexible. ?

HTH
Ady 

[Articunos]

Here are some more images of my mount:

 

 

 

 

[Cornelius Varley]

I now see why your dealer said you can't replace the dual axis drives with the Bresser upgrade. It appears that the DEC motor is installed in a casing that is fixed part of the mount.  On other mounts of this class the motors are fitted externally.

AstronomyBoy CG5 mount

[Articunos]

13 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

I now see why your dealer said you can't replace the dual axis drives with the Bresser upgrade. It appears that the DEC motor is installed in a casing that is fixed part of the mount.  On other mounts of this class the motors are fitted externally.

AstronomyBoy CG5 mount

Both motor casings can be removed and even the motors themselves can be removed

[Articunos]

Will this fit on my mount:

http://www.skywatcher-india.com/Product/ProductSpecFeature/182

[Cornelius Varley]

2 minutes ago, Articunos said:

Will this fit on my mount:

http://www.skywatcher-india.com/Product/ProductSpecFeature/182

No. That one is designed for the bigger EQ6 mount. 

[Cornelius Varley]

8 minutes ago, Articunos said:

Both motor casings can be removed and even the motors themselves can be removed

Can you remove the casing for the DEC axis drive and compare the motor mount to the mount in the photos ?

 

 

 

[adyj1]

2 hours ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Yes they will.. An EQ5 with dual axis drives, or goto, will handle a 8" telescope. An EQ5 mount has a payload capacity of about 9kg.

Articunos, in answer to "Won't the motors have to be strong enough to lift the weight of the telescope?" don't forget that when you attach your telescope to the mount you balance it, so that its centre of gravity is at the pivot point of your mount. The motor then isn't moving the weight of your telescope, and much less force is needed to move it.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Also have you considered that fitting a goto, usually removes the use of the manual control.

As already suggested, I'd recommend Tom Carpenters AstroEQ, it's relatively easy to build. The motors I used were high torque ones (approx. £14 each from OMC-Stepper, Chinese but good quality), and the attachment brackets are made from 3mm aluminium angle.

Configuration is then all done through the free tools, provided by Tom. 

One big advantage of this system is that it will work with PHD2, Planetarium software etc. so if you want to go the imaging route, all is ready in-place...

[Articunos]

3 hours ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Can you remove the casing for the DEC axis drive and compare the motor mount to the mount in the photos ?

 

 

 

I can remove it but is doing so safe?

I hope it doesn't ruin or damage my mount

[Articunos]

On 21/06/2018 at 19:42, Cornelius Varley said:

Can you remove the casing for the DEC axis drive and compare the motor mount to the mount in the photos ?

Sorry I can't open it.

It needs a different type of screwdriver which I don't have but I am looking for it.

As soon as I get it,I will upload the photos

[Articunos]

Meanwhile,I contacted another seller and he is selling a Skywatcher EQ-5 upgrade kit.

But it seems pretty expensive.In India,it costs Rs.54,374 which equals to about 687 Euros or 802 USD.

Do you think it's really that expensive?

How much does it cost in your area?

[Articunos]

On 21/06/2018 at 19:59, Dr_Ju_ju said:

One big advantage of this system is that it will work with PHD2, Planetarium software etc. so if you want to go the imaging route, all is ready in-place...

Won't the Skywatcher EQ-5 upgrade kit or the Bresser GoTo upgrade kit support Stellarium and other planetarium software?

[Cornelius Varley]

6 minutes ago, Articunos said:

Won't the Skywatcher EQ-5 upgrade kit or the Bresser GoTo upgrade kit support Stellarium and other planetarium software?

The Skywatcher Synscan upgrade can be controlled from Stellarium r other planetarium programmes,. The manual for the Bresser upgrade does not mention pc control as a feature of their system, only that the port on the handset is for future developments . The current price of the Bresser upgrade is about 439 euros, so it is more expensive in India.

Bresser EQ goto upgrade manual

[david_taurus83]

Seeing as there is no conclusive answer to whether your mount can accept an aftermarket Goto kit, then it might be better for you to sell the mount and use the funds to purchase a mount that already has the Goto function.

[Articunos]

20 hours ago, Cornelius Varley said:

The Skywatcher Synscan upgrade can be controlled from Stellarium r other planetarium programmes,. The manual for the Bresser upgrade does not mention pc control as a feature of their system, only that the port on the handset is for future developments . The current price of the Bresser upgrade is about 439 euros, so it is more expensive in India.

Bresser EQ goto upgrade manual

With all taxes included,the Bresser GoTo kit costs about 500 euros.

So it maybe isn't that expensive.

Should I go for it?Do you have any experience of using it?

[Cornelius Varley]

1 hour ago, Articunos said:

With all taxes included,the Bresser GoTo kit costs about 500 euros.

So it maybe isn't that expensive.

Should I go for it?Do you have any experience of using it?

I'm becoming less convinced that the goto kit is going to fit your mount. Probably the best thing to do is buy a new mount with goto fitted..

[Articunos]

2 hours ago, Cornelius Varley said:

I'm becoming less convinced that the goto kit is going to fit your mount. Probably the best thing to do is buy a new mount with goto fitted..

Computerized EQ mounts are very expensive.

So I guess I should try the Astro EQ method.

[adyj1]

2 hours ago, Articunos said:

Computerized EQ mounts are very expensive.

So I guess I should try the Astro EQ method.

Get yourself ready to do a lot of reading to work out which stepper motors to get. First big decision is whether to get the custom pcbs and chips, or go with the arduino... 

[Articunos]

On 25/06/2018 at 13:32, Cornelius Varley said:

I'm becoming less convinced that the goto kit is going to fit your mount. Probably the best thing to do is buy a new mount with goto fitted..

If I buy the Bresser Upgrade kit and if I make a few modifications,will it fit my mount?