azgti wifi question

[davekelley]

HI

I am very excited I have set up my new 127mak on the deluxe azgti wifi mount and clear skies are forecast tonight. (just have to stay awake till midnight for it to get dark).  Testing in the daylight it all seems to work even a 5yr old could do this!  Just what I need I'm so non technically minded.  One thing, I can't seem to lock the Azimuth bearing, it remains mains quite easy to rotate no matter how I tighten that thumbscrew.  Anyone else had one of these mounts who can advise me?  (I'm sure I've done something wrong here).  I have it attached via the extension tube, it's worrysome that the whole mount and ota are held by those 3 small screws but that seems to be the general idea.  I can tighten the az but not the alt axis.......I read that it's best to tigthen them fully to get the best GOTO and tracking functionality.

 

Thanks for looking! 

Clear skies

 

Dave

Edited June 30, 2019 by davekelley
typo

[laudropb]

Hi Dave. I have not had any problems with mine but I have read somewhere that if you do not enure that the notch on the top of the extension tube is engaged with one of the screws then the whole top section of the tube can rotate. Check the manual and you will see how to do this. Hope it is as simple as that and you do not have a problem with the actual mount.

[knobby]

I've seen this on cloudy nights ... Does it tighten up or keep turning ? If it keeps turning it may have been over tightened .

[davekelley]

On 30/06/2019 at 22:19, laudropb said:

Hi Dave. I have not had any problems with mine but I have read somewhere that if you do not enure that the notch on the top of the extension tube is engaged with one of the screws then the whole top section of the tube can rotate. Check the manual and you will see how to do this. Hope it is as simple as that and you do not have a problem with the actual mount.

Thanks!  I was a bit concerned when I read the instructions to see that my extension tube does not have a notch, there is just no notch on this tube.  You may have answered my question, but how could this happen?  

I'll have to get back to the supplier.  I tried again tonight and I'm getting nowhere near on target, not even within fov.  I got so fed up in the end I put my 8x30 pocket binos on a lightweight mount and had a more enjoyable time.

Clear skies

 

dave

 

[davekelley]

On 30/06/2019 at 23:05, knobby said:

I've seen this on cloudy nights ... Does it tighten up or keep turning ? If it keeps turning it may have been over tightened .

I can't seem to be able to really tighten it.

 

[johninderby]

Just checked The extension tube  that came with my Solarquest mount And it doesn’t have any notches in the top of the  tube and it can rotate easily if not really tightemed up. 

As I’m using the tripod for mounting a worklight instead of a scope being able to rotate the top is an advantage. 😁

 

 

Edited July 3, 2019 by johninderby

[laudropb]

There is a small notch in mine whose position is indicated by the arrow head on the tube. You make sure this is aligned with one of the screws.

[laudropb]

This is shown in the manual I have. I also found that you had to ensure that locking knob that attaches to the mount quite often needs tightening before using the mount.

[johninderby]

I was looking for a proper notch not a tiny indentation that looked more like a scratch in the metal. However it does seem to lock in place. 

Edited July 3, 2019 by johninderby

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

I must look for that notch again. Maybe I was expecting something obvious...

If you're not hitting the target, it may be because the manual misses a crucial step. If you haven't already, watch this from 15 minutes in:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2019 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[Miguel1983]

The mount head easily loosens if you manually rotate the mount counter clockwise, so always rotate clockwise, even if it's the long way round.

[davekelley]

6 hours ago, laudropb said:

There is a small notch in mine whose position is indicated by the arrow head on the tube. You make sure this is aligned with one of the screws.

 

[davekelley]

Thank you for this pic!  I have no notch and no arrow on my extension tube.  I shall be querying this with the suppier. will get back to you all.  Skies were great last night so it's frustrating!

 

regards

 

Dave

[johninderby]

It’s a small pit actually rather than a proper notch..

Edited July 3, 2019 by johninderby

[davekelley]

4 hours ago, Miguel1983 said:

The mount head easily loosens if you manually rotate the mount counter clockwise, so always rotate clockwise, even if it's the long way round.

Thanks for that tip!  You're right, it does.  Wouldn't you think they could do these things better?

 

[davekelley]

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

It’s a small pit actually rather than a proper notch..

I have discovered a tiny "notch"  and used a marker pen to indicate the location on the tube, it doesn't look like the one in this pic!  But it's something.  I guess they modify these things I don't know. Hopefully can try again tonight.  Thanks

[Miguel1983]

7 hours ago, davekelley said:

Thanks for that tip!  You're right, it does.  Wouldn't you think they could do these things better?

 

I guess budgetary reasons are responsible for this

[AdeKing]

10 hours ago, davekelley said:

Thank you for this pic!  I have no notch and no arrow on my extension tube.  I shall be querying this with the suppier. will get back to you all.  Skies were great last night so it's frustrating!

I don't think the early ones had a notch/pit and arrow.  

I have one extension, purchased as an extension only shortly after the release of the extension and AZGti mount, which does not have the notch/pit and arrow.

I also have one extension, delivered with a SolarQuest mount kit that was released about a year or so after the initial AZGti release, which does have the notch/pit.

I know that @Helen posted a comment on here about the top of the extension coming loose when being carried, so I guess that others experienced the same problem and Skywatcher made a simple modification which made the top of the Pier Extension more secure.

Looks like its an easy enough mod to make with a drill, countersink and black marker pen though.

[Helen]

For clarity, my problem was with the bottom of the pillar not the top.  The base of the pillar is not flat, the outer parts are lower than the centre where the attachment hole is situated which is recessed.  This means that when the pillar is mounted on a photo tripod the screw doesn't travel far enough into the hole to make a secure connection.

Helen

[AdeKing]

Thanks for clarifying Helen. I couldn't find your post but remembered you having an issue with the pillar, albeit a different issue altogether 😊

[davekelley]

13 hours ago, AdeKing said:

I don't think the early ones had a notch/pit and arrow.  

I have one extension, purchased as an extension only shortly after the release of the extension and AZGti mount, which does not have the notch/pit and arrow.

I also have one extension, delivered with a SolarQuest mount kit that was released about a year or so after the initial AZGti release, which does have the notch/pit.

I know that @Helen posted a comment on here about the top of the extension coming loose when being carried, so I guess that others experienced the same problem and Skywatcher made a simple modification which made the top of the Pier Extension more secure.

Looks like its an easy enough mod to make with a drill, countersink and black marker pen though.

I didn't get the chance last night to re test as I had a few beers.  I will try again tonight and if that tiny notch I found is not the answer I'll attempt to drill a pit.  If that fails I will request another extension tube and ask the supplier to please check it has this notch and pit before shipping!  Seems like such a simple thing you would think Skywatcher could have done it better!  Considering the capability of this thing, all rendered useless for the sake of a tiny notch and pit!!!

 

Thanks

[davekelley]

I have to say, I thought I detected a tiny "notch" on the extension tube, I thought I lined up one of the screws and tightened everything up correctly, I did a level and north align, then there were no stars tonight very overcast but I started a 2 star alignment with Jupiter which was peeking out from the clouds.....the bloody scope was nowhere near jupiter. Again, it went off looking in the right direction but it was miles off.  I am extremely frustrated with this now.  I assumed this thing would be idiot proof!   Could it be down to my phone being a bit rubbish?  so depressed with this.

[davekelley]

On 03/07/2019 at 03:40, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

I must look for that notch again. Maybe I was expecting something obvious...

If you're not hitting the target, it may be because the manual misses a crucial step. If you haven't already, watch this from 15 minutes in:

 

Yes he makes it all look so straightforward.  I do exactly what he does, and the scope is miles off target!  he isn't out in the field in the dark he's assuming that the scope is finding the target!!  well mine does not come close.

 

 

 

 

 

[Gfamily]

53 minutes ago, davekelley said:

I have to say, I thought I detected a tiny "notch" on the extension tube, I thought I lined up one of the screws and tightened everything up correctly, I did a level and north align, then there were no stars tonight very overcast but I started a 2 star alignment with Jupiter which was peeking out from the clouds.....the bloody scope was nowhere near jupiter. Again, it went off looking in the right direction but it was miles off.  I am extremely frustrated with this now.  I assumed this thing would be idiot proof!   Could it be down to my phone being a bit rubbish?  so depressed with this.

I'm not sure what you mean by "I started a 2-star alignment with Jupiter ... the scope was nowhere near Jupiter". 

If you were aligning with Jupiter, surely your first step is to manually slew it to that planet - or am I missing something? 

[AdeKing]

With this mount, I normally do a three star alignment. 

Starting level and pointing North the mount moves to the first alignment star which will be a long way out, but after aligning on it, the mount gets closer to the second alignment star and after aligning on that it moves to the third alignment star which should be very close.

After aligning on that and completing the procedure most targets are within the field of view. 

The first target will always be way out as the mount only has a crude model of the sky at that point. As you align on more stars the model it has gets more accurate with each alignment star. 

I don't personally use the level and North align option on mine I normally use 1 Star Align for quick sessions, brightest star align or normally the 3 star align which gives most accurate gotos but whichever option I use the scope always assumes that it starting point is level and North when it starts the alignment procedure. 

I'll have a go with mine using North and level next time I use it and see if I get similar results. 

Just a quick question, are the clutches on both of the axes tightened up. The Azimuth one needs to be fairly tight. You shouldn't be able to easily move the scope by gently pushing on either axis. 

Ade

Edited July 5, 2019 by AdeKing