SkyWatcher 8" Dobsonian GOTO Setup Issues

[Goliath Online]

I just recently purchased the Skywatcher 8" flextube goto dobsonian telescope and synscan wifi adapter. I try to do the north-level alignment and my Alt motor slews up and down fine, but my Azimuth motor sometimes doesn't move at all...I hear that it wants to move when i toggle back and fourth with the synscan app (Like if its stuck), and sometimes it moves fine but the majority of the time it does not move. Another thing is that when I try to do a 1 star alignment with the moon, it slews to the moon both Alt and Az motor just fine. The only problem i'm having is when i want it to slew to a star when the app tells me to (Manually Center Object). Any suggestions as to what could be wrong or if in doing something wrong.  

Edited January 7, 2020 by Goliath Online

[Geoff Lister]

I have the 10" equivalent, but with the Synscan V3 handset. A few years ago, I had problems, with symptoms similar to yours, particularly with getting the azimuth control to work properly at the lower slew rates needed for final alignment. It took me a while to find the problem, a partially disconnected connector, within the azimuth gearbox housing, where a ribbon cable from one of the encoders was plugged into the azimuth control printed circuit board. This fault was not visible until I had unscrewed the board's screws, so that I could see the underside. I pushed the connector fully home, replaced the board and case, and I have not had any problems since.

It is also worth checking (disconnect and re-connect) all of the RJ/8/12/45 connectors between WiFi module/Azimuth Gearbox/Altitude Gearbox. The mount controllers are also intolerant of low supply voltage, so make sure your power supply is a good 12V.

Geoff

[bingevader]

Don't take anything apart until you've checked the warranty though.

If it was bought recently get in touch with the supplier.

[Geoff Lister]

3 hours ago, bingevader said:

Don't take anything apart until you've checked the warranty though.

If it was bought recently get in touch with the supplier

A very good point.

[cletrac1922]

I have the 10" flex without the GoTo

With my ED80 with EQ5pro GoTo mount, I have also recently purchased the WiFi adapter and downloaded the Synscan App

Not sure about you, I have difficulty saving first star when doing two star alignment, and the APP, wants to pick second star of its choosing, not the one I want, as been in the Southern Hemisphere

Is the attached pic, the WiFi adapter you have?

John  

[Owmuchonomy]

I reiterate what Geoff says about power supply. Very commonly the power supply is to blame. Make sure it is capable of providing 12 to 14volts and up to 2 amps continuously.

[Geoff Lister]

11 hours ago, cletrac1922 said:

Not sure about you, I have difficulty saving first star when doing two star alignment, and the APP, wants to pick second star of its choosing, not the one I want

Initially, I had the same problem, with the 2nd star often being behind my house, a fence or a tree. My solution was to spend a couple of hours with "Stellarium" running on my PC. By advancing time, around dusk, the program starts to add the names adjacent to the major stars. I repeated this, for dusk at the middle of the month, for each month, and produced a table, using 14 of the brightest stars. For each month, I highlighted 3,4,or 5 of the stars, with their altitude (the mount has a good altitude scale) and rough direction (N, NW, W etc.), to get a pair of stars separated by about 90 degrees in azimuth and about 30 degrees in altitude. I repeated the process for about 1 hour before dawn. I always have a backup of Polaris (sorry John) when the sky gets darker.

I tend to do my alignment at dusk, so that there is minimum risk of aligning on the wrong star. As soon as you can see the first star (Capella, Vega, Arcturus etc.) for a manual slew, the automatic slew to the second star usually places the star visible in the finder, and often in a 32mm eyepiece. By using "Brightest Star" alignment, the handset often suggests my "chosen" star as first or second option. Once aligned, I can go in for tea and a warm-up, and the tracking will hold the second star near the centre of the eyepiece, whilst I wait for the sky to get properly dark.

Geoff