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When should I start using the motor drive?


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I've got a Sky-Watcher 130M which comes with the motor drive do allow for constant adjustment across the R.A. plane as objects move. I'm also a complete newbie to stargazing (tonight and last night were my first two experiences, looking at Venus and the moon, and my collimation still probably sucks!). Right now I'm manually adjusting the R.A. axis when I've focused on something to keep my eye on it. The question is: when should I start using the motor drive in my stargazing? Do you think with my newness to it all it should come in much later and I should first get used to using it manually, or do you think it should be a used from early on.

Apologies for all the questions - am trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can!

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I would start to use it sooner rather than later. You just need a basic polar alignment; point north and set your correct latitude, nothing overly accurate needed. The motor will help keep objects centred at high powers and allow you to observe them better.

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I think u did another post b4 where u put u had 130m. I just wanted to with only 1 m that means meters. So should be 130mm just so u know

It wouldn't be wrong to learn how the sky moves and  learn manual, most people don't get a drive for couple / few months later.  But since u have it y not try it.

May look at venus with 150x to 200x see how kinda fast it moves at 200x?

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1 hour ago, joe aguiar said:

I think u did another post b4 where u put u had 130m. I just wanted to with only 1 m that means meters. So should be 130mm just so u know

Apologies then. I thought it was the Sky-Watcher 130M as advertised on multiple sites that I own. If I was referring to the primary mirror diameter I'd have used lower case.

skywatcher.jpg.c5e177ba0353aceca19222b56fcd6140.jpg

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not sure if its the same as on mine, but you might have to set the switch to S(outh) rather than N(orth) to get it to track in the right direction. Will depend I guess on where the motor is fitted but being EQ2 and from that pic, looks the same as my SW130EQ2 setup. For sure it makes for more relaxed time viewing as you're not having to tweak the adjusters and maybe finding you induce wobble in the long OTA.

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3 hours ago, joe aguiar said:

Ohh then my bad on me thought he was saying size of scope

I noticed models there have different model numbers where it's not here in north America so your right then

It's best not to try and answer if you are unsure of the basics yourself. It could confuse people.

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21 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

It's best not to try and answer if you are unsure of the basics yourself. It could confuse people.

I understand the basics very well I been in hobby since 1993 have like 14 telescopes but probably owned more than 70 to 80 different telescope worked at a telescope store part time for 6 to 7yrs and have a YouTube channel on astro stuff

As I said in north America we used different terms. Thata all

Here we use say as an example skywatcher 6inch dob thsts it theres no other code there I see it's a skywatcher 6inch pdf or other terms.

U guys say torch we say flashlight 

So those code is only thing that throws us off over here.

Norm people ask iz a 130mm a good scope so I thought that's what hes asking and just tell him

Here its 130mm power seaker or Polaris etx like that we dont use code 130 or pdf etc

Joejaguar 

Edited by joe aguiar
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8 minutes ago, joe aguiar said:

I understand the basics very well I been in hobby since 1993 have like 14 telescopes but probably owned more than 70 to 80 different telescope worked at a telescope store part time for 6 to 7yrs and have a YouTube channel on astro stuff

As I said in north America we used different terms. Thata all

Here we use say as an example skywatcher 6inch dob thsts it theres no other code there I see it's a skywatcher 6inch pdf or other terms.

U guys say torch we say flashlight 

So those code is only thing that throws us off over here.

Norm people ask iz a 130mm a good scope so I thought that's what hes asking and just tell him

Here its 130mm power seaker or Polaris etx like that we dont use code 130 or pdf etc

Joejaguar 

It would also help if you did not use text speak.

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5 minutes ago, Ibbo! said:

It would also help if you did not use text speak.

I cant use talk to text on this site never have able to not sure if its somthing site doesnt offer or my phone is too basic.

Phone are phones for me and I only get the free models that come with my plan or maybe cause I'm on the other side of the globe but talk to text not available 

joejaguar 

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1 minute ago, joe aguiar said:

I cant use talk to text on this site never have able to not sure if its somthing site doesnt offer or my phone is too basic.

Phone are phones for me and I only get the free models that come with my plan or maybe cause I'm on the other side of the globe but talk to text not available 

joejaguar 

Ibbo! actually meant use real words (you, are, why, before etc) instead of text abbreviations (u, r, y b4, ur)

 

18 hours ago, joe aguiar said:

I think u did another post b4 where u put u had 130m. I just wanted to with only 1 m that means meters. So should be 130mm just so u know

No-one else thought he meant 130 metres. 

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42 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Ibbo! actually meant use real words (you, are, why, before etc) instead of text abbreviations (u, r, y b4, ur)

 

No-one else thought he meant 130 metres. 

I knew it wasn't but I thought he didnt know he needed another m

Not sure why it's hard to understand most users are from UK and euro area so that could be y not many thought as I did since most users on this site is from your country so you guys are probally used to seeing the term or code used and as I said we don't use code term we use a name to describe the model name here 

yes I always use y b4 u instead of the full word I don't think iam changing but your free to text how you like tho

Joejaguar 

Edited by joe aguiar
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Damn that all escalated hilariously. I'll just watch the fallout from afar with my "Sky-Watcher 130M" model, 1300 millimetre/mm/millimeter diameter scope 😀. My 130 metre scope I leave for really clear nights!!!

Edited by soldave
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5 hours ago, joe aguiar said:

 

yes I always use y b4 u instead of the full word I don't think iam changing but your free to text how you like tho

Joejaguar 

I think the point was, communicating in text speak is fine if you are texting your mates about going for a pint at the pub. On a forum when giving technical advice/explaining how things work it is probably best to use the actual words. This way everyone can understand what is being said.

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44 minutes ago, soldave said:

Damn that all escalated hilariously. I'll just watch the fallout from afar with my "Sky-Watcher 130M" model, 1300 millimetre/mm/millimeter diameter scope 😀. My 130 metre scope I le,ave for really clear nights!!!

Funny. These things can go crazy b4 u know it 😉🤣

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On 27/02/2020 at 20:17, soldave said:

The question is: when should I start using the motor drive in my stargazing? Do you think with my newness to it all it should come in much later and I should first get used to using it manually, or do you think it should be a used from early on.

The motor on the 130M is simple to use. Once you've found the target, you just have to lower the lever to engage the clutch & then remember to raise it again before moving on to the next one. As @Stu says, it will help keep objects in view for longer & you just need to get the mount roughly polar aligned. (I used to aim to get Polaris in the centre of view for that).

With the motor, objects will still drift out of the field of view - but it is definitely worth using it. Also you may find that you have to double check that the cogs actually engage. (I found that the spring mechanism didn't work too well after about a year of use).

Rechargeable batteries used to last for about two hours viewing, but the manual's advice to push all four buttons at once was wrong!

Cheers
Ivor

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