Help with HEQ5 Pro

[Peart]

Hi all,

I just purchased a HEQ5 pro mount and after using it it wont seem to move all way on RA but when i put clamps on it does. are you meant to put axis clamps on when in use i dont want to do it as im feared it might burn the motor out. 

Thanks

[Cornelius Varley]

The clamps (clutches) should be in the locked position so that the mount won't move if you try to move it by hand. 

[Peart]

Ok thanks for letting me know so do the motor unlock the clutches

 

[Tomatobro]

With the clutches undone the scope is free to rotate on the shafts so it will not goto or track. The motors turn the shafts that the scope rides on.

When the clamps (clutches) are locked the motors can move the scope because its locked onto the shaft.. When locked you cannot manually move the scope.

You would unlock the clutches when (say) you wanted to check that the scope was balanced properly

The motors are always connected to the shafts.

Edited March 24, 2020 by Tomatobro
more info

[Peart]

cool thanks for the clarifications.

[Peart]

Another questions sorry how do i change the home park position.

[Tomatobro]

Put the scope on and the counterweights, undo each clutch in turn. adjust the scope position and the counterweights till you get balance in both axis.

Lock the clutches and power the mount. Go through the handset questions and when done go to the "Park the mount" and park it. It may or may not move the scope axis. When its parked, undo the clutches and rotate the counterweight shaft till it points down (eyeball with the tripod legs to get the middle) and lock that clutch. Now rotate the scope so its points straight up and lock that clutch. Its now in the parked position.

You can be more precise if you have a spirit level where you can rotate the counterweight shaft and get it level and set the setting circle to 90 degrees and then (with the clutch unlocked) turn it so its at zero degrees. Do the same with with the scope. These steps can be done once you are more familiar with the mount, so for starters just eyeball.

To test, move the mount using the handset in both axis then goto park and park it. It should go back to counterweight bar down and scope up

Edited March 24, 2020 by Tomatobro
clarification

[Neil H]

Hi mate download the free app for synscan it will give you the info to put in the handset 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.RapidoDroid.synscaninit2

Edited March 24, 2020 by Neil H

[Guest]

I'm still getting used to my HEQ5 PRO but a few things I found-

When you lock the axes the motor is connected to the axes so you shouldn't be able to move it by hand - except that you can. I find it's easy to accidentally move the mount even when the locks are on. I assume this is because it has a clutch and the clutch can slip. My scope is a newtonian so one way this can happen is if you have to rotate the OTA to get the eyepiece in the right position.  But you can easily move it by accident simply by bumping it slightly. Once you've moved the mount in this way the scope has lost its position so you might have to align it again. It shouldn't affect the polar alignment.

Another thing is that the park position is a different thing to the home position. I've never used the park position but I'm sure someone else can tell you about that. The home position is with the counter weight at it's lowest and the scope is pointing at the north pole. I think it's worth marking up the scope with the home position so you can put the scope in the home position accurately. There are videos available to show you how to do that.

The mount measures the position of the axes by counting the pulses which go to the stepper motor.  The consequence of this is that if you ever move the scope manually without using the handset the mount has lost its position.

One last thing I found is that the RA and DEC circles appear to be completely useless. Especially the RA. Maybe it's just my mount. 

Cheers

Steve