SkyWatcher 200P EQ5 with Synscan

[Vortexical]

Hi all - Returning member after a few years, the virus lockdown in the UK has led me to dig out my scope after years of non usage and my knowledge is rusty!

I have this scope with the Synscan motors fully fitted.  The last time I used it I was having a great deal of trouble with alignment which meant I'd never actually got it working correctly since installing the motors.  I'm confident that the installation was done correctly and it's just understanding the alignment tasks.

Could anybody point me in the direction of an idiot's guide to SynScan alignment using this scope?  And as an aside, am I correct in thinking that the EQ5 doesn't need aligning at all if SynScan does it thing properly?

Edited March 29, 2020 by Vortexical

[Jiggy 67]

What do you mean by alignment??...The EQ5 needs to be polar aligned in order to track objects and it needs to be star aligned for the synscan GoTo to find objects, so yes, it needs to be aligned in both ways

[Vortexical]

It needs both?  I didn’t think the polar alignment was necessary if using star alignment with the SynScan?

What I’m hoping for is to locate an idiots guide to both.

[Anthonyexmouth]

Both are needed, Polar Alignment first, then star alignment. 

quick google search will provide many polar alignment videos. as for star alignment, that will be a case of following the handset instructions once polar alignment is done. 

[adyj1]

They are different things, done for different reasons;

Polar alignment is necessary for an EQ mount to align its RA axis precisely with North so that no Dec movement is required to track a star, only RA movement is needed. (Guiding can help counter poor PA, but is a bit of a distraction in this explanation 😉 ) 

Star alignment is necessary so that your goto computer knows exactly where it is pointing in the sky and, together with accurate time and location information, will allow the it to accurately slew to the star location you ask it to goto. (On an EQ mount bad PA will result in poor got accuracy) . 

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by adyj1
Typo

[PEMS]

Jiggy is correct - it needs both Polar alignment then the Goto aspect needs to be performed.

Never found a good idiots guide. Everything is either too simple or too complex.

You need to get the mount on solid ground and then level it. Set the Latitude scale to 52 for where you are, and aim the leg with "N" on it at Polaris. Then you do fine adjustment through the polar scope. The better the Polar alignment accuracy the better the goto alignment will perform and go. So do it well.

Goto alignment relies on Data. For N Herts you would be around 52N and 0.25W. Timezone is UTC 0.

Date and time is whatever the day you do it the handset asks for that each time on power up. The handset should maintain Location and Timezone. DST is not On. For goto you use the main scope and I believe the home position is the scope aimed at Polaris. Then request the 2 star alignment.

The mount should select the first alignment star. Think it will slew to the star although more correctly "towards the star". Many Synscan ones are not well known. So expect strange ones to appear.

Data is generally the problem, and that is therefore user error. Be careful of the date format and the entered order of Latitude/Longitude.

[Geordie mc]

I’m afraid previous posts are correct. Good polar alignment is vital if you want to have reliable goto and unless you leave the mount in one place you’ll need to do it every time you set up. There is an app called Polar Align that shows you where you need to put Polaris in your polarscope. My setup is computer controlled now but I always did the 3 star alignment through the handset. Use an eyepiece with a wide field of view when you do this such as a 40mm. Even then the star may not appear in view. This is where you need your finder scope to be be reliably lined up with your main scope. You can do this during the day using a distant object. It takes awhile to do all this the first few times but you get better and quicker with practice. 

[RobDoyle]

I am also a little confused about alignment of my eq5 goto. I have the latest etching on my polar scope that looks like a clock. 

I move my axis 90 degrees out of park so I can view through the scope and see the clock the right way up. Is that correct?

Also are the time rings that necessary around the eyepiece if I have a polar alignment app on my phone?

One other thing is I put a dot on a piece of paper and stuck it on my living room wall to simulate polaris but everything is blurred. The etching is in focus but not the target. Is there a minimum range?

Thanks

Rob

[Jiggy 67]

If you have the new polar scope reticle, the one looking like a clock then you need to ensure that the reticle is in an upright position and aligned with the mount, they do not come from the factory like this unfortunately unless you have an EQ6 R Pro. To do this level the mount (a must do) then using alt az adjustment only place Polaris on the centre spot of the reticle. Once centered using alt adjustments only move Polaris to the top of the circle (12 o’clock). Then rotate the mount in RA until the reticle 12 o’clock position is on Polaris. Your polar scope is now correctly aligned with the mount. If you use an app (polar align pro is very good) simply replicate the image on the app in the polar scope, using alt/az adjustments only. With a bit of practice it will take 5 minutes for very accurate polar alignment 

The polar scope has its own focus adjustments 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Jiggy 67

[RobDoyle]

I am also a little confused about alignment of my eq5 goto. I have the latest etching on my polar scope that looks like a clock. 

I move my axis 90 degrees out of park so I can view through the scope and see the clock the right way up. Is that correct?

Also are the time rings that necessary around the eyepiece if I have a polar alignment app on my phone?

One other thing is I put a dot on a piece of paper and stuck it on my living room wall to simulate polaris but everything is blurred. The etching is in focus but not the target. Is there a minimum range?

Thanks

Rob

Edited June 16, 2020 by RobDoyle

[RobDoyle]

Can you please elaborate on upright and aligned with the mount. Apologies for still not understanding correctly 

Edited June 16, 2020 by RobDoyle

[Jiggy 67]

25 minutes ago, RobDoyle said:

Can you please elaborate on upright and aligned with the mount. Apologies for still not understanding correctly 

Apologies, what I meant was that the polar scope doesn’t always come with the “0” (12 o’clock) in the correct position, the above solves that issue. It is also the case that quite often, the polar scope is not centered in the mount and not aligned with the RA axis so when you move in RA the polar scope will be off centre 

[RobDoyle]

When I turn the RA counterweight bar 90 degrees from parked  the etching is at 12 o clock. Maybe slightly out.

Should the recticle be the right way up in the parked position?

I have the clock version.

This is how my recticle looks like in the parked position.

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by RobDoyle

[Jiggy 67]

Unless you’re using a different method than me I don’t understand why you are moving the RA 90 degrees (it’s the dec axis you move to gain access to the polar scope). Is it to get the star diagram at the top? 
I ignore that, there’s no need to use it for polar alignment that I’m aware of, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed it in mine. It’s not a method I use

[RobDoyle]

Sorry yes I am only moving the RA in order to get the clock the right way up. So i dont need to worry about that? . Just match polaris to what polarfinder app says?

This is my first setup and I'm not getting it lol

Edited June 16, 2020 by RobDoyle

[Jiggy 67]

Yes, as long as the polar scope is centered in the mount just replicate what you see in the app in the polar scope, it’s easy once you get your head round it.....it doesn’t really matter where the numbers on reticle are

Edited June 16, 2020 by Jiggy 67

[RobDoyle]

Ahh that's a relief. I thought it needed to be right way up. I understand what you say about centred. 

I tried putting a piece of paper on the wall with a dot but couldn't get it focused in. Not sure whats up. That would test alignment 

[Cosmic Geoff]

I fitted a Synscan upgrade kit to an EQ-5 earlier this year. It's worth noting that the recent software includes a digital method of fine adjusting the polar alignment.  After a two-star align, the software gives values for "Mal" and "Maz" (not mentioned in my user manual) and an opportunity to go back and adjust the altitude and azimuth screws on the mount. You'd need to look up the details online.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Cosmic Geoff

[RobDoyle]

That sounds good. Cheers