Help with HEQ5 Pro setup

[Dadek]

Hi people!

I got a HEQ5 PRO mount and I plan do to DSO astrophotography. Also, I got one eyepiece just for watching the planets.
For taking AP pictures the mount will be fully guided by PHD2 and a guide camera. As for viewing the planets I would just use the syncscan.

What is confusing me are these "circle dials" on the mount. So I have 2 questions:
1. For astrophotography: since the mount will be guided with PHD2 do I have to touch and use those dials at all?
2. For super simple viewing: I would use syncscan so I would need to adjust those dials everytime I want to watch planets?

Sorry for newbie questions, I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the possibilities
 

[bingevader]

Don't worry about the dials.

As you have said, when guided, you won't need them.

For simple viewing, where you can locate something in your finderscope, you won't need them either.

[Tomatobro]

Don't apologise for asking newbie questions.

Polar scope dial? Use a polar alignment APP instead its much simpler

Don't bother with the Dec and RA circles although if calibrated they are useful for putting the scope into an accurate park position. You don't mention in your list of equipment but a Telrad finder will help a lot in the positioning of the scope.

 

[rob_r]

Not to worry about the dials for either question. I have the SW EQ5 with the SynScan GOTO and I just set them to zero and locked them. I use the `Polar Scope Align` app to help with alignment. Ultimately, I'll be looking for guide cam/scope and using PHD2 later in the year too.

Edited April 17, 2020 by rob_r

[prusling]

Hi, you have a great mount for astrophotography!

The only use of the 'circle dials' you need is to help you set your Home position to start from (usually scope pointing North with weights down). To do this you first take the scope and weights off and with the RA clutch loosened point the mount roughly horizontally, place a spirit level on the extended counterweight bar, rotate in RA until level and lock the clutch. You also use the spirit level across the saddle in a similar way until Dec is also level. You can then set the dials to any known positions (e.g. multiple of 90 degrees) and turn the RA and Dec as close to 90 degrees as you can get until the scope would be pointing North with the weights down. You can now use a Sharpie to mark a thin line across both planes so that you can more quickly reposition them in future.

The next task is to polar align so the mount (and scope) is pointing exactly to the celestial north. As you will be guiding I recommend using SharpCap in conjunction with the guide camera. There is a function for polar alignment (I think it is only on the paid version but its excellent value anyway) which takes images of what it can see through the guidescope, matches them to a database of star positions (plate solves) and tells you how to adjust the altitude and azimuth bolts on  the mount itself until it can tell that the star positions are those that match celestial north. As you will be guiding this doesn't have to be absolutely perfect but the closer the better.

You also will have needed to balance the scope and weights so there is only a little stress on the motors.

For using PHD2 you'll need EQMOD (free) to control the mount along with a suitable USB adaptor cable.

This may all sound a bit daunting, and I held off guiding for a long time before taking the plunge, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.

Happy imaging!

[Dadek]

Hi again guys, thanks a lot for the answers!!!

My issue is that from my viewpoint I cannot see polaris so I thought that before viewing I will have to use the dials to "allign" at least somewhat.
Mr. Prusling, do I really need the serial to usb and EQMOD? I thought that the usb from the guide camera to the laptop should be enough? And thank you for the great and detailed info about balancing!

[prusling]

Hi again,

There is an alternative means of polar alignment if you cannot see Polaris - drift aligning - which is supported in EQMOD and other imaging software such as APT (also recommended and great value). In this method instead of the celestial north pole you point to a star on the celestial equator (0 Dec) first to the South and then to the West and create a trace in one direction then the other - if PA is out this will show as a "V" shape and adjustments can be made until the angle of the "V" disappears.  There is a good article on this at https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/articles/darv-drift-alignment-by-robert-vice-r2760

The guiding software needs to control the mount to make small adjustments to keep the guide star in position and there are two main ways - 'pulse guiding' connects from the computer running the guiding software (e.g. PHD2) directly to the mount's serial port, whereas ST4 guiding uses a cable from a guide port on the camera to a guide port on the mount and the software sends its corrections via the camera to the mount.  Whilst the latter sounds neater I believe that the level of control achieved may not be as precise as that from pulse guiding. There is a possible third method where the computer connects to the hand control instead of connecting directly to the mount but this can be problematic.

Hope this helps

[prusling]

Correction - it's PHD not EQMOD that supports drift alignment

[Dadek]

Thanks again for a great and detailed answer!
I have checked the syncscan remote and it doesn't have the serial but USB-B port and in the manual it says it should go directly to a usb port in the PC.
Looks like there will be some testing going on! 

[Martin AB Cohen]

Hi there.  If it helps you, I have created a tutorial on my YouTube channel on how to set up an HEQ5.  Here's the link .....