EQ5 mount

[macca55]

Hi all, 

Could someone please help, I have an issue re setting my EQ5 mount, the mount is a synscan goto mount, I use this mount with a skywatcher evostar 80ED, scope, all had been well, polar aligned, star aligned, RA and  DEC set, I am not currently guiding, I set my target on the synscan controller for an object, as it was driving towards the object, the scope become closer to the tripod, I believe this called a meridian flip, so I stopped the process before it collided with the tripod, I was unable to drive it back to the home position as it would have hit the leg on the tripod, so I pressed escape on the controller, I returned it back to the home position manually, now when I search an object via the controller, it says the object is below the horizon, when it's not, I have checked objects on my normal app on the phone, the objects are visible, but the controller says they are not, some objects it says are visible, when I select the target it points in a completely different direction, I have set the RA and DEC with dials on the tripod and a spirit level, save the home position, it is still the same,  could someone please offer help, I am really confused. 

Thank you in advance for any  help or advice. 

[Budgie1]

Does it actually go to the home position when you tell it too?

Using the NSEW buttons on the controller, take it away from the home position and then tell the hand controller to put it back to the home position and see where it goes. Maybe best done without the scope on the mount. If it goes to where it was when the collision nearly happened, undo the clutches and manually align it back to the home position and re-do the level checks.

[Jonny_H]

Check to make sure that you have entered the correct details in to the synscan handset - longitude, latitude, altitude, dates etc.... there are apps that accurately give you this info based on your location. I used to use PolarFinder.

I will let others correct me but check the date format also as I believe it is the American format of mm/dd/yyyy.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Jonny_H

[macca55]

Thank you both Budgie1 and Jonny_H, 

The telescope returns to the home position, with the weight bar pointing down, and telescope facing  north (Polaris), when I set an object on the controller,  I slew an object, it slews to the west, it looks like the correct position, but points to the  opposite side, occasionally it says the object is below the horizon, when it is above on my phone app. I press return scope to home position, scope returns to the  home position,  as above. 

I have carried out a factory reset on the synscan controller, entered all the perimeters in again, observing they have been entered correct, longitude, latitude, elevation,  date in correct format, I have set RA and DEC with a spirit level and dials on the tripod,  it still does the same. 

I was wondering if I may have turned the Declination through 180 degree when setting the declination, instead of 90 degrees, would this create the problem I have, if so how can I set it back to what it was. 

 

Thank you, again for your help. 

 

 

[Budgie1]

The only other thing I can think of is the time setting, make sure it's set to 0 UTC and DST is off.

Is it doing this when you try to star align or after the star alignment?

If you've got an Android phone then try downloading SynscanInit 2, this will give you all the input data you need to enter into the hand controller for your location. It's a double check that you've entered everything correctly.

[smashing]

On 09/03/2021 at 19:28, macca55 said:

Hi all, 

Could someone please help, I have an issue re setting my EQ5 mount, the mount is a synscan goto mount, I use this mount with a skywatcher evostar 80ED, scope, all had been well, polar aligned, star aligned, RA and  DEC set, I am not currently guiding, I set my target on the synscan controller for an object, as it was driving towards the object, the scope become closer to the tripod, I believe this called a meridian flip, so I stopped the process before it collided with the tripod, I was unable to drive it back to the home position as it would have hit the leg on the tripod, so I pressed escape on the controller, I returned it back to the home position manually, now when I search an object via the controller, it says the object is below the horizon, when it's not, I have checked objects on my normal app on the phone, the objects are visible, but the controller says they are not, some objects it says are visible, when I select the target it points in a completely different direction, I have set the RA and DEC with dials on the tripod and a spirit level, save the home position, it is still the same,  could someone please offer help, I am really confused. 

Thank you in advance for any  help or advice. 

 

When you say you returned it manually to the home position was that with the hand controller or did you release the clutch and move it? Just a thought 

[macca55]

Hi Budgie1,

Thank you, I have checked the time settings, all is set correctly, it is the same when I try to star align, it does not go to the correct star, I have tried really bright stars, like Vega, Capella, Sirus, but it does not find these either.

I am really confused, as all was working fine until I stopped the scope manually, since resetting the RA and DEC this seems to be were the problem stemmed from, if I had turned the Dec through 180 degrees  instead of 90 degrees, could this have caused the issue, I have since reset it using 90 degree turns and using the setting circles on both RA and DEC, so this should have in theory reset.

 

Thank you 

[macca55]

3 hours ago, smashing said:

 

When you say you returned it manually to the home position was that with the hand controller or did you release the clutch and move it? Just a thought 

I returned it back manually, opening the clutch on both the RR and DEC, it was too close to the tripod leg to return with the remote control, it would have collided with the leg on the tripod. 

I have since rest my remote control back to factory reset, incase it had stored information, I have reset the RA and DEC using a spirit level and the setting circles on the tripod, it still not able to GOTO from the remote control, it will not do it from star alignment either, if the object I am trying to find is in the East, it will point almost in the correct position, except in the West.

Thanks for any help or pointers.

 

[Budgie1]

When doing the star alignment, have you tried moving the scope to the correct location and saving that on the handset?

So, let it go to where it thinks the star is (in the West instead of the East) and then use the hand controller to move it to the correct location. Try this with a two star alignment, send it home, turn it off, then back on and try to star align again to see if that resets the positions.

[macca55]

I haven't tried doing this, I will definitely give it a try, so just clarify, I do all using the remote control, not manually, undoing the clutch and driving manually, I will give it a try, thanks again for your help, much appreciated. 

[Budgie1]

Yes, leave the clutches engaged, start the two star alignment on the hand controller and let the mount move to the first target. Then use the up, down left & right buttons on the hand controller to move the mount so you can see the target in the scope and confirm the position on the hand controller (if it's along way out then you'll have to change the slew rate on the controller, otherwise you'll be there for days! ).

Now choose your second target and let the mount slew to that and do the same thing again to get the second target in the scope and confirm.

Now tell the mount to return to the Home Position and let it go there on it's own.

When you get the beep to say it's home, switch off the power at the control box on the tripod leg.

Now turn the power back on and reset the time (if it's changed) and start a two star alignment again to see if that has solved the issue.

If it's cloudy or raining (like it is up here this evening) there's no reason you can't test it in doors using an app on your phone to show where the stars are and go through the process, as a test. No need to polar align, just point the mount North and pick a couple of obvious stars. As long as the scope is pointing roughly in the right direction it should be good enough to see it this sorts the problem. You can do a more accurate star alignment when it's next clear.

[macca55]

Brilliant  thank you  for  the sound advice, and explanation, I will give this a try, I will let you know how I get on, hopefully this sorts it out, thanks again for your help, much appreciated. 👍

Thank you. 

15 hours ago, smashing said:

 

When you say you returned it manually to the home position was that with the hand controller or did you release the clutch and move it? Just a thought 

I returned it back manually, opening the clutch on both the RR and DEC, it was too close to the tripod leg to return with the remote control, it would have collided with the leg on the tripod. 

I have since rest my remote control back to factory reset, incase it had stored information, I have reset the RA and DEC using a spirit level and the setting circles on the tripod, it still not able to GOTO from the remote control, it will not do it from star alignment either, if the object I am trying to find is in the East, it will point almost in the correct position, except in the West.

Thanks for any help or pointers.

 

[casati]

After you've moved you scope to the Home positiom, you certainly SHOULD switch off your powerbox where the handcontrole is connected to. Then switch on afterwards and do a one-star alignment first. Center sthe star in your eyepiece and acknowledge. Then go to Hibernation -> Home Position. Switch powerbox off and on again. Start alignment as normal.

Best,

Peter

Edited March 12, 2021 by casati

[macca55]

Thanks Peter for your help, this was mentioned in a post earlier, I will give this a try, thanks for your help much appreciated. 

[macca55]

Tried as requested, all sorted, I was able to get back to original settings, I carried out encoder sync on vega, I run it from the remote control, it was close, so I slewed until it was in the centre ,saved it, then carried out a 2 star alignment, then returning to the home position, saved and switched  off .

Thank you for all your help, much appreciated. 

Mike

[macca55]

On 11/03/2021 at 20:31, Budgie1 said:

Yes, leave the clutches engaged, start the two star alignment on the hand controller and let the mount move to the first target. Then use the up, down left & right buttons on the hand controller to move the mount so you can see the target in the scope and confirm the position on the hand controller (if it's along way out then you'll have to change the slew rate on the controller, otherwise you'll be there for days! ).

Now choose your second target and let the mount slew to that and do the same thing again to get the second target in the scope and confirm.

Now tell the mount to return to the Home Position and let it go there on it's own.

When you get the beep to say it's home, switch off the power at the control box on the tripod leg.

Now turn the power back on and reset the time (if it's changed) and start a two star alignment again to see if that has solved the issue.

If it's cloudy or raining (like it is up here this evening) there's no reason you can't test it in doors using an app on your phone to show where the stars are and go through the process, as a test. No need to polar align, just point the mount North and pick a couple of obvious stars. As long as the scope is pointing roughly in the right direction it should be good enough to see it this sorts the problem. You can do a more accurate star alignment when it's next clear.

Tried as requested, all sorted, I was able to get back to original settings, I carried out encoder sync on vega, I run it from the remote control, it was close, so I slewed until it was in the centre ,saved it, then carried out a 2 star alignment, then returning to the home position, saved and switched  off .

Thank you for all your help, much appreciated. 

Mike

[macca55]

On 11/03/2021 at 08:06, smashing said:

 

When you say you returned it manually to the home position was that with the hand controller or did you release the clutch and move it? Just a thought 

Tried as requested, all sorted, I was able to get back to original settings, I carried out encoder sync on vega, I run it from the remote control, it was close, so I slewed until it was in the centre ,saved it, then carried out a 2 star alignment, then returning to the home position, saved and switched  off .

Thank you for all your help, much appreciated. 

Mike

[macca55]

Tried as requested, all sorted, I was able to get back to original settings, I carried out encoder sync on vega, I run it from the remote control, it was close, so I slewed until it was in the centre ,saved it, then carried out a 2 star alignment, then returning to the home position, saved and switched  off .

Thank you for all your help, much appreciated. 

Mike