EQ6R-pro mount does not keep polar alignment between sessions

[AstroRookie]

Hello,

I have my EQ6R-pro mount adapted to a concrete pier using this universal adapter. For me one of the purposes of mounting it on a pier was to avoid having to polar align before each session. But alas, when I check the polar alignment at the start of the session using the attached Polemaster, the polestar is always below the little circle where it is supposed to be in. So basically the mount is lowered in altitude, and I have to polar align each time.

The pier has a foundation of a concrete block of 60cmx60cmx60cm and the pier is 70cm above ground level.

Anyone any idea why the mount does not hold it's polar alignment?

Thanks for your help!

AstroRookie

[michael8554]

What PA figure does PoleMaster report after you've aligned, and the next time when you start up ?

Michael

[fifeskies]

How recently did you install your pier.   

It can take a few months for a new foundation to settle fully, however I would expect any day to day change to be very small.

[StevieDvd]

Is it the pier or the mount?

Once polar aligned place a strip of masking tape across the back of the mount where the alt axis is. Across the gap, so if this moves the tape will distort a little. Or you could just re-check your PA before you pack up.

You may have some movement during use that you don't notice.

 

[sinbad40]

I had a similar thing early this year after putting a pier in.  I took off the mount and rechecked the top of the pier, and it had moved a little due to the bass still settling.  after about a month, it had settled, and seemed fine after that.  When i put the new mount on, i checked everything again to make sure it was still as should be after all the rain we have had.

 

[Albir phil]

Hi I to have a permanent mount and use pole master I did get some misalignment,I rectified this by making a L bracket with 2 horizontal slot's which I attached to the mount base and to the pier the slot's let me align if I need to but since doing this almost 1year ago I have never had to realign. Hope this helps you it works for me 😃

[AstroRookie]

10 hours ago, michael8554 said:

What PA figure does PoleMaster report after you've aligned, and the next time when you start up ?

Michael

Hi Michael,

I'll have to pay attention to that; but with the weather we're getting in our "windy sh.thole by the Northsea" it might take some time, but thanks for the hint.

AstroRookie

[AstroRookie]

9 hours ago, fifeskies said:

How recently did you install your pier.   

It can take a few months for a new foundation to settle fully, however I would expect any day to day change to be very small.

Hi,

it has been installed end 2021, so I would hope the foundation has settled by now. The ground is clay however and I know clay has the tendency to contract when dry and expand when wet, but I don't think this is causing it.

AstroRookie

[AstroRookie]

7 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

Is it the pier or the mount?

Once polar aligned place a strip of masking tape across the back of the mount where the alt axis is. Across the gap, so if this moves the tape will distort a little. Or you could just re-check your PA before you pack up.

You may have some movement during use that you don't notice.

 

That was also my next move, to check at the end of my session ... but I admit I'm mostly too tired to ... next time, I promise

AstroRookie

[AstroRookie]

2 hours ago, Albir phil said:

Hi I to have a permanent mount and use pole master I did get some misalignment,I rectified this by making a L bracket with 2 horizontal slot's which I attached to the mount base and to the pier the slot's let me align if I need to but since doing this almost 1year ago I have never had to realign. Hope this helps you it works for me 😃

Hi Phil,

I'm sorry but I can't visualize what you're describing, would you mind posting a picture, thanks!

AstroRookie

[Albir phil]

4 hours ago, AstroRookie said:

Hi Phil,

I'm sorry but I can't visualize what you're describing, would you mind posting a picture, thanks!

AstroRookie

Hi I will sort some pic out for you in a few days meanwhile can you post some pictures of your mount and pier maybe then I could draw some brackets for you to look at . It's difficult to draw  unless I can see how best to fit brackets 🤔

[AstroRookie]

On 14/08/2023 at 00:39, Albir phil said:

Hi I will sort some pic out for you in a few days meanwhile can you post some pictures of your mount and pier maybe then I could draw some brackets for you to look at . It's difficult to draw  unless I can see how best to fit brackets 🤔

Hi Phil,

sorry for the late reply, I've been busy with too many other things. As for my "observatory", here's a post form when it was finished - don't worry, my cable management has improved in the meantime 😉

 

[michael8554]

Your setup does looks  sturdy.

However western Europe has experienced extremes of weather recently.

So perhaps your pier is actually shifting.

But how many arcsecs is it shifting, according to Polemaster ?

You can get good guiding with a PA error of 5arcmins, so I hope you're not saying it's varying by arcsecs 😆

Michael