How to use my new motor driven 150p

[phil18]

Hi all,

Mr Novice here.

I have got a Skywatcher 150p telescope and now fitted a Skywatcher RA motor to the EQ3-2 mount.

As I understand it I how have to line up the  "N" on the tripod/mount to the polaris star?

Do I then manually move the scope to  locate Orions belt, once I have got it in the eyepiece start the RA motor?

Have I got the above right?

 

Edited January 21 by phil18

[malc-c]

If its just the basic motor drive kit and not the Synscan goto then yes.  

Its not a simple case of aligning the N on the tripod with North. You need to polar align the RA axis using the polar scope in the mount.  Once aligned, release the clutches and move the scope to the target then lock the clutches and engage the drive.  If your alignment is good then the object should stay within the field of view for visual observation.

[bosun21]

Ensure that you have set your latitude to your location with the latitude bolts on the mount otherwise you won’t be able to align on Polaris correctly. 

[phil18]

3 hours ago, malc-c said:

If its just the basic motor drive kit and not the Synscan goto then yes.  

Its not a simple case of aligning the N on the tripod with North. You need to polar align the RA axis using the polar scope in the mount.  Once aligned, release the clutches and move the scope to the target then lock the clutches and engage the drive.  If your alignment is good then the object should stay within the field of view for visual observation.

Many Thanks

Just need clear skies to give it ago

Edited January 21 by phil18

[phil18]

3 hours ago, bosun21 said:

Ensure that you have set your latitude to your location with the latitude bolts on the mount otherwise you won’t be able to align on Polaris correctly. 

Yes, I found out it is 54.4-  but the dial on the mount runs in two's so it's not very accurate?

 

[bosun21]

3 hours ago, phil18 said:

Yes, I found out it is 54.4-  but the dial on the mount runs in two's so it's not very accurate?

 

When you can view Polaris in the centre of your polar scope then you are spot on. This is close enough for visual astronomy.

[phil18]

7 hours ago, bosun21 said:

When you can view Polaris in the centre of your polar scope then you are spot on. This is close enough for visual astronomy.

Thanks,

What about astrophotography?

[doublevodka]

13 hours ago, phil18 said:

Yes, I found out it is 54.4-  but the dial on the mount runs in two's so it's not very accurate?

 

Try this guide from Astrobaby, it should help - https://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/simple-polar-alignment/

[Cosmic Geoff]

2 hours ago, phil18 said:

What about astrophotography?

Serious astrophotography will need a more accurate polar alignment, together with tracking and autoguiding.  But try with your kit and see what you can achieve.

[malc-c]

2 hours ago, phil18 said:

Thanks,

What about astrophotography?

My gut response was learn to walk before running :-)

You would need the synscan goto option as a minimum.  The motors in the synscan upgrade are more precise and the system permits connection to PC based software to handle target selection, tracking and camera control.  Thats not to say that you couldn't connect or place a camera (even your phone's camera) at the eyepiece and take single shots of the moon with your current RA drive

[phil18]

41 minutes ago, malc-c said:

My gut response was learn to walk before running 🙂

You would need the synscan goto option as a minimum.  The motors in the synscan upgrade are more precise and the system permits connection to PC based software to handle target selection, tracking and camera control.  Thats not to say that you couldn't connect or place a camera (even your phone's camera) at the eyepiece and take single shots of the moon with your current RA drive

I currently use the DSLR attached to the 150p to photograph the moon plus Jupiter and her moons.

The issue I found is I need more exposure time to 2 minutes for more detail for the M42 .

I plan to use my camera and 200mm prime lens on the motorised  mount to shoot everything that is in close proximity, like M42 etc with 2 minute exposures.

 

[malc-c]

IMO to be able to do 2min exposures unguided requires either precise polar alignment, or a higher precision mount.  I have an observatory based set up with an HEQ5 that is polar aligned to less than 10 arc seconds, but would still guide on anything over 60 seconds exposure.  Now the field of view on your lens may be wider than having the body attached directly to the 150P, so exposures could well be shorter, or any errors in alignment or tracking would not be that noticeable.   I guess it all depends on the seeing conditions, the darkness of the site, how tuned the gearing on the mount is and how well your PA is...  That's the fun of this hobby, a lot of times you just have to try things out to see it they work.