Help with my new HEQ5 Pro mount/synscan

[star-gal]

I have so many questions! But have wittled the most important down to these at the moment!

1. My HEQ5 pro mount: (Why are the instructions so bad?) I havent attempted to use the synscan yet, but should probably give the set up a go. I have managed to find a mains power adapter, as it doesnt come with one. Do I need to have it plugged in all the time, or does it have an inbuilt battery? There is a random paragraph in the manual, about not letting the battery run too low as this may damage the handset.....but there is no mention of what/where this mystery battery is!

2. I have downloaded Stellarium, and have input my town for the sky view. Can I use the latitude and longitude that it shows there for entry to the handset?

3. What are the easiest 3 stars to use for the allignment stage?

4. Will my only eyepiece, a 28mm, be precise enough to pick out said stars.

4. Would it not just be easier for one of you who has this mount to pop round here and set it up for me??

Yours, in preparation for a clear starry night.........

[moocher]

Where are you?

Alan:)

[star-gal]

Where are you?

Alan:)

Without giving out exact longitude and latitude online , lets just say my nearest big city is Exeter, but I don't live in Exeter!

[Capricorn]

Think that batteries are in the handset itself. But if using a power supply then I cannot see why you would want them. Except that the handset could lose data if they are not there and the power is removed.

The Lat+Long should be fine.

3 stars for alignment: Guess Polaris as a first since it is easy and sets North up, alternatively Vega if it is high enough. Then for the East try: Pollox, Castor, Capella or Procyon. West try: Daneb (NW actually), Algol, Alpheratz. South: Betelgeuse or Rigel in Orion.

All these are approximate as they "rotate" over the sky.

To set it up you need Astro-baby. But she is in Surrey/Redhill and you are in the South West as I recall.

Said earlier to practise during the day and/or indoors.

[moocher]

[removed word] i`m in the Midlands....

Ok ref power supply you need a "bench" power supply to run the mount. I`ve got a 7 amp. You need atleast 2 amps for the HEQ5. Maplins sell these for about 20 quid.

Alignment stars. Are you just doing visual? First off all you need to poalr align it. This doesn`t have to be perfect for visual use.

Level the mount. Remove the cap covering the polar scope. Point it roughly at Polaris. Look through the polar scope at the images of Ursa Major and Cassipoea. Turn the RA axis until what you see in the sky matches with the polar scope. At this time of year Ursa Major is climbing vertically. Adjust the mount until Polaris fits in the small circle via the lat and azimuth bolts.

Set date and time in the handset. Do a one star alignmet using a bright well known star (Capella is a good choice at this time of year). Center it as best as you can using your most powerful eyepiece. Synch on the star. That should get ya going for now...HTH

Alan:)

[arad85]

1. My HEQ5 pro mount: (Why are the instructions so bad?) I havent attempted to use the synscan yet, but should probably give the set up a go. I have managed to find a mains power adapter, as it doesnt come with one. Do I need to have it plugged in all the time, or does it have an inbuilt battery? There is a random paragraph in the manual, about not letting the battery run too low as this may damage the handset.....but there is no mention of what/where this mystery battery is!

The mount doesn't have any internal battery. They assume you will use the mount with some form of "power tank" and you should have a shortish lead with a male socket for a cigarette lighter on one end and a small plug on the other. Most power tanks have a 12V cigarette lighter output.

The thing about low voltage is that it appears to be possible to break the handset if you supply low voltage to the unit. I'm in the process of building a large 12V leisure battery system for my EQ6

2. I have downloaded Stellarium, and have input my town for the sky view. Can I use the latitude and longitude that it shows there for entry to the handset?

Yes - just make sure you put it in the right way around or the handset will think you are somewhere in South America (0N, 51W...).

3. What are the easiest 3 stars to use for the allignment stage?

Ones you can see and that you know the name of They should be spread out in the sky too to give better pointing accuracy.

4. Will my only eyepiece, a 28mm, be precise enough to pick out said stars.

You will be able to see them - yes.

4. Would it not just be easier for one of you who has this mount to pop round here and set it up for me??

Why would we do that - figuring all this out is 50% of the fun

[arad85]

Ok ref power supply you need a "bench" power supply to run the mount. I`ve got a 7 amp. You need atleast 2 amps for the HEQ5. Maplins sell these for about 20 quid.

You need to be careful here - you will be running this in cold and wet conditions outside - you need to take appropriate wet weather precautions if you're going to run it off mains... hence why most people not in a permanent observatory setup use a power tank...

[Cornelius Varley]

I have so many questions! But have wittled the most important down to these at the moment!

1. My HEQ5 pro mount: (Why are the instructions so bad?) I havent attempted to use the synscan yet, but should probably give the set up a go. I have managed to find a mains power adapter, as it doesnt come with one. Do I need to have it plugged in all the time, or does it have an inbuilt battery? There is a random paragraph in the manual, about not letting the battery run too low as this may damage the handset.....but there is no mention of what/where this mystery battery is!

2. I have downloaded Stellarium, and have input my town for the sky view. Can I use the latitude and longitude that it shows there for entry to the handset?

3. What are the easiest 3 stars to use for the allignment stage?

4. Will my only eyepiece, a 28mm, be precise enough to pick out said stars.

4. Would it not just be easier for one of you who has this mount to pop round here and set it up for me??

Yours, in preparation for a clear starry night.........

1. The instructions aren't that bad - just read them a few times.

Rember that the mains adaptor needs to have a regulated output of 2A minimum.

The PSU needs to be running all the time the mount is being used there is no built in battery. This means that when you switch off the mount some input data is lost ( date and time ). These need to be inputted again when you next switch on.

2 The co-ordinates from stellarium should be close enough. You can also enter your postcode into MULTIMAP and get a more precise location.

3. You can select the three stars that you can easilest identify in stellarium.

4. The eyepiece should have a higher magnification to allow for a more accurate mount alignment. You need to centre the alignment star in the eyepiece, so the higher the magnification the better the accuracy.

Peter

[Astro_Baby]

1/ Power - you need to supply the mount with at least 2amps. MOst small 'wall wart' supplied cant cope. Get a decent battery set-up. Maplins do a 17aH power tank for about £20.

Whatever you do DONT use some mickey mouse PSU with interchangeable polarity and voltages over 12v. The Synscan handset can be blow up by wrong polarity and so can the motor board. Both are expensive mistakes to make.

For outside use you also need a fairly solid cable for the power to the mount. MOst thin cables will start to play up under cold conditions.

2/ Lat/Lon - you can use a Sat Nav to get your Lat/Lon or Google Earth. I think even Street Map has it these days.

3/ Alignment stars. Dont use Polaris - its a bad choice for alignment with Synscan.

What I do is set the mount to pick its own alignment stars. It always picks bright ones. When it slews to where it thinks the firts bright star is it will be out by miles but it will be obvious which one its going for because it will be the brightest in that bit of the sky. If your views obstructed - ooo-err - you will need to be able to pick a star for each alignment stage.

4/ The manual that comes with it does suck super bad - before you can get the GoTo working you will need to carry out polar alignment. Without a polar alignment it wont be able to align.

For a simple guide to polar alignment take a look here Simple Polar Alignment for Beginners

For morre accurate polar alignment go here Astro Babys HEQ5 Polar Alignment (I'd advise you skip the 'Aligning the Reticule' section )

5/ The eyepiece. Okey-dokey. Its a bit wide angle. Heres a tip. Make sure your finder scope is well aligned to the main scope and use the finderscopes cross hairs for alignment stars. Voila EP issues solved. its what I do and it works a treat.

These mounts can be quite complex - if I were local I would be happy to help out but I am a bit far away.

Dont get frustrated with it all - this is a fairly complex bit of kit. When you have mastered it it will seem very simple and you will love it. Trust me on that

Mel

ps do a 2 star align to start with. 3 star often fails without super accurate alignment.

[star-gal]

Great advice, thankyou to everyone that has taken the time to respond.

As I have to get the power right, lets start there! I'm stuggling to get my head round the power supplies. What is a 'bench power supply' and a 'power tank'? Is the former running from the mains and the latter is a precharged battery?

I've looked at Maplins website and I am not sure what i am supposed to be looking for! Could we do a 'power for dummies' and give me link to the maplins website that has the battery that I would need please? I think I would feel better being outside with a battery, rather than running from mains.

[ncjunk]

Power tank is just a glorified name for a battery used in emergencies to start your car or someone elses...ie.e

Portable Jump Starter and Air Compressor : Tools & Appliances : Maplin

Heavy-Duty 5-in-1 Jump Starter : In-Car Battery Chargers and Compressors : Maplin

just a recfhargable battery

[ncjunk]

Power tank is just a glorified name for a battery used in emergencies to start your car or someone elses...ie.e

Portable Jump Starter and Air Compressor : Tools & Appliances : Maplin

Heavy-Duty 5-in-1 Jump Starter : In-Car Battery Chargers and Compressors : Maplin

just a rechargable battery

[steppenwolf]

This one from Maplins is a popular choice

[ncjunk]

...to work out how long it will last in the case of the 17ah model you would divide 17 by the current usage.

So if your mount uses 2amps then 17/2 = 8.5 hours.

As the battery is used the voltage does drop and also it is not advisable to discharge fully as it reduces the life of the battery. the cheaper one will not survive a lot of abuse as it won´t be heavy duty but should be fine to get you started.

[star-gal]

Ah!! I run a taxi company, so I have lots of those already! I didnt realise that's what you meant. The only thing we ever use them for is jumpstarts and pumping up tyres. I never thought of them as a power supply. So, I can charge that up and then use it to power the mount by using the cig lighter connection that it came with?

[steppenwolf]

So, I can charge that up and then use it to power the mount by using the cig lighter connection that it came with?

Yup, that's it!

[star-gal]

Yup, that's it!

Ok, I've had the scope for a week, and now I have just learned how to plug it in!

By the time I actually figure out how to point it at anything, a few billion stars will have burnt out me thinks

One small step for Star-gal kind........

Just to check, the power pack I have here is a ''Ring Powering 110'' It says 20Ah battery. It has lights on the front with a 'red, amber, green' idea to tell me when its running low, so that should all be ok. Its 20Ah ok??

Astro Baby.....you're guides are amazing! I am waiting on a clear night and will give the set up a go.

Please be on stand by

[SteveP]

S-G

You're making progress now. Good news!

Your 20 Ah battery will be fine and should last for say 8 hours powering your mount before it needs charging. My advice is to keep it charged up between using it. Any 12v battery will suffice so long as it is charged up. I've used the small 12v motorbike gel batteries in the past but they don't last very long between chrges. All batteries are intrinsically safer than a bench supply which are not recommended for outside use (the clue is in their name) without ensuring that moisture cannot get in contact with the internal transformer. 240v electricity and water can be a lethal combination

Steve

[star-gal]

S-G

You're making progress now. Good news!

Your 20 Ah battery will be fine and should last for say 8 hours powering your mount before it needs charging. My advice is to keep it charged up between using it. Any 12v battery will suffice so long as it is charged up. I've used the small 12v motorbike gel batteries in the past but they don't last very long between chrges. All batteries are intrinsically safer than a bench supply which are not recommended for outside use (the clue is in their name) without ensuring that moisture cannot get in contact with the internal transformer. 240v electricity and water can be a lethal combination

Steve

Thanks Steve. Apart from the 'mains power' dangers, I have to take my scope away from the house to the bottom of the garden, where its darker and I will get a better all round view, so a battery is logistically easier for me. The only thing thats on my mind now is from memory, how noisy the power pack is when you turn it on! Not sure the neighbours will be too pleased!

[brianb]

The only thing thats on my mind now is from memory, how noisy the power pack is when you turn it on!

Mine is silent .... except it has a tyre pump (which you don't need to turn on for astronomy!) which makes something of a racket.

In fact you don't "turn on" the jump starter at all, just shove the power cord into the accessory (cigar lighter) socket, connect the other end and the handset to the scope & hit the switch on the scope. At this point the handset should come to life.

[arad85]

The only thing thats on my mind now is from memory, how noisy the power pack is when you turn it on! Not sure the neighbours will be too pleased!

You don't need to run the compressor for the mount to work

[star-gal]

brianb and arad85......thank you. I am such a woman, sorry. The only time I have used the power pack is to pump up a tyre, hence the noise then!

Good grief, if I am making such a palava out of getting it turned on.......please tell me its not just me who is this much of a muppet

Giggling at the thought of me out in the garden at midnight with the tyre inflator rumbling away and wondering why the neighbours are throwing shoes at me and the battery is draining so quickly.......

[Glider]

Welcome to star gazing.

With regard to your mount, try it inside first, it's raining outside anyway!!!!

You don't want to realise that;

...You need to enter the date on the handset in mm/dd/yyyy format.

...The time is 24hr format, we aren't on daylight saving at the moment.

...You need to enter your lat and longitude(in the right order).

...Polar alignment, where's the polar scope?

...There are caps at both ends of it.

...You have to drop the counter weight bar and turn the mount head 45 degree to see through the polar scope.

...How do you get the ploar scope LED to light up so you can see the reticule.

for the very first time, in the dark at the bottom of the garden. All best done in the warm, dry, you don't have to fit the OTA or weights even.

You can get your coordinates off something like Streetmap, enter your address and then click the link that says convert coordinates, or words to that effect.

Practise these things in the light and then they only take 5 minutes on the night.

This is my experience anyway.

Then on your first real night out you can;

...Have a go at polar alignment

...Try alignment on stars

...Look at some stuff(most important:hello2:)

Google and get a program called something like polar204.zip then polar alignment is simple. Don't worry about setting rings and things first time round.

Star alignment is easy, the handset will let you scroll through a list of what it has determined you should be able to see, Stellarium will let you figure out just what in the sky each name refers to.

Oh, and finally don't forget, you could just carry the scope outside and move it by hand and look at some stuff, after all that's what it's all about.

Jupiter, its moons, The Moon, keep me going for hours.

[star-gal]

Welcome to star gazing.

Oh, and finally don't forget, you could just carry the scope outside and move it by hand and look at some stuff, after all that's what it's all about.

Jupiter, its moons, The Moon, keep me going for hours.

Thank you for all that Glider.....it was the equivalent of a paper bag to breath into! I kind of forgot why I asked Santa for a telescope to start with! Just point the scope at the sky and look at stuff! Its the mount that is complicated and not the scope after all, isn't it?!

You are right too, I will practice indoors during the day. I just thought I had to do it all on a clear starry night to do the polar allignment etc.

[Glider]

No, not at all, find out where everything is, get everything ready, you'll still be learning things in a years time, but the curve gets shallower. Just don't start with a bump.

I had the mount for 3 weeks before I bought an OTA to go on it.