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To EQ6 pro upgrade or not to EQ6 Pro upgrade+*new question*

MikeD

By MikeD
in Discussions - Mounts

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MikeD

MikeD

Posted
Posted

..............That is the question.

Hi All,

At the moment I use a standard Skywatcher EQ6 mount (stepper motors) that I modded with the Rajiva system and Conrad gears a year before the skyscan pro was launched.

My 40th is coming up and I am Planning to get the skyscan pro upgrade and the EQDIR adapter to use with EQmod.

As it is the mount I have has goto( although only upto 40X sidereal), guides well (but the PE is quite bad unguided) and can be controlled by planetarium software like cartes du ciel.

As I under stand it the improvements I will see with the pro/Eqmod upgrade are:

Faster slew speeds and ability to track the ISS.

Not sure if these two advantages alone are worth £300 ish

But if the answers two the following questions are yes then it becomes a lot more attractive to me.

So on the the £300 questions.

Do the motors on the pro mounts eliminate all vibrations at long Fl or is the improvement over the old motors worth the investment?

(at the moment I see quite bad vibrations when imaging the moon/planets at high mag with my 10" f4.8 newt that disappear when I turn the motors off )

Is the PE introduced by the motor gearbox an improvement over the conrad gear/old motors combination, will I see smoother guiding ?

Any help/thoughts from pro owners, people that have upgraded from the standard EQ6 to the pro and people "who know stuff" will be gratefully received.:)

Mike.

Thanks Mike.

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Matthew.Blake

Matthew.Blake

Posted
Posted

In truth I don't think so, I found the EQ6 peasant model stepper motors really really smooth and quiet as a mouse. Then again, I've only mounted a 200p on it.

The highest magnification I tend to use is 180x when I try and squint at planets. I have tried barlowing it to 360x and whilst vibration was still not an issue I couldn't focus the damn thing!

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room16

room16

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Yfronto, if you decide to go the full hog and decide on selling up your rajiva modded board and conrad motors then let me know :) Im not sure if mine has conrad motors and im still awaiting the usb to serial adaptor to get it hooked to pc.

Goodluck on your search although tbh, i would rather spend the £300 on a new scope for imaging.

Vibration could be down to loose screws holding the motor causing it to vibrate against the mount insides?

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MikeD

MikeD

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Hi Chris, I think i will keep the rajiva mod as a backup but will let you know if I decide to get rid.

It's conrad gears the motors are the standard ones from skywatcher.

I'm pritty sure all is as should be with the motor mounting, i think it's a known issue with the older motors, thanks for the input though.:)

Mike.

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

Posted
Posted

Mike, as you know I have a similar imaging system to you in that I too have the 250P Newtonian on an EQ6.

My mount started off life as a standard EQ6 (black etc.) and I modded it for GoTo by modifying the hand controller and using an LX200 emulator - this worked quite well but the motors were still the same and a little 'agricultural'. However, I didn't notice any particular vibration when imaging.

I subsequently upgraded to SynScan by buying the upgrade kit that you are considering and it transformed the mount. I would thoroughly recommend this upgrade as the 800X slew speed is almost sufficient justification but add the standard GoTo functions or even better, the wonderful convenience of EQMod and the mount just comes alive. Highly recommended!

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MikeD

MikeD

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Good luck with it. I love mine. Apart from the "Alignment may be poor" messages I keep getting thanks to the limited alignment stars I have available in line of sight!

Hoping I will still just be able to use Sync with "Cartes du ciel"

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MikeD

MikeD

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Hi All.

I picked up the upgrade kit from Fedex last night, thanks FLO.:eek:

Quick question, I am pretty sure the EQDIR adapter connects to the mount in place of the hand controler but it could also be connected to the Autoguder port on the mount via the pc cable that comes with the upgrade kit.

So just to be 100% sure, do I connect the EQDIR adapter directly to the mount where the hand controler usualy goes or to the guider port of the mount via the PC cable?

Thanks

Mike.

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SteveP

SteveP

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Mike

The EQDir plugs into the HC socket on the mount. It can fit anywhere in the comms link from the PC to the EQ6 but direct into the HC socket is the easiest. Whatever you do, DON'T plug it into the guider port

Good luck with the installation of everything. Once you have the EQAscom software installed and connected, you'll probably never go back to your HC

Steve

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Matthew.Blake

Matthew.Blake

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I've just taken receipt of a USB to serial connector to do just this. The options you have with EQx are to either connect it in place of the hand controller OR to connect it through the hand controller in PC direct mode where by the hand controller acts as little more than a relay sending your instructions to the mount. The second mode has not had much testing on it and is therefore "not recommended" though I suspect this is little more than a "just in case" recommendation.

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MikeD

MikeD

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Thanks guys.:eek:

Once you have the EQAscom software installed and connected, you'll probably never go back to your HC

As it is I have never used the HC, my mount is at the moment a Conrad/Rajiva modded EQ6( not skyscan) so it may be the case that it will never be used.:evil6:

Mike.

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SteveP

SteveP

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.. you can also use EQ mod via the handbox, which gives you nudge control ..

Whilst it is clearly legitimate to connect EQAscom via the handset, Chris Shillitoo, the designer of EQAscom, does not recommend using the HS for anything at all in this configuration.

Steve

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