skywatcher 300p auto not tracking

[xboxdevil]

Mmmmmm....the connector does feel a bit loose.....

GOTO version, you do have to manually move it for the first alignment star...it's not that is it (which threw me initially at SSP sans manual, expecting it to work like the EQ6!)

Not the cable connection to the mount (axis)?

[WayBig]

Robin - so the new base still nose dives, but tracks ok. Is that correct?

If you level it and put in a heavy-ish eyepiece, can you raise it ok? (mine sometimes spins the gears and doesn't get anywhere)

[robindurant]

Hi Waybig

I only adjusted the clutch only just so it held a heavy EP without diving. By doing this I can move the Tube easier by hand. If the gears are spinning and the tube not moving then the Clutch is too loose. I have also made up a balance weight in case I fit a DSLR which would make it nose dive again.

Brantuk

"You do have to set "level" and "latitude" (with the regular handset) every time you switch it on"

Thanks for this info which is what confirms what I have found out through hours of experimenting. It was not mentioned in my Manual

Robin

[WayBig]

Thanks, i'll read the manual and give it a go tonight. Any tips?

[robindurant]

Waybig

the Manual does not tell you how to adjust the Clutches although it gives you a spanner to do it !

Take off the black Cover, 4 screws, taking sure not to stretch the wires inside and you will see the Clutch nut,clockwise to tighten, just a small bit at a time until the nose doesnot dive.

Robin

[WayBig]

Fantastic, thanks for your advice, i'll give it a go.

[WayBig]

Thanks for the advice Robin, a small tweak on the clutch (less than quarter of a turn) now means that my dob does lift my bigger eyepieces when level.

I've also found that the nose diving doesn't happen when tracking is on (obvious really, as the gears are engaged at that point) and that if I'm viewing with tracking off, the nose dive can be stopped by setting the speed to 3 and tapping the up button (speeds 1 and 2 don't stop it) - I assume that this is because it engages the gears and they hold the scope.

That was all worked out in the garage last night, hopefully I'll try it all outside tonight as it's looking like a nice clear evening, though with a very bright moon.

Fingers crossed

[robindurant]

Hi Waybig

I am glad it helped.I adjusted the Alt clutch just enough to hold with a heavy EP with the electrics OFF. I have also tried Brantuk's idea of using a balancing weight. To do this I slacked the clutch totally and made up a weight to balance the Tube with the EP OUT then re tightened the clutch. To me it makes sense that the tube should be slightly nose weight. Also thanks to Brantuk again I inserted a small piece of doubled up carpet between the two bottom revolving plates to stiffen the slack, this works a treat as when you are outside the slack on the AZ caused problems, wind, touching the EP with your eye and the motors taking up slack before guiding.

Due to these Mods.last night I held Jupiter in a 4mm EP for 15 minutes at least.

Thanks to all the Guys who have given me help with my tracking problem, that's what SGL is all about. Skywatcher take note, your product needs a few Mods and your manual a few more instructions

Robin

[WayBig]

Ha ha, so we can expect the next batch that skywatcher ship to include a couple of carpet offcuts!!

...imagine all the confused threads there'll be in the help section on here

[denodan]

Was reading on here about how to adjust the clutch on the Skywatcher Goto, mine was lose, and tightened it up, so past the 0 degree mark did not fall forward. Thanks for the advice.

I also suppose how tight you do the clutch is personal preference. I did not tighten it enough to hold the weight of a 2" eyepiece, just the heaviest 1.25" eyepiece. I assume you only need it tight enough to stop it dropping on it's own.

Now mine does not drop now. Also someone said his it the tracking version. All you need to do is buy the Synscan Az handcontrol and you got a goto Dob.

Over here in New Zealand we can get the tracking Dob on it's own, or pay the extra and get the tracking and goto hand controllers, so I have both.

Had my 10" Skywatcher Goto Dob outside last night for the first time, and WOW, the view of Saturn was the sharpest I have even seen it, and conditions where not even the best.

The rings were very sharply detailed. Mine was quite a bit out of Collimation when I got it, so had to collimate Primary and secondary mirrors.

[bathroom buddy]

Might be a longshot resurrecting an old thread ...but... was there a definitive answer on how to set up tracking for the AUTO? I'm certainly not in the festive spirit at the moment, the gears are spinning when trying to motor up from near horizontal, tracking doesn't seem to be working - plus with me being a complete novice i'm pulling my blumming hair out.

Gonna try tightening clutch perhaps or adding counterweight - i'm hoping this might explain/overcome the spinning gears problem?

As other have said though regards the tracking -my manual seems to paint a different picture to what's being said on here so i'm not quite sure how/where or what procedure i need to follow to set up tracking.

[crashtestdummy]

Mine does this with heavy eps and a counterweight cures it so hopefully be the same.

[bathroom buddy]

I haven't actually got any eyepieces in at present, i just get set it to 0 degrees and it struggles to move up. A tiny bit of pressure from my finger and off it goes, so i'm hoping it's maybe just a clutch issue. (like i even know what the clutch is !) Can i just ask though, if i put it in tracking mode should i be able visually see it moving?

I've set it up to my latitude in the sitting room, hit the 2 and 3 buttons to store my position. Then i've hit the 1 and 2 buttons to enter tracking mode. The number 2 button is flashing but scope seesm to be just sitting there. I have no idea how fast it should track or travel or whether the movement would be discernable over a few minutes.

PS: If i point at a Jupiter say, which whizzes through my 6mm eyepiece, how does the scope know to track faster than if were pointing at a DSO for example?

Sorry for (probably obvious questions), thanks in advance.

JOhn

[brantuk]

Pop a bit of white sellotape across the two base boards and cut the tape betweent them. Put it in tracking mode and you should see the tape on the top board move away from the tape on the bottom board very slowly. But after 10-15mins there should be an obvious gap.

The two buttons are a switch for tracking on/off. So make sure you selected "on" - I think it flashes for "off" but you'll have to check in the manual to be sure. Remember tracking is the same speed as the Earth rotates - so won't be immediately obvious - a bit like watching Venus setting - you're aware it's going down but not obvious till you look back 15 mins later and realise it's lower in the sky than it was just now.

6MM is 240x mag in 1500mm focal length. If you aren'[t tracking it will wizz through the eyepiece pretty quick. Use a lower power till you have the art of tracking more exact. Hth

[bathroom buddy]

Pop a bit of white sellotape across the two base boards and cut the tape betweent them. Put it in tracking mode and you should see the tape on the top board move away from the tape on the bottom board very slowly. But after 10-15mins there should be an obvious gap.

The two buttons are a switch for tracking on/off. So make sure you selected "on" - I think it flashes for "off" but you'll have to check in the manual to be sure. Remember tracking is the same speed as the Earth rotates - so won't be immediately obvious - a bit like watching Venus setting - you're aware it's going down but not obvious till you look back 15 mins later and realise it's lower in the sky than it was just now.

6MM is 240x mag in 1500mm focal length. If you aren'[t tracking it will wizz through the eyepiece pretty quick. Use a lower power till you have the art of tracking more exact. Hth

Good idea regards the tape, gonna try that now! I've been making little marks on the floor and measuring the distance from shadow for God's sake! It's maybe a couple of inches an hour, does that sound about right?

I just imagined it would fairly whizz round given how fast Jupiter skips through my eyepiece?

ta,

John

[brantuk]

It takes one hour to move thrugh 15 degrees - If you were watching from Alpha Centauri it would be about a thousand miles an hour - but you're stood right next to it so it won't seem that fast cos time is relative lol. Here's a link - have a good read:

http://en.wikipedia....i/Sidereal_time

Oh and if you drop your magnification to around 130x to 150x Jupiter will hang around the eyepiece a lot longer

[bathroom buddy]

It takes one hour to move thrugh 15 degrees - If you were watching from Alpha Centauri it would be about a thousand miles an hour - but you're stood right next to it so it won't seem that fast cos time is relative lol. Here's a link - have a good read:

http://en.wikipedia....i/Sidereal_time

Oh and if you drop your magnification to around 130x to 150x Jupiter will hang around the eyepiece a lot longer

Intersting read mate thanks, I'm just getting confused as I'm thinking (incorrectly I know but still waiting for penny to drop) that if i put in a higher mag eyepiece then the scope needs to move even quicker to keep up due to Jupiter passing through eyepiece. How much in inches say, would 15 degrees equate in terms of the tape separating apart?