Calling Skywatcher 130 users!

[Space Oddity6]

Hey fellow 130 users or people who have experience with this scope I was wondering if you could help me. I don't really know the names of the different parts of the scope so this could be the least technical post ever.

Tonight my viewing session was cut short when I was trying to track what I think was a satellite. I've got a non-motorised EQ2 mount, so it required a bit of work. Anyway I was halfway through tracking it, when the silver screw thing I turn at the back and top of the mount when it tightened up and wouldn't budge. I know this has nothing to do with the angle of the scope because I've had it pretty much vertical before, pointing straight up overhead. No matter how hard I tried to turn it there was no give, so I took it inside, fiddled around with it a bit but still had no luck.

Bearing in mind these are the long black screws with the cog-like things on the end but one of the 2 smaller silver screws with the small bar that slides across when you turn it.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[onmehedson]

Hiya..If you had the scope pointed directly overhead then my quess would be the main tube hitting one on the tripod legs.

Try pointing the scope in this direction during daylight hours and turn it as if you are tracking something and you will see when it comes to rest on one of the legs...it can be confusing in the dark......

[Llamanaut]

if its an eq2 then youve just reached the end of travel for the screw... its not a constant turning mount like the eq3-2 and above, release the brake and unscrew it to halfway again and you should be good to go

[Space Oddity6]

Thanks for answering guys.

onmehedson: Sorry, I should have explained better, in the past I have had the scope pointing vertically with no problems. Last night however it wasn't angled anywhere near vertically, but to where for example Jupiter was at about 9pm, at about that degrees of elevation when the silver screw that I turn to control the elevation of the scope tighted up and wouldn't budge.

Llamanaut: Where is this brake you speak of?

[Xaviermarch]

I'm no expert myself Space Oddity but I think it sounds like Llamanaut may be on to something. I sometimes find that while tracking something for a while using the fine tuning knobs (that's what the cog things are at the end of the two flexible boingy pipes - I'm sure there's a technical name for them!) they stop. This is because they reach the end of their worm-screws. All you need to do is turn them lots the other way and undo the main locking things (probably black if you have the same mount as me) on your mount to point the scope in the right direction. Once you have locked the main screws again you should be able to use the fine-tuning cogs again.

I'm sure someone more technically minded will be able to explain better than I did but I hope it helps.

[Space Oddity6]

Hey Xaviermarch, thanks for replying. I take it you've got an EQ2 mount for your 130? My problem isn't with the 2 black flexible boingy pipes you describe, but the silver metallic screw things. There's one on the side of the mount and one at the back that controls the elevation of the scope. Its quite thick but also fairly small, much smaller than the black boingy pipes.

On this pic it's that silver metallic screw poking out at the back with the bar that slides when you turn it. Well on my mount its stopped turning and the scope is barely half elevated.

[Xaviermarch]

I do have the same telescope and mount as you. I haven't had it long so I could be giving you duff advice but I think the problem may be the way you are using your mount.

My interpretation of the instructions I got with the mount is that once you have used that silver screw with the bar in it to set the scope pointing at Polaris on the right latitude (so you have it polar aligned) you shouldn't have to touch it again. The only time you will need to again is if you view from a different place or where the ground is on a slope. I don't think that particular screw is designed to be used much. Just getting it to the right latitude on my mount was really tough as the hole didn't seem wide enough and took a lot of effort to move.

Once you have done that you shouldn't have to move the mount or the silver screw. You should just be able to loosen the 3-pronged screws (the black knobs in your picture) to swivel the scope freely on the mount along the two axis that have the black dials with the white writing. These are the RA and Dec axis. Once you have the scope pointing at the target you can then use the boingy things for fine tuning and tracking the object in the sky.

This might be the wrong way to use it but it seems to work for me

[Space Oddity6]

Ah. That sounds about right. I did breeze through the instructions and vaguely remember something along those lines, should probably have actually read them in some detail. Oh well, I guess that's my bedtime reading for tonight, doesn't look like I'll be going out observing.

Thanks Xavier, excellent reply.

[great_bear]

Xavier is correct.

You'll probably find it easier to set the latitude by setting it first, deliberately too high WITHOUT the scope on, and - once the scope is on - loosening it down to the correct elevation.

Otherwise, that screw has to work a little too hard!

[tonel]

Hello,

I also have an Explorer 130, which is also the first scope I've owned with an equatorial mount. I have to admit I found it quite confusing to use to start with, but saw a link to a very useful site which has a guide on how to set up the mount, polar align etc. It helped me a lot, might be worth a look..

Setting Up an Equatorial Mount - McWiki

(think it may have been somewhere on this forum where I first saw the link )