Skywatcher 200P EQ5 PRO SynScan Problem

[Northerner75]

Hi All,

My problem is this, no matter how I balance the scope the stepper motors never give me full range of movement, ever (both of them). The motors sound good, no funny noises nothing but they always stall. I have tried removing all atachments from the tube to lighten it and that doesn't help.

The power supply is household 240v so there shouldn't be any issue there and it stalls when completely clear of any collisions. It appears the motors are not powerful enough to move the 8" reflector tube.

I am a noob which is why I have left it so long to do something about it (9 months), I gave up. Now however I have much more time on my hands so now is perfect for me to so some observing.

Thing is I really want to buy a camera but can't because I'll only be adding yet more weight it cannot move.

Is this a known issue or is my noobyness getting the better of me?

Your help will assist a very frustrated wannabe astrophotographer.

Regards,

Northerner75

[bamus]

what do you mean by "motors never give me full range of movement, ever (both of them). ".

I have got same scope and mount and font have any problems at all.

[Ant]

Welcome to SGL - the EQ5 can take a 8" newt ok - I know because I used to have one!

Have you made sure that the axis locks are tight?

Make sure that you set the slewing speed to 9 (if it's set to 1 you'll not see any movement for a long time), setting the slewing speed to 9 will make the mount move quite quickly.

Can you take some pictures - as there may be something that it wrong that we could spot in a photo.

Cheers

Ant

[valleyman]

are the motors cutting out as the scope reaches max elevation, With Synscan Handset you can set the UP/DOWN.....LEFT/RIGHT movement on the hand set

you need to go into the Utillities on the handset and then to ALT/AZ settings and set them readings to suit your needs. Also with the OTA fitted and elevated to its highest point ie 90 degres the botton of the OTA will catch the tripod legs so it is best to set the ALT setting to about 85 degrees

[Northerner75]

Thank you all replying.

bamus:

That's reassuring. What I mean is when I slew the scope, it slews and then stops as though the weight is too much. Obviously this is on the eyepiece side, the heavy end.

ant:

When you say the locks are tight do you mean the dec lock and the RA lock? If so then they are unlocked when I slew the thing. I slew it at 9. I'm not sure what to take a picture of, from the outside everything looks normal.

valleyman:

The motors don't cut out, they keep making the same noise they make at speed 9, they just stop moving the scope. Upon checking the Synscan controller menus I do not see ALT/AZ settings in Ulilities. Utilities (in manual) shows Show Position, Display Time, Park Scope, Inquire Version, PEC Training and LCD/LED Tuning. Utilities (on controller) shows Show Position, Show Information, Park Scope, Show Position, PAE, Clear PAE Data, PEC Training, GPS and PC Direct Mode. I've checked other menus and nothing is there relating to your point. The H.C Firmware is Ver 03.26, the H.C Hardware is Ver 03.06 and the motor controller is Ver 02.02.02. Also the thing stops moving before it is anywhare near a collision.

Just had a go to point it to the moon (England) using contoller, no joy

Cheers,

Northerner75

[David010167]

Is your power supply connected to the mains up to the task? I only ask because I used the wrong power supply on my mount once and it caused the mount to stop slewing. I use a HEQ5.

Regards

David

[Astro_Baby]

You say your powering off of mains, can the power adapter supply 2amps whixh is what the mount needs, the tiny wall wart type adaprers are useless for these scopes.

The axis locks, what are called clutches should be tight not loose or the scope wont move.

[valleyman]

Lots of little points to consider, another is do you have the OTA balanced in its rings and also on the mount.

[bamus]

I think you should take photo of OTA attached to mount as it is not easy to find solution to your problmem from description only. also, pls check voltage and amperage of power supply

[shaunster]

Lock all the locks up tight and your problem should be solved

[martin_h]

ant:

When you say the locks are tight do you mean the dec lock and the RA lock? If so then they are unlocked when I slew the thing. I slew it at 9. I'm not sure what to take a picture of, from the outside everything looks normal.

They need to be locked tight when using the motors.....they only need to be unlocked if you are pushing it round by hand.

[Andrew INT]

Yep, sounds like a cluch issue to me too. Both RA and Dec should be locked when slewing.

[Northerner75]

Thanks for all help folks. A bad case of "RTFM"! It never crossed my mind that they were clutches. As a side note the cigerettee adapter is 1 amp but still manages to slew the scope ok.

Looks like I can look forward to the rest of this journey now. PC control, eyepieces and a camera at some point. But I'm getting ahaead of myself, there's still 3 star alignment

Thanks again.