[MountainGoat]

Hi Everyone,


I have very recently upgraded from my son's 70mil entry level scope, to something a bit more capable. So far, it's not been the smooth transition I had hoped for!



I picked up a Celestron Astro Fi-6, which includes goto technology, and from the reviews that I have read, pretty good optics. So the idea is get to grips with this scope, and engage whats out there with a better viewing experience than on the budget 70 mil that we have been using.



Now although I am still a complete and utter noob, and maybe I've upgraded in haste, the whole upgrade "thing" is also about trying to inspire my kids. There is plenty of brain-food involved in astronomy, no doubt about it, and kids get to use their favourite technology, so it has win-win potential written all over it.



Unfortunately, and maybe some if this is down to my "noobness", but the goto is proving to be a major challenge, which is a shame, as the technology that it hooks into should be providing a huge amount of inspiration. Ipads, tablets, phones, casting images to the telly ... this is all the ingredients to really get the kids hooked in. Not to mention Jupiter and Saturn popping up every night.



The bottom line, is that the goto drops out of alignment fairly easily, and at other times, I seem to receive varying errors through the alignment technology.



Having researched a bit, I can see that goto alignment is a bit of a nightmare, and I'm actually wondering if it will ever work correctly.


One of the things I definitely need to improve is power supply, and I also believe that I need to finish up with an Up and a Right as the last two movements (something to do with slack in the gears).


I will definitely be persisting, but if anyone has a more definitive guide for Astro Fi-6 goto setup, then please throw it out there!


(Oh yeah ... and then there is condensation appearing after an hour of wrestling with the goto, and loads of it too.)


Thanks in advance