Faulty EQ6-R mount or Hand controller

[Startrek (Martin)]

Picked up a new EQ6-R mount 3 weeks ago and after weeks of crap weather set it up tonight to test basic functions under a full moon
This is my second EQ6-R mount , my first one is at my weekender south coast NSW which I’ve had for 2 years ( Ive also had a HEQ5 mount for over 3 years too )
I’ve set up these mounts a million times before so went through the routine procedures
Set tripod to my true south line
Level tripod
Fit mount
Set home position
Fit counterweights
Fit scope and all gear inc hand controller
Set altitude to local latitude
Set azimuth to centre of mount in line with true south line ( as close as possible)
Balance scope east heavy
Connect laptop to imaging DSLR camera
Power up mount
Set up hand controller
Start from home position
Set longitude E xxxxxxx
Set latitude S xxxxxxx
Set current time
Set elevation 25m
Set time zone +11
Set Day light saving yes
Set month day year 03/10/2020
Start alignment
2 star alignment
1st Star Miaplacidus
Slew to first star , quite a way off ( I knew something was wrong )
Centered this star
Slew to second star Acrux , miles off target as well
Escaped out of this back to menu
Checked time and noticed it displayed 20.08pm when actually it was 20.50pm
Escaped and pressed return to home position
Mount ended about 12 degrees out in declination ( should be at 0 )
Reset everything , including home position again
Re powered up, rechecked all settings in hand controller again and performed a 2 star alignment
Same thing happened, hand controller not reading correct time again and finished up in home position about 12 degrees out in Dec

Any ideas ?? Faulty hand controller ??
So frustrating as I’ve done this procedure a million times before and faultless on both other mounts

I welcome any ideas or suggestions before I take it back to supplier

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Are you in a position to try another hand controller?

Maybe try a factory reset on the suspect hand controller?

That'd be me out of any suggestions Martin...

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Carlton
I’ll try my old HEQ5 V4 hand controller tomorrow night
My new mounts hand controller has the additional USB port so I think it may be the latest V5 hand controller
Failing that, I think it’s best to take it back for a firmware upgrade and possibly a warranty replacement ??

Here’s hoping it’s just the hand controller not the mount , it seems to slew ok but sounds audibly different to my other EQ6-R mount down the coast

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Sydney time zone is +10, you’ve set +11, fix that first then realign the mount.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Matt
Thanks for the pick up
Yes Sydney time zone is +10
I’m too use to setting Stellarium to +11 during daylights savings time
The manual should have a note about this as I’m sure it confuses many
I’ll try +10 tonight and see if the “time holds correctly” and the star alignment is close after a slew ( I’m normally very close after a slew )
Thanks

[RKenning (Robert)]

Clocks go back 1 hour on 5th April 2020. My current local time shows +11 GMT/UTC.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Robert
The Synscan hand controller program asks for both pieces of data to input -
1/ Time zone
2/ Daylight Saving Yes / No
So I’m thinking logically that you input the standard time zone ( Sydney +10 ) and then select Yes for daylight saving

I welcome others who use Skywatcher Synscan to advise or comment on this somewhat confusing part of programming the hand controller

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Originally Posted by Startrek

Thanks Robert
The Synscan hand controller program asks for both pieces of data to input -
1/ Time zone
2/ Daylight Saving Yes / No
So I’m thinking logically that you input the standard time zone ( Sydney +10 ) and then select Yes for daylight saving

I welcome others who use Skywatcher Synscan to advise or comment on this somewhat confusing part of programming the hand controller

This is correct....

Whilst Sydney Daylight saving time is equivalent to time zone +11, it still remains in time zone +10 + 1 hour for Daylight savings which is what your handset does when you select yes for daylight savings, adds one hour to your time zone...

Still doesn't explain why your handset wasn't holding time though...

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Martin, both my Synscan V3 and V5 require input of +10 for time zone and then indicate whether/or not daylight saving is in force. Synscan then makes allowance for the D/S....

btw..... some users have had issues with Synscan V5 not working correctly unless the USB is connected.... I have not had that so far but will test that soon with my other mount.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Carlton and Matt
I’ll set time zone to +10 and day light saving to yes
I re levelled , rebalanced and reset my mount and tripod to my true south line again plus reset altitude
See how we go tonight
I also have my HEQ5 V4 hand controller on standby to swap over if I run into trouble again

[Startrek (Martin)]

Finally some success tonight
Used time zone +10 and daylight saving Yes
Rechecked all settings including , Time and Observational site for latitude and longitude
Performed a 2 star alignment followed by a Synscan Polar Alignment
Scope slewed to 1st Alignment Star and PA star Miaplacidus ended up very close to centre
Slewed to 2nd Alignment Star Acrux , scope ended up fairly close to centre
Synscan Polar Alignment only required 2 iterations to get down to under half an arc minute error , took 10 minutes
Removed the hand controller and connected EQMOD. Navigated across the night sky using StellariumScope and Stellarium. Performed well
Set up new 60mm guide scope and camera with PHD2
New equipment profile
New settings in Brain
Completed frame and focus on a bright star
Completed a dark library
Completed a bad pixel map
Completed a quick calibration and guided on a star near the equator for 5 minutes or so ( guiding error around 1.50 arc sec error not great so some work to do ) this mount should be under an arc second out of the box
So the time zone setting was the main culprit why I was all over sky last night
A bit more work to do on the mount for PHD2 but achieved a lot tonight with this new rig
Thanks to all who offered advice and comments
Cheers

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Good news Martin...

I can understand why the wrong time would upset the goto/slews in terms of how close or not to the alignment star but, not so much the not keeping time... that one is still a bit of a puzzle... I assume not an issue tonight?

[Startrek (Martin)]

Yeh the time being out last night had me stumped
Tonight I checked all the settings twice over in every category
After the 2 star alignment and PA were completed, I checked the time again and it was spot on with my laptop and iPhone
Maybe a gremlin ??
A bit of tuning with the mount and PHD2 and should be ready to image once the ol moon buggers off in a couple of nights and we get some clear skies down here
Thanks again

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Good news Martin,

Your Synscan handset must be resetting its time to correlate with the alignment you set when you slewed to the first object. It must be thinking that if the given location and pointing details are and you just have trouble telling time

I use the little StarGPS module with the Synscan for accurate time, location and once it has the fix you disconnect it from the handset and stow it for the next time.....

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks Matt
I only use my Synscan hand controller to polar align ( not to navigate and find objects ) as I have no view of the SCP. I’m a DSLR imager and use BYEOS to assist in polar alignment and obviously frame, focus and capture images etc.. When I first started I used an illuminated reticle eye piece and could never get the PA error down lower enough ( plus end up with a sore neck ) but now it’s a 5 to 10 minute process sitting at my laptop and usually get under an arc minute
Once polar aligned, I return the mount to the home position, power off , unplug the Synscan hand controller and pack it away. Then connect my EQ direct cable from laptop to the mount and use EQMOD with StellariumScope and Stellarium to navigate , find objects and track across the night sky. It’s extremely accurate and versatile
Hoping to get out on Friday night ( suppose to be clear all night with an 75% waning moon ) to complete PHD2 set up and then do some imaging
Fingers crossed
Cheers