Testing 1..2..3 and a few distant fuzzies!

[Dave882]

I've had a few issues with guiding and mount balance that having been nagging at me and I finally stopped procrastinating and started some experimenting over the last week.

- fixed condensation issue (camera and scope)
- worked on better balancing west of meridian
- eq8 now has new offset motor counterweight ($4 from bunnings -how good!!)
- cable management completely reworked
- guiding / calibration tweaked (better but still work in progress)
- RA backlash adjusted and now much better (but still need another adjust)

Rather than just pointing the scope into random space, I thought I'd at least aim at some targets while I worked (also helps having a constant amongst all the dozens of variables!). The data was a mixed bag, from ok decent to absolutely terrible, but after about 4 nights I had a bit to pick from and thought I might as well run it through APP to see what would come out the other end. Damn felt like i needed to walk away with something after so much hard work!!

So here I present a bit of a mix of galaxies, c14 @f7 / eq8 / asi2600mc combo. Definitely less than perfect data and lots on noise given the moon was getting bigger and bigger as i worked. But hope you can enjoy them anyways!

M64 (2hrs unguided UHC filter)
NGC6384 (2.5hrs)
NGC6872 & friends (7.5hrs)
NGC5068 (7.5hrs)

2 steps forward, 1 step back is still 1 step forward right?
Thanks for looking

[Startrek]

Lovely images , nicely resolved with great details
Like you I’ve had my fair share of problems like coma , backlash etc…
I just acquired my new EQ8-R pro mount and will be installing over the next week or so
I’m fooling myself if I guide tight straight out of the box as most folk experience backlash issues up front, all depends on the assembly tech in their factory if he’s having a good or bad day , quality control just about non existent ( why on earth don’t Synta install spring loaded worm carriers !!!!! )
If I could ask how you adjust your Ra and Dec backlash on this mount as Synta or Skywatcher have no maintenance manuals
The only reference on the internet is from the Wolf Creek Observatory site back in March 2020 where he describes how to adjust backlash, looks more complicated than my EQ6-R’s , they were fairly straightforward.

Do you have the older EQ8 or the newer EQ8-R pro mount ? I’m sure the worm drives are the same on both mounts

Thanks
Martin

[Dave882]

Hi Martin thanks very much! Yes it is quite hard finding reliable info but the very best place to look is the eq8 Yahoo group. (Just google eq8 yahoo). There’s a stack of resources, and plenty of discussion and advice from some very knowledgeable people. I downloaded the adjustment procedure pdf from there. I have one of the old original eq8s so there may be a few differences, but I’ve seen plenty of discussion on these new ones. There may even be a group specifically for the new RH mounts but I’m not sure.

My mount guides exceptionally well in DEC, but rather jumpy in RA which is what I was trying to fix. Ironically, I’ve found that my RA started performing better when I INCREASED worm clearance. So the only true measure is how it performs under the stars. Be very careful and take it slow.

Hopefully the mount performs well up front but yes I’m sure some adjustments will be made. Good luck!!!

[Startrek]

Dave,
Thanks for the info but eq8 yahoo is discontinued and the new forum is Skywatcher eq8@ groups.io
I’ve joined the group

I’ve searched for that pdf but can’t find it

You wouldn’t have a copy of it to attach ?

Thanks

Martin

[multiweb]

Real nice collection David. :thumbsup:

[Dave882]

Hi Martin - yep no probs at all but I'm having all kinds of trouble trying to reduce its size to meet the IIS limit. If you PM me your email i'll send it over to you mate.

Yes you are correct it's now been migrated to new server. Thats the correct group. You need to go to the files tab down the left side of screen to find the pdfs and other pics. Lots of gold in there.
Cheers

[Dave882]

Cheers Marc! Nice to come away with something after all that. Galaxy season is drawing to a close but might have 1 or 2 new moons worth of targets left still :D

[Startrek]

Thanks Dave I’ll pm you now