I have finally given up on my Skywatcher AZ EQ 6 GT Mount.

[Mekon]

:help
Can anyone suggest an alternative controlling and alignment setup for my EQ 6.
Last night I went through the three star alignment process and all went well. Three stars were Vega, Alpha Cen and (I forgot the third, but not too high and close to the others).
The scope is on a permanent pier so the position is perfect- it never changes. The Controller is V5, almost new and updated.
The mount is set to EQ and the controller set to that in the setup process - No daylight saving here.
The Lat Long is set correctly, the time and date set to the second. The message comes up alignment successful. Then I told it to do something easy - find Saturn. It was over 20 degrees out. Even telling it to go to Alpha Cen - one of the alignment stars, wasn't close to right.
Finding something difficult is impossible.
This is by no means an unusual situation. Very common in fact.

What alternatives do I have for alignment and a GOTO function?: I have a spare computer I can plug in, a Samsung pad I can use and some spare cash I can throw at this.

[Retrograde]

How about plate-solving via NINA/ASTAP?
Even if you're doing visual, you might be able to set it up on a mini gudescope, with a cheap second-hand astrocamera. It would completely bypass the whole 1,2 or 3 star alignment routine.

[Mekon]

Thanks I'll look into it.

[By.Jove]

Another alternative is ASIAir:
- achieves precise polar alignment using plate solving to mechanically align the mount, if your rig is permanent, great.
- comes with an app for iOS or Android to operate the mount, with its own planetarium and catalogs;
- select an object using phone/tablet and does GOTO;
- optionally you can set it to confirm the GOTO with a plate solve (turn this off for the moon, or some large clusters like Omega).

You'll need a small guidescope and a guide camera like the ASI 120 or 220MM Mini piggyback on your main scope (replaces the traditional 8x50 finder).

Has worked reliably for me to the point I dont have a visual finderscope on my rig anymore.

[Leo.G]

Paul is this something you use regularly?
Stupid question I know and it's now late in 2024 but I had a similar issue with my lesser mount earlier 2024 when I constantly updated the date on my Synscan controller BUT forgot it was no longer 2023, simply updating the day and month. Thankfully my son caught my mistake before I got really annoyed and kicked the whole lot over in a pile (bad health, really bad temper).
I'm probably way off base so late in the year.
Did you mention you're running the latest firmware?
It may be as simple as a check to see if there is an update (I don't think there is, I have two earlier controllers and believe they are up to date and the release is not that new).


Sorry!


Here's a manual on the controller if its of any use/help



https://www.nimax-img.de/Produktdownloads/65046_1_Anleitung-EN.pdf


I did a little research and have seen mention of clearing previous alignment data before doing an alignment and also a dec axis saddle being 180 degrees out, apparently both things will cause somewhat the issue you are having.

[AstralTraveller]

Hi Paul,

I don't know your controller so this may be irrelevant but is the scope setup correctly in the software? I recently used an Argo Navis controller on a different scope and had very similar symptoms to yours. I thought the new scope was 10,000 step on both axis but the very old encoders were only 8500 steps in az (actually empirically measured at 8532). Goto accuracy was in the 5-30 degree range! I know in one has encoders and the other stepper motors but the principle is the same.

[Mekon]

Thanks, I have a guide scope and a camera that I haven't used, so this might be an option. I also have an ethernet port in my observatory hard wired to the modem, so that might be useful.
I looked at the three models, mini pro and plus, and since I won't be doing any photography, would the mini be enough?
What is the ethernet port on the Plus for?

[Startrek]

Here ya go ….
Been using the Synscan polar alignment routine for 7 years now using EQ5 , HEQ5 and now EQ6-R pro and EQ8-R pro mounts with 8” to 12” Newts
The beauty of it is you don’t need a view of the South Celestial Pole
And it’s free ….

It takes me 10 to 15mins and 3 to 4 iterations to get down to around 1 arc minute PA error which is more than adequate for PHD2 guiding …..

Martin

[Leo.G]

Possibly explains a lot of my own problems, this is a gem Martin, thanks!

[Startrek]

No prob Leo
The Synscan polar alignment routine is probably one of the least known methods of Polar aligning in Astronomy. Skywatcher never advertise that it’s included in every AzAlt and EQ mount in their Goto range.

I think Dylan O’Donnell from StarStuff did a video on it last year

The up and right button sequence just minimises backlash which aids in accurate Star centering.

2 star alignment is more than satisfactory , no need for a 3 star alignment

This PA feature on Synscan has been around for more than 15 years

Cheers
Martin

[Leo.G]

That's the first thing my son said when I showed him that one line.

[Bart]

If I was you, and you are going the astro photography route, I would use EQASCOM and a computer, camera and plate solve, using the dialogue based approach.

Use Cartes du Ciel as your planetarium to connect your scope to and after that, sync to a few points around the sky in your chosen photography app after it has solved your image, and you should be good to go. Your first 2 or 3 stars might be a bit off and need manual alignment and syncing although it will soon learn the model and you can let the mount, camera and software take over.


Some people choose Nina/ASTAP (free), Sharpcap/ASTAP or other imaging and control software with your chosen plate solve software. I use Sequence Generator Pro 4 and Pinpoint, both of which are paid software.


Try this link.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-zQbftYbqw


Good luck, enjoy the learning curve! :eyepop::):thumbsup:

[Startrek]

I concur with Bart …..
For Navigation and Goto with Skywatcher EQ mounts, EQMOD or Eqascom is an excellent open sourced software driver to navigate the night sky using your preferred planetarium. It generally replaces your Synscan handcontroller but offers loads more features…..
I use eqascom and Stellarium and opt for Sync point star alignment in lieu of plate solving for Goto
Ive used this set up on all my mounts over the past 7 years ( EQ5 , HEQ5, EQ6-R pro and EQ8-R pro mounts )

See attached …….

Cheers
Martin