Polar Aligning the EQ8

[bloodhound31]

I don't get it.

I roughly pointed the mount at the SCP. Started the scope up with the Synscan. Entered the DTG and all is good. Told it to go to Sirius. It went there, but obviously not perfect. Moved the MOUNT manually to centre Sirius. No probs so far. Told it to go to Alpha Centauri. WAY off. Adjusted the mount manually again to centre it. Told it to go back to Sirius. WAY off.

Aren't the positions in the firmware/encoders all set and all you have to do is make sure the mount is pointed in the right direction in degrees above the horizon and to the south, (SCP?)

What am I doing wrong?

By the way, with the scope on it the mount is VERY hard to adjust. It's heavy.

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by bloodhound31

I don't get it.

I roughly pointed the mount at the SCP. Started the scope up with the Synscan. Entered the DTG and all is good. Told it to go to Sirius. It went there, but obviously not perfect. Moved the MOUNT manually to centre Sirius. No probs so far. Told it to go to Alpha Centauri. WAY off. Adjusted the mount manually again to centre it. Told it to go back to Sirius. WAY off.

Aren't the positions in the firmware/encoders all set and all you have to do is make sure the mount is pointed in the right direction in degrees above the horizon and to the south, (SCP?)

What am I doing wrong?

By the way, with the scope on it the mount is VERY hard to adjust. It's heavy.

well if you still had your ed80 you could have polar aligned with that, but then you would nt have your new toy.

use the hand controller for a 2 star alignment, then read up on the polar alignment routine. don't do the 3 star alignment - it doesn't work. using that routine and adjustments you should be able to get it done after 2 goes. you could tweak it further with an actual drift alignment after that but it should be good enough to get you nearly there. you need to read the chinglish manual:


2.2 Polar Alignment Using the SynScan Hand Controller
2.3 Polar Alignment with the Optional Polar Scope
PART II: POLAR ALIGNMENT
1.
Choose 2-Star alignment or 3-Star alignment to align the mount, and then perform the po
-
lar-alignment routine. Repeat these operations several times until the SynScan hand con
-
troller reports small polar alignment error after the 2-Star alignment or 3-Star alignment.
Refer to SynScan hand controller’s manual for detail operation instruction.
2.
At the end of the polar-alignment routine, tighten the primary locking knob, and then tight
-
en the azimuth locking screws, the fork gripping knobs and screws. User should observe
the alignment star in the eyepiece while alternately tightening these symmetric knobs and
screws; try to minimize the movement of the alignment star in the eyepiece.
3.
It is recommended to remove the jackscrew handle after the polar-alignment has finished.
It can prevent unexpected changes to the polar-alignment.

[bloodhound31]

Originally Posted by h0ughy

well if you still had your ed80 you could have polar aligned with that, but then you would nt have your new toy.

use the hand controller for a 2 star alignment, then read up on the polar alignment routine. don't do the 3 star alignment - it doesn't work. using that routine and adjustments you should be able to get it done after 2 goes. you could tweak it further with an actual drift alignment after that but it should be good enough to get you nearly there. you need to read the chinglish manual:


2.2 Polar Alignment Using the SynScan Hand Controller
2.3 Polar Alignment with the Optional Polar Scope
PART II: POLAR ALIGNMENT
1.
Choose 2-Star alignment or 3-Star alignment to align the mount, and then perform the po
-
lar-alignment routine. Repeat these operations several times until the SynScan hand con
-
troller reports small polar alignment error after the 2-Star alignment or 3-Star alignment.
Refer to SynScan hand controller’s manual for detail operation instruction.
2.
At the end of the polar-alignment routine, tighten the primary locking knob, and then tight
-
en the azimuth locking screws, the fork gripping knobs and screws. User should observe
the alignment star in the eyepiece while alternately tightening these symmetric knobs and
screws; try to minimize the movement of the alignment star in the eyepiece.
3.
It is recommended to remove the jackscrew handle after the polar-alignment has finished.
It can prevent unexpected changes to the polar-alignment.

Thanks David. Yeah, that's in my manual too and I followed 2.2. Still not there yet. I'll try the polar scope option again tomorrow night.

Baz.

[Peter.M]

Isn't this a permanent setup? just drift align the bugger! Not worth your time stuffing around with software that will probably never be as good.

[Logieberra (Logan)]

Baz, I'll bring over Alignmaster and a USB - SERIAL cable that I know worked with my old EQ6 setup.

[Paul Haese]

Yep drift align it. It will be done in an hour and never need doing again.

[WingnutR32 (Sam)]

What they said, Barry. Drift alignment and Alignmaster make a big difference.

EQMOD also has an EQAlign utility too similar to Alignmaster.

[bloodhound31]

Originally Posted by Logieberra

Baz, I'll bring over Alignmaster and a USB - SERIAL cable that I know worked with my old EQ6 setup.

Thanks guys. Logan, you are a life saver mate.

Baz.

[acropolite (Phil)]

I agree, forget the built in Polar alignment routine, I found I got much better results by drift aligning.

[bloodhound31]

Originally Posted by coldknights

Do you need a RJ45 to USB Serial cable ?

I'm going to have a hunt around in my back shed, but I think it's long gone. I'll just order a new one from Bintel tomorrow.

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Hi Baz,
Posted the EQmod cable we Made off to you this morning Tested it on our EQ8 mount last night !

( Aust Post Tracking number Provided )

Glad to make one up for you since you did not get a reply from the people you sent a email to.

By the way The EQMod cable works on the EQ8 and the EQ5 mounts !

Have Fun and now you can use your mount once the cable arrives.

If you need a hand setting up EQMOD send a PM and we can Guide you through the setup !

[LewisM]

I don't have an EQ8, but I am VERY VERY used to drift aligning or Iterative 2 star alignment (I won't stop till I get it sub-minute) - it get's me so darned close I can set and forget all night. That's the joy of portable imaging - you get VERY good at drift aligning

[bloodhound31]

Originally Posted by coldknights

Hi Baz,
Posted the EQmod cable we Made off to you this morning Tested it on our EQ8 mount last night !

( Aust Post Tracking number Provided )

Glad to make one up for you since you did not get a reply from the people you sent a email to.

By the way The EQMod cable works on the EQ8 and the EQ5 mounts !

Have Fun and now you can use your mount once the cable arrives.

If you need a hand setting up EQMOD send a PM and we can Guide you through the setup !

Thanks Cathy. I will probably need help....

[bloodhound31]

Thanks so much to Tex and Cathy for all your help! Cathy sent me the EQ mod cable which is terrific. Tex spent a couple of hours late at night with me, talking me through the download, installation and setup of every bit of ASCOM software I needed to get the EQ8 working with Stellarium Scope.

The mount is now quieter, deadly accurate and so simple to acquire a target and lock on. It's now child's play.

I'll be the first to admit I may have a slight adult learning disability in that written tutorials are very hard for me to make sense of. Practical use of demonstrate, explain and practice is how I learn - by doing. So thanks Tex, for your mammoth effort to get the ball rolling. And thanks Cathy, for putting up with my endless questions to try and wrap my head around what others seem to find so simple.