HEQ5 red light in polariscope

[grantboxer (Grant)]

It is my understanding that the red light in the polarscope cannot be adjusted on the HEQ5 mount. I usually turn off the mount to see the stars then turn it on to see the asterism in the scope.

It used to be black when the scope was off, but now it seems to have a red glow that hampers the view of the stars.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how to get rid of this annoying glow?

Cheers Grant

[Barrykgerdes]

I have never noticed the red light in my polarscope til you mentioned it. what version is the firmware. Mine is 3.27

When I looked in the synscan manual under menu tree the utility function lists a LCD/LED Tuning function. This controls the brightness of the backlight on the keys. This function is not in the 3.27 version. I have PC direct mode.

Adjustment of the polarscope lamp in this version is in the setup menu. scroll down to Handset settings and polarscope brightness.

Here is the menu page for synscan V3.27

Barry

[NorthernLight (Max)]

my advice would be to leave the mount unpowered for pol alignment and instead of switching it on to see the asterism use your red torch and bring it slightly in front of the guidescope to check the asterism. the reflection is bright enough to make the marks visible and you are in control of duration and brightness.
not very elegant but works well.

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Unfortunately it's the firmware on the motherboard which controls the brightness of the illuminator.
The command is in the V3.25 (and above) Syscan controller - but only visible if the mount firmware version matches.
HTH