Skywatcher HEQ5 PRO Synscan GOTO mount Setup Tutorial 

Thank you!

Hi Gene. Many thanks for taking the time to let me know. Really appreciate feedback...especially positive feedback! Clear Skies. :-)

Exciting! Hope it arrives sooner than that! Clear Skies!

Hi Paulo. Nice to hear that it was so useful for you. You will have many years of great imaging with the HEQ5. Check out my other videos for things like polar alignment, polar scope calibration, remote control and HEQ5 maintenance. Clear Skies!

Happy to help!

Thank you for the great comments, and for taking the time to send them. Much appreciated!

Hey no problem, glad you like them! Congrats on the new purchase. It’s a super mount. Thanks for the comment. Clear Skies!!

Many thanks Andy! Clear Skies to you too.

Enjoy…and thanks for taking the time to comment. Clear Skies!

Thanks Patrick. Glad it was useful and I appreciate your subscription. Clear Skies!

Thanks for your comment Tony. Glad it was helpful. Clear Skies!

Thank you for that! Clear skies!

Congrats…you will not be disappointed. Glad to help. Clear skies Bob!

Great to hear that Paul. Thanks for commenting.

@@martinsastrophotography I have watched loads of RU-vid videos on this and yours is by far the most well made and easy to follow.

Hi Srikanth. I'm glad it was useful. I have released the software (remote) control video but will soon be releasing an updated version! Check my note in the Description. Clear Skies!

Great to hear that! Clear Skies!

Thanks Floris for taking the time to give me this positive feedback. Much appreciated. Clear Skies!

Thanks for the great feedback!! Very much appreciated. Hopefully a bit less ‘grumpy dad’ now then? 😉

@@martinsastrophotography I have a face for radio and not TV 🤣. I just look grumpy.. permenately.

Glad you liked it, and thanks for watching. Next video on PC/laptop control is currently work in progress.

Thank you. Enjoy your HEQ5. It’s a great piece of kit. Check out my video on remote control when you are ready for the next step. Clear skies.

@@martinsastrophotography Thanks Martin .. I will :)

Wow, you have put the work in! It will pay dividends. I do it all instinctively now but I had a very long list of steps when I started. Clear skies!

@@martinsastrophotography I'm sure it will!

You are very welcome. Thanks for your comment.

Wow, thanks!

Good to hear that! Clear skies.

Ha ha! Thanks for the nice feedback Raphael. Glad you liked the video and Clear Skies!

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks for that Max. Clear Skies!

Michael Kucinski Hi Michael. Really appreciate your comments! You will not regret getting the HEQ5! Do check the polar scope calibration when it arrives. I just posted a new tutorial on that. Mine was off when my HEQ5 (new!) was delivered.

Thanks Paul. If you draw a thin line across the RA rotation boundary on your mount with a felt tip pen when it is in the home position, you won’t need a spirit level again to get the RA to the home position. The graticule ring on the Dec does the same job for the Dec, so no spirit level needed there either, provided the ring stays locked in position. :) Clear Skies!

Thanks Craig. Glad you liked it.

Thank you!

@@martinsastrophotography Hi Martin - How about a vid on NINA usage - seems to be getting popular (and I hate reading documentation). Also, why don't you add one of those buttons so we can send you a "Tip$" - you spend a lot of time on this stuff.

@@lciummo1 Thanks for those suggestions! I have recently switched to NINA and this is definitely on my list to do a tutorial but I want to master it better first. I never heard of a “tip button”. I will investigate. Clear skies!

@@martinsastrophotography Per RU-vid, " Once you're in a stream, navigate to the chat, and you should see a dollar-sign in a box to the left of the text box. That will give you the option of sending a Super Sticker or a Super Chat. To buy a Super Thanks, select 'Super Thanks' under the video" It may only be available during "live sessions"? Maybe Patreon is a a better option.

Thank you so much for your comments. Yes! Next tutorial is on auto-guiding and will be released at 4pm uk time on Thursday. Clear Skies!

Thanks for the nice comment Darrell and for the suggestion. My next video is on how to set up remote control of the mount from a laptop/PC. That links the mount to Stellarium which makes a powerful capability! I am also planning to do one on how to set up and use Sequence Generator Pro which I use to capture the images.

Danke!! Clear skies.

You must be excited!! Clear Skies.

@@martinsastrophotography I'm very excited. Tonight will be my first clear night. We have a good temperature drop with a ton of rain yesterday so I assume a very nice sky tonight. Crystal clear out this morning and supposed to be tonight. I just re-watched your wonderful video and can't wait to follow your steps tonight. I have to say I love your videos the best--clear and straight to the point without all the millennial jumping around and acting goofy lol. Thanks!

Sounds ideal! Let me know how you get on. Thank you so much for your really positive comments. I appreciate it a lot.

Thanks James. Still managing to answer all the questions. I hope it can stay that way. If you are just doing visual observing, polar alignment is less critical, but if too far out the object will drift out of the field of view too quickly and become annoying. Clear skies!

Hi there. Nothing to worry about here. The whole point of German equatorial mounts like the HEQ5 is that once polar aligned they only need to drive one axis (the RA) to track the sky. So it is correct that once the slew is completed only the RA motor is moving. When you get into autoguiding, you will use PHD2 to send corrections in both RA and Dec to correct any tracking/alignment errors.

@@martinsastrophotography Thank you very much for taking the time to respond.That's a relief.

@@larkinsen No problem. That’s the whole point of my channel…to share what I’ve learned over the years. Clear Skies!

@@larkinsen You may find this video useful… Astrophotography Polar Alignment Tutorial ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AlCq_TDYDGg.html

That’s good to hear! No, I haven’t done a video on those aspects yet.

Thanks Jim. If after watching the polar alignment video you still have questions just drop me a comment and I will try to help. Clear Skies.

Thanks Jon. Yes, autoguiding is still necessary unless you are using a short focal length and/or short exposure times. Every mount is different so I can’t give you precise values for when you need to autoguide to improve results. You just have to try it and see. These days I never image without autoguiding.

How can I help?

Morning Martin, your channel is the best help me out a lot, do I need a Wi-Fi adapter to get it going as it’s my first Synscan telescope HEQ5 Pro.

@@mgtrini3084 Thanks! Probably not. If you operate the mount using the hand controller, then you do not need the WiFi adapter. Also, when you come to control the mount from a PC you can connect with a USB cable so long as it is no more than about 6 metres away from the laptop. Depending on how old the mount is, you may be able to use a standard USB cable for this (The newer ones work with a standard cable). Older versions need an EQDIR cable.

Thanks, I manage to sort out the latitude, longitude, elevation position, but can’t get around finding Polaris the North Star, well alining my telescope with earth rotation 90 degree angle.

@MG Trini Have you watched my polar alignment tutorial? Astrophotography Polar Alignment Tutorial ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AlCq_TDYDGg.html

Thanks Nancy! Celestial to track the stars/galaxies/nebulae. Solar to track the sun. Lunar to track the moon.

Sure… leave it loose. All we’re using it for is to measure a 90 degree rotation to get from horizontal to vertical, so once that is done it serves no further purpose. Thanks for the positive comments. Clear Skies.

Hi Arpad. Glad to hear my videos are helping you. For me, the HEQ5 is the one to go for, mainly because it is much more widely used and so there is a lot more supporting material out there for you, and if you ever decide to sell it you will do so more easily. I hope this helps.

@@martinsastrophotography Thank you very much!

@@arpadjakab-peter5431 No problem. If you can get the Rowan Belt mod version then do so…it is much better for only a little extra cash! If not, you can save up and add the mod yourself if you are confident with such things.

Hi Phill. Thanks for the kind comments! In this video I turn the graticules to a convenient position simply so I can easily measure a 90 degree rotation from a position I can measure as horizontal using a spirit level to get me to the home position. Any choice like 0, 6 o’clock, 12 o’clock or 9 o’clock would work. Does this help?

@@martinsastrophotography hi Martin ok that makes sense so thanks for that Phill

Thanks Ishaan. No, you don’t leave it in the centre. The centre crosshair points at the centre of rotation of your RA (assuming it is calibrated correctly). Polaris rotates around the North Celestial Pole over 24 hours, so depending on your location and altitude, and the date and time, you need to put Polaris in a specific position on the outer rings of the graticule using your azimuth and altitude bolts. Be sure first to make sure 12 o’clock is ‘up’. Check out my polar alignment tutorial video (link below). It will help you a lot. Clear Skies. Astrophotography Polar Alignment Tutorial ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AlCq_TDYDGg.html

Thanks. Yes, all the steps are the same on an EQ3.

@@martinsastrophotography thank you

Thank you. You should polar align and star align AFTER balancing to avoid disturbing these alignments during balancing. All together I would allow 1 hour to set up up from start to finish. However with practise you will probably reduce this to about 45 minutes. Clear Skies.

@@martinsastrophotography Thanks Martin. I was guaging whether it was ESSENTIAL to leave the rig set up (ready to just lift up and place outside), or if breaking it down and storing it all separately would actually take that much longer. From your video and comment, there's probably more time in the balancing, alignment etc than assembling the rig. I'm just thinking about all the practical steps before my first purchase (rig as mentioned). Again, thanks!!

@@drummingspain207 I understand. I have always set up from scratch every session. Unless I have an observatory one day, that is what I will continue to do. Truth is, I really enjoy the setup process and the fact that the quality of images I acquire are a measure of how well I have set things up. You are wise to consider such things.

@@martinsastrophotography That's good to hear and like you, I'd probably enjoy the set as well... it's the methodicalness in us! Glad I stumbled over this video due to my interest in the HEQ5 and look forward to checking out your other vids too. Catch you later!

@@drummingspain207 Thanks. I hope you find some of my other videos helpful too. Clear Skies.

Hi there. The correct sequence is as follows: 1. Assemble all equipment and cabling. 2. Balance in Right Ascension 3. Balance in Declination (horizontal and vertical) 4. Polar align 5. Set to Home position 6. Cycle power to mount (off/on) 7. Enter date, time, lat, long etc… 8. Adjust focus 9. Perform 1 Star Alignment. (Use a star that is reasonably close to the target you want to photograph) 10. select a target and Goto it. 11 Start taking photos!

Hi there. No. You must not unlock the clutches (clamps) after placing in the home position. When locked, the RA and declination axes are driven by the motors. When unlocked they are disconnected from the motors so hand controller will not be able to do anything. Clear Skies!

@@martinsastrophotography thank you for the information and responding back in such a timely manner!

@@Somethingisntright64 You are very welcome!

What version of the hand controller did it come with.

IR Photo-Tours Hi there. Thanks for your comments. The Celestron Nexstar 8SE is Vixen dovetail compatible and lighter than the 8” Newtonian that I use on the HEQ5 mount, so yes, the HEQ5 will work with the Nexstar 8SE.

@@martinsastrophotography Thx Martin, I am 52 degrees myself so Norfolk, UK for me, don't know about you but I am getting rather miserable over our weather we are having here, rain and clouds for over 2 weeks now :(.

Me too! Very frustrating. But it also gives us time to process our data, tune our kit, learn new things online, research new targets etc...

Hi there. Thanks for your comment. If you are on the fence, so to speak, go for the EQ6-R Pro. The portability is essentially the same…they are both too heavy to go for a walk with it in your backpack, but both light enough to put in your car. The EQ6-R gives you more future proofing with its larger payload capacity. Hope this helps.

@@martinsastrophotography Thank you, a copy of my current thoughts 👍

The home position is the position that the mount assumes it is in when it powers up. The “Goto” system then moves to selected objects by moving the required amount in RA and Dec relative to the home position. When you perform a star alignment, you correct the error in the accuracy of your home position to make the Goto find targets more accurately. Hope this helps.

@@martinsastrophotography Yea, that's what I thought alright, but thanks for the confirmation. I suppose, when thinking about it, the SynScan software doesn't actually know where the telescope is pointing, so you have to point it in the direction that that the software expects it to be pointing.

Polar alignment is absolutely essential. Without it the tracking will not work correctly. . If you cannot see Polaris you will need to use a technique called ‘Drift Alignment’ instead. There are plenty of videos on RU-vid explaining how to do this. Clear skies.

Hi there. Thanks for your positive comments. Yes, the manuals are a bit dated and do not provide more ‘modern’ ways of setting it up. The RA and Dec clutches should be locked once the mount has been assembled, balanced and polar aligned. It is the polar alignment that accurately sets your azimuth and altitude (latitude) bolt positions by aligning the RA axis with the Earth’s rotational axis. I have done a separate tutorial on polar alignment that details how to do this. I hope I have answered your questions ok. Clear Skies!

@@martinsastrophotography Thank you Martin for your instant repsonse. Much appreciated. I thought this already, but wanted to make sure to the right thing. Cheers and clear skies, Hendrik

Hi Wilmer. You will need to purchase and fit an HEQ5 extension tube. Fortunately it is not very expensive. This 16” long cylindrical tube lifts the mount head higher up above the tripod legs so the counterweight no longer hits them. It should not significantly degrade stability.

Hi Ramesh. No. Here is the sequence: 1. Assemble equipment 2. Balance in RA and declination 3. Polar align. 4. Set to home position. 5. Cycle power off/on. 6. Enter date/time/location 7. Star Align (and focus) 8. Slew to your target!

@@martinsastrophotography many many thanks. That makes it perfect to the sequence and understanding. Sorry for all the silly questions.

@@rameshtahlan Not a problem. Not silly at all...silly is not thinking about what the order should be! :-)

It’s a Sky-Watcher Quattro 8CF. 8” f/4 Newtonian (800mm focal length)

@@martinsastrophotography thanks for your reply. Another question, please. How do you manage the weight on this mount? Both 200/800 and 200/1000 (that I have) have the same weight. Do you think I'll have issues with my scope on this mount? I've bought HEQ5 and I'm getting worried about it...thank you in advance

@@stefanoannarumi4186 It is approaching the maximum sensible payload for the mount, but if you balance carefully in RA and in both Dec orientations (horizontal and vertical) you should be ok.

@@martinsastrophotography Many thanks!

Colin Green Yes, I do.

Hi Michael. The EQ6-R Pro, as with the HEQ5, can be guided through the meridian if that is what you want to do. I use Sequence Generator Pro which gives me quite a few options for what to do at Meridian, including specifying how many minutes to continue past Meridian before performing the flip. Take care to set your limits if you plan to guide well past Meridian to avoid crashing into your tripod. On your second question, the mount head base is flat and rests on the tripod top. The spreader plate bolt then screws into the mount base and the two opposing RA adjustment bolts are tightened against the peg on the top of the tripod. At this point, it's very stable indeed, and so stability should not concern you. My understanding is that the EQ6-R Pro is the most widely used mount in astrophotography by some margin. If the mount were unstable, it would not have this rather enviable accolade.

@@martinsastrophotography Thanks Martin. Is Sequence Generator Pro a computer program? I do not want to use a computer with my mount. Will the hand controller without a computer guide through the meridian without flipping? Also do you think it will work OK for astrophotography with a C-11 with camera and guide scope? The C11 SCT OTA weighs about 30 pounds.

@@malanstecker Hi Michael. Yes, it’s a computer application. I am a bit confused by your question. Guiding involves a computer that is connected to your mount and a guidescope camera. Without guiding or a computer, the mount may perform a meridian flip on its own after a GOTO request, but if you go to setup/flipping mode you can choose the behaviour you want. Check out the user manual for details. I hope this helps.

Hi Jack. I just checked online... Are you looking at the "Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5 Telescope". If so, take care not to confuse the EQ5 and the HEQ5 Pro mounts. They are not the same. The HEQ5 Pro is a 'GOTO' mount which can carry a heavier load and is much more capable than the EQ5. It depends on your budget of course, but the HEQ5 is MUCH better for Astrophotography! If you are just getting started, I strongly recommend not getting a telescope at all to start off. That may sound bizarre but if you already have a DSLR and a lens or two, it's much better to spend your cash on the best tracking mount you can afford and learn how to use it properly than to spread your hard earned cash across a less capable mount and a telescope. There are plenty of surprisingly large objects in the sky that don't need a long focal length telescope to get really nice photos of (Andromeda Galaxy and Great Orion Nebula being 2 very good examples). The Andromeda Galaxy is 6 times wider than a full moon! You can easily add a longer focal length, wider aperture telescope later for imaging smaller targets....but the mount you buy now will limit the weight of kit you can put on it later, so buying the better will save you pain in the long run. I started out with an HEQ5 Pro mount (with Rowan Belt Drive mod) and used my Canon DSLR with a 100-400mm lens and got great results. Mounting the camera and lens was just a case of a single bolt through the vixen dovetail bar into the L-bracket on my lens (or can go into threaded hole in base of camera if using a smaller lens). If you do go with the 200P Newtonian you will need a compatible coma corrector to do astrophotography in order to flatten the focal plane, a Nikon T2 adapter and a suitable spacer/adapter to go between the coma corrector and the Nikon T2 adapter. These last two items need to put your camera's sensor at a specific distance from the nearest lens on the coma corrector called the 'back focus'. Your supplier should help you identify precisely what items you need. I hope this helps! Clear Skies!

OK that's really helpful thank you. I will probably go with the better mount then and I will have to decide for longer whether I want a telescope straight away or not

@@jacksutton9014 Glad to be of assistance Jack. Be warned...Astrophotography is highly addictive!!! :-)

@@martinsastrophotography I look forward to it!! Im actually an astrophysics student....so im already addicted to space haha

@@jacksutton9014 I’m a spacecraft systems engineer, so I’m addicted to space too!! :-)

Something much more fundamental is wrong than a 6m altitude error to get such a big slew error. You do not mention putting the mount in the home position after polar alignment and then cycling the power to the mount. I always do this....It is important that the mount reports its position after power up as RA zero, Dec 90. After connecting to the mount in Stellarium, and before any slews or syncs, the telescope position should be displayed in Stellarium as right on the North Celestial Pole close to Polaris. I hope this helps.

@@martinsastrophotography I did not think to power cycle the mount after home position, I shall Perform this step next time. Thank you sir.

Hi Simon. I just measured the current draw of my HEQ5 head with no payload but both motors running at max speed. It was 1.06 Amps. So you will need at least 1.5 Amp current rating on the supply to the HEQ5. The ASIair provides four 5.5x2.1mm outputs each rated 12V, 3 Amps, which is perfect, so you just need to provide a suitably rated (I suggest 12V, 5Amp) supply to the ASIair (from the mains via a transformer perhaps) and then a short 5.5x2.1mm plug to plug cable to the mount. I recommend a silicone jacketed cable if you can source one as it will not harden as it gets cold. Does that help?

@@martinsastrophotography thanks Martin that’s perfect!

Hi there. It’s the starting datum position defined by zero right ascension and 90 degree declination from which the first slew is performed. If the mount is not in the home position when it is initialised (powered up) then the first slew to a star alignment star will be totally off. Any mount without expensive encoders works this way. It needs to start in a known position so that when asked to move somewhere it can compute how many degrees to rotate and in what direction to point at the selected target.

Not silly at all. A very sensible question. Yes, you should assemble and balance all your kit first. Then polar align. Then put in the home position. Then power cycle. Then star align. Then you can use the Goto functions to slew to your targets of interest. Try to choose stars relatively close to the targets you want to look at when you star align for best accuracy in centering them. I hope this helps.

@@martinsastrophotography Yes very helpful. Thanks Martin 👍

Sorry, you have some typos in your question. I am not clear what you would like me to measure. Please clarify.

@@martinsastrophotography the mount

Thanks. It’s the Sky-Watcher Quattro 8CF (8” Newtonian).

@@martinsastrophotography Thanks Martin. I just wanted to know for I needed to purchase a mount for my brand new iOptron 200mm and I was struggling between the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 and EQ6. I know the "bigger the better". However, I found a HEQ5 "in stock", rare commodity nowadays. So, I just pulled the trigger on one. I hope all will be fine. I assumed since you have your tube on one and yours it's a little bit heavier than mine... Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to start using it :-)

Hi Clive. It’s the Quattro 8CF. It’s a great match for the HEQ5. At f/4 it’s fast for not too much cash, but you do need the coma corrector as well for Astrophotography use. It requires both 5kg weights positioned about 70% of the way down the counterweight bar. I have a focus motor controller I built for it which works great, and I use the ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera with EFW8 filter wheel and ZWO Off Axis Guider with QHY5L-II guide camera. Plus a home made neoprene dew shield!

@@martinsastrophotography home made neoprene dew shield sounds interesting, how much did it cost and can you do a video o how you made it and where you sourced the material? I would love to know because they cost way too much off the shelf, my celestron 8 es is £60 which is ridiculous for what it is.

I agree £60 is way too much to pay. Cost me less than £20 to make mine. I will add this to my list of videos to make.

No, this is not normal. Did you buy it new? If so, you should contact the supplier immediately. If you bought it second hand you may need to do some maintenance work on it. I have done a full strip down and rebuild video for this mount. Do NOT force anything….you will almost certainly cause damage.

@@martinsastrophotography thank you,...will do

Hi James. I recommend you get a 12V, 5 Amp (60 Watt) supply. You didn’t say whether you will power it from the mains or from a battery pack. In my setup I have a HiTec Astro Dew Heater Controller powered from a 12V 5A mains adapter. The dew heater controller sits nicely on the tripod spreader plate with some Velcro. It has two 5.5mm DC jack outputs on it and I connect one of these to my mount’s power socket using a 0.5m long 5.5mm jack to jack silicone jacketed cable.

@@martinsastrophotography Thanks! I would mostly be powering from the mains, but occasionally I'll be a bit remote, so a battery pack would be preferable.

@@Oamaruastro I recommend you power from the mains when you’re at home. Running from a battery pack you can get voltage drop that causes trouble which cannot happen when you run from the mains.

To be honest, I would take it apart and use a spirit level on the top of the tripod, then put it all back together. If you already levelled the tripod during setup for a previous shooting, there would be no need to do it again....unless you are not set up on solid ground, which is not advisable anyway.

Thank you! I was thinking aswell, could the built in level in the mount not be used instead?@@martinsastrophotography

@@maxil8988 I don’t recommend using that one. Mine was so badly aligned to horizontal that it was unusable. Use a small spirit level on the flat surface at the top of the tripod testing arrow orthogonal angles as shown in the video. Check your spirit level is good by putting it on a flat surface and seeing where the bubble is, then rotating it 180° and checking that the bubble position is the same. I tested 4 spirit levels before I finally got one that was good!!! They seem to be very poorly made products.

Edwin Sanchez There are 2 options. Did your mount come with a serial/RS232 data cable? It has an RJ10 connector on one end and either 9-way D-sub connector on the other end, or a USB connector? This option plugs into the hand controller so keeps the hand controller connected which can be useful when trying to get an alignment star in view when operating from a remote laptop. The alternative is an EQDIR cable which plugs into the mount directly instead of the hand controller., but with no hand controller you may need to use plate solving to align your mount with the sky, which you may not be ready for if you have only just got your mount! Have you subscribed to my channel? There is a remote control tutorial for Skywatcher on there!

Martin’s Astrophotography thank you! I did subscribe to your channel, you have good information and I did see that tutorial!! I did have a usb-b cable but will order that eqdir cable too. I use APT.

Edwin Sanchez Thanks for subscribing Edwin. The prices and quality vary significantly for the EQDIR cable. I bought a cheap one (£15 from Amazon) and an expensive one (£32 from First Light Optics), and the expensive one was MUCH better quality!

Martin’s Astrophotography I Order from OPT here in US, i am hoping to use ascom poth hub to use APT and phd2 without the st4 cable, so with the cable directly plugged to mount I can accomplish it🤝🤝

A GoTo will slew to the chosen object, provided you have polar aligned and star aligned first. If your mount is set to sidereal tracking it will then track the object.

@@martinsastrophotography thanks!

That’s normal. It has no battery for data storage. Clear Skies!

Thanks Martin. Another dumb question if you don’t mind - when I slacken the clutches, both the RA and Dec rotations are still quite stiff. It’s quite hard to get an accurate RA balance simply because I can move the counterweight a few inches without it overcoming the friction and causing the axis to rotate. When the RA is balanced as well as I can, it’s still stiff and needs shove to make it rotate one way or another. The friction is worse when the counterweight bar is horizontal ( same effect whether pointing E or W). I’m using a small (72mm) refractor and a 5kg counterweight positioned a couple of inches down the shaft. And I’ve noticed that the rotations are still stiff even when the mount has no scope or counterweights attached. The friction is highest when the RA is at 90 degrees either side of Home. Does any of this sound normal to you? I asked FLO and they said some stiffness won’t be a problem, but I don’t see why the rotation isn’t virtually frictionless if the bearings are OK? Sorry to take up your time

@@wanderingbrummie No, this stiffness is not normal. If mine were stiff like this I would do a strip down, clean and re-grease but you should not have to do that on a brand new mount. You could take a look at my video (new version) on how this is done, but better get back to the supplier first.

@@martinsastrophotography it’s a brand new mount so it will have to go back to FLO. I just tried rotating the mount by hand with no scope or weights, and the friction gets a lot worse at certain points, like the bearing is almost binding at these positions. Not good. I also found that the synscan controller should have been an updated model with a USB port on it, but my version is an older one. Ah well, at least it’s cloudy so I’m not missing out!

@@wanderingbrummie Still annoying I’m sure with a brand new mount. I hope they sort it for you quickly. The USB port is a nice to have as it means you can use a standard USB cable instead of an EQDIR cable, but not a showstopper in my view. Worth asking them though for sure!

Principles should all be the same. Does the EQ5 have a polar scope?

@@martinsastrophotography it does yes, but I have a house in the way of polaris, I think I'm kind of getting the hang if it, quick question though , when setting the right ascension, does it matter which side I turn it to set it, does that make sense to you ? Like the scope on the left or the right when using the spirit level.....

@@mickyovts3872 Hi Michael. No, that doesn’t matter. You’re just trying to get your telescope to be in a vertical plane. So get it horizontal and then rotate in RA by 90 degrees in the appropriate direction so the telescope is pointing towards the Northern Sky. If you can’t see Polaris you either need to move site so you can, or learn to do Drift Alignment…There are lots of RU-vid videos on that.

@@martinsastrophotography awesome thankyou, you have some great videos, I'm a little late getting into this hobby and some of your content has been awesome, subscribed

@@mickyovts3872 Thanks Michael. Great to hear that the channel is useful to you. Clear Skies.

Hi there. I recommend you follow my polar alignment process. This is detailed in a different tutorial video on my channel called Astrophotography Polar Alignment Tutorial’. A lot of people think their reticule is wrongly positioned inside the polar scope but this is not the case. As the video explains, you start by adjusting Alt and Az bolts to get polaris at the very centre of the reticule. Then use altitude bolts only to move Polaris to the top of the inner rings. Then open the RA clutch and rotate the RA until 0 is at the top (and 6 is at the bottom). Lock the RA clutch. Now adjust altitude and azimuth bolts to put Polaris at the position shown by the PS Align Pro app (or similar app). Then you are polar aligned. After polar alignment replace the polar scope covers and use a spirit level to get your mount to the home position with RA and Dec clutches open, then lock the clutches. Finally, switch the mount on. (When it switches on it assumes it is in the home position.) Clear Skies!

@@martinsastrophotography Hi Martin, thanks. I understand what you mean with the polar alignment process. I will have a look at your video about this. But to proper align the polarscope the 6 needs to be at the bottom of the scope when RA is in the home position. The polar align app shows where Polaris is standing when 6 is at the bottom. When I look into my scope and the mount and RA being leveled, when I return the mount RA to home the 6 is standing between 6 standing between 6 and 6:30. This means it is slightly off. When I put the scope 6 to the bottom the RA axis is standing on angle to the mount.

Sorry, I was obviously not clear enough. You put 6 at the bottom in the step I described where you rotate your RA!!! Your reticule therefore cannot be ‘off’. 6 does not have to be at the bottom when you are in the home position. It must be at the bottom when you position Polaris in the right place at the final step of polar alignment, before you put it in the home position.

@@martinsastrophotography Hi Martin, Thank you for your time to respond to my question. After I reread your initial response, I understood what you meant. As I am coming from the Star Adventurer it is a bit of a change. Now I understand to process it is very well replicable on both mounts (HEQ5 Pro and SA). Thanks. When you do not mind, I have another question. Last night I had clear skies and made few tests. I got very good polar alignment (I checked it after 3 hours and Polaris was at the place where it supposed to be at that time). After PA I balanced the Mount - RA / DEC - (I am using a small kit - Olympus EM1 Mark II + WO Redcat 51 - I bought the HEQ5 because I want to add larger scopes to my kit). Everything was in place (time, coordinates, etc. all fine). I did 2 star alignment 1. Start Sirius. The mount slew to the location and Sirius was only a bit out of the centre. I put it into the centre.. 2. Star - Mirfak - The mount slew to the location Mirfak was spot on in the centre. So far so good. My problem is that I can't get long exposure on the mount. 60s seems to be fine, but after that.... 90 % of the images are rubbish. I get 180 s on my Star Adventurer and the majority of the images is ok. But on the HEQ5 mount I do not even have to try this. I am not sure why this is. I am not guiding yet, as I want to get this manual process sorted first. Perhaps you can point me in the right direction. I checked quickly the backlash, but that seems to be fine. Hope you can help. Thanks, Hendrik

@@nordiclightphototours153 Hi Hendrik. Difficult to be sure, but I certainly advise you to balance BEFORE doing polar alignment. Everything needs to be very securely mounted. Meshing imperfections in the mount can cause such problems as well. So can cable drag, and wind! So many things that all need to be right! Autoguiding should help significantly as well. I am currently working on a tutorial video on Autoguiding as it happens!

As soon as you move it your polar alignment (and star alignment) are lost. You will not need to re-balance, but you will need to do your polar alignment and star alignment again.

@@martinsastrophotography Alright, thanks. I'm more confused about the whole part with leveling the mount and adjusting the green wheels from 0 to 90 degrees etc and how often that needs to be done.

Hi there. Yes, but it is in the head not the tripod, and was actually not fitted properly by the manufacturer so tells me nothing! That’s why I use a decent spirit level on the tripod instead. Clear skies!

Hi Michael. Yes, you need to install ASCOM platform and then you need the EQASCOM (EQMOD for ASCOM) drivers as well. If you are struggling to find these let me know and I will dig out the web links for you.

@@martinsastrophotography that would be great. I am worried I would go to the wrong site

@@MultiTempered ASCOM Platform 6.5SP1 ascom-standards.org Click download button at right hand side under heading “Platform 6.5SP1” Open once downloaded to install it. EQASCOM sourceforge.net/projects/EQM-mod/files/EQASCOM/ Click on EQASCOM_V200q_Setup.exe Open once downloaded to install it.

@@martinsastrophotography Thank you. i was able to install with the fist link but the second link does not work

@@MultiTempered sorry...typo! Let’s try again: sourceforge.net/projects/eq-mod/files/EQASCOM/

Yes. It’s a ‘Skywatcher Quattro 8CF’. 8” Newtonian Reflector.

A great question, and one that I have also asked in the past. It is true that if you are perfectly polar aligned then it does not matter, other than for the reasons you mentioned. However it is important in the process of getting polar aligned... For example, my method of polar alignment involves a step where I position Polaris in the centre of the polar scope graticule and then I adjust the altitude bolt so that Polaris moves “up” to identify where the “top” of the circle (12 o’clock) should be. This is where the tripod top being level becomes important, since true “up” is only achieved correctly if the tripod top is level. If it is not level I will put 12 o’clock in the wrong place and then when I adjust Alt & Az bolts to put Polaris in the required position on the graticule it will actually be wrong!! I hope this helps.

@@martinsastrophotography I see! So basically, it is due to a limitation in the mount's polar alignement system. Thanks for the explanation :)

@@pierauspitz Yes, though I would prefer to call it a ‘feature’ of the alignment system rather than a limitation. :)

@@martinsastrophotography :D

Not a stupid question at all. On a Goto mount, after polar alignment, the mount is switched on in the ‘home position’. This gives it a very rough reference position for using the Goto function to find a target (which is done by a relative move from the home position). The Star Alignment process improves the accuracy of the Goto function significantly by pointing the telescope at specific bright stars and creating ‘sync’ points that are used internally by the mount so it ‘knows’ where it is pointing. The more stars you do this with the more accurately the mount will find objects in the sky. If you do a 1 star align on a star close to the target you want to view, that will usually be enough. However, if you want to look in lots of places in the sky you would probably need to do a 2 or 3 star align using stars that are quite far apart in the sky. Does that help?

@@martinsastrophotography Understood, very much clear... then it is mainly (better: only) to proficiently exploit the goto capability. I am roughly able to point objects using RA/DEC coordinates calculation from a previous hop - usually vega or something visible - (exercised with StarAdventurer), and by using a tele zoom lens in wide focal, and progressively zooming the subject keeping it in the center (and doing a shot for every repositioning and zooming). It is time consuming but, at least at the beginning, the entire procedure was such kind of "educational". Now GoTo is speeding things up very much. I look forward a clear sky to try my new heq5! Thank you!

@@martinsastrophotography Oh, I forgot another question: I haven't actually operated it, only verified that the motors work; is it sufficient to turn the red switch on/off to ON to engage the RA rotation ? I do not see it described in the "too quick" manual I have got, so I assued that it implicitly starts tracking when it is switched on. Is it correct or does it happen after some procedure to be done on the hand controller ? Many thanks!

@@Ziogeppo00 Yes, it is only for the Goto. I strongly recommend fitting a TelRad. It will transform your setup. Align it with the telescope once in the daytime. Then use it to get alignment stars in the the field of view during star alignment. Once star aligned, just use the handset Goto function to slew to targets. No more hopping or using RA and Dec coordinates!!!

@@Ziogeppo00 When you switch it on it assumes it is in the home position (RA 0 Dec 90). It should also be RA tracking at sidereal rate, although the handset provides tracking options for lunar, solar, sidereal and off so you can check if you wish.

The mount is not “locked into position” after polar alignment. Polar alignment is the process of making the RA axis parallel to the Earth rotational axis. After polar alignment you can unlock RA and/or Dec clutches or slew to a target. A Goto is MUCH better than a manual mount because it helps you find your target. This is achieved using a home position plus a process called star alignment, which can be replaced by plate solving once you master a number of things. Not sure exactly what you define as a “manual mount”….if you mean it tracks but is not a Goto mount, then it will usually only be able to guide in RA, whereas a Goto mount can guide in RA and Dec. I hope this helps.

@@martinsastrophotography I was referring to a manual mount as in, not computer-controlled or electronic. I have the Skyguider Pro. I could use NINA's plate solving to get PA. I thought at that point the mount is locked because any changes would ruin the PA, at least in RA, wouldn't it?

@@deeber35 The SkyGuider Pro is electronic, and can be guided in RA by a computer. No, moving in RA is simply a rotation about the RA axis. Polar alignment is the process of making the RA axis parallel to the Earth’s rotation axis. That doesn’t stop you rotating about that axis once you have completed Polar Alignment. Polar alignment involves adjusting the azimuth and altitude bolts, not the RA. I hope this helps.

@@martinsastrophotography Got it. Can u say what are the lightest weight Goto EQ mounts that work well? It needs to be 4 lbs or less.

@@deeber35 In general, the lighter the weight the mount, the worse the performance, so be aware of this when you search for such a light weight mount. I would take a look at the new ZWO AM5. My first mount was the HEQ5 Pro from Sky-Watcher. It is MUCH heavier than 4lb!

Oh dear Rob. There must be an explanation. I suggest setting it up inside and checking things step by step. Kit fitted correctly? Balanced? Clutches closed? Home position established? Cycle power…enter correct latitude and longitude, Perform 1 star alignment (use Stellarium to work out roughly where a named bright star would be if you were outside and select that star for the alignment). Star alignment successful? Slew to another target somewhere different (chosen in Stellarium). Dies it go to roughly the right place. Practise all this indoors until it is working consistently, then try it in anger outside. Good luck and I hope this helps in some way.

​@@martinsastrophotographypulled this thing out the cupboard 2 years on, going to give it another go 😂..I don't hold out much hope though 😮

My Italian is not so good, sorry, but I used Google Translate! I think you are saying that an aperture less that 60cm is no good for observing or photography. I would agree that only very large apertures are needed to observe Nebulae visually, but for Astrophotography I must respectfully disagree...spectacular photos are certainly possible with much less than 60cm aperture.