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Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) Amith member Reged: 06/03/12 Loc: Durban, South Africa Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Tel]       #5296655 - 06/30/12 04:57 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   My apologies for the non working link. Sorry about that Dan, I'm not at home until tomorrow therefore the best I could do in a few minutes was to upload to my site. The correct links are as follows: http://www.astrophotographysa.co.za/camera1.AVI 20mb http://www.astrophotographysa.co.za/eyepiece1.AVI 17mb To answer your questions Tel, (1)it does sound as though the motor is struggling when moving it in an upward direction but this has not happened again since the first time I had mounted the camera onto the telescope. (2) The movement of the OTA continues when the HC button is release after moving it in both directions (up and down). The videos can now be played and I hope that this may provide you guys with a clearer understanding other than what I have tried to do thus far. I ask that you please forgive my ignorance but I am new to this aspect of astronomy but am learning from each of your responses. Thank you Tel for putting my mind at ease with regard to the warranty aspect as well. I was afraid that they may consider this as tampering with the systems operational functions. Post Extras:       Midnight Dan Postmaster Reged: 01/23/08 Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl... Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Amith]       #5296793 - 06/30/12 06:55 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Amith: I don't think the problem is the clutch. The reason the mount continues after you release the button is that it is designed to do so. On the 8SE, the motors continue to run after you release the button and their speed ramps down. You can hear the motors after you release the button. I believe this is designed to reduce the strain on the bearings that would be caused by coming to an instant stop when running at high speed. I previously owned an original Nexstar 8 (not SE) and it worked the same as Tel's 8i. When you release the button, it was like flipping a switch off and it stopped immediately. In that case, if it did *not* stop immediately it was an indication that the clutch was slipping. This is not the case with your mount. I'm glad you posted the videos because now I can see that the motor is struggling when the scope is moving *down*, not up (refer to the drawing above). When the scope is moving down, the eyepiece is moving up. When you add the weight of the camera to the eyepiece end of the scope, it is off-balance to the rear. There is more weight at the rear than the front, so the motor is struggling to lift that extra weight. The solution is to balance the scope with the camera on it. It's a little hard to tell from the video, but you might have a little extra room to move the OTA forward to help with the balance. If you look carefully at the plastic bezel around the dovetail clamp on the fork arm, you'll see that there is a recessed area on the eyepiece-side of the bezel where it allows the rear cell of the OTA to move a little ways behind the bezel, and still be able to seat the dovetail fully when clamping. But if you need to go farther than that to balance, you'll need a rail extension as noted above. -Dan Post Extras:       Tel Postmaster Reged: 03/31/06 Loc: Wallingford England Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Midnight Dan]       #5297283 - 07/01/12 02:45 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Amith, I'm in agreement with Dan: the altitude clutch is not slipping. Looking at the videos several times last night, my impression was that the same reaction was produced irrespective of whether your camera was in place or your EP but that certainly the altitude motor is far noisier on the descent than when elevating the OTA. ( Mind you, compared to the Nexstar 8 and 8i US built mounts, these Chinese successors, while fully functional, always sound " coffee grinder rough") ! With the above in mind therefore, and no further evidence, I go along with the idea of rebalancing the OTA in the manner detailed in earlier posts and with the camera in place on the diagonal rather than the EP: (presupposing that the camera is heavier than the EP you are using -- balance of course always being a compromise because of the continual interchange of various accessories and thus their respective weights). So, rebalance and then retest your 'scope's GoTo accuracy. Do let us know how it goes. If however you still have any worries or further questions please do come back to us. We're all here to help each other ! Best regards Tel Edited by Tel (07/01/12 07:45 AM) Post Extras:       Amith member Reged: 06/03/12 Loc: Durban, South Africa Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Tel]       #5300990 - 07/03/12 05:29 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hey there everyone. I apologize for taking so long to get back with a response. I have balanced the scope as recommended. It did seem to make a difference with the camera mounted onto the star diagonal. I haven't noticed it struggling to move either up or down. I have attached a link to the image of what it looks like now with the scope moved forward. There is a very slight weight bias toward the corrector plate end. http://www.astrophotographysa.co.za/DSCF4099.JPG Thank you for putting my mind at ease with regard to the noise the motor makes Tel. I was beginning to think that there was a serious fault and that it was on its way out. I will definitely test it out this weekend. We had clear skies tonight but I am truly exhausted after having a very busy 5 weeks at work. Post Extras:       Midnight Dan Postmaster Reged: 01/23/08 Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl... Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Amith]       #5301012 - 07/03/12 05:44 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Amith: Looks good! It appears to be about as far forward as it will go. That's probably where you want it with the weight of the camera. Let us know how it works for you. -Dan Post Extras:       Tel Postmaster Reged: 03/31/06 Loc: Wallingford England Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Midnight Dan]       #5301721 - 07/04/12 03:36 AM Attachment (29 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Amith, Congratulations ! It sounds as if you've "tamed" the "ol' coffee grinder" ! As Dan observed, it is well forward on the dovetail which is perfectly OK : (there needs to be a weight distribution imbalance either forward or aft of the altitude axis in order to keep a load on the drive). However, with the OTA forward of the central axis point, these 'scope's normally operate best when the Altitude GoTo Approach, (accessible via the HC's Menu), is set to Negative. Check it and reset it if necessary. It's quite possible though that it is already set to Negative, as I believe this to be the default setting. Additionally: do make sure that your Azimuth GoTo Approach is also set to Negative. For us Northern Hemiisphere operators of these 'scopes, a Positive setting is necessary, which I believe to be the default, but for Southern Hemisphere dwellers, like yourself, the setting must be set to Negative for best results. Finally, at the risk of boring all and sundry once again to distraction, I attach a copy of a paper I wrote for CN in '07 on the set-up and tracking with these 'scopes which I updated in '11. If you haven't seen it, let alone read it, it should help you to get good performance from your 'scope. And, as Dan requested, please let us know how you get on ! Best regards, Tel Edited by Tel (07/04/12 03:37 AM) Post Extras:       Amith member Reged: 06/03/12 Loc: Durban, South Africa Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Tel]       #5301733 - 07/04/12 03:55 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thank you once again Dan, Tel. I will definitely let you guys know how it is going, maybe even put up some shots I get with my scb camera, if possible. I will check on the settings and ensure it is set to negative. Going to have to read the manual again to find out how to get there but none the less. I have downloaded your paper onto my tablet and printed out a copy just in case. Thank you for that Tel!!! I will not be a stranger... unfortunately for your'll Post Extras:       Tel Postmaster Reged: 03/31/06 Loc: Wallingford England Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Amith]       #5303273 - 07/05/12 04:21 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Good luck ! Amith. Best regards, Tel Post Extras:       Peter9 Post Laureate Reged: 10/30/08 Loc: Yorkshire - Born & Bred Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Tel]       #5303329 - 07/05/12 06:51 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Enjoy Amith. Regards. Peter. Post Extras:       Amith member Reged: 06/03/12 Loc: Durban, South Africa Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Peter9]       #5305776 - 07/06/12 05:27 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hey Dan, Peter and Tel and everyone else. Thank you all for you help with getting me going. You guys are truly amazing... Hopefully I can contribute to others that start of like me one day. This is my first attempt at DSO's. Using my Samsung SCB2000 for the first time with barely any knowledge about the functions or features. Video grabber was lagging badly which did not make it any easier. Equipment/Software used: Celestron Nexstar 6SE, GSO 0.5x Focal reducer with 25mm Spacer, Video Grabber, WxAstrocapture, Registax 5 Lagoon Nebula (NGC 6523): 24 Frames. Equipment/Software used: Celestron Nexstar 6SE, GSO 0.5x Focal reducer with 25mm Spacer, Video Grabber, WxAstrocapture, Registax 5. Omega Cluster (NGC5139): 23 Frames. Equipment/Software used: Celestron Nexstar 6SE, GSO 0.5x Focal reducer with 25mm Spacer, Video Grabber, WxAstrocapture, Registax 5. Sombrero Galaxy (NGC4594): 17 Frames. Equipment/Software used: Celestron Nexstar 6SE, GSO 0.5x Focal reducer with 25mm Spacer, Video Grabber, WxAstrocapture, Registax 5. Edited by Amith (07/07/12 02:13 AM) Post Extras:       Tel Postmaster Reged: 03/31/06 Loc: Wallingford England Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Amith]       #5305815 - 07/06/12 05:55 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Amith, It's good to hear that everything is beginning to fit into place and many congratulations on you first attempts at imaging with your Samsung SCB 2000P ! Being a Northern Hemisphere dweller who's in no way au fait with Southern Hemisphere skies, could you perhaps please "label" each object for my benefit ? I'm not sure if the first isn't the Lagoon Nebula, the second ; perhaps Omega Centauri (?) but the third, I'm afraid I really don't recognise ! Best regards, Tel Post Extras:       Amith member Reged: 06/03/12 Loc: Durban, South Africa Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Tel]       #5306274 - 07/07/12 02:05 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hey Tel, My sincere apologies. It was late last night and I was extremely tired. I thought I had labelled them but I see now that I had only done that on facebook. You are correct with the first two. The third was my attempt at the Sombrero Galaxy. I will edit now for others to know. My apologies once again. Thank you for all of your advice. Post Extras:       Tel Postmaster Reged: 03/31/06 Loc: Wallingford England Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Amith]       #5306309 - 07/07/12 03:35 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Apologies absolutely unnecessary, I assure you, Amith ! I was just curious and merely playing a "guessing game" ! I'm pleased I got two of 'em right ! Best regards, Tel Post Extras:       Peter9 Post Laureate Reged: 10/30/08 Loc: Yorkshire - Born & Bred Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Tel]       #5306346 - 07/07/12 05:47 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Great first images Amith. Thanks for posting. As the song goes Tel, "Two out of three ain't bad". It's two more than I would have got. (Nothing to do with the images Amith) Regards. Peter. Post Extras:       Midnight Dan Postmaster Reged: 01/23/08 Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl... Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Peter9]       #5306500 - 07/07/12 10:00 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Great job, Amith! Nice to see some of the Southern jewels! -Dan Post Extras:       Amith member Reged: 06/03/12 Loc: Durban, South Africa Re: Nexstar 6SE Motor/Gearing [Re: Midnight Dan]       #5306933 - 07/07/12 03:16 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thank you guys, I will try and get more images posted of some of the "Southern Jewels" . In all honesty Tel, I would never have gotten any if it were posted by someone else (unless if it were of the Orion Nebula that is). Its ok Peter I got what you were going for there . If at some point I get to see the LMC.. I will try my best and get some shots for you all. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all)

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