· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Equipment Discussions >> Mounts Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 soreneck Pooh-Bah Reged: 04/01/06 Loc: Toronto, Canada EQ6 Pro losing go-to alignment       #3048850 - 04/17/09 10:29 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi all, For the past month or so I've experienced some strange issues with my EQ-6 Pro. If I do a proper 1, 2, or 3 star alignment, the very first slew works perfectly, bringing me to the target object with good accuracy. However, subsequent slews are way off, in the range of 15 degrees or more. I can't figure out what's causing this error -- power supply is consistent, the scope is well balanced, etc. The mount performed without issue for about 1 year before the problems began. Any suggestions? I'm at firmware version 3.10, should I upgrade and hope that this resolves the problem? (And if so, any suggestions for where to purchase the required RS-232 cable?) Many thanks, Adam Post Extras:       Skylook123 Postmaster Reged: 04/30/05 Loc: Tucson, AZ Re: EQ6 Pro losing go-to alignment [Re: soreneck]       #3049062 - 04/17/09 12:45 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Adam, I'd recommend updating the firmware to V3.24. V3.10 was pretty buggy (although probably not your immediate cause of problems). ScopeStuff has the appropriate RS232 to handset cable for the EQ6/Atlas EQ-G SynScan controller. You can find it at: ScopeStuff EQ6 Handset Cable For your immediate problem, your RA clutch might be slipping, or your power supply might be under the weather. If you find your GOTOs are drifting in precision, it wouldn't hurt to check the time in the setup menu on the hand controller and see if it's correct. If the clock is drifting, that would explain the loss of precision. So would a drop in the power supply performance as the slew load taxes it beyond the tracking load. Clutch slipping is not uncommon on some of these mounts as well, as the lubrication migrates around inside the mechanicals. The EQ6 Yahoo! Users Group has instructions on removing the clutch (really just a little brass plug) and cleaning it up. It can get tricky, though, if it gets stuck in the slot; sometimes it just doesn't want to come out and be played with. Good Luck! Post Extras:       soreneck Pooh-Bah Reged: 04/01/06 Loc: Toronto, Canada Re: EQ6 Pro losing go-to alignment [Re: Skylook123]       #3050600 - 04/18/09 10:26 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks Skylook, I will try each of the above! Post Extras:       RandallK Carpal Tunnel Reged: 11/10/06 Loc: Nanaimo, B. C. Canada Re: EQ6 Pro losing go-to alignment [Re: soreneck]       #3052661 - 04/19/09 01:33 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hmm...15° or more. This sounds like a Daylight Savings Time setting. Be sure to Polar Align your mount in Standard Time and on the hand controller, select YES for Daylight Savings Time. Post Extras:       groz Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/14/07 Loc: Duncan, BC Re: EQ6 Pro losing go-to alignment [Re: soreneck]       #3052665 - 04/19/09 01:34 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The eq6-pro came with the cable for doing a firmware update, at least ours did, as did the heq5 and the neq3, so you shouldn't need to buy a new cable. But off by 15 degrees sounds to me like it's possibly a time zone issue, 15 degrees is one hour, and that smacks of being a daylight savings setup error. You are in the eastern time zone, are you setting the timezone as -5 hours and then setting 'yes' to daylight savings? If you are setting the timezone to -4, and saying yes to daylight savings, that'll do pretty much exactly what you are describing as the problem. Another thing to check, are the clutches slipping ? Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 17 registered and 32 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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