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midnightblue
super member

Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

help me please
#3108847 - 05/16/09 03:03 PM

hi guys I've posted this in the beginner section put I'm
getting no joy I'm setting up the align polar scope
reticule for EQ6 pro I've lined up the cross hair to
faraway target the cross hairs stay on and does not
move off the target but the actual target is moving in a circular
motion would this indicate that the polar scope is not
in-line with the shaft if so how do i adjust the polar
scope to be in-line with the shaft

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LLEEGE
True Blue

Reged: 03/03/05

Loc: Cloud-chester,NY

Re: help me please new

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3109193 - 05/16/09 06:21 PM

Look under tech support on the Astro-physics.com page under the PASL3. It may give you some help on how to optically align yours.

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midnightblue
super member

Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

Re: help me please new

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[Re: LLEEGE]
#3109488 - 05/16/09 09:49 PM Attachment (28 downloads)

this is what i see when i rotate the RA axis after following the instructions
step 2: aligning the polar scope reticule

blue is circular motion

yellow is the object i aligned the cross hair to

notice how both cross hair and object rotate around in a circle

should i be seeing this

Edited by midnightblue (05/16/09 09:50 PM)

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midnightblue
super member

Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

Re: help me please new

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3109498 - 05/16/09 09:53 PM Attachment (26 downloads)

or this

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LLEEGE
True Blue

Reged: 03/03/05

Loc: Cloud-chester,NY

Re: help me please new

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3109583 - 05/16/09 10:52 PM

The second.

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midnightblue
super member

Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

Re: help me please new

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[Re: LLEEGE]
#3109601 - 05/16/09 11:16 PM

any idea what could be the cause faulty polar scope faulty mount

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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio

Re: help me please new

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3109604 - 05/16/09 11:18 PM

Quote:

any idea what could be the cause faulty polar scope faulty mount

The PAS isn't aligned to the mount.

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midnightblue
super member

Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

Re: help me please new

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[Re: jrcrilly]
#3109632 - 05/16/09 11:41 PM

how do i align the P A S to the mount or would it need to be sent back to the manufacture

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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio

Re: help me please new

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3109649 - 05/16/09 11:52 PM

Quote:

how do i align the P A S to the mount or would it need to be sent back to the manufacture

Should be on page 13 of this manual.

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midnightblue
super member

Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

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[Re: jrcrilly]
#3109956 - 05/17/09 06:24 AM

i have followed instructions on part 13 part 12 in my manual

put no where on part 13 does it say the target and reticule

should or should not move around in fixed circular motion

the reticule cross hair don't move of the target BUT the

target and cross hair is moving around in a circular motion

and not at a fixed central point could someone with a eq6

test to see if the cross hair follow the target around in a

circular motion or does the target and cross hair stay

central at a fixed location thanks

it seems I'm going around in a circle and no one knows the

answer and keep sending me back to page 12

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John Carruthers
Skiprat

Reged: 02/02/07

Loc: Kent, UK

Re: help me please new

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3109958 - 05/17/09 06:27 AM

Have you tried this guide?

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Charlie Hein
Postmaster

Reged: 11/02/03

Loc: 26.06.08N, +80.23.08W

Re: help me please new

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[Re: John Carruthers]
#3109970 - 05/17/09 06:52 AM

This image shows the alignment is off:

...and this one shows the alignment is on:

What you seem to be describing is a scenario where the star stays centered under the center cross hair but the whole view seems to move...

Quote:

I've lined up the cross hair to faraway target the cross hairs stay on and does not move off the target but the actual target is moving in a circular motion

I believe this can happen if the reticle is out of square with the optical elements of the polar scope. I've seen this on a couple of these polar scopes and while it looks bad my experience on this is that it is actually aligned okay and will even work well enough for imaging. The reason I'm suggesting that it's an out of square reticle is that we've resolved a couple of them by loosening the reticle enough so that it moves freely and tapped the polar scope "eyepiece up" to drop the reticle all the way down in its slot and this has sometimes remedied the situation.

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midnightblue
super member

Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

Re: help me please new

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[Re: Charlie Hein]
#3110021 - 05/17/09 07:57 AM

i removed the reticule from the polar scope
its the projected image object through the polar scope
is moving in an arc have no problem with lining the
reticule with an object and keeping the cross hairs on the
object but both the object and cross are then moving in an
arc would this indicate a serious problem of the polar scope
is not seated true in the mount

Edited by midnightblue (05/17/09 08:03 AM)

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midnightblue
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Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

Re: help me please new

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3110111 - 05/17/09 09:09 AM

update i have sorted the problem out i had a member from

my local club to have a look and he tried his polar scope

from his EQ6 PRO in my mount and after aligning the

reticule to the same object there was no rotation arc of

the object and cross hair he seem to think that it could

be the optics are not align or the barrel that holds the

bottom optic may not be true thanks every one for helping

i now know its the polar scope and not user error

Edited by midnightblue (05/17/09 09:10 AM)

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robjohn
super member

Reged: 06/04/08

Loc: West Hills, CA

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3110186 - 05/17/09 09:44 AM

You say that you are lining up the polar scope on a "faraway object". It does not sound as if you are using a star, but some terrestrial object. What object are you targeting and how far away is it?

You say that the "actual target" is moving in a circular motion. What is the actual target? Are you talking about the same object when viewed through the telescope or another object when viewed through the polar scope?

What is the period of the circular motion?

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robjohn
super member

Reged: 06/04/08

Loc: West Hills, CA

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[Re: robjohn]
#3110208 - 05/17/09 09:56 AM

Never mind. I see that you have isolated your problem.

Clear, calm, and dark skies.

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Charlie Hein
Postmaster

Reged: 11/02/03

Loc: 26.06.08N, +80.23.08W

Re: help me please new

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[Re: robjohn]
#3111842 - 05/18/09 07:20 AM

Quote:

he seem to think that it could be the optics are not align or the barrel that holds the bottom optic may not be true thanks every one for helping i now know its the polar scope and not user error

If you've already determined that the reticle is square to the rest of the optical path then another thing that you might check is that the "objective" end of the polar scope is well secured. You can see from the image below that this end of the polar scope is far more likely to be out of true then the "eyepiece" end because of the way that it is constructed. If the retaining nut (labeled "focus lock nut" in the image below) is loose then the whole objective end of the polar scope can easily shift position. You'll want to take your best shot at squaring this up as there's no quantitative means of doing this that I know of. You'll need to finalize this procedure by tightening the retaining nut against the tube that holds the objective lens.

(click the image to read an old post on the polar scope reticle)

That said, it bears repeating that while there's certainly nothing wrong with spending some time trying to fix this, it has been my experience that even when the view "wobbles" in this way your polar alignments will be good enough for guided imaging and certainly more than good enough for visual work.

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huckabuck
professor emeritus

Reged: 02/18/07

Loc: statesboro, ga

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[Re: Charlie Hein]
#3111888 - 05/18/09 08:17 AM

hello mnb,
remove (unscrew) the eyepiece and check that the etched glass inside has not slipped. if the alignment screws have been backed out too much at one time or another the glass with the etchings will slip. if that is the case, back the set screws out and replace the glass piece in the center and adjust the set screw so that it is close to centered. when you adjust the alignment you need to loosen the set screws less than 1/4 turn at a time or it will come apart again.

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midnightblue
super member

Reged: 09/03/08

Loc: over the hill

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[Re: Charlie Hein]
#3112358 - 05/18/09 12:42 PM

charlie i think it maybe the barrel when i screw the barrel
all the way in i don't get no rotation arc of the object
it stays fixed but then i cant see the marking on the
reticule its only when the barrel is unscrewed half way
the object starts to rotate with and without the reticule
in its Defoe the barrel and not the reticule that's
causing the problem its as if the objective end is of
centre

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Charlie Hein
Postmaster

Reged: 11/02/03

Loc: 26.06.08N, +80.23.08W

Re: help me please new

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[Re: midnightblue]
#3112402 - 05/18/09 12:57 PM

Quote:

charlie i think it maybe the barrel when i screw the barrel
all the way in i don't get no rotation arc of the object
it stays fixed but then i cant see the marking on the
reticule its only when the barrel is unscrewed half way
the object starts to rotate with and without the reticule
in its Defoe the barrel and not the reticule that's
causing the problem its as if the objective end is of
centre

Yes, that would be my guess as well. The trick here is to unscrew the barrel until the polar scope is focused, then tighten the "main focus lock nut" as tight as you comfortably can against the piece of the polar scope that actually screws into the mount. The "main focus lock nut" nut is the knurled ring that's threaded onto the objective barrel - check the image above for how these parts go together.

You may still need to "flex" the objective barrel a bit to line it up but if the nut is sufficiently tight it should hold where you put it. It will just "flop" under gravity if the nut is not tight enough.

Edited by Charlie Hein (05/18/09 01:00 PM)

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