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[Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Equipment Discussions >> Mounts Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 biomedchad professor emeritus Reged: 04/13/09 Loc: Marion, Ohio New Sirius Owner..Few ??'s       #4507961 - 04/09/11 09:55 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   my first night out with my sirius and i have a few questions. first, it seems when the mount starts to slew there is a slight gear grinding..im not sure if this is normal..it gets smooth when it picks up speed but grindy when it starts..is this normal? 2nd, when im starting up and entering my time/date it asks for time zone..the display reads +00:00..i live in ohio so im gmt-5 so i put in -05:00..is this correct..there is no example in the instructions. i think thats it for now but im sure i will have more before the night is over. thanks for any help or info guys!! Post Extras:       Phil Sherman Pooh-Bah Reged: 12/07/10 Loc: Cleveland, Ohio Re: New Sirius Owner..Few ??'s [Re: biomedchad]       #4508087 - 04/09/11 11:21 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   GMT-5 is correct for standard time. Once daylight savings time arrives; it's GMT-4. The alternative is to use GMT for the handset. GMT is GMT; there's no DST adjustment. Actually, I use GMT for everything astronomical. I suspect the "gear grinding" is a bit of extra noise as the stepper motors are accelerating to a high slew speed. It shouldn't be a problem. If you have any questions; don't forget that there's lots of star parties hosted by the Lake and Geauga county parks systems. You'll find members of the CVAS (Chagrin Valley Astronomical Society) at all of the star parties with their scopes. The one held two weeks ago was my first with my new Atlas mount. All of my previous ones for the last few years have been with a Sirius mount. Phil Post Extras:       biomedchad professor emeritus Reged: 04/13/09 Loc: Marion, Ohio Re: New Sirius Owner..Few ??'s [Re: Phil Sherman]       #4508100 - 04/09/11 11:28 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   thanks..that sounds great. im part of the richland astronomical society. its great but the weather has held up everything. i thought i could sneak in a night tonight but the fog and haze just ruined the night. oh well i got to play with the mount. finding polaris through the polar scope is kinda rough..i know that much!! so you enter the same on the keypad -05:00 all of the extra numbers kinda confuses me..i dont know why you just cant enter -5. can you get that exact with your time? Post Extras:       Phil Sherman Pooh-Bah Reged: 12/07/10 Loc: Cleveland, Ohio Re: New Sirius Owner..Few ??'s [Re: biomedchad]       #4509951 - 04/10/11 09:35 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I think all of us frequently have ideas of ways to improve the hand controller. It's really a fairly simple-minded computer and I suspect that the developers probably used a common input routine for entering certain types of information and ended up with the entry mechanism you see. If you plan on doing drift alignment when setting up the mount; you need to remember to carefully level the tripod before attaching the mount. This isolates the azimuth and altitude adjustments when doing the polar alignment. I put a piece of masking tape on the polar scope eye[piece to keep it in focus. Fabric stores sell "decorator velcro" that's sticky on only one side. It's great to make tie points on the mount to guide cables. Phil Post Extras:       darkman Man In Black Reged: 10/19/10 Loc: San Antonio, TX Re: New Sirius Owner..Few ??'s [Re: biomedchad]       #4510031 - 04/10/11 10:22 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Mine doesn’t make any noise unless it’s off balance or I’ve really really got it loaded down, then you can hear it gripe at you a bit. It’s gotten quieter over time as everything wears in. As to the time zone, Page 26 of the Owners’ Manual has a time zone chart. Post Extras:       Igor sage Reged: 04/20/06 Loc: Croatia Re: New Sirius Owner..Few ??'s [Re: darkman]       #4512797 - 04/12/11 07:12 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I own HEQ5 SynTrek mount (I think its the same as Sirius mount) and mine grinds too when starting to slew. Edited by Igor (04/12/11 07:13 AM) Post Extras:       jrbarnett Eyepiece Hooligan Reged: 02/28/06 Loc: Petaluma, CA Re: New Sirius Owner..Few ??'s [Re: biomedchad]       #4513004 - 04/12/11 09:57 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   "...it seems when the mount starts to slew there is a slight gear grinding..." Normal for both the Atlas and Sirius. At the beginning and end of slews these mounts generate some "gear chatter" or resonance. Some have more of it than others, so presumably it could be tuned with gear mesh adjustment. But mine's never missed a day and here's what it sounds like: Slew Start-up: "Bwwwwrrrjjjjjeeetttttt...rrrrrr...hmmmmmmm..." Slew End: "hmmmmmmm....rrrrrrraaaaaawwwwwwwwnnnnnnnjjjjjjjjtttt..." At Idle/Tracking: "...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEeeeeee..." Low Battery Cut-out: "wwwwwwwwWWWWWAAAAAAAJJJJJJJJNNNNNGGgggrrrrrrKkkkkkkkksht..." - Jim Post Extras:       w orchid Pooh-Bah Reged: 04/23/07 Loc: Tampa, Fl Re: New Sirius Owner..Few ??'s [Re: jrbarnett]       #4513551 - 04/12/11 02:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   JIm, good stuff there... LOL Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 8 registered and 34 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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