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AZ EQ6 in the US?

Started by Kevin Lahey , Oct 25 2012 12:43 AM
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209 replies to this topic

#126 astroRoy

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Posted 13 December 2012 - 09:44 PM

I read this thread pretty thoroughly, but didn't see any reference to EQMOD. Will EQMOD work on this mount?

Thanks in advance,

Roy

#127 astroRoy

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Posted 13 December 2012 - 11:53 PM

I see my question was answered in another thread and the answer is yes.

Thanks all,

Roy

#128 mega256

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 12:04 AM

Very
COOL

#129 johnpd

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 03:13 AM

I will be interested in finding out how well aligned in Az two scopes in Alt-Az mode will be. There is no adjustment capability included. According to the Instruction Manual, the user has to find a "proper way" to eliminate the azimuth deviation.

JohnD

#130 mega256

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 07:10 AM

Looks great Jack,but the poor LX80 is starting to get dust
on it in the backround....lol.....
Are u Happy ?...much more money,,,but ur getting ur money's
worth.....This one wont be getting dusty,,,imho
Cant beat that EQ-6 sound...and will be looking forward to
a new thread "" the eq in use..""... to see(I like my iEQ45 but sounds like a washing machine..but works great lol
It will be interesting to see
how the push to go keeps up with the goto,,keep ur comming..

#131 ghataa

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:14 AM

Thanks Jack! It is really quite quiet!!

George

#132 desanctb

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 10:13 AM

I just received my azeq6 and can confirm it works with Eqmod. No special cable is needed, just the supplied cable and a USB to serial adapter.

#133 rmollise

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 10:46 AM

The standard Atlas works exactly the same way; it's only when you want to take the HC out of the loop that you need the little EQDIR level coverter module. ;)

#134 martl

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 04:43 PM

Wow, 2 days offline and so many posts. Congratulations, Jack, to your purchase, I think you will love the mount. Please keep us updated about the goto performance, this is the only thing which I can't get working as I want at the moment. I was out at my observing site 2 days ago, but it had -15°C, too cold for testing goto. Also my primary was pinched in its cell because I hit it accidentially with my car door, but realised this only after the photographic session.

CS
Martin

#135 Jack Huerkamp

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 07:42 PM

Marti,

Have you updated to V3.32 of the firmware - just released yesterday? I was unaware there were GoTo issues witht the mount. I have been testing it indoors with my iPAD controlling the mount and each GoTo placed the scope on the target. I don't know if real stars act differently than fake stars. Hopefully I will get a chance to try it out under real ones this weekend; but right now the clouds have rolled in.

Jack H

#136 johnpd

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:04 PM

I was unaware there were GoTo issues witht the mount.



There was a dealer in Australia who did some preliminary testing of the mount and noted that fact. He posted a couple of days ago that Synta came through with a correcting firmware update. Here is the site: Astronomy Australia AZ-EQ6

#137 martl

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Posted 15 December 2012 - 03:15 PM

Probably the issues are more with the user than with the mount :( . The manual states that for optimum goto acurracy, you should deactivate the additional encoders (?)

CS
Martin

#138 Mike X.

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Posted 15 December 2012 - 04:43 PM

It may have sense.To me seems that at least in EQ mode the mount uses the exact same Synscan mechanism for GOTO which is nothing more than the microstep system of NEQ6.The encoders are of no use in that case for goto...but i might be wrong.

PS: If you guys make more DSO photos please keep us posted as we are extremelly interested on the guiding accuracy of this mount.I expect it to be no less than the NEQ6/Atlas though.

#139 10gauge

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Posted 18 December 2012 - 10:02 PM

I am interested in purchasing an AZ EQ-6. I already own an IPad3.
1. What GPS is recommended?
2. What is role of the GPS besides entering coordinates for alignment? Can the accurate coordinates obtained in SkyEye App on my phone be used to substitute for the alignment role of the GPS?
3. What is required to search for sky objects?
4. Can the mount find objects without external software using only hand module?
5. Is the alt-az mode smooth and stable as a DM-6, T-Rex, or a UA Deluxe with a 5-6" refractor?
6. Any comparison with a G11 in terms of PE?

Thanks

#140 EFT

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Posted 18 December 2012 - 10:29 PM

I am interested in purchasing an AZ EQ-6. I already own an IPad3.
1. What GPS is recommended?
2. What is role of the GPS besides entering coordinates for alignment? Can the accurate coordinates obtained in SkyEye App on my phone be used to substitute for the alignment role of the GPS?
3. What is required to search for sky objects?
4. Can the mount find objects without external software using only hand module?
5. Is the alt-az mode smooth and stable as a DM-6, T-Rex, or a UA Deluxe with a 5-6" refractor?
6. Any comparison with a G11 in terms of PE?

Thanks


1. GPS is not needed but there is one specifically for the mount if you want it.
2. GPS does nothing more than tell the mount were it is an when it is. This information is easily obtained from your smart phone and entered in the hand controller.
3. The hand controller and some idea of what it is you want to see, but there are frequently tour features available in hand controllers as well that will show you some the the night's best viewed objects. Most hand controllers, and I think that includes the Synscan, keep you from slewing to objects that are below the horizon.
4. Absolutely.
5. Since these mounts just came out, there is insufficient information to make a judgement about their performance compared to the mounts you list. However, the AZ EQ6 is a very different type of mount and will function differently than those mounts (all of which are manual, non-motorized, non-tracking mounts) in general.
6. Again, the mount is too new to have any good comparison information, but in general I would expect it to be most similar in performance to the EQ6/CGEM mounts which are generally a little lower rated than the G11.

#141 johnpd

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Posted 18 December 2012 - 11:19 PM

10gauge,

You can download the Synscan hand controller manual from here (bottom of page) and get an idea of the various functions available on the hand controller for the AZ-EQ6.

JohnD

#142 10gauge

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Posted 18 December 2012 - 11:39 PM

Thank you, Ed, for a detailed response. As a newbie, things can become quite abstract if one hasn't laid hands on equipment. I've been gathering equipment and learning as much as I can from knowledgeable people like yourself as I wait for my TEC 140 to arrive...

Thanks again!

#143 EFT

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Posted 18 December 2012 - 11:50 PM

Thank you, Ed, for a detailed response. As a newbie, things can become quite abstract if one hasn't laid hands on equipment. I've been gathering equipment and learning as much as I can from knowledgeable people like yourself as I wait for my TEC 140 to arrive...

Thanks again!


Very nice scope that deserves a nice mount to go on. :cool: Congrats.

#144 10gauge

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Posted 19 December 2012 - 12:12 AM

Thank you, JohnD. I will review the manual.

#145 Jack Huerkamp

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Posted 19 December 2012 - 08:12 AM

10gauge,

If you have an iPAD3, all you need to control the AZ-EQ6 is the SkyFi unit, the SynScan cable to interface it to the mount's hand controller and Sky Safari on the iPAD. I received my AZ-EQ6 on the 12th and have been controlling it using my iPAD 3 inside with good results. This weekend I hope for my first tests with real stars.

Jack Huerkamp

#146 10gauge

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Posted 19 December 2012 - 09:47 PM

Thank you, Jack. So I'll get the Sky Safari Pro for $39.99 and start from there...

#147 Jack Huerkamp

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Posted 19 December 2012 - 11:24 PM

You won't be sorry. It is a great APP for the iPAD or iPhone.

Jack

#148 johnpd

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Posted 20 December 2012 - 03:46 AM

If you have an iPAD3, all you need to control the AZ-EQ6 is the SkyFi unit, the SynScan cable to interface it to the mount's hand controller and Sky Safari on the iPAD. I received my AZ-EQ6 on the 12th and have been controlling it using my iPAD 3 inside with good results. This weekend I hope for my first tests with real stars.

Jack Huerkamp


My mount is due to arrive this Friday. I have the Orion StarSeek (Orion's version of the SkyFi). I will see if that works also with my iPad.

JohnD

#149 johnpd

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Posted 20 December 2012 - 04:15 AM

Jack,

You mentioned in a post somewhere that after upgrading the firmware, you need to shut down the mount first before shutting down the update software. Is this correct? I can't find your original post.

JohnD

#150 Jack Huerkamp

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Posted 20 December 2012 - 09:02 AM

John,

The first time I did the update to V3.32, I got the green bar indicating a successful upload. I then shut down the loader program while leaving the mount running. .Wwhen I shut off the mount and then restarted it, the display on the handpad was blank - nothing. I thought I had really messed up the mount. I repeated the firmware update and this time, I shut off the mount before closing the loader program. When I re-started the mount, the display on the handpad came back to life. What a relief!

I don't know if the upload the first time was corrupted or if you have to shut down the mount before closing the loader program. I just know shutting down the mount first worked the second time.

Jack Huerkamp
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