9 replies to this topic

[chrismues]

Hi,

 

Apologies for this complete Newbie question, a bit embarrassing. 

 

I received my Celestron 8" Edge HD with AVX mount 2 days ago. Yesterday I did my first observing on my rooftop, without power supply as I only have the car 12V connection and my portable power source is not delivered yet.

 

I had no issues with manual polar alignment: polar axis of the mount pointing north setting latitude to 25 for Dubai, then fine-tuning with Latitude and Azimuth Adjustment Knobs, done. But I have a question: what do I do afterwards?

 

I wanted to observe the moon, which rises in the East. So after I polar aligned with the scope pointing at Polaris, what next? Is the suggested process then to move the entire tripod inclusive of mount and scope 90 deg around? That cannot be right. But I also cannot adjust sufficiently with the Azimuth Knobs to turn the scope 90 degrees to East, since the Alignment Peg of the AVX mount stops it at some point. So how do I turn the scope after polar alignment towards East to observe the moon? Or even towards South to observe Sirius, Regel or Betelgeuse? 

 

Sorry, complete Newbie question.

[kathyastro]

Once you have finished polar alignment, you never touch the altitude and azimuth knobs again in that session!  You don't move the tripod either.

 

Instead, you use the goto system to slew the scope electronically, or you unlock the RA and dec axes and slew manually.  Check the manual for your mount.  It will explain what and where those knobs are.

[kel123]

I think YouTube is your friend in this case. If you are this unfamiliar with a mount, you need to watch videos to understand it.
Textual explanations will be confusing the issue. Just go to YouTube and type "how to use an equatorial mount", "how to use a goto mount" or something along that line and you will see a ton of resources.

[Paul Sweeney]

Normally,after the polar alignment, you need to do do a 2 or 3 star alignment. Your location, the time and date will probably be automatically downloaded per gps, otherwise you will be prompted to enter them. The 2 or 3 star alignment then fine tunes the goto and corrects for errors in polar alignment and leveling the mount. After completing the star alignment, the goto computer will tell you if it is satisfied with the setup. If all is good, you are free to go through the menus and find targets.

I agree that watching a few YouTube instruction videos is a good idea.

[SloMoe]

Morning, ok so you don't have a power source, but you still want to track Right Ascension manually, in other words just chase a target using one knob.

 

Did you get instructions with your mount?

If not here's a link to a site, https://www.manualsl...d-Vx-91519.html

 

Youtube as mentioned,

https://www.youtube....h?v=clNITffWijg

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=QnNmq7bKtRc

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=_Ck_UHcvUOw

 

And like a billion more vid's just search it.

[LU1AR]

If you have the privilege of having a regular place to use your telescope; You should fix the position of the tripod by three metal washers; glued to the floor with contact adhesive or epoxy.
In this way, you will remember me well every time you use your telescope.
Stronger solutions would be:
1) Have a kinematic support; with two wedges (In 90º angle) and a washer, where legs -finished in spheres- sit.
2) A pier, nailed to the ground; where you screw your telescope when you take it out to see the sky.
Regards.
Edgardo

[chrismues]

Thank you everyone.

 

I have the manuals and read it, and have watched quite a few videos. Ironically, the manual and most videos only talk about how to use the mount with the computer, ie as a goto mount, but they do not explain how to use it manually - why would they, the mount is not intended to be used manually  Hence my question above.

 

Once the power source is here (2 more days) the I can use the goto functionality and do Star Alignment etc. and things will be easy. Just was to excite to wait and wanted to do it manually, which is not explained.

 

Thanks for the video links. Much appreciated

[DSOGabe]

With the AVX, doing a 2 or 3 star alignment afterwards will help in pointing accuracy. To make it more accurate you should add at least 2 more reference stars when prompted. 

As mentioned above, do not move the tripod or move the adjustment knobs any more. 

I would also recommend to buy the 120v adapter to not be dependent on a battery for power. I only use a battery when doing outreach out in the boonies.

[rgsalinger]

The OP has no power to the mount.

 

So, if you don't have any power and you want to look at the moon just unlock the RA and DEC axes and position the moon in the center of your finder scope. (You did align the finder scope to the big scope, right?) Now using a low power eyepiece the moon should be visible. It's going to rapidly move out of the frame. You might be able to get the clutches just right so that you can push the RA axis but I would not advise doing that. 

 

The mount really cannot be used without some power supply. All that you need is any 12 volt batter or an AC supply with a cigarette lighter plug. There's no need to wait for anything fancier. 

[chrismues]

The OP has no power to the mount.

 

So, if you don't have any power and you want to look at the moon just unlock the RA and DEC axes and position the moon in the center of your finder scope. (You did align the finder scope to the big scope, right?) Now using a low power eyepiece the moon should be visible. It's going to rapidly move out of the frame. You might be able to get the clutches just right so that you can push the RA axis but I would not advise doing that. 

 

The mount really cannot be used without some power supply. All that you need is any 12 volt batter or an AC supply with a cigarette lighter plug. There's no need to wait for anything fancier. 

This is exactly the issue. I did obviously do some research before I posted here, but everywhere it says open the Dec and RA bolts, move the scope to point to where you want to observe, and the use your slow motion controls. But the AVX does not have slow motion control for the axes, and moving it only with un-bolted Dec/RA axes is very rough. So what you say makes sense, that this type of goto computerized mount does not really work without power.

 

Anyways, it was a learning experience, and the power supply is now here, so all good. 

 

Thanks for all your help