Late afternoon, 11 Dec 2011. When I picked up the Stellarvue telescope from John on Friday, he gave me a small cardboard box with some electronics within. He explained that it was a set of motors and hand controller, from Denis. Which Denis said would work on the equatorial mount. I said I could try to hook 'em up. Which I did this afternoon. Learning a bunch along the way.
For example, I did not know, at the beginning of the process, even the make and model of the mount. I didn't know if in fact the motors were compatible. It was not clear if any of this would work. So, after installing the motors, it was time to test the Stellarvue AT-1010 on the Orion SkyView Deluxe (SVD) mount.
I did a proper polar alignment. So to eliminate some variables. I found it somewhat difficult to align when the polar scope reticule is not illuminated... I used a red flashlight. (A noob might struggle with this.)
Balanced the 'scope. Only needed the big weight, and choked all the way up the shaft, to get the RA axis settled. Oops! Broke the counterweight knob! Damn. The Dec axis balance remains an issue. It's a bit tail happy (even without a camera) but there's nothing can be done, with the current configuration. I had the OTA as far forward in the clamps as they would allow. This might require a weight up on the front of the 'scope. Or a new adapter plate. In short order I had the 'scope up and running. Star hopped to and aimed at Jupiter, drifting past leafless branches.9:38 PM. I just wanted to review what I was seeing. While looking at Jupiter, I noted 3 moons. There was another bright object in-line but it seemed a little too far away. In fact, it was HIP 8887, a mag 8.0 star, according to Stellarium. Europa was behind the planet and wouldn't emerge for another 2 hours.
The tracking was not working. Even though the motor shaft was turning. I wasn't sure if the shaft was not in the "slot." Was there too much friction or load for the little motor (and the 9v transistor battery)? I didn't feel like fiddling with the worm gears. Also, earlier research had suggested that loosening the gear box to make the motors happy would create even more slop.
It was noteworthy that I accidentally removed the thumbscrew from the RA "clutch" all the while trying to be careful. It took 2 or 3 minutes to get it back in! I could easily imagine this getting lost in the field... (or the member's backyard). I think this 'scope will be too difficult to motorise. As a "clutch" mechanism, these little screws will be problematic.
The eye relief of the 45 is weird! It's quite far back... I think. Somehow unsettling.
10:08. Tried again. At low power. Put the controller back on. Made sure the motor was clamped down. Wrapped the controller in a towel. Verified that the polar alignment was good. The Dec alignment was OK. That the motor shaft is turning means things are good. Just need to make sure we're in the "shaft slot."
It occurred to me that it was nice that there were no leaves on the trees.
10:51. Mounted the RA motor on the other side... the other side of the shaft. Maybe it was turning it the wrong way! Reminded me that I did some searching again today. And, like yesterday, I was turning up nothing. No docs on the SVD dual axis AccuTrack motors and controller installation.
11:12. Seemed to be tracking. The target was still in the field, with the 45mm. Which was around 11x!? Put the 12.5mm with 3x Barlow in and saw it was still drifting. Tried the fast and slow controls. Didn't see to do anything... Even through I could hear the change in the motor note...
I don't get it.
11:43. It was definitely not tracking at high power... (unless my polar alignment was way off... but the Dec is fair).
Is it the lame, tiny 9v battery? This thing won't have any amps. This thing surely won't work well in Canada... in our chilly nights. There was no external plug for power... It could be hacked but I was not prepared to do anything about it...
12:21 AM, 12 Dec 2011. Put in the Meade super Plössl 26mm with the 3x for around 55x. Connected the Dec motor. I couldn't figure it out... Was it tracking?
A moon (Io) was getting very close to the planet.
Issues... refined. If it needs for more power, more "depth", more amps, then an owner of a similar mount would hook up a 12v lead acid with voltage regulator, perhaps. Or plug in an AC-DC adapter. Not practical for the loan program.
12:29 AM. It was still tracking fairly well...
The telescope report from SkyTools 3 said:
1:00. Tracking OK?! Put in my personal 18mm. In the 3x. Which means, we're at 80x.
1:10. Just spotted Jupiter out my office window...
1:17. Still in the field with my 18mm, at 80x. I shut the controller off. To check in a couple of minutes...
In the end I still don't know if there is practical; the "clutch" process is strange...
1:46. Europa was back!
Definitely sorta works. I left the drive off for 5 min or so? Not surprisingly, it was off target. About a degree? Tried to catch up. Accelerated for a long time. Finally dropped to a lower power. There it was. So, not too far off. Kept trying to get back to centre. Seemed to take forever. Then resumed viewing with the 18mm at 3x. And Jupiter returned to the view. OK. That proved that the motors could, in fact, "catch up" . But still, it's painfully slow. If you're way off target, it will take a long time. Modern controllers let you set the slew rate, so with 9 speed settings. Probably this was designed for guiding. Get your astrophoto target then manually guide for a long exposure...
2:00. Done. I moved the OTA and mount back inside. Onto the couch.
So, again, I don't think this appropriate for the loaner program. Too finicky, too slow, too fragile. Too easy to make a mistake. I considered how to report this to John...
10:08. Tried again. At low power. Put the controller back on. Made sure the motor was clamped down. Wrapped the controller in a towel. Verified that the polar alignment was good. The Dec alignment was OK. That the motor shaft is turning means things are good. Just need to make sure we're in the "shaft slot."
It occurred to me that it was nice that there were no leaves on the trees.
10:51. Mounted the RA motor on the other side... the other side of the shaft. Maybe it was turning it the wrong way! Reminded me that I did some searching again today. And, like yesterday, I was turning up nothing. No docs on the SVD dual axis AccuTrack motors and controller installation.
11:12. Seemed to be tracking. The target was still in the field, with the 45mm. Which was around 11x!? Put the 12.5mm with 3x Barlow in and saw it was still drifting. Tried the fast and slow controls. Didn't see to do anything... Even through I could hear the change in the motor note...
I don't get it.
11:43. It was definitely not tracking at high power... (unless my polar alignment was way off... but the Dec is fair).
Is it the lame, tiny 9v battery? This thing won't have any amps. This thing surely won't work well in Canada... in our chilly nights. There was no external plug for power... It could be hacked but I was not prepared to do anything about it...
12:21 AM, 12 Dec 2011. Put in the Meade super Plössl 26mm with the 3x for around 55x. Connected the Dec motor. I couldn't figure it out... Was it tracking?
A moon (Io) was getting very close to the planet.
Issues... refined. If it needs for more power, more "depth", more amps, then an owner of a similar mount would hook up a 12v lead acid with voltage regulator, perhaps. Or plug in an AC-DC adapter. Not practical for the loan program.
12:29 AM. It was still tracking fairly well...
The telescope report from SkyTools 3 said:
- regular or 3x
- 45mm: 11 or 32
- 26mm: 18 or 55
- 13mm: 38 or 115
1:00. Tracking OK?! Put in my personal 18mm. In the 3x. Which means, we're at 80x.
1:10. Just spotted Jupiter out my office window...
1:17. Still in the field with my 18mm, at 80x. I shut the controller off. To check in a couple of minutes...
In the end I still don't know if there is practical; the "clutch" process is strange...
1:46. Europa was back!
Definitely sorta works. I left the drive off for 5 min or so? Not surprisingly, it was off target. About a degree? Tried to catch up. Accelerated for a long time. Finally dropped to a lower power. There it was. So, not too far off. Kept trying to get back to centre. Seemed to take forever. Then resumed viewing with the 18mm at 3x. And Jupiter returned to the view. OK. That proved that the motors could, in fact, "catch up" . But still, it's painfully slow. If you're way off target, it will take a long time. Modern controllers let you set the slew rate, so with 9 speed settings. Probably this was designed for guiding. Get your astrophoto target then manually guide for a long exposure...
2:00. Done. I moved the OTA and mount back inside. Onto the couch.
So, again, I don't think this appropriate for the loaner program. Too finicky, too slow, too fragile. Too easy to make a mistake. I considered how to report this to John...
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