Setup Checklist
- Beforehand – put the OTAs where they can cool down. Monitor the weather. Plan your targets.
- Check batteries, including the DSLR, red dot finder, torch, mount, laser pointer, illuminated reticule eyepiece, wireless hand controller/game pad.
- Place tripod pointing to south pole (align with 3 dots on the ground)
- Place the mount on the tripod, screw in the support from underneath. Do not over tighten yet, fully tighten after polar alignment is complete.
- Extend counterweight bar fully and secure. Add counter weights.
- Add saddle plate (if needed), imaging and guiding scopes
- Balance in Dec and then RA by moving scopes and/or saddle plate and counter weights. Finish with the mount slightly east heavy.
- Connect the Laptop to the serial port on the mount using a USB to EQ6 cable such as this one.
- Plug in 12V power supply and power up the mount.
- Plug game pad into laptop and power up game pad
- Power up laptop
- Start up “Stellarium scope”, it will in turn start “EQMOD” and “Stellarium”
- Check / update GPS co-ordinates in EQMOD and Stellarium
- Unpark the mount and start tracking in celestial mode in EQMOD
- Insert the illuminated reticule eyepiece in the imaging scope and perform a drift alignment. Adjust AZ and ALT on mount to get a good polar alignment.
- Fully tighten the bolt between tripod and mount.
- Add guide camera to guide scope, connect via USB to laptop.
- Perform n-star alignment with EQMOD. Use gamepad to move scope and an illuminated reticule eyepiece to improve pointing accuracy.
- Slew to a bright star
- Replace eyepiece in the imaging scope with a focal reducer and DSLR. Then connect DSLR to laptop via USB
- Focus the guide camera in PHD
- Focus DSLR with Bahtinov mask using live view (if you have it). Lock down focuser when complete.
- Rebalance mount in case cameras have changed the balance.
- Slew to target
- Check cool down is complete
- Optional : If seeing is good, collimate scope
- Start guiding in PHD
Ongoing:
- Recalibrate PHD if you slew to a new target
- Monitor the focus and refocus as required - temperature changes can cause the image to become out of focus.
- Slightly move scope randomly between images.
- Monitor for dew and remove as necessary
- Monitor for meridian flips, cord wrap, obstruction by trees or horizon, clouds
- Monitor PHD for tracking and loss of guide star (eg clouds, dew, wind etc)
- Monitor camera batteries