@xbpenland - you won't want to move the azimuth once you are polar aligned. Only unlock the RA and Dec clutches to move the scope towards various parts of the sky, then relock them once you have found your target. Azimuth and latitude are only for polar aligning the scope at initial set up. Hope that helps!
Great video! My wife has had one of these mounts for nearly two years and we have yet set it. I feel confident I can do it now and will try it some time soon to surpise her. Thank you so much!
@karguy91 - you're welcome, that's exactly why I made this video! Check out my weekly sky videos as well - they can help you find all sorts of things in the night sky.
Great video, Thx!! --- I have a small question: Once I've set the telescope in start position, if I want to find a specific object using R.A. and D, to set the D is easy, but R.A. value is counted from this "Aries point", which isn't always in the same place! --- Are there "tables" for its position? Or how can I figure R.A. out? :) Thx.
@ivanosito - you don't need to go to Aries. You can set the RA by using another star of known RA position. So let's say Aries is behind a tree or below the horizon, but you know that Regulus is visible (1st mag star in Leo). Point your scope to Regulus, THEN set your RA circle to the 10h position (Regulus is 10h 08m). Now you can find other objects because your setting circle is accurately set. You may need to adjust periodically throughout the night though, due to Earth's rotation.
@eyesontheskyDOTcom This video helped me so much. I now understand what these dials mean. Can you please do a video explaining the above topic? RA and position???? Thanks for the video.
This video has taught me how to set-up an eq mount with ease, i've watched other similar videos but they seem to over complicate things & have put me off from buying 1. I was going to buy a telescope with an alt-azimuth mount, but after watching this tutorial im definitely going to buy 1 with a eq mount..
I really want to buy a dobsonian telescopes, but the maintenance part will drive me nuts. So I am thinking about the refractor telescope which it is maintenance free, but it looks like with eq mount......... you might say 'well get a computerized', but I want to learn about astronomy on my own with help like you provide. I loved your videos, I'm going to watch this video about 100 times. Is North count San Diego 33 latitude? By the way subscribed/favorited/liked. Thank you :)
@SeanKimStyle - I prefer star-hopping over computerized myself; not that goto scopes are bad - I just don't like waiting to set them up and waiting for them to slew to objects. You can find latitude usually by finding the closest large city then looking it up on Wikipedia. Upper right hand corner shows latitude under "Coordinate."
O man.... this tutorial is giving me a panic attack. I am just learning about all types of telescopes and few stars/planets/nebulars/galexies. I never even thought about the mount. The telescope I am thinking about buying comes with eq mount, do I always need to align towards north star? Also I am thinking about buying either Orion Astroview 90mm(910 focal length or Astroview 100mm(600) focal lenth. Its about 50 dollars difference, what would you buy? Should I spend more to buy 120mm?
@SeanKimStyle - yes it will need to be aligned towards the north star, but once you do it once or twice, you'll realize it's not hard to do it all. It need not be perfect either. Just "close enough" that you only need to do minor declination corrections every so often. Regarding the scopes, I like my 90mm f/10 Orion refractor, but if it's your only one, go larger. But don't go so large that it's difficult to set up and move. 100mm is a nice sized refractor.
Great video. I've always struggled with my equatorial mount. Now I actually think I may be able to set it correctly lol. The manual with the scope was no help at all! Thanks.
@richiepee - this is one of those things were seeing it in practice is better than even pictures or diagrams. Once people see how to set up an eq mount, it tends to make more sense than reading the often convoluted explanations in manuals. Hope you're able to get it set up correctly now!
I tried a similar method using my EQ5 mount & it seemed to track Jupiter & the moon very well. I find the polarscope pretty useless when trying to Find Polaris plus all the numbers & dials are confusing for a newbie like me so I just used the finderscope then the main scope to get Polaris in view. There's still other things I'm getting my head round but I'm getting there. I still can't get the goto to quite find the objects first time but it's usally not too far off. Great video by the way!!
@tich179 - thanks for the compliment, and I am glad you are managing to get things working for you. I never found that my goto scopes were terribly accurate, though achieving good level, pointing at true celestial north and making 2 or 3 star alignments helped. Goto is usually best for getting you "very close" - try using a long focal length eyepiece when searching, then if the target is smaller, bump up the magnification after the object has been found.
During alignment, my scope tends to roll in either direction, depending on if it's already leaning in that specific direction. I cannot seem to make it balanced to where it doesn't want to roll in any specific direction. If I balance it toward the center, pushing either left or right slightly will cause it to fall in that direction.
@eyesontheskyDOTcom I think I figured it out. I've got bigger issues anyway, looks like the DEC motor is bad. I took the thing apart and removed the motor, I can get it to start spinning only if "help" it first with by twisting it. I know nothing about repairing motors so I am trying to get a new one from the manufacturer.
i meant: if my purpose is to make a moon observation "after i align it with polaris, what axis do i move to see the moon?" that may sound too stupid, im just too amateur
@M0mentumPark0ur - your questions were not annoying or stupid - that is why I made the video: To help others set up their equatorially mounted telescopes so they can use them more easily. :-)
Thank you very much, it really helped! i was just doing it so wrong. Ive got 2 questions (as i have not placed my telescope outside yet) 1. is polaris visible in heavy polluted cities like mexico city? 2. do i have to align my telescope to polaris to make a moon observation? i have been doing it without aligning it to polaris but its difficult to keep up with the movement. Also: after i align it with polaris, what axis do i move? thank you again, i hope im not very annoying.
@M0mentumPark0ur - I've not been to Mexico City, so I can't say for sure. But Polaris is visible even from Chicago, which has a lot of light pollution. It helps to shield yourself from as many outdoor lights as possible. Aligning your scope will make it easier to observe the Moon; simply turn the Right Ascension slow motion control to account for the Earth's rotation. Hope that helps!
hi, great video. I've got a question . When i bought the telscope a manual (for Eq2 mount) came with it, and in the section of balancig the scope says that for R.A balancing I have to adjust the altitude between 15 and 30 degrees. And for DEC balancing I have to adjust the altitude between 60 and 70 degrees. In the video you dont do this, you just leave the altitude fix. I will get the same results ? thank you , bye.
@gdazerg - Without reading the exact language, I'm not sure what manual is saying. It is important to balance the scope in both axes; RA and Dec, and adjust to proper latitude. If balanced and latitude set to your location, you should be mostly set, provided you're level and pointed to Polaris (I'm not sure what "altitude" is referring to in the manual?). Hope that helps; maybe send me a message here with the exact language from the manual? I'll try & decipher for you.
hi thank you for your time. The manual is from the skywatcher website, you can search in google for GENERAL_EQ1and2.pdf (its the firt link in google) (it seems i cant post a link here, an error occurs)
@gdazerg - thanks for that info. I did read the manual, and I'll be honest, that's a new one on me. I think their point is that the bearings for those two axes will be better situated to get a more accurate balance. I find that with constantly removing the tube, adding eyepieces, etc., those are likely additional, unnecessary steps. For *really* accurate balancing, I suppose it's helpful, but I don't think it is completely necessary, especially for smaller, lighter telescopes and mounts.
@magsie97 - not sure I can answer your question as I don't know which way it's not balancing. Is it tube-side heavy? Or weight side heavy? If the tube-side is heavy (i.e., goes down) then the counterweight may be too light. If the weight side is too heavy no matter where you place the weight, then the counterweight is too heavy for your telescope tube. Let me know what specific problem you are having and I will do my best to help.
I searched in goole and in Brazilians foruns, and many people recommend the drift method. I think the polar Alignment in southern hemisphere is more complicate than in northern hemisphere.
@jvianneyjr - drift alignment is perfectly acceptable, and is a good way to get more precise polar alignment even in the northern hemisphere. It just takes longer to align a scope that way. But if you can set up in the exact same position every night, you will have accurate polar alignment every time you observe too.
@jvianneyjr - you're welcome. Please let me know how it works out for you. Not having been to the southern hemisphere, I cannot relate to the different challenge of polar aligning without a bright star in that area, and I do not have any personal tips I can share, unfortunately.
@jvianneyjr - do an internet search for "southern pole alignment" - sigma octans is the closest star to the southern celestial pole, but is only 5th magnitude. If I recall correctly, it is possible to use the Southern Cross to help find the southern pole. Knowing your latitude and using a compass can help immensely too, because you can set your latitude scale on the mount, level your tripod and point the scope south in the "home" position. Should get you fairly close, I think.
Hi Dave.I am thinking of taking some long exposure shots of celestial objects; and for that I need some setup that automatically rotates opposite to the Earth's rotation...Does equatorial mounts have that feature? Or I need to manually attach a stepper motor that serves the purpose??
@thereason10 - Equatorial mounts will do this, but you will need to add a motor drive, at minimum, on the Right Ascension axis (declination is very helpful too), and also with remote slow-motion control. Furthermore, the method of aligning I show is very simple alignment for visual purposes only. For long-exposure photographic work, I would suggest searching for "drift alignment" and following those instructions for far more precise polar alignment.
By the way you did a great job explaining how to balancing the telescope than other youtube videos, i couldn't have done without you. But there's still one thing I'm not quite sure about. I live in South East Asia and my city's latitude is approximately 11. If I turn the mount to 11 on the latitude scale my telescope would make a very steep angle with the ground, almost 90 degree. It seem not quite right I just want to make sure.
@khongten172 - thank you again. Where you are, it will make a steep angle, as the RA axis needs to be parallel to the axis of the Earth's rotation. In Alaska, for example, Polaris would be much closer towards overhead. Your latitude is just closer to the equator compared to me (or Alaska) therefore Polaris is lower in the sky for you, so the angle will appear much steeper than what I show in the video. Trust yourself, give it a try, and see how it works when you observe.
@khongten172 - not quite sure I understand what you're saying. The entire telescope is slowly moving down, rotating on the latitude axis? Does the latitude lock need to be tightened more? Are the internal threads stripped? Hard to diagnose without seeing it.
Great video!!! I learned how to polaris my telescope. i have one question though, I was looking out of my telescope the other night and I couldn't see anything, it was just black. I removed the cap off the front of the telescope and it was still black. Why??
@Buckett162 - Thanks for watching and for the kind words. Re: your telescope - without seeing your telescope and set up, I really don't know. Some eyepieces have very narrow fields of view, and it can be difficult to center your eye and see the field easily. If even slightly out of focus, the stars will not show up and everything will appear black. Other than that, it's hard to speculate what else might be the source of the problem.
@eyesontheskyDOTcom You are most welcome. Am expecting my first telescope during this week and I wanted to learn how to use EQ mount. Oh, I have one question related to that. I saw in some places they mention that weights need to be little further from perfectly balanced position. Any idea why?
@TheMeanEYE - it can help to reduce backlash in the gears of the drive system. If you're not sure if your drive is balanced, it's probably helpful to have the weight slightly further out. In my experience for general observing, I haven't noticed much difference, but it can help particularly for those looking to do astrophotography and such. But at that point it's getting into more advanced EQ alignment/set up techniques, too.
Excellent video . @6:40 wtf that sounded complicated. Ive got an exact sort of mount as in your video, I was wondering how and where you attach a motor thing so the telescope moves with the earths rotation?
@bicnarok - sounds complicated, but all it's saying is that "The Earth rotates, 24 hours in one day. In order to keep objects centered in a telescope, the telescope rotates the opposite direction as the Earth." If the telescope doesn't rotate opposite the Earth, objects in the eyepiece move out of the field of view. Make sense? Motor drives on smaller mounts usually attach to a large post near where the pivot point for the latitude adjustment is. Hope that helps!
@arsefixia - glad it helped! For the DSLR, it will depend on the lens. For short lenses - up to 50mm, maybe 100mm - it should be fine, up to 60 sec. Longer lenses / times, it will vary based on where you take shots. At the celestial equator - it will depend how close to a truly precise alignment you get (something NOT covered in this video). It's possible there will be some field rotation. Drift alignment will be a better route ultimately, but for now, try it and see what results you get.
@nunswepit421... some piece of TRASH you are... this guy has the decensy to post a very informative video about equitorial mount and all you have to do is open your mouth and let sH/t out. I hope that 6" telescope of yours falls on top your head u piece of garbage.
Is this guy kidding or what? Tr doing some of what he did with a massive 6 inch yard canon refractor mounted on top of a heavy duty 2 inch thick stainless steel tripod. lol.
@Nunsweepit421 - the techniques for safely cutting down a 3 year old sapling are different than those used for a 90 year old mature oak too, though both are still referred to as "trees." I am confident most viewers will recognize this video is not intended to cover every possible type / weight / mass of eq mount in existence, and most beginners unfamiliar with aligning eq mounts are also quite likely to own lightweight instruments easily moved by one person.
I have owned my scope for 3 years...Never did this because It was never really explained to me. Thanks for posting the video. After you are polar aligned, where do you go from there? Are we allowed to use the telescope on both axes or do we just move from one?
@Pyper70 - you're welcome for the video, glad it helped. After polar alignment, you can unlock the Right Ascension and Declination axes to point the telescope anywhere you want in the sky (so, two axes, not one). Since it will be well-balanced (if you follow this video), you can leave them unlocked to find a target, then lock them when you have sometime in your eyepiece to view. Use a low power eyepiece to start, and make sure your finderscope is aligned with the main scope, too.
@feldmuis - Hi there, thanks for the great question. You're at approximately 50 degrees latitude, yes? So Polaris will be about halfway between the horizon and directly overhead, due north. An easy way to find Polaris from the "Big Dipper" or "Plough" asterism is to use the two "pointer" stars. Do a Google search for "Big Dipper pointer stars" and you should find plenty of sites that can help point you there - hope that helps!
@relativityprinciple - thanks! Tried to make it a bit amusing as well as educational. I'll be able to get more videos uploaded in the late spring / early summer.
@metalskateboarder965 - no, this simply sets up your telescope to use as an equatorial mount, that will make it easier to track things when you point at other objects in the sky. Once set up for equatorial use, unlock both clutches and point at any object you want (Moon, planets, deep sky objects, etc.), then relock them once centered. Then slowly turn the right ascension slow motion control (if you have one) to keep the object in the middle of your eyepiece while viewing.
@metalskateboarder965 - thanks. Yes, use the R.A. and declination clutches to move the telescope to the desired object, and then relock them once you have it centered (or close). Use the slow-motion controls to recenter if needed, and use the R.A. slow-mo control to keep the object centered over time, to account for the Earth's rotation. Hope that helps!
Why go to the trouble of levelling your tripod, then take it OUT of level to align polaris by lengthening a leg as opposed to correcting your latitude on the mount?
@astronomyshed - thanks for the question. This tutorial is aimed at the person who has no idea how to use/align one of these mounts. Because perfect polar alignment isn't required for most visual observing, it's a means to demonstrate that there are several ways to get a telescope "close enough" to use it successfully. If a user doesn't have someone to help with the latitude adjustment, using the "leg only" method is perfectly acceptable to avoid potentially dropping/damaging their scope.
@bradford2211 - Thanks for the compliment & question, bradford. Set your latitude scale just above the zero mark. Starting position will have the telescope nearly level with the ground; you may have to estimate where the celestial pole is if your northern horizon is not clear. I should have a video up in a few weeks detailing how to find Polaris; this may help you. It doesn't need to be perfect to track effectively; even within a few degrees is good for visual use. Good luck & clear skies!
Great video, but one thing I'm not sure of, once you polar align it, are you able to move the azimuth without messing up the alignment?
xbpenland 1 month ago
@xbpenland - you won't want to move the azimuth once you are polar aligned. Only unlock the RA and Dec clutches to move the scope towards various parts of the sky, then relock them once you have found your target. Azimuth and latitude are only for polar aligning the scope at initial set up. Hope that helps!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
Great video! My wife has had one of these mounts for nearly two years and we have yet set it. I feel confident I can do it now and will try it some time soon to surpise her. Thank you so much!
karguy91 1 month ago
@karguy91 - you're welcome, that's exactly why I made this video! Check out my weekly sky videos as well - they can help you find all sorts of things in the night sky.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
@wretchedmaniam - thanks for the nice compliment!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
Great video, Thx!! --- I have a small question: Once I've set the telescope in start position, if I want to find a specific object using R.A. and D, to set the D is easy, but R.A. value is counted from this "Aries point", which isn't always in the same place! --- Are there "tables" for its position? Or how can I figure R.A. out? :) Thx.
ivanosito 1 month ago
@ivanosito - you don't need to go to Aries. You can set the RA by using another star of known RA position. So let's say Aries is behind a tree or below the horizon, but you know that Regulus is visible (1st mag star in Leo). Point your scope to Regulus, THEN set your RA circle to the 10h position (Regulus is 10h 08m). Now you can find other objects because your setting circle is accurately set. You may need to adjust periodically throughout the night though, due to Earth's rotation.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom Wow, that's how! - Thanks. Sometimes I'm a bit "square-minded". :D
ivanosito 1 month ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom This video helped me so much. I now understand what these dials mean. Can you please do a video explaining the above topic? RA and position???? Thanks for the video.
manxkats5 1 week ago
This video has taught me how to set-up an eq mount with ease, i've watched other similar videos but they seem to over complicate things & have put me off from buying 1. I was going to buy a telescope with an alt-azimuth mount, but after watching this tutorial im definitely going to buy 1 with a eq mount..
thummer911 1 month ago in playlist Telescope etc
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thummer911 1 month ago
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thummer911 1 month ago
I really want to buy a dobsonian telescopes, but the maintenance part will drive me nuts. So I am thinking about the refractor telescope which it is maintenance free, but it looks like with eq mount......... you might say 'well get a computerized', but I want to learn about astronomy on my own with help like you provide. I loved your videos, I'm going to watch this video about 100 times. Is North count San Diego 33 latitude? By the way subscribed/favorited/liked. Thank you :)
SeanKimStyle 1 month ago
@SeanKimStyle - I prefer star-hopping over computerized myself; not that goto scopes are bad - I just don't like waiting to set them up and waiting for them to slew to objects. You can find latitude usually by finding the closest large city then looking it up on Wikipedia. Upper right hand corner shows latitude under "Coordinate."
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
O man.... this tutorial is giving me a panic attack. I am just learning about all types of telescopes and few stars/planets/nebulars/galexies. I never even thought about the mount. The telescope I am thinking about buying comes with eq mount, do I always need to align towards north star? Also I am thinking about buying either Orion Astroview 90mm(910 focal length or Astroview 100mm(600) focal lenth. Its about 50 dollars difference, what would you buy? Should I spend more to buy 120mm?
SeanKimStyle 1 month ago
@SeanKimStyle - yes it will need to be aligned towards the north star, but once you do it once or twice, you'll realize it's not hard to do it all. It need not be perfect either. Just "close enough" that you only need to do minor declination corrections every so often. Regarding the scopes, I like my 90mm f/10 Orion refractor, but if it's your only one, go larger. But don't go so large that it's difficult to set up and move. 100mm is a nice sized refractor.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
Thanks for posting this vid up , great info for a newbie cheers
mothwolves 1 month ago
@mothwolves - you're welcome, cheers to you as well. :-)
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
i've learnt more watching this video than all the other vids i've watched and books i've read
regarding setting up my new refractor scope(konuspace 7)
since getting it for xmas
just abt to check if you've a video of fitting and using a motor on an EQ1 mount
many thanks
gp15wales 1 month ago
@gp15wales - thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately I don't have a video on how to fit a motor onto an EQ1 mount - I don't own one of those. Sorry!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
Excellent
pl3nny 1 month ago
@pl3nny - thanks!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
Great video. I've always struggled with my equatorial mount. Now I actually think I may be able to set it correctly lol. The manual with the scope was no help at all! Thanks.
richiepee 1 month ago
@richiepee - this is one of those things were seeing it in practice is better than even pictures or diagrams. Once people see how to set up an eq mount, it tends to make more sense than reading the often convoluted explanations in manuals. Hope you're able to get it set up correctly now!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
Simple and easy to understand... better than the manual in my Skywatcher Newtonian reflector.. Thanks
Heapydood 1 month ago
@Heapydood - I'm glad it helped. :-)
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
Excellent video, thank you!
revolverator 1 month ago
@revolverator - you're welcome!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 month ago
I tried a similar method using my EQ5 mount & it seemed to track Jupiter & the moon very well. I find the polarscope pretty useless when trying to Find Polaris plus all the numbers & dials are confusing for a newbie like me so I just used the finderscope then the main scope to get Polaris in view. There's still other things I'm getting my head round but I'm getting there. I still can't get the goto to quite find the objects first time but it's usally not too far off. Great video by the way!!
tich179 2 months ago
@tich179 - thanks for the compliment, and I am glad you are managing to get things working for you. I never found that my goto scopes were terribly accurate, though achieving good level, pointing at true celestial north and making 2 or 3 star alignments helped. Goto is usually best for getting you "very close" - try using a long focal length eyepiece when searching, then if the target is smaller, bump up the magnification after the object has been found.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 2 months ago
best video i have EVER seen.. very informative. thank you
CodyCosFunnyVids 2 months ago
@CodyCosFunnyVids - Thank you Cody! Compliment much appreciated. :-)
eyesontheskyDOTcom 2 months ago
During alignment, my scope tends to roll in either direction, depending on if it's already leaning in that specific direction. I cannot seem to make it balanced to where it doesn't want to roll in any specific direction. If I balance it toward the center, pushing either left or right slightly will cause it to fall in that direction.
meinsla 2 months ago
@meinsla - along which axis does it roll? RA or declination? I'm not sure I have enough information to help you fix the problem.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 2 months ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom I think I figured it out. I've got bigger issues anyway, looks like the DEC motor is bad. I took the thing apart and removed the motor, I can get it to start spinning only if "help" it first with by twisting it. I know nothing about repairing motors so I am trying to get a new one from the manufacturer.
meinsla 2 months ago
i meant: if my purpose is to make a moon observation "after i align it with polaris, what axis do i move to see the moon?" that may sound too stupid, im just too amateur
M0mentumPark0ur 3 months ago
@M0mentumPark0ur - your questions were not annoying or stupid - that is why I made the video: To help others set up their equatorially mounted telescopes so they can use them more easily. :-)
eyesontheskyDOTcom 3 months ago
Thank you very much, it really helped! i was just doing it so wrong. Ive got 2 questions (as i have not placed my telescope outside yet) 1. is polaris visible in heavy polluted cities like mexico city? 2. do i have to align my telescope to polaris to make a moon observation? i have been doing it without aligning it to polaris but its difficult to keep up with the movement. Also: after i align it with polaris, what axis do i move? thank you again, i hope im not very annoying.
M0mentumPark0ur 3 months ago
@M0mentumPark0ur - I've not been to Mexico City, so I can't say for sure. But Polaris is visible even from Chicago, which has a lot of light pollution. It helps to shield yourself from as many outdoor lights as possible. Aligning your scope will make it easier to observe the Moon; simply turn the Right Ascension slow motion control to account for the Earth's rotation. Hope that helps!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 3 months ago
hi, great video. I've got a question . When i bought the telscope a manual (for Eq2 mount) came with it, and in the section of balancig the scope says that for R.A balancing I have to adjust the altitude between 15 and 30 degrees. And for DEC balancing I have to adjust the altitude between 60 and 70 degrees. In the video you dont do this, you just leave the altitude fix. I will get the same results ? thank you , bye.
gdazerg 3 months ago
@gdazerg - Without reading the exact language, I'm not sure what manual is saying. It is important to balance the scope in both axes; RA and Dec, and adjust to proper latitude. If balanced and latitude set to your location, you should be mostly set, provided you're level and pointed to Polaris (I'm not sure what "altitude" is referring to in the manual?). Hope that helps; maybe send me a message here with the exact language from the manual? I'll try & decipher for you.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 3 months ago
hi thank you for your time. The manual is from the skywatcher website, you can search in google for GENERAL_EQ1and2.pdf (its the firt link in google) (it seems i cant post a link here, an error occurs)
It is on page 12 of the manual. Thank you.
gdazerg 3 months ago
@gdazerg - thanks for that info. I did read the manual, and I'll be honest, that's a new one on me. I think their point is that the bearings for those two axes will be better situated to get a more accurate balance. I find that with constantly removing the tube, adding eyepieces, etc., those are likely additional, unnecessary steps. For *really* accurate balancing, I suppose it's helpful, but I don't think it is completely necessary, especially for smaller, lighter telescopes and mounts.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 3 months ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom
ok thank you very much, i think im going to leave the altitude fix and do it like in your video. bye
gdazerg 3 months ago
Awesome, this was very helpful and funny!
kiyashin 3 months ago
Can you try help me understand and fix my problem: for some reason the counter weight seems to be unable to balance with the telescope tube.
Wherever i put the counter weight it never balances.
magsie97 4 months ago
@magsie97 - not sure I can answer your question as I don't know which way it's not balancing. Is it tube-side heavy? Or weight side heavy? If the tube-side is heavy (i.e., goes down) then the counterweight may be too light. If the weight side is too heavy no matter where you place the weight, then the counterweight is too heavy for your telescope tube. Let me know what specific problem you are having and I will do my best to help.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 4 months ago
Thank you!!! In 11 minutes, you just undid 3 weeks of frustration for me. I really appreciate the time you took to understand this so clearly.
smokie7452 5 months ago
@smokie7452 - you're welcome - glad I was able to help!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 4 months ago
I searched in goole and in Brazilians foruns, and many people recommend the drift method. I think the polar Alignment in southern hemisphere is more complicate than in northern hemisphere.
jvianneyjr 5 months ago
@jvianneyjr - drift alignment is perfectly acceptable, and is a good way to get more precise polar alignment even in the northern hemisphere. It just takes longer to align a scope that way. But if you can set up in the exact same position every night, you will have accurate polar alignment every time you observe too.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 5 months ago
ok, I'll try it. Thank you!
jvianneyjr 5 months ago
@jvianneyjr - you're welcome. Please let me know how it works out for you. Not having been to the southern hemisphere, I cannot relate to the different challenge of polar aligning without a bright star in that area, and I do not have any personal tips I can share, unfortunately.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 5 months ago
Hi! Very good video. But, I'm in Brazil!. How can align my eq mount in south hemisphere?
jvianneyjr 5 months ago
@jvianneyjr - do an internet search for "southern pole alignment" - sigma octans is the closest star to the southern celestial pole, but is only 5th magnitude. If I recall correctly, it is possible to use the Southern Cross to help find the southern pole. Knowing your latitude and using a compass can help immensely too, because you can set your latitude scale on the mount, level your tripod and point the scope south in the "home" position. Should get you fairly close, I think.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 5 months ago
hey man !!! thanks for the help
I was not able to find this topic throughout the net
arpitargal 5 months ago
@arpitargal - you're welcome!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 5 months ago
Hi Dave.I am thinking of taking some long exposure shots of celestial objects; and for that I need some setup that automatically rotates opposite to the Earth's rotation...Does equatorial mounts have that feature? Or I need to manually attach a stepper motor that serves the purpose??
thereason10 6 months ago
@thereason10 - Equatorial mounts will do this, but you will need to add a motor drive, at minimum, on the Right Ascension axis (declination is very helpful too), and also with remote slow-motion control. Furthermore, the method of aligning I show is very simple alignment for visual purposes only. For long-exposure photographic work, I would suggest searching for "drift alignment" and following those instructions for far more precise polar alignment.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 6 months ago
Thank You very much on this video, it was extremely helpful!
coasterkook16 6 months ago
By the way you did a great job explaining how to balancing the telescope than other youtube videos, i couldn't have done without you. But there's still one thing I'm not quite sure about. I live in South East Asia and my city's latitude is approximately 11. If I turn the mount to 11 on the latitude scale my telescope would make a very steep angle with the ground, almost 90 degree. It seem not quite right I just want to make sure.
khongten172 7 months ago
@khongten172 - thank you again. Where you are, it will make a steep angle, as the RA axis needs to be parallel to the axis of the Earth's rotation. In Alaska, for example, Polaris would be much closer towards overhead. Your latitude is just closer to the equator compared to me (or Alaska) therefore Polaris is lower in the sky for you, so the angle will appear much steeper than what I show in the video. Trust yourself, give it a try, and see how it works when you observe.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 7 months ago
what should i do if my latitude lock is slowly drifting down?
khongten172 7 months ago
@khongten172 - not quite sure I understand what you're saying. The entire telescope is slowly moving down, rotating on the latitude axis? Does the latitude lock need to be tightened more? Are the internal threads stripped? Hard to diagnose without seeing it.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 7 months ago
Great video!!! I learned how to polaris my telescope. i have one question though, I was looking out of my telescope the other night and I couldn't see anything, it was just black. I removed the cap off the front of the telescope and it was still black. Why??
Buckett162 7 months ago
@Buckett162 - Thanks for watching and for the kind words. Re: your telescope - without seeing your telescope and set up, I really don't know. Some eyepieces have very narrow fields of view, and it can be difficult to center your eye and see the field easily. If even slightly out of focus, the stars will not show up and everything will appear black. Other than that, it's hard to speculate what else might be the source of the problem.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 7 months ago
Great video. Others seemed confusing. :)
TheMeanEYE 7 months ago 2
@TheMeanEYE - thank you so much - I appreciate the nice comment. :-)
eyesontheskyDOTcom 7 months ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom You are most welcome. Am expecting my first telescope during this week and I wanted to learn how to use EQ mount. Oh, I have one question related to that. I saw in some places they mention that weights need to be little further from perfectly balanced position. Any idea why?
TheMeanEYE 7 months ago
@TheMeanEYE - it can help to reduce backlash in the gears of the drive system. If you're not sure if your drive is balanced, it's probably helpful to have the weight slightly further out. In my experience for general observing, I haven't noticed much difference, but it can help particularly for those looking to do astrophotography and such. But at that point it's getting into more advanced EQ alignment/set up techniques, too.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 7 months ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom No photography for me, am just going to view it at my own pleasure. Thanks for explanation though!
TheMeanEYE 7 months ago
Excellent video . @6:40 wtf that sounded complicated. Ive got an exact sort of mount as in your video, I was wondering how and where you attach a motor thing so the telescope moves with the earths rotation?
bicnarok 7 months ago
@bicnarok - sounds complicated, but all it's saying is that "The Earth rotates, 24 hours in one day. In order to keep objects centered in a telescope, the telescope rotates the opposite direction as the Earth." If the telescope doesn't rotate opposite the Earth, objects in the eyepiece move out of the field of view. Make sense? Motor drives on smaller mounts usually attach to a large post near where the pivot point for the latitude adjustment is. Hope that helps!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 7 months ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom Yep thanks.
bicnarok 7 months ago
Thanks, this is so much simpler than anything I have read, it's always better to see it in action.
Will this method work replacing the telescope with a DSLR for minute long exposures or more?
arsefixia 8 months ago
@arsefixia - glad it helped! For the DSLR, it will depend on the lens. For short lenses - up to 50mm, maybe 100mm - it should be fine, up to 60 sec. Longer lenses / times, it will vary based on where you take shots. At the celestial equator - it will depend how close to a truly precise alignment you get (something NOT covered in this video). It's possible there will be some field rotation. Drift alignment will be a better route ultimately, but for now, try it and see what results you get.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 8 months ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom , Thanks, it has helped out a lot. Wish I had watched this months ago, will be trying it out as soon as the clouds leave.
arsefixia 8 months ago
@nunswepit421... some piece of TRASH you are... this guy has the decensy to post a very informative video about equitorial mount and all you have to do is open your mouth and let sH/t out. I hope that 6" telescope of yours falls on top your head u piece of garbage.
yoda6677 8 months ago
Is this guy kidding or what? Tr doing some of what he did with a massive 6 inch yard canon refractor mounted on top of a heavy duty 2 inch thick stainless steel tripod. lol.
Nunsweepit421 9 months ago
@Nunsweepit421 - the techniques for safely cutting down a 3 year old sapling are different than those used for a 90 year old mature oak too, though both are still referred to as "trees." I am confident most viewers will recognize this video is not intended to cover every possible type / weight / mass of eq mount in existence, and most beginners unfamiliar with aligning eq mounts are also quite likely to own lightweight instruments easily moved by one person.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 9 months ago 2
no seriously dude...very well done. thanks man...i hated my eq the first night i got it...this video really helped me understand it all. GRACIAS
entropy111111 9 months ago
@entropy111111 - you're welcome, glad it helped! That's why I made the video - now go out and have fun using your scope! :-)
eyesontheskyDOTcom 9 months ago
your so badass
spikespiegel11015 9 months ago
Thank you very much for this. I'm working on an armature radio telescope and just starting observation with a Newtonian. This is perfect.
hurrdurrish 9 months ago
lol at credits... nice video!
penywyse 9 months ago
@penywyse - thanks pennywyse; just trying to keep things fun. :-)
eyesontheskyDOTcom 9 months ago
This is a ridiculously good video. Very informative!
srk4044 10 months ago
@srk4044 - thank you srk; you're too kind! :-)
eyesontheskyDOTcom 10 months ago
I have owned my scope for 3 years...Never did this because It was never really explained to me. Thanks for posting the video. After you are polar aligned, where do you go from there? Are we allowed to use the telescope on both axes or do we just move from one?
Pyper70 11 months ago
@Pyper70 - you're welcome for the video, glad it helped. After polar alignment, you can unlock the Right Ascension and Declination axes to point the telescope anywhere you want in the sky (so, two axes, not one). Since it will be well-balanced (if you follow this video), you can leave them unlocked to find a target, then lock them when you have sometime in your eyepiece to view. Use a low power eyepiece to start, and make sure your finderscope is aligned with the main scope, too.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 11 months ago
great video i have only 1 question (for me thats a good sine) ^^
in the video about polaris due to the time and length of the video you could see what star was polaris
but i dont have a good camera or webcam to videotape the stars for 24 hours
how can i easily know what star is for me polaris ( and is that star polaris for a long time or is polar alignment needed every few days/weeks)
I am from the Netherlands and very soon gonna buy my first telescope.
can u explain it easy to me ?
thx. :D
feldmuis 11 months ago
@feldmuis - Hi there, thanks for the great question. You're at approximately 50 degrees latitude, yes? So Polaris will be about halfway between the horizon and directly overhead, due north. An easy way to find Polaris from the "Big Dipper" or "Plough" asterism is to use the two "pointer" stars. Do a Google search for "Big Dipper pointer stars" and you should find plenty of sites that can help point you there - hope that helps!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 11 months ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom
this is very usefull i know were i should look now thank you allot :D
feldmuis 11 months ago
your funny great vid as well help me a lot
krypbob 11 months ago
ha your funny great vid as well helped me a lot thanks
krypbob 11 months ago
@krypbob - thank you, much appreciated. Good to know it helped!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 11 months ago
Finally found a video that helped me set up my new equatorial mount and telescope, very well done, easy to understand and humerous.
xfiles1971 1 year ago
@xfiles1971 - thank you for the nice words, and I'm very glad my video helped you.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 11 months ago
Awesome Video...
musiclearner9222 1 year ago
@musiclearner9222 - Thank you! Much appreciated.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 year ago
Lol... polaris proxy! That made this video a winner! Thanks for the video and keep them coming.
relativityprinciple 1 year ago
@relativityprinciple - thanks! Tried to make it a bit amusing as well as educational. I'll be able to get more videos uploaded in the late spring / early summer.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 year ago
Really helpful... Anyone near me in Southend want to show me in person? Have 4.5" and am new to this, still too many dials lol
stewartford00 1 year ago
@stewartford00 - glad it was helpful. Sorry I'm not near you or I'd give you a hand!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 year ago
sorry im confused.Does this mean i can only look at things facing north? and what if i want to look at planets,the moon and other stars?
metalskateboarder965 1 year ago
@metalskateboarder965 - no, this simply sets up your telescope to use as an equatorial mount, that will make it easier to track things when you point at other objects in the sky. Once set up for equatorial use, unlock both clutches and point at any object you want (Moon, planets, deep sky objects, etc.), then relock them once centered. Then slowly turn the right ascension slow motion control (if you have one) to keep the object in the middle of your eyepiece while viewing.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 year ago
@eyesontheskyDOTcom So the lattitude clutch stays the same but you move the RA and declination clutches? Btw great vid :)
metalskateboarder965 1 year ago
@metalskateboarder965 - thanks. Yes, use the R.A. and declination clutches to move the telescope to the desired object, and then relock them once you have it centered (or close). Use the slow-motion controls to recenter if needed, and use the R.A. slow-mo control to keep the object centered over time, to account for the Earth's rotation. Hope that helps!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 year ago
Why go to the trouble of levelling your tripod, then take it OUT of level to align polaris by lengthening a leg as opposed to correcting your latitude on the mount?
astronomyshed 1 year ago
@astronomyshed - thanks for the question. This tutorial is aimed at the person who has no idea how to use/align one of these mounts. Because perfect polar alignment isn't required for most visual observing, it's a means to demonstrate that there are several ways to get a telescope "close enough" to use it successfully. If a user doesn't have someone to help with the latitude adjustment, using the "leg only" method is perfectly acceptable to avoid potentially dropping/damaging their scope.
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 year ago
Very nice video.
DjienneProd 1 year ago
Hi nice video
A question: what do i do if i'm staying near the equator, ie 1.4degree North?
bradford2211 1 year ago
@bradford2211 - Thanks for the compliment & question, bradford. Set your latitude scale just above the zero mark. Starting position will have the telescope nearly level with the ground; you may have to estimate where the celestial pole is if your northern horizon is not clear. I should have a video up in a few weeks detailing how to find Polaris; this may help you. It doesn't need to be perfect to track effectively; even within a few degrees is good for visual use. Good luck & clear skies!
eyesontheskyDOTcom 1 year ago