How to Polar Align a Skywatcher Mount
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- You can do this with any Skywatcher mount, actually any mount. But this is the Synscan hand controller process demonstrated in all it's long, dreary glory. If you're watching polar alignment videos on UA-cam for fun.. well that says a lot about you really.
Support the channel by buying Dylan's Telescopes, Cameras & Equipment using the links below!
EQUIPMENT LIST
----
Celestron 11" Edge HD Telescope
USA : bit.ly/3JB95JE
SkyWatcher EVOLUX Telescopes :
USA : bit.ly/36henwd
Celestron RASA F2 11" Telescope
USA : bit.ly/3Jy4Ezl
International : amzn.to/3ABsVBz
QHY268M Mono CMOS Camera
USA : bit.ly/33u4k5w
Skywatcher EQ8Rh Pro Mount
USA : bit.ly/3gTdWJX
AUS : bit.ly/3dxdRv1
NexDome Observatory by Sidereal Trading (Australia)
www.siderealtr...
Celestron RASA 8" F2 Telescope
USA : bit.ly/3GTUwiU
International : amzn.to/3G4nlbP
Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis Smartphone Adapter
USA : bit.ly/351K2ki
International : amzn.to/3g20wLd
Celestron CGX Mount
USA : bit.ly/3BtPVCF
Lunt40mm Solar Telescope
USA : bit.ly/3sP8KMX
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro Pack
USA : bit.ly/3uUVw3O
International : amzn.to/3ABLAwQ
ZWO ASI 174MM (Planetary / Solar Camera)
USA : bit.ly/3uXpEM8
International : amzn.to/3rXqJAj
ZWO ASI 120MM (Guide Camera)
USA : bit.ly/352iBXg
ZWO ASI 1600MM (Deep Space Camera)
USA : bit.ly/3HVtvg1
International : amzn.to/3rXqJAj
Celestron 0.7x reducer for 11" Edge HD
USA : bit.ly/3gTDJSy
Celestron 0.7x reducer for 9.25” Edge HD
USA : bit.ly/3sNyY2o
Celestron 9.25” Edge HD
USA : bit.ly/3LISupw
Canon 6D mkII DSLR
International : amzn.to/2CbiVER
Tokina 16-28mm Lens
International : amzn.to/3fdFJCo
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Full Frame
International : amzn.to/3G9kjmP
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens
International : amzn.to/3H9yPfA
Support my alcoholism by getting some Star Stuff stuff MERCH:
/ @dylanodonnell
Dylan’s links
----
PATREON : / dylanodonnell
WEB : deography.com
FACEBOOK : / dylanodonnell
TWITTER : / erfmufn
INSTAGRAM : / dylan_odonnell_
APPLE MUSIC : / dylan-odonnell
SPOTIFY : open.spotify.c...
Intro Music - "Moving the Ocean (Aerologic Edit)" by Blastculture.
Fastfall (Dustforce OST) - “Frozen Hot Sauce“ By Lifeformed is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Time to Heal No Vocals - Style da Kid via Storyblocks
Chess, coffee, and Dylan’s premiers, I live for this stuff
Ok .. back to destroying you :)
@@DylanODonnell We shall see!
Thank you for breaking it down for us. I got my Heq5 a month ago and was able to try it out last weekend but I made mistakes and it was slewing to the general vicinity but not in sight. The manual will tell you to use the setting circles and confuse the heck out of you. Awesome video Dylan !
This was fantastic. Thanks. Had no idea my Skywatcher mount even had this. I was always trying to do it via the polar scope that's built in.
That introduction was hilarious! An instantly recognizable homage to Chubbyemu!
He’s iconic eh! BJ made a full recovery.
@@DylanODonnell I wonder how you came up with the initials BJ ? 🤔.
Thankyou so much for this vid. I do wide angle astrophotography of the milkyway but I've been wanting to do deep astro stuff. I brought a skywatcher equatorial mount and scope last year tried it, but with no one to show me how it all works I've been stumped and although it looks cool sitting in my lounge room I'm not getting my monies worth out it. I'll give it another crack once the skies clear up. Thanks again for the video and your time making it. Daniel from South Australia.
Bloody hell. I have had a synscan controller for years and never knew this. Could have saved a few bob spent on a polemaster
Totally! Everyone needs to know about this. Should be a printout in the box.
Dammit! I never even knew that my Skywatcher mount had a polar alignment function. Thanks Dylan.
It's really good too!
@@DylanODonnellWow! I've been using it every time I set up now and I'm really pleased with the accuracy I'm achieving now. This should be promoted more.
Wow, that's what I call great timing! My new EQ6-R Pro arrived two days ago, can't wait to set it up for the first time. Thanks for the video!
Great to hear! Good luck and congrats!
Brilliant video from my perspective.🤩
it feels like I've been given the last push up a hill I couldn't see 👀 the top of. (And it was all spoken in Strine, so i didn't need subtitles, lmao)
Forever grateful, cheers
Glad it helped ! If you get polar aligned pay me back by subscribing ;)
If only the clouds would stay away long enough to polar align. Great video as always.
Or Show Up Right After..Happens To Me Too🤨
Love the chubbyemu style intro … shame you did not take it further.
Living in bortle 8 /9 gave up on hand controller with eq6 pro r. Usually use sharp cap polar align or NINA 3 star polar align both work well I think
To be fair it was a big stretch to connect chubbyemu to astro at all but I got there.. somehow 😂
I'd never heard of chubbyemu so I went to look it up. Now I know all there is to know about a kid who had spiders in his socks.
Chubbyemu collab presenting to the ER!
Good video. I have been an amature back yard astronomer for about 15 yrs. Polar alignment has been the Bain of my existence for much of that time. I have to break down and set up every night. Spending up to an hour just doing alignments was painful.
These tools were not available when I started. Also time and location limitations always have given me a headache.
Having this as well as the tools in PHD and other computer based alignment systems is an absolute godsend! Please spend the time and learn how to use them. Find one that works for u and help lower the stress level accordingly.
Since I got my new mount this year, and polar alignment routines, I have 5 min unguided sub exposures every time.
Thank you. I have been really struggling with this…now at least I know what is supposed to happen 🤣great video
Very cool especially for those in the south without a specific star
Dylan, I'm new to astronomy and haven't gotten into astrophotography yet, but you make a compelling case. I just want to thank and give you credit for teaching me a lot of what I know. I hope you weren't bullshitting...jk...lol. Thank you my Aussie friend!
Matt from the USA
Welcome to the hobby :) my channel is probably a bit sarcastic but I bullshit so little I think I upset people with some hard truths ;) thanks for your support !
WTF! I never knew. This is such a time/back saver - thanks Dylan (again). :)
Good video Dylan. I try to perform a polar alignment every other month in my observatory. Usually I’ll do 2 cycles of the PA routine each time.
Yes, great workflow. I do at least 2 (sometimes 3) but I get lazy some months and skip 😬
Oh man. I was about to sell my eq head and go back to the AZ one because I found trying to align on a star thats *always* below my fenceline to be just fury generating. Your a lifesaver Dylan!
Glad it helped!
Thanx Dylan. As I understand, SynScan will NOT slew to a star below the horizon (supposedly), so, if one cannot "see" a star that has been selected by the hand controller, it will probably be because there is a visual interference. I have never had my mount slew below horizon (which is one of the endearing features that I appreciate on my EQ6-R Pro mount!). This procedure is very near the same on Celestron controllers. It is best to become familiar with all the control pathways that your individual hand controller has avaiable. Then it becomes MUCH easier to use it for polar alignment.
Correct :) when I said if you can’t see the star choose another .. I meant because there’s a house / tree in the way.
Ahhhh this is one of those perfect videos
The funking sarky Aussie comes up trumps with this video, good on ya mate
Thanks for the video just switched to a equatorial EQ6Rpro ,so yes this was a huge help ,can't wait to start viewing ,been raining and cloudy since I picked it up :(
Cause and effect :)
Awaiting my first GoTo mount - HEQ5 Pro. Your video is so helpful. Thank you, mate. Clear Skies🔭
Congrats !
Nice. Glad you are revisiting some basics. Hope you are doing well and been getting some clear skies!
Thanks... I am getting some clear skies after months of nothing!
Just what I've been waiting for, thankyou !
OMG the ChubbyEmu style intro is historically hysterically funny!
“You don’t even need the pole” - I have been waiting for this video all my astro-life :)
Awesome tutorial Dylan, thanks mate!
Didn’t expect the lifeformed album for the intro!
What a classic !
There is another way. Given the polar align is perfect first, which will give you chaps on the underside a few problems. There is the Celestron Star-Sense, which has a Skywatcher version too.
I was using it on the 130SLT but when I moved it to the AVX it played silly-Bs. It had gone out of focus. After a lot of grumbling I got hold of Celestron support in USA (I'm in UK) and the chap was very helpful. He suggested winding the objective out two turns at a time in single star manual align until star count was maximised. I had been using 1/4 turn and that was too fine, and kept missing it. The camera does not actually have be focused pin sharp.
So now the SLT sans the 130 tube but carrying a camera+lens aligns and calibrates by plate solving magic in seconds. Well, under 2 minutes anyway. And the more calibration points you add the better the tracking gets, This works on an Alt-Az with no polar alignment, But with an EQ like the AVX it needs levelling and polar alignment to be nigh-on perfect first. It is dead easy putting the graticule on Polaris with a neck truss at 51°N. And yes Celestron have pretty much the same polar align on any star routine too.
Don’t hate, but in my enthusiasm I purchased a wedge to go with my Nexstar 8se and used much the same process to do a polar align. Yes, its work but the satisfaction of completing the align was magnificent.
It’s a crowning achievement for any beginner !
I needed this video, thank you Dylan.
LMAO , the chubby emu intro was Great...
👆🏻
Excellent video
Thank you for sharing and great editing 😉😋👍
Thanks Alan!
Future skywatcher manuals should just be:
"We've spent years failing to explain this through text, pictures and the medium of contemporary dance. Just go watch this video"
Haha, Agree
Oh yes!
Going through this right now on my first eq6r pro. First, true north is more right than my compass app showed and the app is set to true north. But the two star align followed by this polar align routine was a breeze. I did it on the syncscan wifi app using my phone as the controller. My north view is blocked so this method is great.
magnetic declination table can give your your offset in degrees. if you have an iphone, within the settings for compass, is a true north slider. android might have something similar, the GPSTEST app on android has it.
HINT: Step 0 is "make sure the power supply is within spec (provides adequate amperage". When I first started (both times, separated by decades), I had to ask "why does the controller keep resetting whenever I slew?" before I realized I needed to buy the vendor-specific power supply to get adequate amperage. I was convinced I was working with junk because the controller would reset every time. I've also noticed, even with all the right electronics, it STILL tends to reboot at random times - maybe once every 20 times, and maybe dependent on temperature.
I had an Orion Atlas for about 15 years. For the first few it was absolute heck if power wasn't up to snuff. Those mounts need a stable and powerful source. Any time i see the LED dimming during a slew I know I am going to have an issue.
Great video, I'm just about to upgrade from an ALT AZ to Equatorial, this gives me an idea of what I'm getting myself into. thanks again. have a good one mate! 👊 🍺
Congrats Stuart !
@@DylanODonnell thanks legend
I wish you had made this when I upgraded from my Evolution 8SE on the Alt/Az mount, to the 9.25 Edge HD on the EQ6R Pro... Would have made those first few months much easier 😆
I wish someone else did too. I wasted months of my life figuring out something so simple !
Just TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!
Nice one brother
I have to wonder what the actual cross section is of viewers in the "chubbyemu-to-starstuff" nerd venn diagram... good reference Dylan, I almost forgot what I was watching.
Hehe must be a good overlap .. many ppl picked it 👌🏼
LOL For a moment I thought you were doing a collab with ChubbyEmu :-) Unfortunately I cannot do a 3 star alignment because I am surrounded by trees but fortunately I can see the pole star even though it is right over Chicago and hidden in the light pollution. This will come in handy when I finally escape to a dark site. Thanks!
Hehe I made a full recovery.
Why, thank you for that.
Good video Dylan. I see you changed you hair do, you look great now!
Thanks! I feel less homeless now 😆
Damn I just bought the polemaster not too long ago. Though I don't have a sky watcher mount so I guess I didn't waste my money too much
The background music had me hooked. What is it? It's super relaxing.
It’s a vocal free thing from the StoryBlocks library. Have posted in the description! I think it’s pretty generic but it worked well for this :)
Thanks, Dylan! I appreciate your response. Clear skies!
Sorry you're holding the hand controller too close to the camera, it's all out of focus, it would help to be able to see the controller and the different stages of prompts. thank you.
Sorry for being out of focus.
I agree 100%. This video was useless.
Nice video. Maybe writen guide in pdf? You are amazing.
Seems like a similar process to Celestron's All Star Polar Alignment. I've found that PHD2's drift alignment has worked out best for me, though NINA now has a 3-point polar alignment plug-in that is super easy and walks you through everything. All of these methods work out great when you don't have a view of Polaris (or happen to be in the southern hemisphere).
Yep! Basically exactly the same apart from some user interface differences. I expect it’s dissimilar enough to avoid trademark / patent infringement which is probably why skywatcher calls it “polar alignment” and not “all star polar alignment” 😂
@@DylanODonnell They are owned by the same company, and I don't think one can infringe their own patent rights...
After all that messing around, a PoleMaster seems pretty affordable !
Why not use polar scope for polar alignment? The 3 star alignment isn’t that just for more accurate GoTo functionality?
IMO, as a recent beginner of astrophotography (3 years ago), doing it this way i find quite a bit more difficult and time-consuming. i much prefer using Asiair plus, with its built in PA sequence and plate solving.
Could you just centre the star, or does it have to be an American star?
Only you would start a video with "BJ"... fucking dead over here lol
You Always Need Some niice Dose of Caffeine for a good Polar Align 💪🏻😛. Loved The Video! It must Be harder From Southern Hemisphere, Lay My Hats Off To Begginers Who are Trying It!
Cheers mate!
I recently transitioned from an alt-az to eq mount (iOptron). The first time I set up the EQ I polar aligned it in about 5 minutes using Sharp Cap. Then I said "Holy shit that was easy!"
Question .. once 3 star align and then polar align are complete should another 3 star align be done? Yes , I am very new to equatorial mounts and self taught from the school of hard knocks with astrophotography .. I enjoy your tutorials and have progressed greatly from them .. Thank You and please keep up the fine work .. yes it is on a tripod and brought in each time ..
I don’t think so, but I would do the whole process one more time anyway ending on the polar align. Hey thanks for watching !
Almost all computer based solutions have their own Polar Alignment routines. I use ASIAIR, but NINA an other PC based software also supply features.
So why should i use the handcontroller solution? In my experience e. g. ASIAIR PA is much easier.!?
The NINA solution is great. But for my DSLR, live view is not supported in NINA. The SynScan method is quicker for me because I can see the star movement in real time on my camera screen or tablet in live view rather then looping images that have to download and platesolve. Accuracy seems to be about the same - i.e .very good. But the SynScan method is much quicker for me.
this chubbyemu intro killed me
I hope you made a full recovery.
Scheinern aka drift alignment is torture !
It is! Don't do it.
@@DylanODonnell I had to manually do it for 5 years on my balcony with a star adventurer. Took away an hour of imaging time every night :(
@@benjaminolry5849 ouch
@@benjaminolry5849 This method will work for the new GOTO star adventurer mounts btw
@@DylanODonnell I am luckily on a NEQ6pro now and drift align with lacerta mgen II. Once the pier is installed I hope to do it only once a year.
Thanks for the video, is it exactly the same on a Heq5 sync scan?
Should be !
Once polar aligned, and you slew to a star / object out of reach what happens?
Do we need to set the scope up facing North and Level before starting the aligning process?
Yep
Brazilian subscribers that got the reference from the meme used by Dylan 😂
Wonder if the ioptron go2nova has this option
Does it matter if Polar alignment is done before three star alignment?
From what I've seen, the polar alignment option isn't even there until you have done a 2 or 3 star alignment, so you have to do the star alignment first with this method.
Hello Dylan - and thank you for this video!
I'm wondering if you can help me with a small problem.
I have purchased some used equipment to learn EAA
- Celestron C8 which is collimated
- Orion Sirius EQ-5 motorized mount - with "Polar axis finder scope" which is collimated.
1) I've properly aligned the telescope tube with an attached Telrad
2) I've mounted the tube/telrad assembly to the Orion mount
3) I've done the polar alignment with the mount's "Polar axis finder scope"
The problem:
The Telrad is indicating the scope is pointing about 5 degrees below Polaris and with a 35mm eye-piece in the scope - Polaris is outside of the FOV.
So it appears - even though the mounts "Polar axis finder scope" is properly colliminated - it is not parallel to the top of the mount where the Tube is attached.
Should I ignore this issue - and simply do the 3 star alignment - with the assumption that the 3 star alignment will get me close enough for EAA work?
Or should I add spacer shims to the Tube?
Someday I hope to have "Life Savings" to be able to upgrade to a fancy mount. However I have started down the slippery slope of Astrophotography and I fear not having any money at all ever again.
My condolences to your family.
I updated my hand controller (version 5) and it keeps going randomly and I don't have the option in the controller that you have. It has a pointing error of like 25° and I can't understand why. Some months ago was working good. I use an EQM 35 PRO brw
Fantastic video as always Dylan! I just bought an HEQ5 mount and I didn't know you could do this with the hand controller. Do you know if there's any way of doing the same thing using EQMOD? I know how to do star allignment but I'm incapable of finding a polar allignment option. Thank you!
I think N.I.N.A has a three point polar alignment plug-in available
I think my skywatcher mount is bipolar. Sometimes it doesn't know which direction it wants to move.
😂 😆
Swings both ways hey
I'm sure you have done that several times over the years.
You mentioned throwing the camera onto an iPad? How? What app?
Here The camera is connected to the pc and I’m just using VNC free to Remote Desktop from the iPad to the windows pc :) super handy to pull the iPad around instead of connecting a monitor to the pc and craning your neck!
@@DylanODonnell cool 😎
How's the brass monkey weather down your way? :) It'd be cold in the dome, but that's good for the scope, so long as it's not too humid as well. Hate it when dew gets all over everything. It's good they have the polar alignment routines setup in the controllers. Saves your back and neck from all the contortions you go through. And, someone stole our pole star!!!
Dehumidifier working overtime as usual 😆 but it’s been clear! I am very pleased.
Could you tell me what software you are using for your camera? i see that you obvsiously have eqmod, but i was curious what software you are using to connect to your camera
These days NINA! Free. Highly recommend.
I have a video about it somewhere !
When i try to do the polar alignment and it comes time to adjust the alt-azimuth knobs, the mount slews in both directions, meaning i can't get it centered back in frame without using both knobs. Is this normal?
What I mean is that it'll do the altitude adjustment and it slews away in both directions, then asks me to only use alt knobs to get it centered, which is now impossible since it's slewed in both directions
Yeh just do one and get it as close to center then wait until it tells you to do the other. Dont do both .. I know what you mean.
@@DylanODonnell thanks! I've been playing with it but getting it properly polar aligned is definitely taking some learning 😅
star adventurer 2i problems
It hurts
Wait.....you combed your hair ??!! :)
I mean.. with my fingers .. sure 😆
What the hell son... you cleaned up. LOL
Haha yeh I don't look as homeless anymore.
@@DylanODonnell You got that right! LOL
I'm 60, the first 30 seconds made me look elsewhere for the info I need. regards
Thanks for the announcement!
so you borrowed an eyepiece from a friend for this video?
The finder scope is technically visual astronomy … curses!
Hand controller, Eye piece?? Good God man whats next the wife's fruity drinks?
No judgement here :)
Can I do this on Az Gti equatorial mode too?
I can’t confirm but I’d assume so! The wedge height is just altitude right ?
@@DylanODonnell yes, it is! That would be awesome, because, like you, I am on the southern hemisphere and my sky window is very narrow, because of big buildings around me. I will give it a go! Cheers mate!
@@DylanODonnell yes, it is! And I have upgraded my mount to equatorial mode as well. Clear skies!
I use this on AZ GTi in EQ mode, but using the SynScan app on my phone rather than the hand controller. It works.
oh no Dylan has been brainwashed by Trevor and using the Handset....Arrrrrrrrrrrgh
LOL I still don't use the handset (I'm inside). I just do this once every 6 months 😂
Learning from your mistakes is clever, learning from other peoples mistakes is genius - please include the mistakes (per your intro).
Sharpcap, Sharpcap, Sharpcap.
Unless you can't see either celestial pole.....
@@captainfruitbatify in that case, NINA, NINA, NINA.
@@Fat-totoro-cat I've used NINA's polar align, and it's very good. But SynScan is quicker for me.
I was today years old when I learned my mount had a polar alignment feature. 🤦
All that time wasted!!
I know right? If it were me, I'd put a single page printout in the box the mount came in with the steps. Separate to the manual (which doesn't really explain it).
Quick question.. .. what's a finder scope? Did you re-do the star alignment as adjustment of the az or alt knobs will knock that star alignment out
I found that method is fine for visual or planetary but not for deepsky .. did you edit out it tracking superbly?
A finder scope is the small telescope usually attached to side of telescope. you can then look through this and will have a wider field of view so that you can use it to point main scope to direction you want to look. normally you would align the guide and main scope to have an object in center of view of both.
If you have not used one before maybe you have used something like a red dot finder.
As a more advanced option you can have a guide scope attached instead with a camera that communicates with your mount directly or to your computer to improve guiding
@@Astrogator1 no mark I was having a dig.. I do have finders but I've removed them as I platesolve
@@derekregan6926 was wondering 😝
I do same as seams less painful
When the mount is not aligned at all, the finderscope is handy for that initial alignment but you’re right .. I could be lazy and platesolve it all! Also yes, I’ve found you don’t need to do Star align again because once polar aligned I’ll just clear the datapoints in eqmod and plate solve from there .. I run through this process at least twice and then it’s tuned in nice. See Twitter for a guiding graph after doing this just twice. A third time would get the error down and other 1/5th of an arc second :)
@@DylanODonnell the idea of polar alignment is to have the mount aligned to a point in the sky, in your case the south celestrial pole, in my case the north celestrial pole.. yeah in the northern hemisphere we're lucky enough to have Polaris very close to the ncp . . I can see why people use the handset method or in Celestrons version the ASPA if they can't see the pole star to get a starting point or as said visual or planetary.. problem with using stars for alignment is they move , and the recent plate solving softwares are all using this method, Cuiv did a video on the Nina version and can't say it was at all convincing..
Did I just witness you using an eyepiece? Where is that unsubscribe button... there it is! LOL
NO ..... NOOOOOoooooooo!
Lol 😂
WhAT if yoU OwN a StaR AdVenTURer
God! Buy a bloody PoleMaster and save all that crap!
Cost too much
This is easier, costs nothing extra and works without a view to the pole :)
Said the man who has visibility of the celestial pole.
Can you suggest a Polemaster that can see through tress?