15/08/12 09.51
Astro Babys HEQ5 Polar Alignment
Pagina 1 di 3
http://www.astro-baby.com/HEQ5/HEQ5-1.htm
If like me you opened up your bright new shiny HEQ5 mount and found yourself stumped by the instructions then this page is
for you !!
Rather than use technical jargon I have kept this simple and its a basic step by step guide to setting up the polar scope on the
popular HEQ5 Mount.This seems to be a common problem judging by how many times it appears as a question on astronomy
chat and help boards so here you are - if you have made it to this page then your problems are ( hopefully over ) - at least if you
live in the Northern Hemisphere - this guide only works for setting up in the Northern Hemisphere.
Although this guide is written specifically for the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount the unit is very similar to other EQ5 and the EQ6
mounts so it should be applicable to Orion EQ mounts and many other types as far as I know.
To check the HEQ5 out and to see
NOTE: Its easier to do this procedure without the telescope or weights on the mount. This puts less stress on the altitude and
azimuth bolts both of which are quite soft and prone to shearing if placed under too much stress it also makes it less likely you
will hit your head on the telescope tube and hit the telescope tube against the mount during the alignment procedure.
GETTING THE POLAR SCOPE READY
Before starting you will need to remove the covers for the polar scope. The front cover simply clips off, the rear cover has a screw thread.
You must also lower the weight bar and rotate the mount through its declination axis until the polar scope is clear. You can check just by
looking down the hole underneath the front cover.
NAMING OF PARTS
The first thing you need to do is get familiar with the parts of the mount around the polar scope set-up. I haven't detailed the
altitude and azimuth set up because that's simple enough even for idiots like me
but if your really stuck check the diagram here.
The polarscope is also simple BUT not well explained on most web pages or the HEQ5 Manual.
The diagram to the left shows all of the major components of the polar
scope
APART FROM THE DATE/LONGITUDE INDEX SET SCREW
. If
you rotate your mount through its RA access and look at the ring that
carries the DATE/LONGITUDE INDEX MARK you will see a small grub
screw on the ring that carries the index mark. You will need to loosen
this later.
Note also the RA INDEX LOCK SCREW will ONLY lock the RA index in
its Zero position. You'll see as you go through the procedure that this is
perfectly correct as it is only used in the polar alignment process.
