Guest peepshow Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) As all you sky nuts ( ) know, the stars move approx 1 degrees west each day, making their 360 degree round trip each year. I have just checked that the hand held controller of the Synscan takes 50 m/amp when it is switched on. Of course, when any GOTO motor is engaged this current rises very much higher. Here comes the question............. If one were to permanently connect a small 12v float to the hand controller, in order to keep it powered up with that 50 m/a when the GOTO was not in use, would the handset update itself every day to compensate for that 1 degree movement of the stars and give accurate GOTO week after week ? Or would it slowly loose its way, and if so, after how long? Has anyone tried this ? Did any smoke come out of the handset ? Edited May 20, 2014 by peepshow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 If the handset and mount were left on permanently, the GOTO accuracy would persist, as it just rotates its sky map with time. The problem would be when you cross a day light saving event, but then the tracking would presumably be correct, but the date/time on the handset might not be the same date/time you think it is... Why not just park the mount, and use the same device to input the date and time the next time you start up from a parked position? Else what is the issue with just doing a fresh one, two, or three star alignment each time? Jd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peepshow Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 On playing around with a synscan hand controller for the first time yesterday the float battery occured to me as PC's have a back up battery to keep BIOS info. One doesn't have to input times and dates on boot up each time, hence my wondering about the synscan too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) It is so little hassle to enter the date and the time and to do an accurate star alignment, i don't see a great benefit; i doubt the GOTO accuracy after a few days in "hibernation" would be as sharp as a fresh one (depending on the focal length of the scope, and how well it tracked time). I suspect it would be more accurate if the set up was housed in an observatory rather than exposed to the wind and passing badgers under a green-witch protective bag. Jd Edited May 20, 2014 by dawson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perkil8r Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 If it's anything like the Meade at work, you are wasting your time. Each time you turn the mount on it would prob force the handset to reboot anyway. The Meade has a small backup battery in the handset, it is supposed to keep it's position etc but it doesn't. If it's permanently mounted I would strongly advise using a pc for control. That way it should be right almost all the time no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peepshow Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I didn't know Meade had tried a back up battery, but as has been said it's quite easy to enter time and dates each time. A float battery was just a passing thought.... ........maybe an on/off switch would be more useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 On / off switch where? All of the skywatcher mounts i've seen have an on / off switch. But that powers down the handset and the mount. I think you are making work for yourself. I can't see an accuracy or significant time saving advantage by the handset knowing the time. There are GPS modules which i believe updates things with the exact time and date and co-ordinates, but again i can't see the cost/benefit in one as there are so many free apps for smart phones which tell you the time and co-ordinates, and it is so easy to input these. Maybe they are useful for when a mobile phone is out of range (if they use satellite signals), and may also be useful for people who park the scope and want the time to be consistent when parking and awakening the mount. Jd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 All mounts are built to certain tolerances which are by no means perfect - but usually good for at least a session or maybe two. You also have wear on the parts - so even if you could have it connected perpetually I reckon it will drift off sooner or later. If it was me I wouldn't bother when doing a quick star align takes no time at all. But it ain't me - it's you lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Not sure of the reason for wanting to do this, sw mounts have park, celestron have hibernate and last alignment so why run the mount all the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peepshow Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 On / off switch where? All of the skywatcher mounts i've seen have an on / off switch. But that powers down the handset and the mount. Jd My Skywatcher AZ GOTO synscan does not have an on/off swith. To turn it off one has to pull out the power plug either in the hand controller or the GOTO mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Ah, the AZ GOTO mount! No, mine doesn't have one either; as you say power off = pulling the plug. Again, i'm not sure what advantage a switch offers, as it would presumably turn off everything. You can still park that mount (i believe), and if you wanted just leave it all left turned on but turn the tracking off, so the mount motors were not doing anything and the only power drain would be the handset. You could always use the PAE function on re-awakening, but i think that only improves pointing accuracy in one of 88 regions of the sky.... You could do it 88 times (probably could only manage a quarter of this as the rest might be hidden), but again, a fresh start up and two star alignment would be quicker and likely lead to greater accuracy of your GOTO. Jd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perkil8r Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 A word of warning on GPS, I've turned ours off as it was convinced we were in Canada and it was 2011! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peepshow Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 A word of warning on GPS, I've turned ours off as it was convinced we were in Canada and it was 2011! At the price these things are you probably have a time travel machine built into yours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 At the price these things are you probably have a time travel machine built into yours That could be your next project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peepshow Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 That could be your next project No thanks, James. I have enough trouble mounting a AZ GOTO synscan mount dead level onto my all metal barn door tracker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teslar Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 A word of warning on GPS, I've turned ours off as it was convinced we were in Canada and it was 2011! I have a £17 gps dongle from the bay of fleas which works perfectly and seems very accurate when checked against other sources Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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