My tracking mount failed during a 3 hour Orion nebula session last night

I set everything up perfectly at 9pm, got maybe 20 good frames before the dec axis started jerking and ruined the rest. Anyone have a fix for that periodic error besides sending it back?

2 comments

2 Comments

evanpalmer27d ago

Oh sure, nothing like a perfect setup that works for exactly 20 frames before deciding to take a vacation. Classic astronomy equipment humor, except nobody's laughing. Sounds like your mount's dec axis has a mind of its own and it chose violence. Have you tried giving it a firm talking to or maybe threatening to replace it with a Dobsonian? Sometimes a little tough love works better than a factory reset.

lucas16523d ago

Ha, well I can't say much because my own mount once decided to stop tracking right when Andromeda was perfectly framed, leaving me with a blob that looked like a fuzzy potato. I get so caught up in blaming the gear but honestly half my problems are me fumbling with the hand controller while my coffee gets cold. But you're right, a Dobsonian threat might just be the psychological warfare these finicky mounts actually respond to.