Thank you for sharing this video. It was very useful as I have the same telescope and wedge set up over here in the UK, do you know if it’s possible to perform the same sky align using the app instead of the hand control whilst the wedge?
According to Celestron's page if you have the most recent version it has what you are looking for: "WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 3.1.0.9067 Introducing Celestron’s All-Star Polar Alignment routine, allowing you to easily polar align your German Equatorial or wedge-mounted Alt-AZ mount, without accessories that aid in polar alignment"
Thank you for doing this! I was contemplating adding a Celestron wedge to my Nexstar AZ for EAA However it becomes apparent that a camera on the back of the OTA would smash into the base for certain positions North facing objects would especially be affected. For example - it would be impossible to center the scope on Polaris. So it appears the wedge would only be usable for observing objects in the southern sky.
You would need to shift the OTA forward like I did by adding another dovetail. Or you would use a diagonal. I moved on from the wedge and returned it. I found a lightly used AVX mount that works much better for astrophotography.
@@randallfosler Yes Thanks. I do understand that many people transition from a wedge to an GEM mount. As long as one finds the overhead of the GEM mount worth fussing with - it is especially suited for long exposures. Thank you for your kind response. Clear skies and wonderful images! :-]
Very nice basic description of the autoalign procedure with a 6SE on a wedge. However, when i do this, the scope is way off when i choose the first star Sirius. if i then do move the scope to atually point at Sirius, the second star is also way off, and if I align the second star, it says the alignment failed. If I ignore the alignment and just pretend the 2 stars were actually aligned, it says the alignment succeeds - but of course its not actually aligned, and gotos fail. note that the mount is actually well polar-aligned, the arm of the scope is pointing to Polaris, and once I've got the index marks aligned, the scope is at 90 degrees to the arm, as you show in your video. I also accurately entered the date, time and lat/longitude. Last year I was successful in doing the autoalign procedure, although I found it finicky, but this year, with exactly the same equipment, it doesn't work. Any suggestions?
The things that can mess up your alignment are: - tripod not level - tripod / wedge not pointing north - wedge not set for your latitude - finderscope not aligned with main scope - telescope OTA not balanced - clutches slipping - backlash excessive and setting needs adjusting - weak power source (old batteries). I use a rechargeable Talentcell 12v battery. When centering an object, always finish using the up and right arrow keys. Put the object in the lower left of the eyepiece and then finish moving it up and to the right. This engages the motors for the direction they will use to track.
For a brief stint not too long ago, my 8SE (no wedge) was constantly failing to align. I use it with the wifi dongle and sky safari. I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on. Going through the hand control settings, I found the time zone and daylight savings settings were all of a sudden wrong. Who knows why. Corrected those two entries and everything’s been working well since. Sounds dumb but double check those on your hand controller.
You don't need the guide camera while shooting the sun.. simply using cpwi or in your hand controller, set tracking mode to solar. Also, you'd be better off using that guide camera in your main scope instead of your phone and lucky image the sun..
I’m showing how to use a wedge and align the 6SE/8SE in EQ mode in this video. I’m not demonstrating how to use it on the sun. I’m demonstrating it during the day so you can see what I’m doing. I have an entirely different setup for solar observing the eclipse. See my other video for that. I use an AVX mount, guide scope, guide camera, and the PHD2 Solar version that tracks the sun perfectly for hours. Just using CPWI or the controller in solar tracking cannot keep the sun perfectly centered for hours for a long event like an eclipse.
Thank you for sharing this video. It was very useful as I have the same telescope and wedge set up over here in the UK, do you know if it’s possible to perform the same sky align using the app instead of the hand control whilst the wedge?
According to Celestron's page if you have the most recent version it has what you are looking for:
"WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 3.1.0.9067
Introducing Celestron’s All-Star Polar Alignment routine, allowing you to easily polar align your German Equatorial or wedge-mounted Alt-AZ mount, without accessories that aid in polar alignment"
@ thank you for the quick response. That’s very helpful. I’ll have another look tonightWeather permitted.
Thank you for doing this! I was contemplating adding a Celestron wedge to my Nexstar AZ for EAA
However it becomes apparent that a camera on the back of the OTA would smash into the base for certain positions
North facing objects would especially be affected. For example - it would be impossible to center the scope on Polaris.
So it appears the wedge would only be usable for observing objects in the southern sky.
You would need to shift the OTA forward like I did by adding another dovetail. Or you would use a diagonal.
I moved on from the wedge and returned it. I found a lightly used AVX mount that works much better for astrophotography.
@@randallfosler Yes Thanks. I do understand that many people transition from a wedge to an GEM mount.
As long as one finds the overhead of the GEM mount worth fussing with - it is especially suited for long exposures. Thank you for your kind response. Clear skies and wonderful images! :-]
Very nice basic description of the autoalign procedure with a 6SE on a wedge. However, when i do this, the scope is way off when i choose the first star Sirius. if i then do move the scope to atually point at Sirius, the second star is also way off, and if I align the second star, it says the alignment failed. If I ignore the alignment and just pretend the 2 stars were actually aligned, it says the alignment succeeds - but of course its not actually aligned, and gotos fail. note that the mount is actually well polar-aligned, the arm of the scope is pointing to Polaris, and once I've got the index marks aligned, the scope is at 90 degrees to the arm, as you show in your video. I also accurately entered the date, time and lat/longitude. Last year I was successful in doing the autoalign procedure, although I found it finicky, but this year, with exactly the same equipment, it doesn't work. Any suggestions?
The things that can mess up your alignment are:
- tripod not level
- tripod / wedge not pointing north
- wedge not set for your latitude
- finderscope not aligned with main scope
- telescope OTA not balanced
- clutches slipping
- backlash excessive and setting needs adjusting
- weak power source (old batteries). I use a rechargeable Talentcell 12v battery.
When centering an object, always finish using the up and right arrow keys. Put the object in the lower left of the eyepiece and then finish moving it up and to the right. This engages the motors for the direction they will use to track.
For a brief stint not too long ago, my 8SE (no wedge) was constantly failing to align. I use it with the wifi dongle and sky safari. I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on. Going through the hand control settings, I found the time zone and daylight savings settings were all of a sudden wrong. Who knows why. Corrected those two entries and everything’s been working well since. Sounds dumb but double check those on your hand controller.
Hello Nice video, with the wedge now you can track objects better? How much exposure time can you get with the base?
Great video, thanks.
I need to extend my se8. How did you do it?
I do a lot of woodworking so I used a piece of hard oak to make a wood dovetail extension and bolted it to the original dovetail.
2:27 I wish there was a proper explanation for that.
So confused where to point the scope for the meridian . SMH
You don't need the guide camera while shooting the sun.. simply using cpwi or in your hand controller, set tracking mode to solar. Also, you'd be better off using that guide camera in your main scope instead of your phone and lucky image the sun..
I’m showing how to use a wedge and align the 6SE/8SE in EQ mode in this video. I’m not demonstrating how to use it on the sun. I’m demonstrating it during the day so you can see what I’m doing.
I have an entirely different setup for solar observing the eclipse. See my other video for that. I use an AVX mount, guide scope, guide camera, and the PHD2 Solar version that tracks the sun perfectly for hours. Just using CPWI or the controller in solar tracking cannot keep the sun perfectly centered for hours for a long event like an eclipse.