HEQ5 Rowan belt mod tutorial

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MartinF Sweden
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HEQ5 Rowan belt mod tutorial

#1

Post by MartinF »


I just made a tutorial on how I performed the Rowan Belt mod on my HEQ5. Maybe it could be of some use for someone who is planning it. I chose text instead of voice over, since it makes it easier to pause and still see the instructions.
https://youtu.be/CNKcxVfzM58
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Skywatcher HEQ5 + Orion MMAG, AstroTrac TT320X-AG
Zwo ASI1600MM-Cool + Canon EOS 550D (Baader modified)
Skywatcher 150-PDS, TS-Optics 80mm f/6 triplet, Sigma 500/4.5 lens
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FotografMartinF
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Juno16 United States of America
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Re: HEQ5 Rowan belt mod tutorial

#2

Post by Juno16 »


Thanks Martin!

I just started using my HEQ5 a few months ago.

It has about 3000ms of DEC backlash, but PHD2 backlash compensation handles it pretty well.

I am definitely interested in doing the mod, but seeing that it will invalidate the 2year warranty, I plan to run it for awhile to insure that the mount is sound.

Really enjoying the HEQ5 so far. I usually get sub arcsec total rms error in PHD2. The worst error that I’ve gotten so far is imaging the Rosette Nebula (at the celestial equator) is 1.12 arcsec which I was happy with.

If you don’t mind, can you post your first impressions of the mount performance before and after?

Thanks a bunch for the tutorial Martin!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
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Re: HEQ5 Rowan belt mod tutorial

#3

Post by MartinF »


Juno16 wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:23 pm Thanks Martin!

I just started using my HEQ5 a few months ago.

It has about 3000ms of DEC backlash, but PHD2 backlash compensation handles it pretty well.

I am definitely interested in doing the mod, but seeing that it will invalidate the 2year warranty, I plan to run it for awhile to insure that the mount is sound.

Really enjoying the HEQ5 so far. I usually get sub arcsec total rms error in PHD2. The worst error that I’ve gotten so far is imaging the Rosette Nebula (at the celestial equator) is 1.12 arcsec which I was happy with.

If you don’t mind, can you post your first impressions of the mount performance before and after?

Thanks a bunch for the tutorial Martin!
I would say that the tracking is smoother, even though I don´t have any guide graphs or values from before/after. I find it to vary a lot between evenings anyway. But what I do know is that I no longer have these sudden jumps in the tracking that I sometimes had before. Probably because the gears kind of stuck to each other. Also, backlash has been reduced.
__________________________________________________
Skywatcher HEQ5 + Orion MMAG, AstroTrac TT320X-AG
Zwo ASI1600MM-Cool + Canon EOS 550D (Baader modified)
Skywatcher 150-PDS, TS-Optics 80mm f/6 triplet, Sigma 500/4.5 lens
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FotografMartinF
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Juno16 United States of America
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Re: HEQ5 Rowan belt mod tutorial

#4

Post by Juno16 »


MartinF wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 12:27 pm

I would say that the tracking is smoother, even though I don´t have any guide graphs or values from before/after. I find it to vary a lot between evenings anyway. But what I do know is that I no longer have these sudden jumps in the tracking that I sometimes had before. Probably because the gears kind of stuck to each other. Also, backlash has been reduced.

Thanks a lot for the video and the post modification results.

The mount is quite noisy when it slews and I have also heard that the belt mod really quiet’s things down.

Very much looking forward to doing the modification!

Much appreciated Martin!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
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Re: HEQ5 Rowan belt mod tutorial

#5

Post by MartinF »


Yeah, I think you can hear that already in my video. The sound before/after.
__________________________________________________
Skywatcher HEQ5 + Orion MMAG, AstroTrac TT320X-AG
Zwo ASI1600MM-Cool + Canon EOS 550D (Baader modified)
Skywatcher 150-PDS, TS-Optics 80mm f/6 triplet, Sigma 500/4.5 lens
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FotografMartinF
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Juno16 United States of America
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Re: HEQ5 Rowan belt mod tutorial

#6

Post by Juno16 »


MartinF wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:19 pm Yeah, I think you can hear that already in my video. The sound before/after.

Yes, definitely quieter.

Luckily, my mount is pretty well behaved. I can wait a bit until things seem sound with the new mount.

I saved your video for when I do the mod. Very well done!

Thanks again Martin!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
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