SingAstro

Hi All Bro & Sis,

my english not that good and hope that all bro & sis here understand what i'm trying to say.

Yesterday I got myself a astromaster 114EQ and now trying very hard to find something above us.

Any Bro or Sis out here using this telescope can share some idea on how to make full use of this telescope. now the first problem i'm facing is the telescope keep on shaking when i'm trying to view on the star.

TIA

Hi,

bern wrote:Hi All Bro & Sis,

my english not that good and hope that all bro & sis here understand what i'm trying to say.

Don't worry, my english same same...

bern wrote: Yesterday I got myself a astromaster 114EQ and now trying very hard to find something above us.

Any Bro or Sis out here using this telescope can share some idea on how to make full use of this telescope. now the first problem i'm facing is the telescope keep on shaking when i'm trying to view on the star.

TIA

Hmm... did you align your Star Pointer?? You first need to align your Star Pointer to your scope, so that your scope will point to what ever object your Star Pointer point to. The Moon is a "big target"... good for practise.

Also, when viewing at high magnification, you need to be gentle to the scope and don't touch it unnecessary when viewing... this will reduce the vibration. Oh... and make sure you tighten both the RA and DEC locking knobs when viewing... only loosen them only when you want to manually point the scope.

Anyway, have you read the manual? If not, I suggest read the manual first... ask here if you don't understand any part of it.

By the way, using a scope is not difficult... where do you live? If you can, join some of the observation session with your scope... a few practical session is the easiest way to learn.

Happy observing and welcome to SingAstro!!

Have a nice day.

weixing wrote:Hi,

bern wrote:Hi All Bro & Sis,

my english not that good and hope that all bro & sis here understand what i'm trying to say.

Don't worry, my english same same...

bern wrote: Yesterday I got myself a astromaster 114EQ and now trying very hard to find something above us.

Any Bro or Sis out here using this telescope can share some idea on how to make full use of this telescope. now the first problem i'm facing is the telescope keep on shaking when i'm trying to view on the star.

TIA

Hmm... did you align your Star Pointer?? You first need to align your Star Pointer to your scope, so that your scope will point to what ever object your Star Pointer point to. The Moon is a "big target"... good for practise.

Anyway, have you read the manual? If not, I suggest read the manual first... ask here if you don't understand any part of it.

By the way, using a scope is not difficult... where do you live? If you can, join some of the observation session with your scope... a few practical session is the easiest way to learn.

Happy observing and welcome to SingAstro!!

Have a nice day.

Hi,

thot the star pointer already set by factory? do I need to align again? Yes still reading the manual and trying very hard to understand all the astro word... I'm staying at bukit merah and where do you do the observation session?

Not sure about the Astromaster specifically but most star pointers will have alignment knobs or screws because its very difficult for even the best ones to permanently stay aligned to the telescope.
Generally when I set up, one of the first tasks (after making sure the tripod is level and stable) is to align my starpointer (in my case, mine is a Telrad brand) to my telescope's current target. This is simple: Just take any eyepiece, focus it on something prominent such as a wondow, street lamp or anything else, then make sure your starpointer is pointing in the same direction.
The wobble is also partly contributed by the tripod. To damp this out, you may want to try hanging a weight below the tripod, this acts as a dampener
Welcome to a wonderful and fascinating hobby guaranteed to keep you wide awake at night!

Thanks, will check out the pointer alignment tomorrow and try out the weight method as well.
last night am trying to keep myself wide awake but still fail..lolz.

Hi,

bern wrote: Hi,

thot the star pointer already set by factory? do I need to align again? Yes still reading the manual and trying very hard to understand all the astro word... I'm staying at bukit merah and where do you do the observation session?

You need to check the alignment everytime you use the scope. As what cloud_cover had mention, this is the first thing you do after setting up. The procedure is in the manual on page 13 & 14 "Aligning the Finderscope", but I think the manual writter didn't think that the user is a beginner and might take longer time to do the alignment (actually this is the first time I saw a scope manual suggest using bright star or planet to do the finder alignment ), so the below is a modified version:
1. To turn on the Star Pointer, turn the switch to the “on” position – see Figure 3-4.
2. Locate a bright (not too bright that you can't see the red LED dot on the Star Pointer when point at it) stationary object (the further the object, the better), such as the red aircraft warning light on top of building, in a low power eyepiece (the eyepiece with the longer focal length... larger number = longer focal length) in the main telescope. Centre the object in the view by moving the scope using the RA and DEC slow motion control.
3. With both eyes open, look through the glass window at the object. If the Star Pointer is perfectly aligned, you will see the red LED dot overlap the object. If the Star Pointer is not aligned, take notice of where the red dot is relative to the object.
4. Without moving the main telescope, turn the Star Pointer's two adjustment screws until the red dot is directly over the object. Experiment as to which way each screw moves the red dot.
5. The Star Pointer is now ready for use. Always turn the power off after you have found an object. This will extend the life of both the battery and the LED.
6. To do a more accurate alignment, after the above, change the longer focal length eyepiece to a shorter focal length (smaller number = shorter focal length, shorter focal length = higher magnification) eyepiece to check and fine adjust the alignment on the Star Pointer.

Have a nice day.

weixing wrote:Hi,

bern wrote: Hi,

thot the star pointer already set by factory? do I need to align again? Yes still reading the manual and trying very hard to understand all the astro word... I'm staying at bukit merah and where do you do the observation session?

You need to check the alignment everytime you use the scope. As what cloud_cover had mention, this is the first thing you do after setting up. The procedure is in the manual on page 13 & 14 "Aligning the Finderscope", but I think the manual writter didn't think that the user is a beginner and might take longer time to do the alignment (actually this is the first time I saw a scope manual suggest using bright star or planet to do the finder alignment ), so the below is a modified version:
1. To turn on the Star Pointer, turn the switch to the “on” position – see Figure 3-4.
2. Locate a bright (not too bright that you can't see the red LED dot on the Star Pointer when point at it) stationary object (the further the object, the better), such as the red aircraft warning light on top of building, in a low power eyepiece (the eyepiece with the longer focal length... larger number = longer focal length) in the main telescope. Centre the object in the view by moving the scope using the RA and DEC slow motion control.
3. With both eyes open, look through the glass window at the object. If the Star Pointer is perfectly aligned, you will see the red LED dot overlap the object. If the Star Pointer is not aligned, take notice of where the red dot is relative to the object.
4. Without moving the main telescope, turn the Star Pointer's two adjustment screws until the red dot is directly over the object. Experiment as to which way each screw moves the red dot.
5. The Star Pointer is now ready for use. Always turn the power off after you have found an object. This will extend the life of both the battery and the LED.
6. To do a more accurate alignment, after the above, change the longer focal length eyepiece to a shorter focal length (smaller number = shorter focal length, shorter focal length = higher magnification) eyepiece to check and fine adjust the alignment on the Star Pointer.

Have a nice day.

wow thanks that make me easy to understand. will do it and see what I can find tomorrow night..

bern wrote: last night am trying to keep myself wide awake but still fail..lolz.

Don't stress; The stars will be there longer than you will be

cloud_cover wrote:

bern wrote: last night am trying to keep myself wide awake but still fail..lolz.

Don't stress; The stars will be there longer than you will be

hahaha.....stress on trying to understand this total new hobby of mines.

Hi Bern. Welcome to the forum!

Best is to bring your telescope and join a starparty or sidewalk astronomy session and let the amateur astronomers there show you how it is done. Else, check if the shop/dealer that sold you the telescope is willing to show you step-by-step how to setup the telescope (possible even during daytime but of course DO NOT look at the Sun with your naked eyes or worse through your telescope without proper solar filters!).

Although the following instructional videos are for America where Polaris can be easily seen and use for alignment (but not in Singapore), the main concepts are still applicable everywhere else. Hope they are useful for your understanding of equatorial mount. Another potential reason for a shaky view is that the scope is not well balanced (see videos for explanation).





Again, these videos show the telescopes and mount are being setup during daytime so that it is easier to video the whole process under daylight and thus DO NOT look at the Sun directly or through your telescope without proper solar filters!

On a separate note, since you just bought your telescope, you may want to shine a bright light at the 2 mirrors inside the scope to check the their outward appearance and condition (without taking the telescope apart which will void your warranty). Since it is a brand new scope, it should not contain visible stains, streaks, scratches, fungus. There may be a dot or mark in the center of the primary mirror (the bigger mirror) for collimation purposes. Some little dust particle here and there is fine and normal and does not affect the performance of your telescope. With a blower, you should be able to blow them away. DO NOT touch the mirrors while doing this check - i.e. do not put your torchlight or blower so close to the mirrors and risk accidentally scratch them. If you think you saw something that you suspect should not be there, you may take some photos and post it here and seek some opinions.

Good luck and have fun exploring the Universe!