Hello,
I registered because I am hoping that someone with experience on this mount can help me out.
Basically, my SolarQuest is failing constantly. It correctly find its location via GPS (as it always has the correct elevation when trying to aquire the sun) but is incredibely inconsistent with staying on, or finding the sun.
The manual warns against reflections possibly stopping tracking, but even blocking the line of sight to anything that could possibly be mistaken for the sun, or building a shroud to narrow the field of view, doesn't help. And subjectively the reflections in my surroundings aren't that strong to begin with.
When it fails, it will simply slew 5-10° left and right of where the sun actually is, but never aquire it, until it completely stops and both the red and green light on the mount start flashing quickly. I attached a video.
I'm beginning to think I have a faulty unit. Did anyone ever have similair issues?
Kind regards
Niklas
SolarQuest can't find the sun / fails tracking
- marktownley
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Re: SolarQuest can't find the sun / fails tracking
Find a copy of the manual online and do a factory reset.
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
Re: SolarQuest can't find the sun / fails tracking
Already done that, no luck
It seems to primarily fail when low in the sky, making me think reflections are an issue. But in that case I wonder why I can't find any posts online with similair issues, if the mount was that sensitive to such.
It seems to primarily fail when low in the sky, making me think reflections are an issue. But in that case I wonder why I can't find any posts online with similair issues, if the mount was that sensitive to such.
Re: SolarQuest can't find the sun / fails tracking
https://streamable.com/0s57nc
here is an example of such a failure, argueably the windows on the left might cause interference, but they aren't even close to being as bright as the sun.
here is an example of such a failure, argueably the windows on the left might cause interference, but they aren't even close to being as bright as the sun.
- marktownley
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Re: SolarQuest can't find the sun / fails tracking
That's not good! How old is the mount?
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
- marktownley
- Librarian
- Posts: 42559
- Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
- Location: Brierley Hills, UK
- Has thanked: 20828 times
- Been thanked: 10502 times
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Re: SolarQuest can't find the sun / fails tracking
For what its worth, mine doesn't slew automatically to the sun anymore, so I just move it with the buttons till the sun is centred and then double click the power button and it tracks fine then.
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
Re: SolarQuest can't find the sun / fails tracking
5 months, I wrote skywatcher an e-mail and they said they didn't know about such an issue and asked me to contact my seller, so that they can check the mount.
Re: SolarQuest can't find the sun / fails tracking
I know this is an older post, but I just had the same problem with mine. The solution, in my case, was that it was near an active WiFi hotspot, as soon as I tuned off the WiFi, it went straight to the sun.
Mine would auto level but then nothing but the red led blinking. I assume the WiFi signal was blocking the gps signal. I had hooked up a ASI air so I could show the sun on my IPad at an outreach party. The ASI air was on the scope tube just inches away from the mount. Hope this helps someone.
Mine would auto level but then nothing but the red led blinking. I assume the WiFi signal was blocking the gps signal. I had hooked up a ASI air so I could show the sun on my IPad at an outreach party. The ASI air was on the scope tube just inches away from the mount. Hope this helps someone.