INSTRUCTION MANUAL SynScan TM SSHCV4-F-141105V1-EN Copyright © Sky-Watcher
Basic Operations CONTENT PART I : INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Outline and Interface .......................................................................................... 4 Connecting to a Telescope Mount ...................................................................... 4 Slew the Mount with the Direction Keys .............................................................. 4 SynScan Hand control’s Operating Modes .................................................... 5 PART II : INITIALIZATION 2.
CONTENT PART VIII : AUXILIARY FUNCTIONS 8.1 Editing Date, Time, Coordinates, Time Zones, and Daylight Saving Time ......... 27 8.2 Re-aligning the Mount ........................................................................................ 27 8.3 Show Position ................................................................................................. 27 8.4 Show Time and Local Sidereal Time ............................................................ 27 8.5 Display Version Information ..............
PART I : INTRODUCTION 1.1 Outline and Interface A SynScan hand control and its interfaces are shown in Fig. 1.1 LCD Display Screen: It can display two lines of text, 18 characters per line. The contrast and the brightness of the red backlight are adjustable. Buttons: ESC, MENU, ENTER, directional, number/shortcut keys, and scroll keys. Multi-Purpose Port: Connects to an external device such as a computer, a GPS module, a camera, etc. Mount Port: Connects to a Sky-Watcher telescope mount.
PART I: INTRODUCTION • • • The left and right keys are used to control the movements of the Right Ascension (R.A.) axis (for an equatorial mount) or the azimuth axis (for an Alt-azimuth mount). The up and down keys are used to control the movements of the Declination (Dec.) axis (for an equatorial mount) or altitude axis (for an Alt-azimuth mount).
PART I: INTRODUCTION In Full Feature mode, the hand control must connect to a Sky-Watcher telescope mount. After turning on the power to the mount, the hand control must complete an “Initialization” routine, followed by an “Alignment” routine which establishes a model to transform the coordinates of the mount and the coordinates of the sky. Only after the “Alignment” is done can the SynScan hand control’s high precsion “GOTO” function be used to locate a celestial object.
PART II : INITIALIZATION 2.1 Setup Home Position of the Telescope Mount Before powering on the telescope mount, it should be setup to a particular home position. The home position differs between an equatorial mount and an Alt-azimuth mount. 1. Home Position of an Equatorial Mount: • Tripod head is leveled. • R.A. axis points towards the Northern Celestial Pole (in Northern Hemisphere) or the Southern Celestial Pole (in Southern Hemisphere). • Counterweight rod is at its lowest position.
PART II: INITIALIZATION 4. Auto-homing This step only applies to a mount with Auto-homing feature (such as the Sky-Watcher EQ8 Equatorial mount). • The LCD screen will display “Auto-Home?” in the first line, and display “1) YES 2) NO” in the second line. • Press “2” to skip this step and proceed to the next step. • Press “1” to start the auto-homing routine on the mount. Once complete, the screen will display “Home Position Established”. Press ENTER to proceed to the next step.
PART II: INITIALIZATION Elevation (for atmospheric refraction compensation) The LCD screen will display “Set Elevation:” in the first line, and display the elevation in meters in the second line. • Use the scroll keys to change the leading “+” or “-” sign when the cursor is on it. • Press the numeric keys at the cursor position to fill the number of elevation in meters. • Press the ENTER key to confirm the input and proceed to the next step. • Press the ESC key to return to the previous step.
PART II: INITIALIZATION Press “2” to skip the alignment process. The SynScan hand control will enter standby mode. • Users may start the tracking functions (refer to Section 6.1), or use the GOTO function (refer to PART V) to roughly locate celestial objects. Both operations will let the SynScan hand control work in the Easy Tracking mode (refer to Section 1.4 Step 2). • Users can also start an alignment process (refer to Section 8.2) to let the SynScan hand control operate in Full Feature mode.
PART III : ALIGNMENT 3.1 Choosing an Alignment Method At the beginning of the alignment process, users are asked to choose an alignment method. The available alignment methods differ between the mount types, as listed below: • For an equatorial mount: 1-Start Alignment (1-Star Align.), 2-Star Alignment (2-Star Align.) or 3-Star Alignment (3-Star Align.) • For an alt-azimuth mount: Brightest Star Alignment (Brightest Star) or 2-Star Alignment (2-Star Align.
PART III : ALIGNMENT 3. Now users can use the direction keys to move the telescope to align with the 1st alignment star. That is, center the 1st alignment star in the FOV of the finder scope, and then center it in the FOV of the telescope’s eyepiece; press ENTER key to confirm centering of the star and proceed to the next step. Generally, users can use Rate 5 or 6 to center the star in the finder scope and use Rate 2 or 3 to center the star in the telescope’s eyepiece. 4.
PART III : ALIGNMENT N (0˚) KY NORT HW TS S E STERN SKY WE SOUT HW UTHERN SKY SO (225˚) (45˚) STERN SKY EA KY NORT HE TS S E KY SOUTH TS E AS W (270˚) RTHERN SKY NO KY TS AS (315˚) E (90˚) (135˚) S (180˚) Fig. 3.4a 3. The hand control will generate a list of the bright stars within the selected horizontal region. The list is sorted by the brightness of the star and with the brightest stars at the top of the list. Users can use the scroll keys to browse the list.
PART III : ALIGNMENT 4. Now the screen will display “Point scope to RR ZZ.Z’ TT.T’ ”, which means point the telescope to RR region, the exact azimuth is ZZ.Z degree and the exact altitude is TT.T degree. Users can use the direction keys on the SynScan hand control to move the mount and point the telescope to the 1st alignment star selected in the previous step. Center the 1st alignment star in the FOV of the finder scope or the red dot finder, and then press ENTER key to proceed to the next step.
PART III : ALIGNMENT 3.5 Alt-Azimuth Mounts using 2-Star Alignment Method Aligning the 1st Star: 1. The LCD screen displays “Choose 1st Star” in the first line. Use the scrolling keys to browse through a list of star names and Press ENTER key to pick the one on the screen as the 1st alignment star. 2. Now the screen will display “Point scope to ZZZ zz.z’ sTT tt.t’ ”, which means point the telescope to the direction whose azimuth is ZZZ degree, zz.z minutes and whose altitude is sTT degree, tt.t minutes.
PART III : ALIGNMENT 3.6 Tips for Improving Alignment Accuracy Eyepiece It is very important to put the alignment stars at the center (or the same spot) of the FOV of the telescope’s eyepiece during the alignment process. Thus, • It is recommended that a reticle eyepiece is used for alignment. • If a reticle eyepiece is not available, try to use an eyepiece with shorter focal length to yield a smaller FOV. Users can defocus the telescope to obtain a large star disk in the FOV.
PART III : ALIGNMENT 2. Equatorial Mount with 2-Star Alignment: Advantage: For visual observing, the mount does not need to be polar-aligned accurately. Preconditions: Small cone error in the telescope-mount setup. Rules for choosing alignment stars: • The deviation in R.A. of the two alignment stars should not be too small or too close to 12 hours; the recommended deviation is between 3 hours and 9 hours.
PART IV : SYNSCAN MENU TREE 4.1 Menu Structure The SynScan hand control uses menu tree to organize its various functions. The following table shows the menu tree: SETUP MODE UTILITY FUNC. OBJECT LIST Date Show Position Named Star Time Show Information Solar System Observ. Site Time Version Power Voltage Polaris Positiuon Polar Align. Error # Daylight Saving Alignment 1-Star Align. # 2-Star Align. 3-Star Align. # Brightest Star ^ Polar Align.
PART IV: SYNSCAN MENU TREE 4.2 Accessing Menus The SynScan hand control’s menu is only accessible after the initialization, or after the star alignment routine is completed (If it is chosen to start). Users can use the ESC key, the ENTER key, and the two scrolling keys to access the menu. The functions of these keys are: • ESC key: Used to return to the previous menu or to exit the current operation. Press the ESC • ENTER key: Used to enter a sub-menu or to start the operation of the end level menu.
PART V : LOCATING OBJECTS Users can access several popular celestial object catalogs stored in the SynScan hand control and control the telescope mount to locate a specific object in the catalogs. The object location function is available for either “Full Feature” mode (Section 1.4 Step 1) or “Easy Tracking” mode (Section 1.4 Step 2) of the mount. 5.1 Locating Messier Objects 1. Choosing an Object: Press the “M” shortcut key on the SynScan hand control.
PART V : LOCATING OBJECTS 5.2 Locating NGC and IC Objects The process for locating NGC or IC objects is similar to that for locating Messier objects (Section 5.1), with the following differences: • Press the “NGC” shortcut key to access the NGC catalog. The screen will display “NGC Catalog / NGC =”. The NGC catalog index number ranges from 1 to 7840. • Press the “IC” shortcut key to access the IC catalog. The screen will display “IC Catalog / IC =”. The IC catalog index number ranges from 1 to 5386. 5.
PART V : LOCATING OBJECTS 5.5 Locating SAO Stars 1. Choosing an Object: Press the “OBJECT” shortcut key. The screen will display “OBJECT LIST” in the top row. Use the two scrolling keys to browse the list until “SAO Catalog” is displayed, and then press the ENTER key. The screen will then display “SAO Catalog / SAO 0000xx” to wait for input of the 4 left-most digits of the 6 digits SAO index number (i.e. “SAO 0238xx”).
PART V : LOCATING OBJECTS 3. Locate the Object: • The operation is similar to that of locating Messier objects; refer to Section 5.1 for details. 5.7 Deep Sky Tour The SynScan hand control can generate a list of the most famous deep sky objects which appear in the current sky. Users can pick them one by one and the SynScan hand control can point the telescope to them for observing automatically. This is the “Deep Sky Tour” function. 1. Choosing an Object: Press the “TOUR” shortcut key.
PART V : LOCATING OBJECTS • • If the “R.A.-Dec.” coordinates is chosen: The screen will display the coordinates to which the telescope is pointing to at the moment. If the “Mount” coordinates is chosen: The screen will display the coordinates of the mount’s two axes. The first number is the coordinates of the R.A. axis or azimuth axis, while the second number is the coordinates of the Dec. axis or altitude axis. 3.
PART VI : CONFIGURE THE TELESCOPE MOUNT 6.1 Choosing Tracking Speed 1. Access the menu “SETUP\Tracking” and press the ENTER key. 2. Use the scroll keys to browse through the following options, and press the ENTER key to pick one. • • • • • Sidereal Rate: Enables the mount to track celestial objects at the sidereal rate for ob- serving the stars, deep sky objects, and planets. Lunar Rate: Enables the mount to track at the lunar rate for observing the Moon.
PART VI : CONFIGURE THE TELESCOPE MOUNT The following are the steps to set the altitude slewing limits: 1. Access the menu “SETUP\Elevation Limits”, and press the ENTER key. 2. Use the scroll keys to choose options “Enable” or “Disable”, and then press the ENTER key to confirm. 3. If “Disable” is chosen, the SynScan hand control will turn off the altitude limit. 4.
PART VII : CONFIGURE THE HAND CONTROL 7.1 Display and Keypad 1. Access the menu “Setup \ Handset Setting” and press the ENTER key. 2. Use the scroll keys to select “LCD Contrast”; then use the left/right direction keys to adjust the contrast of the LCD screen. 3. Use the scroll keys to select “LED Backlight”; then use the left/right direction keys to adjust the brightness of the keypad’s LED backlight. 4.
PART VIII : AUXILIARY FUNCTIONS 8.1 Editing Date, Time, Coordinates, Time Zones, and Daylight Saving Time 1. Press the “MENU” shortcut key. 2. Use the scroll keys to select “Date” and press the ENTER key to edit the date. Press the ENTER key to apply change, or press the ESC key to exit. (Note: The setting of the date is in mm/dd/yyyy format, i.e. 10/24/2012) 3. Use the scroll keys to select “Time” and press the ENTER key to edit the time. Press the ENTER key to apply change, or press the ESC key to exit.
PART VIII : AUXILIARY FUNCTIONS • • • • • H.C. Firmware: The firmware version of the SynScan hand control. Database: The database version of the SynScan hand control H.C. Hardware: The hardware version of the SynScan hand control. Motor Controller: The firmware version of the motor controller of the mount. H.C. Serial #: The serial number of the SynScan hand control. 8.
PART VIII : AUXILIARY FUNCTIONS 2. Press the “ID” shortcut key. The screen will display “Identify: Searching…”. The SynScan hand control will look up the named stars, planets, Messier objects, NGC objects, and IC objects within a 5 degrees range centered by the object in the eyepiece. 3. The screen will display “No object found” if the SynScan hand control cannot identify the object. 4.
PART IX : CONNECTING TO A COMPUTER 9.1 Working with Astronomical Applications After the SynScan hand control is initialized, it can communicate with a computer via the RS232C connection on its multi-purpose port. The computer must have a RS-232C serial port; otherwise, a USB-to-Serial adapter is required. Connect the SynScan hand control and the serial port with the PC-Link cable (the RJ-12 to D-Sub 9 cable) which comes with the telescope mount.
PART X : UPDATING FIRMWARE 10.1 Hardware Requirements 1. 2. 3. 4. A SynScan hand control with firmware version 3.0 or above. A computer running Windows 95 or a later version. A RS-232C serial port on the computer, or a USB-to-Serial adaptor. The PC-Link cable (D-Sub9 to RJ-12) which comes with the mount. 10.2 Preparation 1. Create a new folder in the computer (for example, C:\SynScan) to save relevant files. 2. Download the application package “SynScan Firmware Loader” from http://www.skywatcher.
PART X : UPDATING FIRMWARE • Check the “Auto-detect COM port” to let the application detect the proper serial port that will connect to the SynScan hand control. Clear it to manually choose the COM Port and select a serial port from the “COM port” drop-down list. • Click the “HC Version” button to check the versions of the hardware, firmware, and database. • Click the “Update” button to start loading the firmware to the SynScan hand control. 4.
PART XI : ADVANCED FUNCTIONS 11.1 Parking Telescope If the mount of the telescope have not been moved after an observing session, the user can park the telescope to keep the alignment data, PAE data and PEC data, and start observing in the next session without redoing the alignment and calibration. Parking 1. Access the menu “UTILITY FUNCTION\Park Scope” and press the ENTER key. 2. The screen will display “Park to…”.
PART XI : ADVANCED FUNCTIONS The SynScan hand control divides the sky into 85 small zones, and users can calibrate the pointing error for each of these zones. The next time that the SynScan controller tries to locate an object in the calibrated zone (or a zone nearby), it will automatically apply the recorded calibration data to compensate the pointing error.
PART XI : ADVANCED FUNCTIONS 11.3 Polar Alignment without Polar Scope The polar alignment function can help users to polar align an equatorial mount accurately. Here are the operating instructions: 1. Complete a 2-star alignment or a 3-star alignment. At the end of the alignment, the SynScan hand control will display the polar alignment error (refer to Section 3.3). Users can use the data to determine whether it is necessary to adjust the polar alignment. 2.
PART XI : ADVANCED FUNCTIONS • • • • The initial polar alignment should not be too far off to avoid the polar alignment error in azimuth exceeding the adjustment range of the mount. It is necessary to use a reticle eyepiece in the 2-Star alignment, 3-star alignment and polar alignment process. Generally, the cone error in a telescope-mount setup might reduce the accuracy of this polar alignment process.
PART XI : ADVANCED FUNCTIONS 3. The first row of the screenshot below indicates the index number of the group being edited. The second row shows the exposure time of this group. Edit Group#1 Exposure mm:ss • • Use the left and right keys to move the cursor and use the numeric keys to fill the digits with the cursor. Press the ENTER key to end setting the exposure time. Now the screen is changed to set the frames to be shot for this group, as shown below.
PART XI : ADVANCED FUNCTIONS 11.5 Periodic Error Correction (PEC) for EQ Mount The periodic error correction function applies to an equatorial mount only. All equatorial mount has periodic tracking error which is not critical for visual observing but might lower the picture quality of long exposure astrophotography. The SynScan hand control has the periodic error correction (PEC) function to improve the tracking performance for astrophotography.
PART XI : ADVANCED FUNCTIONS 1. PEC can only compensate tracking errors on the R.A. axis. Therefore, a precise polar alignment is still required to track minor errors on the Dec. axis. 2. After turning on the PEC replay, it is recommended to wait for at least one cycle time of the period error before taking a picture. 3. To re-use the PEC data on a mount which supports SPEC, users should park the telescope before shutting off power (refer to Section 11.1).
PART XI : ADVANCED FUNCTIONS • Generally, NPE is very small and can be ignored(Set to 0) in most cases unless superior pointing accuracy is required. Note: If the value of CE or NPE entered in the hand control is not 0, the hand control will give a reminding message “CAUTION: Prev. NPE, CE applied.“ at the end of the alignment routine. User should make sure that the stored CE and NPE parameters are correct for the current system setup; otherwise, these value should be set to 0. 11.
PART XII : USING A SYNSCAN GPS MODULE Users may purchase a SynScan GPS module to acquire accurate local geographical coordinates and local time; it will help improve the accuracy of the mount alignment and the polar alignment. 12.1 Initialization of the Hand control with a SynScan GPS Module The initialization process of the SynScan hand control with a SynScan GPS plug-in differs from a regular one. 1.
APPENDIX I : ELIMINATING CONE ERROR If the telescope’s optical axis is not perpendicular to the declination axis of the equatorial mount, then there is cone error in the telescope-mount system. The cone error might lower the accuracy of locating an object or the accuracy of the Polar-Alignment process. Testing for Cone Error 1. Perform a precise polar alignment on the equatorial mount, and then perform a two-star alignment.
APPENDIX II : SYNSCAN SELF-DIAGNOSIS The SynScan hand control contains a built-in self-diagnosis program. To run a full test, users should prepare a “Loop-Test Plug” by referring to Appendix 3 and the following instructions: • Short the pin-2 (TX_RS232C) and pin-5 (RX_RS232C) of a RJ-12 plug. Here are the diagnosis steps: 1. Insert the “Loop-Test Plug” to the RJ-12 port of the SynScan hand control. 2. Press “2” and “5” simultaneously and power on the hand control. 3.
APPENDIX III : SCHEMATIC OF THE PORTS Vpp+ RX(RS232C) COMMON GND TX(RS232C) SHUTTER 6 5 4 3 2 1 Optoisolator Vpp+ TX(TTL) RX(TTL) DROP GND Multi-Purpose Port 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Telescope Mount Port APPENDIX IV : SPECIFICATIONS Supported Mount EQ Mount and Alt-Az Mount Object Catalog Pointing Accuracy Messier, NGC, IC, SAO, Caldwell, Double Star, Variable Star, Named Star, Planets Up to 5 arc-minutes RMS Tracking Rate Sidereal Rate, Solar Rate, Lunar Rate PEC SPEC or PPEC Database 42000+ Object
SynScan TM
