How To Set The Equatorial Home Position

The Equatorial Home Position (EQ Home Position) is a starting point for your mount. Having a good EQ home position improves Go-To Accuracy to make visual and photographic observations. In this video I'll show you from a previously shot video.

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[Wheeljack]

Why on earth can't the basic instructions be as easy to follow as this video? Thank you. I've never bothered with the setting circles at all - now I will!

[SAstro]

Yours is best explanation on YouTube. I watched a few videos and eventually worked this out but it twisted my melon... I needed this six months ago when I first got my EQ mount 😂

[whatmattersmost]

Thank you! The only thing I would add is your tripod MUST be level for this to work as the Dec & RA are based on tripod level at the spot you are pointing towards the pole. What I did was to get 2 small bubble levels and used dbl stick tape and stuck them on the DEC & RA so while setting up the tripod then I can really fast adjust the DEC & RA at perfectly level. LOVE YOUR VIDEOS Ruzeen and glad you are posting videos.

[Dolemite]

Thank you so much!
Just got my EQ6-R a few days ago and a bunch of your videos helped :D

You even got me into getting the mount

[prabhakarrao]

Really appreciate your time and patience in putting together this superb how-to guide.

[IanJones-yyny]

Another excellent video tutorial demonstrated in simple terms without any complication. Massive thanks to you.

[pellele]

Great and simple explanation for something, that can be quite troublesome when you haven't figured it out! Superb how-to...

[oq]

I have an ignorant question, so I apologize. But what is the purpose of "homing" the telescope? If I am polar aligned well, why does the home position matter ?

If I am using a "go-to" system, the system doesn't know or care about a perfect home, so long as it is polar aligned ? I suppose if I am using the setting circles on the mount and manually dialing an object's coordinates in Ra and DEC, then I might see the purpose.

Can you please explain ? I am very new to this hobby .

Thank you!

[bhastro]

Good clear explanation. But my AVX mount has no setting circles, so how does one get a good home position? I just set mine to the index marks, but the first slew is always well off target, I presume because the home position isn't good. Luckily I use Asiair, so it immediately plate-solves and autocenters despite initially pointing rather wrong.

[Kijad]

As someone just now getting a goto mount, this was extremely helpful, thank you!

Also absolutely cackled at the level falling 🤣, but I need to get one

[Astrogator]

Thanks for this, was only video could find that explained this properly and best of all understandably!! Can’t wait to see what difference this makes.... as soon as clouds go away.

[nickspiller]

Simple, straightforward and accurate information. Thank you.

[rameshtahlan]

Love the video. Totally new to all this, Just got the HEQ5 PRO. I have a question. Does one first do Polar Align, and then set up the Home Position, or first do the Home Posn, and then do the Polar Align ?

[perspectivex]

@4:33 - 4:48 Shouldn't the declination setting circle show 90° not 0° when It points at a celestial pole? Polaris is about +89° dec.

[ryanmichaelhaley]

It's stuff like this that no one ever talks about, but is imperative in order to get razor sharp accuracy with PA. I calibrate my Skyguider Pro every time before a run. My EQ6-R is on the way, I plan to do the same.

[gamenatior]

Ok I have a few questions, do you stand to the rear or front of the mount when doing this, do you use the lower or upper set of numbers on the ra dial, do you do this before or after balancing, and before or after polar alignment? Also, my dec dial is fixed and doesn't move separately, so what's going on there? So sorry for such newbie questions, I just got my first telescope, it has an eq mount and i'm losing my mind trying to set this thing up in Australia. Or is this all purely for motorised mounts? I've watched dozens of videos on how to set my telescope up and can't figure anything out beyond the balancing.

[snappycanon]

Hi Ruzeen, I only have a Star Adventure pro with home made GOTO scales and do fine it hard to find my target still. Burning question on the sky watcher EQ5 and 6 the Synscan is it a case of just slewing to your target ? and say you were using a DSLR on your scope would the target be smack in the middle of the screen ? I cant find anyone doing this on YouTube. Regards Richard South coast, New Forest

[Astrolavista]

Very nicely explained Ruz, great advice! and it looks like managed to get a hair cut in before lock down too!

[geopolska]

I think, the very first thing would be leveling the head first? Then attaching the mount and start leveling the whole thing?

[denodan]

Why do you have the weight between the legs? The mount gives both options either over leg or between legs. Over leg would be steadier and thd mount will be top heavy. Also another advantage of over the leg is rear altitude bolt easy to use as well as polar scope.