DwarfLab Dwarf mini - EQ Mode

Introduction | EQ Mode: Orientation of the Telescope on the Tripod | Aligning the Telescope and Tripod for the EQ Mode | Adjusting the Alignment using the App | First Conclusions | Links || Appendix: Comparisons

In progress

On this page, I describe the EQ mode for my 30 mm refractor telescope Dwarf mini 30 mm/150 mm (f/5).

See also (mostly in progress):

 

Introduction

         

Photo: My Dwarf mini and its tripod (Jan 2026)

The Dwarf mini is normally operated in AZ mode. However, it can also be operated in EQ mode, which offers the following advantages:

In addition, EQ mode must be used when capturing mosaics with the Dwarf mini. For EQ mode, the Dwarf mini must be operated on a tripod such as the DwarfLab tripod.

 

EQ Mode: Orientation of the Telescope on the Tripod

For EQ mode, the Dwarf mini must be mounted on a tripod such as the DwarfLab tripod. There are two ways to orient the Dwarf mini on the tripod, but only one of them is shown in photos and videos from DwarLab. However, this orientation makes it difficult to read the AZ scale, which complicates the azimuth alignment of the telescope.

Alternatively, the Dwarf mini can also be mounted on the tripod in such a way that the AZ scale can be used. However, this option is not shown by DwarfLab. And if you mount the telescope in this way and let the handle point forward, it is bent upwards instead of downwards – but this should not really be a problem...

    
    

Tripod set up according to the DwarfLab video for EQ mode, but the telescope is still horizontal, i.e. still in AZ mode

 

Tripod set up according to the DwarfLab video for EQ mode

  

The AZ angle cannot be identified in this setting!

   

Tripod set up opposite to the DwarfLab video for EQ mode

  

Ditto

  

The AZ angle can be identified in this setting!

When I asked about orientation in a Facebook group, it became clear that different orientations are used successfully and that some users do not use/pay attention to the scale at all, but instead align the telescope by eye, especially since the app instructs you on how to align the telescope precisely. Consequently, orientation should not matter at all... On the advice of a fellow stargazer, I sent a query to DwarfLab about the orientation of the Dwarf mini on the tripod in EQ mode. As I had expected, the answer was that it does not matter.

My query:

Here is the answer from DwarfLab:

In other words: It does not matter how you mount the Dwarf mini on the telescope, everyone can do it according to their own preferences...

 

Aligning the Telescope and Tripod for the EQ Mode

In progress

DwarfLab demonstrates in a (for me too fast) video how the tripod and telescope are set up for the EQ mode:

Therefore, I do not intend to write much about the setup here. But a few remarks on things that I noticed...

Angle of the legs: I would not set the tripod legs at a steep angle, because the tripod can easily tip over in EQ mode due to the slanted position of the telescope, especially if the legs are not extended at all or only slightly. Instead, I would set the angle to the middle position or even set the legs flat if necessary (but then the center column must be pulled up). DwarfLab also recommends positioning one leg in the direction of the telescope's inclination to increase stability.

Compass: In the video, DwarfLab uses a smartphone to align the telescope to the north. Well, maybe they have never heard of magnetic declination ;) But in the next step, the telescope is fine-tuned using the app for EQ mode, which should eliminate possible errors...

Geographic latitude: The telescope head must be tilted so that the angle of inclination corresponds to the geographic latitude. Depending on the orientation of the telescope on the tripod, this can be read off the azimuth scale of the telescope head, at least roughly, or the setting must be made by eye. In Germany, you can set it to approximately 45° (here it is 49° N), which is easy to estimate, and then make fine adjustments using the app.

By the way: if you orient the telescope so that you can see the AZ scale, the head will hit the locking knob for the horizontal axis at about 60° north latitude. So it is better to stay in Central Europe with this orientation ;)

Next, we continue with adjusting the alignment using the app!

 

Adjusting the Alignment using the App

In progress

After setting up the tripod and telescope for EQ mode, you can use the app to fine-tune the alignment, which will probably have to be done in several steps. The app provides information on how many degrees the telescope needs to be corrected in relation to north and the latitude angle. I found the instructions difficult to follow and also somewhat contradictory. In any case, it did not work for me on my first attempt. I then photographed two mosaics anyway – and that seemed to work quite well. I had expected the app not to start the observation at all if the alignment was poor, but that was not the case ;)

More in due course...

 

First Conclusions

In preparation

...

 

Links

 

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31.01.2026