Mr_Cat

Decided to buy some tube rings and a dovetail to throw the OTA on my Eq3 to see what it was like.. (I know it's right on the weight limit but I'm looking for an Eq6..) I left the trunions on so it's relatively easy to put it back on the dobs base I hadn't actually realised how much bigger it was than my 150... And it went ok on the mount, I could actually balance it - there is a "tremor" whenever you touch it as it is too big for the mount - but despite that it did work well. Huge difference in usability (IMHO) from the dobs.

Rather than using my tea break to do more traditional things (like make tea...) So - with the 12v battery hooked up to the 4tronix module it draws 70ma and the motor sounds crisp - the power is 0.868 watts With a pp3 battery hooked up to the hand controller it only draws 37ma and the motor sounds laboured - the power is 0.333 watts So it's a combination of voltage and amperage - more of both is good !

That belt drive is nice - might do that on my 8"

Yes, it was fine with the 12v - it seemed similar power / speed as using the 4tronix module - for a laugh I gave this (see photo) a try too.. an extra PP3 in parallel so it's the same voltage but double the possible current - bit more oomph than one 9v but not as good as the 12v (obvs..)

It will be fine - I've just tried the pp3 hand controller with a 12v battery and it powered the motor in / out quite happily except for the speed control not working - it was the same speed regardless of that setting. Opened the case and there isn't much too the circuit - I guess the voltage reduction on the pot is fine with a 9v source but does not drop enough to slow the motor with the 12v source.

When I bought the kit it came with both controllers. I'll put 12 v on the PP3 connector tomorrow and see what happens.. Should be fun, I've not fried something in a while..

It's the 4tronix module that is 9-14v, not sure what the original handset would do with extra voltage - but if you blow the Bottom out of your 9v controller I'll send you mine !

obviously it wouldn't fit inside the case but a bit more amperage for a few quid.. https://www.amazon.com/Corpco-Battery-Holder-Standard-Connector/dp/B07SRDPZ9Z/ref=sr_1_3?crid=26TL3TBAMRIF4&keywords=6+aa+battery+holder+9v&qid=1706564943&sprefix=6+aa+battery+holder+%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-3

Personally I really like mine - I was always going forwards / wait for shake to stop / backwards / wait for shake to stop etc - now I just press the remote button, and watch the change happen. Very very precise with a bahtinov mask.

Get a 12v supply too (I cheated - I found the 12v plug was the same as a set of dead push bike lights I had and I just pinched some crocodile clips from a battery charger..)

I got one about a month ago and after a few fitment issues (I wasn't happy with alignment of the supplied bracket so I made my own) it works perfectly. Also got the 4 tronix remote with the USB PC interface so I can control it from my laptop. I'm powering mine from a 12v motorbike battery which has plenty of "ooomph", something I thought was missing with a PP3 battery

They are PFTE furniture sliders. I've stuck them to the side of the existing bearing so they don't get caught up on the bolts used for the vertical supports. The underside of the top of the mount (the upper bearing surface) isn't smooth - it's slightly crackled or crazed. The centre bolt has been spaced with PFTE washers - so they take most of the weight, I added / removed washers until there was no wobble in mount Testing it afterwards was interesting - I'd say the stiction had been reduced but the sliding friction had increased - which actually is better as it feels more consistent. You don't get that pull / overcome friction / rotate too far / move back cycle...

What do we reckon ? These are 50mm diameter. What will these do to the friction/ stiction on the horizontal rotation on the base??? My original thought was more surface area will spread the load / decrease the friction - but now I'm thinking the extra surface area is going to increase the stiction..

I went for the Baader case too.

DOM..

Yeah - I'm guessing this is nine years old. there is a sticker on the base about formaldehyde

Ace - unfortunately then my cunning plan turned out to be not so cunning but great info - I have ten posts so far so just 15 to go... that seems far more reachable

I'm looking at buying a new mount at the start of March - and I was watching an unrelated You tube video and someone had a second hand mount they had bought. And it occurred to me that there is probably a buy and sell section here ... Hmm, I can't find it.. Lets read the code of conduct... 50 posts you say?? Jeepers - I'll never reach that within the next year at my post rate.. So, I guess a "Hello" topic wil help... So - hello... Err, I'm Johnny, Most interesting thing I guess is that I live on the Isle of Man (and I'm Manx, not English, not Irish, not etc etc) . Yes, we have no speed limits, yes our laws guarantee a full pint, no, we are not a tax haven, yes, our cats have no tails... Damm, I should have posted them as individual answers... Seriously though - I'm on here to read and learn and so far you guys have been super helpful and not talked down to me Quickest way to 50 posts though is to ask me silly things about the isle of Man ! Thanks !

I had phrased that badly - these fittings on the base were the wrong way around so when you pulled the spring down the loop on the end of the spring would not slip over the bushing. This is now the correct way round - picture it with the thicker part of the bush against the screw head and the spring against the base. The loop in the spring is too small to slip over the thicker part of the bushing.

After my Jessops POS I got a decent telescope for Christmas (sky watcher 150P-DS) but shortly after New Year I spotted a SkyQuest XT8 for £110 on Facebook marketplace Did a bit of research, checked all the FB photos and figured it was worth a look. Cash in hand I took a trip out, gave it a look over and decided to buy it. Got it home and it was a busy weekend so I didn't really get much time with it. It all worked, came with a 25mm plossi, and a shorty barlow, collimation cap and a lunar filter. First up checked the collimation and it was way off, so ten mins later it was fine. A good look at the primary showed it was dirty but decided not to worry about that for a while. Got a quick look through it on the second night and it was working ok but there were a few issues.. So, the list to be done.. Battery swap and alignment in RDF General clean play in focuser lots of stiction on both axis Tube removal doesn't work. clean main mirror One of the things I've found with telescopes that I like is fixing things and learning new skills - so one by one I tackled the problems - removing the primary mirror and cleaning it properly had to have the highest pucker factor of all the jobs.. The tube couldn't be removed as the bushes the springs loop over had been put on the wrong way round. All the PFTE bushes were very dirty, so cleaned them all, cleaned the base where it rests on the az bushes, then made some "milk jug" spacers for the centre bolt. But now it's all done I have a nice telescope for not much cash I've been working on it in my garage and it's been quite good fun just to pop the door opener and see what I can see - it's been fortunate that in the evening the moon has been above my neighbours houses.

Thanks for the suggestion Sorry, I should have updated this - I did indeed email FLO - tbh I was not expecting a quick response as I figured they would be inundated with emails over xmas - but they responded very quickly - they confirmed it was a HM5 for an EQ5/6 not an EQ3, issued a return and it is on their way back for a credit note (they did offer a refund but I asked for credit so when the right HM5's arrive I can just order it )

Christmas day is here - the Mrs has treated me to a new telescope and a Sky-Watcher EQ3-2 and I also got a HM5 polar alignment scope. Unscrewed the eyepiece holder / calendar scale from the mount but the HM5 won't fit, should the threaded shaft come out as well ? I've tried to push it , unscrew it etc etc but no joy. It is pretty much the same diameter as the alignment scope... I don't want to force it as they are obviously both new ! I've checked the box the HM5 came in and the box is marked as for EQ3 etc mount (picture shows the threaded centre in the mount and the alignment scope for size comparison) Thanks - and Merry Christmas

A quick update is in order. So the bill now is up to £138 as I bought a old DSLR from ebay (£30 inc postage) a T piece and a couple of adaptors, remote shutter release etc and a cheap barlow. The Mrs is getting me decent telescope and mount for Christmas so figured I'd put some time into learning how to use this old cheap scope and attaching a camera as if I can get ok results on this POS...

Quick update, one shiny new focuser and a couple of eye pieces arrived today. The draw tube was slightly bigger than the hole in the tube but (after removing the mirrors etc) a quick mark up / dremel session / new mounting holes etc the focuser was in place. First test from inside the house with a 20mm eyepiece and there was the moons surface in reasonable detail .. The Mrs had a look and was very impressed. Took it outside and with the 6mm eyepiece I could just see some banding on Jupiter and the bright dots of a few moons around it. Hopefully tomorrow the collimation tool will turn up and I'll set the mirrors as there is no way what I've just done won't have affected it never mind whatever has happened to the telescope in the past. So, total bill was about £60 and I proved that I can at least see something without having to drive to somewhere much darker so time to think about a good telescope and mount. Thanks everyone for your help - today was great 😁

Thanks everyone for the great ideas - and thanks Lee for digging those links out - that is really appreciated. I was randomly given an Amazon voucher by work today so took a mix of the advice on here and got a replacement metal focussing unit - I was very tempted by the Helical focuser but getting the mount 3d printed would have taken a couple of weeks (I have a mate who would have done it but he's mega busy) Hopefully everything arrives on time and on sunday I'll be trying to collimate it... Cheers !