johninderby

Nothing exciting. Just a flux pen. 😴

Now I can go and flux my capacitors or something. 😁

Decided to try removing the slow-motion cables and fitting the knobs directly onto the mount. Definately more convienient with a short scope. 🙂

Thanks for checking to see how easy alignment is. 

I think an optional adjuster that could fit inbetween the saddle and mount would be a good solution. Wouldn’t be difficult to come up with a design. Say a centre plate with an outer disk with a retaining flange and a grub screw to move the outer disk in relation to the center and a few  grub screws to lock it into place. Or even simpler just the centre plate with outer disk and three grub screws around the outside to lock it into position.

1 minute ago, Craney said:

Wot !! .... no black hole ???

Perhaps a black hole reminded the BBC of their budget?  🤣🤣🤣

A collection of images that the BBC considers to amoung the best space photos of the year.

Most are instantly recognieable like the first two Jupiter images, the Mars selfie and the images of the Chinese far side moon lander.

Here’s a couple of photos to illustrate the difference. Note the hand controls are the same size and how much smaller the 4SE/5SE mount is compared to the hand controller.

Having had a 10” Skywatcher dob and now a Bresser 10” dob find the Bresser optical performance  better than the Skywatcher. 

Bresser uses a proper 9 point mirror cell and a really good focuser and has a black rubberised anti-reflective coating inside that is far better than Skywatchers thin coat of blackish paint.

Probably why the performance advantage.

Just get one of these and be done with it. 

Cleared some junk out of a hallway closet making room for keeping a few scopes in. Normally kept in the conservatory but when vistors come a good place to stick things out of the way. 👍🏻

Has definately been worth the wait. Hopefully the forecast for Monday is accurate and it will get an outing. 🙂

Hold on a minute did I just use the word accurate in the same sentence as forecast. What was I thinking. 😁😁😁

The 6SE / 8SE mount is a much stronger mount than the 4SE.

They do turn up used from time to time.

https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=156145

Have scanned the instructions for the mount. Images are at the bottom.

Rowan AZ100 Alt-Az Mount

Please read all instructions before using your AZ100 mount. The AZ100 is very rugged , however, like any precision instrument it can be damaged by improper handling. Please refer to the diagram below for an illustration of the mount.

Mounting capacity.

The AZ100 has a capacity of 15-20kg per side depending on the lengths of the telescopes in use.Generally it is recommended to mount the heavier of the 2 scopes on the left side of the mount in the saddleshown. And if using one telescope attach this also on the left side of the mount as the left side is designed tohave a slightly higher capacity than the right.If using a counterweight shaft attach this on the right side of the mount in the central M16 hole of the saddle orusing the counterweight mounting flange.

Azimuth and Altitude Clutches.

The clutches are fully adjustable and can be set over a wide range to give the required amount of friction to theaxis.

Altitude Lock

Gently tighten to hold the telescope in position while there is an imbalance whern changing eyepieces.

Azimuth and Altitude Damping Adijusters.

Each axis has a pair of damping adjusters. These allow additional friction to the slow-motion controls only to ailow a smoother movement with large or long telescopes. Set them with approximately the same tension.

Worm Adjustments

Worm mesh adjustment may be necessary from time to time. The adjustment is straightforward and the user should not be hesitant to attempt this and in doing so will achieve thebest performance from the AZ100 mount

Before adjusting the worm mesh check the balance of the telescope is as close to balanced as possible with the eyepiece and finder fitted. The worm mesh can be set by adjusting the worm mesh screws (A) and opposing grub screws (B) at the opposite end of the to the slow-motion control shaft. The worm block screws (C) should remain tightened (Approx. 2Nm torque setting)

Start with the worm mesh screws (A) and opposing grub screws (B) loosened off. The slow motion shaft should turn freely with virtually no resistance. You may also feel a small amount of free backlash in the axis. Make very small inward adjustments to both worm gear mesh screws (A)  and at the same time slowly rotate the slow-motion controls to feel when the resistance changes. 

Once a very small amount of additional resistance can be felt on the slow motion control , this is the point where the worm is just coming into contact with the wheel gear and the mesh is now initially set. Gently tighten the opposing grub screws (B) in to contact to lock the worm block into position. Further small adjustments can be made depending on the user’s preferences and telescope configuration. 

Cleaning

When required wipe over with a clean cloth, preferably microfibre. Don’t use strong chemical cleaning solutions. 

Maintenance

It is advisable to re-grease the worm wheel gearing every 12-24 months depending on use and environmental conditions. We recommend an Areoshel 33 or compatible grease. Remove the telescope from the mounting. Warning - if the worm block is removed whilst a telescope is mounted the axis will be free to turn uncontrollably. Remove the 4 x M4 cap screws from the worm block and lift away from the axis body. Clean the old grease away from both the worm and wheel gear. A tooth brush is ideal for this. Once clean re-grease the wheel with Aeroshel 33 or similar with with sufficient grease to to fill the gap in each of teeth on the wheel gear. Apply a thin coating to the central section of the worm too.

Replace the worm block taking care to engage the worm to the wheel teeth then replace the 4 x 4mm x 12mm cap screws  into the worm block. Do not tighten these until until you are sure the worm is properly meshed into the wheel gear.Re-set the worm mesh as per the procedure above.

Second the power supply being the likely culprit. Are you using a battery or an AC adapter?

Question came up on my CN thread but perhaps Rowan will let us know. 

Perhaps some sort of micro adjuster plate to fit in between the saddle and mount? 🤔

A question for John or Stu.

When using two scopes on the mount have you found a way to fine tune alignment of both scopes so they are both pointing exactly the same?

Forecast for Sun is maybe and good for Monday. 🙂

Mount fits perfectly to the EQ5 Berlebach tripod although had to make up an adapter and thread the tripod to take an M12 bolt to allow fitting an EQ6 mount. Can’t understand why Berlebach doesnt offer an adapter or just produce a dual fit one. Can be changed from EQ5 to EQ6 in about a minute without using any tools.

And more with Big Red mounted. 🙂

Been searching for a mount worthy of Big Red for years. Can’t beleive it’s been nine years since I built Big Red. 🤔

Load of better photos taken outside in proper light.

It balances easily with the alt clutch only partly tightened. With the AZ100 you have the alt clutch knob, the alt lock knob and the worm gear mesh adjustment as well so you can adjust the mount to handle a poorly balanced scope if needed. It’s been designed for real world use.

Detail from the instructions.

Yes it’s the luck of the draw with the stock focuser.

The tolerances of the parts used in one of these cheap focusers can stack up right and it can work very well or the tolerances can stack up the wrong way and it can be beyond any adjustment or fiddling with to make it work right.

Here you go. Couple of pics from the manual.

https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/downloads/dl/file/id/175/product/2858/instruction_manual_for_all_baader_diamond_steeltrack_bds.pdf

Annoys me that they push scopes with rubbish lightweight EQ mounts as beginners scopes. Wonder how many have been put off astronomy after buying one? 🙁

Just now, John said:

I agree 100% John - the Rowan AZ100 is a very impressive piece of work indeed. When you see and handle one you really "get" just what you are paying for. Real craftsmanship and thoughtful design. Designed and produced by a small UK company as well

 

Built to a standard not a price is the way I would put it. 👍🏻