pedromreis

3 hours ago, billhinge said:

You have to use your imagination , eg  something like this https://www.skf.com/group/products/rolling-bearings/roller-bearings/needle-roller-thrust-bearings

Where could they go?

hahaha ... v nice.

Let me see if I find some place for it

thanks

6 hours ago, billhinge said:

ebay?

For what its worth,  I think  replacing the worm bearings and 6007RZ RA bearing will make more difference, the teflon bearings seem to be just gap fillers 

If you are going to re-engineer it, I  would suggest  looking at the problem Celestron are trying to solve on a tight budget  and  see if you can do better with better/different components which may be slightly different  size eg needle bearings (you may need to do some exact measuring) rather than copying their components, try different  grease

But  remember it wont turn  into a Paramount ...

I replaced every bearing and added custom belt drive, yes it was interesting and a learning experience and I then bought an EQ6! (but  at least I know how everything works)

for me its a 100£ tripod and mount that I would like to use to take some pics with the dslr. not expecting much. Yes, I will change those bearings, the worm and the 6007. What do you mean with needle bearings? can you elaborate or point me to some info?

The EQ6 is not yet at reach ... no budget for it 

Anyone can point me to a source of ptfe sheets in europe?

12 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

Teflon washers are the norm... ed from deep space products uses them to gain the correct spacing of the worm

Cant find any supplier of those in Europe at least.. On the Dec axis is something like 74OD x 62ID and 0.5mm. Difficult size to find at least for me.

Hi all

I bought an Old GC5-avgt. It needs some servicing, I want to do it myself.

I've read that it could benefit from having the plastic washers/bearings changed to PTFE.

Do anyone one knows the specs of these plastic bearings? Thickness, diameter, etc. I would lig to have them before I start disassembling the mount.

Thanks

14 hours ago, alacant said:

We use it only for guiding. Never used it to take photos.

We guide everything from a 72mm refractor via a 60mm guide telescope to an old blue tube 254mm f4.7, the latter in an oag. 

It works out of the box with INDI/EKOS' pulse guiding.

Tks!

I'll give it a try.

35 minutes ago, alacant said:

Linux. Not tried on camera.

Had assumed that you used windows. If not, ignore the bit about the drivers.

 

I'll be using linux.

I'm thinking on buying this for guiding, using some sw or connected to st4 port of the guiding system on the mount.

You used it for imaging only? If for guiding, what kind of scope do you use with it?

1 minute ago, alacant said:

Hi

We use the t7m. It works fine using the zwo drivers, just download the latest version from the asi site, as you would for a 120 anyway. The drivers supplied with the camera work, but our version was 2 issues old.

If you need it to work via usb3, you can update the firmware. 

HTH

Thanks

Do you use it on a Windows or Linux system?

Have you ever tried the st4 connection? For guiding? 

Thanks for sharing.

Pedro

Hi

So I want to start guiding. I've read that the t7m is a clone with same performance than the zwo. As any one tested both and confirm this?

BTW, the rest of the equipment would be:

- sw 150 pds + cannon 60d for imaging

- eq3-2 mount with onstep

- sw startravle 80 or another  lighter scope for guiding... some suggestions welcome here.

I can buy any of them, but I would prefer the cheap one if is the same offcourse..

Any other option on the price range also welcomed.

thanks!

3 hours ago, Starflyer said:

They weren't great mounts when they were in new condition, are you sure you want to take on a challenging one?

Well, with the 2" tripod is going to cost me around 100£. If nothing else, I keep the tripod and I will have fun taking it apart. Even if the goto is non functional I can use it for observing...

What are the biggest problems with it and are they fixable by a skilled mechanic engineer?

thanks for your advice.

Hi All

About to buy a Celestron Advanced GT used, in bad shape, for restoring.

It has no hand controller.

So, my questions:

- The seller says the motors are "stuck", where can I find a source for that motors?

- Is it possible to control it with a computer without the hand controller? How?

Thanks in advance

Pedro

Anyone knows how to contact the AstroEQ developer?

Still waiting to get into the forum but :

It moves... But I think something is not right, on the tracking mode the motor just goes back and forward... need to investigate more

I think this covers all I need to try this project....

Now just need to find a power source for this

I'll take a shot at this since I don't need to buy anything to try it but my spare time... if I decide to implement it I only need the a box to enclosure all, motors mount, some pulleys and the timing belt... so Maybe next weekend I'll give it a try...

1 hour ago, bomberbaz said:

why not get a mount that is goto https://www.firstlightoptics.com/computerised-goto-astronomy-mounts/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi-alt-az-mount-tripod.html that can be converted to EQ https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer/skywatcher-star-adventurer-equatorial-wedge-white.html 

You need to flash the mount but it is simple, I did the same. 

It can be controlled from your computer. 

Downside I don't think it is a tracking mount but I have managed imaging planetary of 15 minutes without drift. 

Just a thought.

maybe nice for a dslr? is it usable with a sw 150P-DS?

Im no electronic wiz, never had any training ... but I can read and execute small elctronic projects and I do know how to program arduinos. so, lets see...

Just now, JamesF said:

Tom (who designed the AstroEQ controller) used to sell them ready-made.  I don't know if he still does though.

James

not in the site.... due to covid.

But i'm looking at the schematics... with a bit of luck I should have all the parts need, arduino, motor drivers, motors, leds, capacitors, etc... maybe in the  weekend I give it a try on breadboard and see how it goes...

59 minutes ago, JamesF said:

I took a shortcut with mine and bought a ready-made controller, but added my own motors and brackets to fit the mount, used the configuration utility to set up the controller and that was pretty much it.  Kstars etc. "just worked" on Linux.  I see no obvious reason why it wouldn't on a Mac.

What controller did you buy? I probably have some nema motors around ...

So, let me see if I got this right:

1 - Using the synscan upgrade + fancy cable + sw in the laptop is the easiest and most expensive way to get a GOTO system controlled by the computer with slew speed acceptable, and auto guiding (+ camera + guiding scope)

2 - Using the dual axis + some HW + sw on the laptop I can achieve auto guiding via st4 port, with slow slew speed. GOTO may be possible but slow (?) 

3 - Going all DIY route I can achieve everything, if I can get everything right, including setup a pcb board to control the motors, develop firmware, drivers, etc.... (not going to happen any time soon  )

I think I got 1 and 3. Need to investigate more option 2 to see if a GOTO with decent speed is possible without major hacking...

Did I got this right?

3 hours ago, yuklop said:

Could also try Onstep if you are up for a bit of a project. 

https://onstep.groups.io/g/main

Can be done very inexpensively. You will need to be able to hack together a mounting plate and be a bit handy with computers.. The instructions are very helpful, but it will not be plug and play. I just finished converting an LX200 classic to Onstep and it went pretty smoothly and I do not have any specialist skills.

Might do my old black HEQ5 next, which would be a very similar project to yours. Quite a few folks have done an EQ3 already, so you won't be breaking new ground: https://onstep.groups.io/g/main/wiki/4414 (about a1/3 of the way down the page)

 

Computers are my day job.. so I don't have a problem there. Nor hacking an arduino/raspberry pi/etc. Or putting together a pcb with some components and connections. 

I just need to understand how it works :).

I'll take a look at that tks!

Hi

Whats is the diference between a EQ3-2 + synscan upgrade and a EQ3 pro? 

Whats is the diference between a EQ3 + synscan upgrade and a EQ3-2 + Enhanced Dual-Axis DC Motor Drives (besides the obvious that it cannot find targets itself)

Asking more about the quality/performance of the motors/etc..

7 minutes ago, Budgie1 said:

If you can go without the GoTo system then there's a kit to install motors on the EQ3-2 with a basic hand controller with does have a ST4 connection for autoguiding.

Sky-Watcher Enhanced Dual-Axis DC Motor Drives for EQ3-2

So with that and something like this https://hackaday.io/project/4386-arduino-st4-telescope-control I could get it done right?

1 minute ago, Budgie1 said:

If you can go without the GoTo system then there's a kit to install motors on the EQ3-2 with a basic hand controller with does have a ST4 connection for autoguiding.

Sky-Watcher Enhanced Dual-Axis DC Motor Drives for EQ3-2

Sky-Watcher SynScan PRO Go-To Upgrade Kit for EQ3-2

It may work out cheaper and easier to look out for a second hand EQ5 Pro mount, which already has what you're looking for.

That st4 connection allow to control the motors via PC or only with the GOTO that is possible?

I live in Portugal, and believe me I've tried to buy some used mounts, but with no luck....

14 minutes ago, John said:

Can't help on the Mac connection.

 

Assume windows then, after the GOTO system what else do I need?

The upgrade you talk about is this right? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-mount-upgrade-kits/synscan-pro-goto-version-3-upgrade-kit-for-eq3-2.html