Kon

2+3 seem to work.

I opened up last night and it all looks ok. One thing I noticed is that there was a lot of grease on the small spacers just under the big nut. Would that be causing it? Do they need the grease? So why at high speed with the controller is it ok to turn?

1. I opened up the azimuth motor compartment and check everything for slipping. I could see wormwheel running fine It didn't solve the problems. 2. I opened the gear box, all ok. It didn't solve the problem. 3. The motor itself seems to function ok but could it be something to do with the encoder? I can see the wormwheel running but the large disc or platform is not turning. It can turn with the hand controller. So if it is not slipping is it likely the stepper does not provide enough torque? Ie is it gone? Thoughts on a replacement for it, assuming it's the culprit?

Rupes Recta looked spectacular last night; Rima Berta was also nicely visible. I did some imaging after observing. 12" Dob Flextube, goto, asi462mm, IR pass 685nm, 2.5x TV powermate.

Perfect, thanks. I was looking for something like this. It gives me confidence to properly open it up now and see what is going on.

Hard to tell if it is movable but I see a black screw at 6 oclcok in my photo that is adjusted to a sping, I wonder if that has to do with tolerance? It will be some investigating job tonight.

Thansk for the suggestions. Michael suggested similar thing, but without the tube I do not see any tracking either, unless the nut is undone more than i thought so it is completely slipping. I will definitely look into getting a a new power supply.

I bought it second hand, and it came with a mains adaptor (12V 0.9A), I assumed from Skywatcher (from manual: 10 to 15 V DC 1Amp), plugged to the mains. But why tracking ok for the past couple of months if it was a power issue?

Yes clutch too, sorry. I am powering from the mains. It's a bit odd as it was tracking ok and I stopped to have a break and when i went back it wouldn't. I could try undo the nut and take the wormwheel off and see if the motor still makes the noise.

Yes correct, the motors seem to be fine. I just opened the housing and yes I did do this test last night but no movement. I can hear the motor trying to track, there is some noise (when it was tracking ok it was quietter, more like a humming noise). It is more of rougher sound now; not loud, i need to be close to the base to hear it..

During my imaging last night, the AZ motor of my 12" Syncan GOTO stopped tracking; I could hear the motor working but not tracking and I could use the hand controller to move the telescope so the motor is operating ok. Is it just slipping? The clutch was tighten and I had no issues until last night with it. I opened the housing but I am lost beyond that. The brass rode is rotating with the controller. I can see another black disk under the whole system. I found some info online that I could tighten the nut at the top. Before I do anything silly, are there any suggestions?

Nice images. Rupes Recta has an almost 3d feeling to it in the last image.

Thanks Neil. I tried not to push to much as seeing wasn't great but also inspired by your excellent processing to avoid edge crater artefacts (there are a few but i would sacrifice details over tidying 1-2 craters). I am really excited what the 12" can do under good seeing; the IR was boiling, but I still managed a few decent frames. These are stacks of 3% of 8000 frames with 1ms exposure; any higher exposure and I was losing the finer features but the light gathering of the 12" is amazing compared to my 8". I have to say that you were spot on to always tell me to get some kind of tracking. It is a game changer! The biggest advantage I have found so far is refocusing constantly without losing my target. Planetary season will be fun but the moon is an excellent target to get all teething out of the way.

I managed some decent images last night despite the jetstream. The craters and mountains are: 1. Ptolemaeus/Alphonsus/Arzachel, 2. Sinus Fidei, 3. Vallis Alpes and Montes Alpes. The shadows casted in the 1st and 3rd image are really intriguing. 12" Flextube goto, asi462mm, IR pass 685nm, 2.5x TV powermate. I also tried a colour image for image 1 using my asi462mc.

Thanks Ian. The seeing was just awful. with the overhead jetstream. I have been imaging tonight and it is a bit better. I will post the images later. Looking forward to your captures.

Thanks Mark. I will never unsee the smilly crater now 😂. Yes I hate when updates decide to happen during imaging. I hope the weather improves so we can get some high resolution images.

Another go on imaging craters despite the awful seeing. I opted for an IR pass filter 685 tonight. Maurolycus is showing some details although I could not resolve the small craterlets inside. Aristoteles and Eudoxus had better seeing and I framed them to capture the mountain shadows on the left. 12" FlexTube, GoTo, asi462mm, IR pass, 2.5x TV powermate.

First attempt with the 12" GoTo to get high resolution images of craters. I am blown away despite the awful conditions tonight. I am really looking forward to what it can do under good seeing. 12" FlexTube GoTo, asi462mc, 2.5x TV powermate, UV/IR cut filter. Pushed the colour saturation to reveal the mineral colours.

Thanks Roy. I am hoping to get it even younger/thinner if I can. It's more of a challenge for me rather than anything else.

Thanks Neil . I pulled more out of the image than I thought it's possible.

That's one I always forget about. On my to- see list.

Dust storms on Mars. Observing Mars is challenging itself but getting the finer details needs really stable seeing.

For excellent transparency nights and darker skies, Barnard 33 (Horse Head) and colour on M42. Clouds on Venus.

Observing anything under UK skies in recent months is a challenge itself 🤣.

See here about the screws: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/420499-gas-giants-knobs/ Regarding the washer modification, you need to undo all the secondary screws to allow the washer to insert. It's worth doing it as the base of the secondary is rather soft and eventually the screws will dig into it. I wouldn't bother doing it until you start playing with the collimation. I have done it on both my Dobs .