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gary1968

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Posts posted by gary1968

    Stripping a skywatcher dob (Auto) mount

    in Discussions - Mounts

    Posted

    A little bit of chat Richard (squeaky) and I have been having by PM, he thought it would have been better here so I have copied and pasted it over.... a bit of a read but there is some good info in it.

    Gary..

    __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Richards link to the PDF for the 'how to' on clutch adjustment,

    Here ya go... http://www.squeaky.org.uk/temp/AZ.pdf

    ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Thanks a lot for that Richard, much appriciated mate........... :icon_salut:

    Cheers,

    gary

    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    You're welcome :)

    Um... tell me....

    When you do your friction adjustment - if you want to check the OTA's balance as I did in the thread - could you let me know what angles the basic tube "stayed put" in with no friction applied?

    Mine, from memory, was...

    Below 20 deg - nose heavy

    20 - 25 deg = balanced

    Above 25 deg - tail heavy

    And the balance point with my 630g DSLR weight added moved to 45 - 50 deg

    I've also got some fisherman's spring balances somewhere about the place. I'm thinking that once done I'll "pull" the OTA round in AZ and see how much "weight" it takes to move against the friction.

    That should make it an easy check for the future and if my tracking goes off again I would be able to check that weight and see which way the clutch friction needed to go. :) Plus this could be checked without having to wait for a clear sky and do trial imaging.

    Richard

    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Ok, When I get round to doing it I will do a little study of the balance points and let you know what my findings are.

    However, all this talk of balance point changing at different angles has me a bit perplexed?? I really cant get my head round this phenomenom, I would have thought that if it was, for example, tail heavy then regardless of alt it would remain tail heavy...... :icon_scratch: SO, this alone makes me want to take it to bits and investigate, lol, I am a compulsive tinkerer, hehehe.

    Yeah, using the fishermans scale as a strain guage is a good idea, I may use a luggage scale as thats what I have lying about.

    I am not intending doing this right away though. I think I'll wait until the tracking starts to cause me image quality issues, my ability is the main limiting factor just mow as I have a lot to learn about planetary imaging and processing.

    Cheers,

    Gaz

    _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    I have lots to learn about imaging too - but it's kinda difficult when all I get is double stars and trails....

    Not that I'm going to be getting any for a while. I took the AZ apart so that I could increase the friction only to find that the base has warped and there's absolutely no point in trying an adjustment. Only found out at 17:36 and the shop is shut. <sigh>

    Richard

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    The base has warped? I would have thought that was unlikely being MDF, where / how do you store it when not in use? Mine either lives in the (very damp humid) summerhouse or in my garage which is nice and dry, although I am starting to favour the garage because of the dampness in the summerhouse..

    Gaz

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    It's not mdf it's chip board. Untreated.

    It's stored in my brand new GRP shed, bought and built expressly to house my scope

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    :eek: Chipboard? Not impressed by that, I would have thought MDF would have been more stable. Looks like mine will live in the garage now, with the scope in the summerhouse packed in its wooden box along with bags of silica gel.

    Gaz

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    And BEFORE you even do that....

    Sort out some bags or cartridges of silica gel and insert as many as you can under the covers of the two motor/encoder assemblies.

    I wiped my beast dry of dew after every use and left the shed door open on every warm dry day and it has still gone! There was even evidence of corrosion on the small motherboard in the AZ cover. (The board that the drive cable plugs into.)

    We should really be having this conversation in the thread - it may be of help to others.

    Richard

    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-

    Agreed, it would be of use to others...... I attempt to copy n paste it.

    Gaz

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    EQ6 belt drive modification

    in DIY Astronomer

    Posted

    wouldn't there be more torque with a a mount, especially

    if its over loaded ? That might cause a belt to jump.

    I must confess I like the idea of a belt driven mount though.

    Kathleen

    Kat, the torque required by a model 4x4 car or helicopter hauling its self to full speed in as little as a few seconds will create more torque than a EQ mount doing its thing. Remember a EQ mount is supposed to be balanced so the effort required to get it moving is minimal. Not to mention the environment, the models are subjected to all sorts of dirt and dust etc intheir everyday life so will see more abuse.

    Gary

    SYNSCAN Alignment star list

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    Yup, EQMod is the way to go. I have only aligned my HEQ5 twice with the hand set and never had an issue, must have been lucky I guess. EQMod allows point and click from the lappy screen, soooo much easier.

    But as I intend to use the hand set when I go to the dark sky site I use locally I will be watching this thread with interest.

    Cheers,

    Gary

    Wide Screen Centre

    in Supplier Reviews

    Posted

    On Monday lunch time I spoke to Simon at the Wide Screen Centre. I was after advice on mounting my 1000d onto either of my 2 refractors, I was also after a Astronomik CLS clip filter.

    So, having decided on what to buy I ordered the filter, a t-ring and a WO 2" canmera adaptor, all arrived yesterday.

    Top marks to Simon and the Wide Screen Centre for excellent service and great delivery times.

    Cheers,

    Gary

    • Like 2

    First Light Optics

    in Supplier Reviews

    Posted

    I recieved my new HEQ5 yesterday. It turned out that the HC firmware was an older version and that it didn't have PC Direct mode so I decided to upgade the HC as I want to use EQMod.

    That didn't go to good and the HC ended up not working at all.... :)

    1 phone call to Steve at FLO this morning and a replacement is on its way, Steve assures me that the replacement has a newer version of firmware and that update will not be required.

    So, another shout for FLO and their great service..... :D

    Cheers Steve,

    Gary

    First Light Optics

    in Supplier Reviews

    Posted

    I ordered a HEQ5 Pro from FLO on Monday and it was suggested it would arrive Tuesday. I got an e-mail from James Tuesday lunch time telling me the importer had IT problems and that the mount didn't ship as expected.

    It arrived today, Wednesday, however and it looks the doggies doodahs, well pleased, thanks FLO.

    Gary

    First Light Optics

    in Supplier Reviews

    Posted

    Well, FLO does it again, top man Steve, thanks.......

    I have a Astrozap heated dew dew shield for my 6" sct, bought it from FLO last summer. The last time I was out with the 6" the dew shield split along its length, rendering it not circular anymore. Contacted Steve on Monday and a replacement is in the post to me today.

    Thanks again FLO for 1st class customer service.......:)

    Gary

    First Light Optics

    in Supplier Reviews

    Posted

    Howdy,

    Just a word on good service from Steve at FLO, I spoke with him yesterday to get the SGL discount code and check availability of Astrozap Heated dew shield and controller for my 6SE, both were in stock. I order online yesterday afternoon and they have just arrived at home.

    Great service, thanks Steve.

    Gary

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