Am I damaging my mount?

[swag72]

When I image, I leave my setup running over night and then first one up in the morning goes and turns it all off. Whenever we get to the mount, the scope is up against the tripod legs - Is this damaging my mount as the motors etc are still working I guess?

I would welcome people's recommendations on what to do better, short of staying up all night or getting up really early!!

[nightfisher]

dont know for sure but dont sound like a good idea

[Bizibilder]

Not a good idea at all - the mount does not know it is pushing against the tripod so the motors will continue to run.

There is a solution - If you use EQMOD/ASCOM then you can set limits on the mount. When it reaches those limits the drive stops. You can also set horizon limits so you don't take (too many) photo's of the ground!

[Euan]

Definitely NOT a good idea, I take it it's also making a ticking noise?

The motor is still turning but will be bending your worm gear (assuming it has one) and also wearing out your gears

If you use a laptop there are ways to tell it to stop tracking after a set time

[Carbon Brush]

You would have to ask the mount manufacturer about this. Might be interesting to get their take on it

But in my view, any mount/drive that can be damaged by running into a physical stop at tracking speed is not properly designed and not fit for purpose.

I have, once or twice, inadvertently left my D6 mount running. On return I have found it has tried to lift the shed roof off. No damage to the mount, or the MN78 scope. But that is Russian kit, known for it's robust build!

....

[swag72]

Mmm, so the only way I am going to avoid this is to go down the EQMOD / ASCOM route? I was so hoping to avoid this. Back to the drawing board then me thinks.

[brantuk]

The tripod and mount are pretty sturdy - it's the motors that are gonna get damaged first and possibly the worm gear as mentioned above. Don't be surprised if you wake up to smoke one morning. Surely you can set slew limits - I don't know that setup but most mounts have such a setting. And/or control from pc software.

Or if you use a mains to 12v dc power supply - plug it into a timer socket that will switch off at a preset time.

[Euan]

Mmm, so the only way I am going to avoid this is to go down the EQMOD / ASCOM route? I was so hoping to avoid this. Back to the drawing board then me thinks.

You could also use a timer socket for your mount?

[RikM]

It's probably a bit basic but have you thought about a programmable power socket timer? You could set it to cut the power at a time before the scope and mount clash.

Edit: great minds Euan

[swag72]

Or if you use a mains to 12v dc power supply - plug it into a timer socket that will switch off at a preset time.

Now that is a fantastic idea!! Thanks!!

How will I be ablt to work out in Stellarium when it will roughly hit the legs? When it is at its highest in the sky?

[Nillchill]

Why not buy a couple of micro switches, place them at the point where the mount hits the tripod, wire the switch path into the power for the motors , when the mount reaches that poiint the power gets cut off and no more problems,

Low Cost Standard Microswitches : Micro Switches : Maplin

[brantuk]

Hmmm.... bit late in the day for maths - pi * r squared must come into it somewhere - or you could just measure the movement over a couple of hours and estimate how long is left before it covers the distance to clashing with the mount

Alternatively - work out in stellarium how long it takes your object to get to the horizon and switch off half an hour before the time it takes to get there.

[Euan]

Why not buy a couple of micro switches, place them at the point where the mount hits the tripod, wire the switch path into the power for the motors , when the mount reaches that poiint the power gets cut off and no more problems,

Low Cost Standard Microswitches : Micro Switches : Maplin

The point of contact is going to change depending on what declination the scope is at