New EQ3-2 Mount Issue ?

[Rigel-7]

Ok, so I bought a new scope and found that it had a fingerprint on the scope and very stiff declination worm gear. I visited the shop and was provided with a new scope and mount.

When I got home I checked the scope which appears to have paint spots on the primary. The mount seems ok but latitude will not screw to zero, I'm sure it could on the old mount could anybody confirm this ?

[bigbox]

Hi Rigel, The only way i can get my eq3-2 down to zero on latitude is to Unlock R.A. to move counter-weights out the way &/or remove C/W's & the bar...

Regards Ady

[NGC 1502]

When I got home I checked the scope which appears to have paint spots on the primary. The mount seems ok but latitude will not screw to zero, I'm sure it could on the old mount could anybody confirm this ?

Hi Rigel. A new scope should have pristine optics, so if it were me, I'd be contacting the supplier again.

As long as the EQ mount can be set to your latitude (about 51 degrees) then I wouldn't worry if it won't set to zero. It would need to be at zero for use at the equator.

Hope you sort the spots on the primary, Ed.

[hemihaggis]

Yeah , you won't need zero on the scale 51 should be fine for you , paint on the mirror ? If it looks bad take it back , if its paint it must be a flake , cause they don't paint the tube withthe mirror in place , what kind of scope is it ......?

[sanmatt]

Muck on the mirror never occured to me. I've just stuck my head down my tube and there's all sorts of **** on the mirror

[Rigel-7]

Ok I appreciate that the mount will be fixed at 51-2 degrees in this country but it had occurred to me I could take the mount and a small cat with me when I visit my friends in Mombasa which is around 4 degrees. The other alternative is taking something like a small dob like at heritage 130p.

[JamesF]

If you're judging the angle based on the scale on the side of the mount, I'd ignore it. They're often nowhere close to accurate. It's probably better to test by setting the mount up so the tripod head is level and then putting a spirit level on the saddle to see if you can get it horizontal.

I've never tried it with mine, but it could be that no EQ3-2 mounts can go to zero degrees and your previous one just looked like it could because the scale was in the wrong position. The workaround would, I guess, be to shorten the north tripod leg slightly to give you more room for manoeuvre when you do your alignment.

James