Skyliner 200P Dob Base

[gfletcher]

Hi Guys

I have just bought a Skyliner 200P .

The dob base is not very free moving even when the central nut is sufficiently loosened.

Anyone got any ideas/mods that i can perform to free up the rotary movement of the base?

cheers

Graham

[Moonshane]

If I had one, I'd add some formica sheet (approx 0.8mm thick) to the underside of the rocker. wax this and then see how it is. if you want further improvement then an addition piece of Teflon of the same thickness as the three standard ones (3mm?) would help. if you can find formica sheet locally might be a total cost of about £15.

[gfletcher]

I have found some Teflon grease and have coated the 3 pads and the circumference of the dob base that the pads travel over and it seems to have helped no end.

Graham

[NGC 1502]

Hi Graham. An extra centre bearing may help, placed around the bolt. You can make it from lots of different material, but thin plastic from a milk container is a favourite. You will need several large washer shaped pieces, stacked together. If you use too many, the scope will teeter on the new centre bearing, too few and it will achieve nothing. Just a tad thicker than the three outer teflon pads will take a bit of the load and hopefully free up the azimuth movement. So it's trial & error to get it right. After some use, it may 'bed down' and a further tweek may be needed.

HTH, Ed.

[acey]

You say you've just bought it - how much use has it had? When I first got my 300P I set it to what I thought would be right and as soon as I used it I realised I needed it a lot tighter.

But if you've used it a fair bit and are certain that it really needs to be looser, I'd agree with all the previous suggestions. I'd add that over time you're apt to get little bits of dirt etc inside the base which can create rough motion, so it's worth taking it apart for a clean, maybe every other year or so.

[knobby]

Welcome to the world of Dob Modding!

See thread in my signature re base mods

Good luck

[scuffer]

Search for lazy susan in the diy & beginners section ,get it from here http://www.axminster.co.uk/triangle-lazy-susan-bearing-prod20991/?src=froogle , its a bearing that goes between the base plates. Think I have some pics on my camera will try and post tomorrow

[scuffer]

here you go , shows bottom board with a lazy susan attached , I have put some 8mm draught proofing tape around the edge of it to stop dust getting into the bearing and have 4 slide guides ( bought from wickes) on the outer edge with 2 washers made from a milk carton underneath each to provide the stiction. I also put a longer bolt through the middle and used a locking nut to stop the first one coming loose.