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Skywatcher 250PX Auto motor problem - Help!


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Hi,

I purchased a 250px auto a few months back from a guy on eBay and have a been like a pig in the proverbial [removed word] ever since! It's been great and i've has some great views of Jupiter. For the last few weeks it hasn't seen much action tbough with the Rubbish weather, but i decided to set the alarm early today to catch Venus and Saturn early doors as the skies were completely clear.

However I have a problem with the motor which i'm devastated about. Basically the scope gets to a certain angle and then won't track up. If i give it a little nudge it eventually kicks in, but when it's stuck i can hear the motor spinning inside but just no movement. I've tried the three speed settings and i also think the first and second speed don't seem right, certainly the middle speed doesn't seem as quick as i remember and the slow spped just doesnt seem to move much at all.

The horizontal motion seems OK so i *think* i'ts just vertical up and down that i think is the problem. Does anyone know if this is a common probelm? I'm not sure whether the motors just need servicing perhaps or indeed if servicing is actually expected regularly?

Really hoping someone can help cos i'm gutted at the minute!

regards from a newbie,

John

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Just seen your PM John. Nothing to worry about the scope is nose heavy and needs a counterweight. I have a 2kg weight on the primary end of mine. You can get taxi magnets that stick on their roof from ebay for a few quid which you can attach a weight to.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-of-Vehicle-MagPad1-super-strong-magnet-for-roof-signs-taxi-driving-school-/130694626330?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CommercialVehicleParts_SM&hash=item1e6e01bc1a

You will find tracking will improve when the OTA is properly balanced especially when using heavy eyepieces, barlows or cameras.

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Just seen your PM John. Nothing to worry about the scope is nose heavy and needs a counterweight. I have a 2kg weight on the primary end of mine. You can get taxi magnets that stick on their roof from ebay for a few quid which you can attach a weight to.

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item1e6e01bc1a

You will find tracking will improve when the OTA is properly balanced especially when using heavy eyepieces, barlows or cameras.

Thanks for reply mate.

So is that somehting you;d recommend I buy from eBay and then basically attach weights to it? Do you think that might explain the motor slipping when moving up? It's just that it;s been fine up till now so I'm really at a loss. Saved up for Ages to buy this (my first ever scope!) so i'm i'm just seeing a huge bill to fix it already (which i hope is me just overreacting).

Is the consensus that these motors need regular servicing or anything? I was gonna try and strip it down but i'm not that confident tbh.

Oh and what's OTA?

Sorry for all the newbie questions by the way.

Thanks,

John

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Yes that is the type of magnet I have on my scope John. There is a tension nut that you can tighten to stop the slippage (all you are describing is perefectly normal and has happened to my scope after first buying it).

I would try a counterweight before tigthening anything but if you want to use the scope straight away you can remove the black cover where the power switch is and tighten the altitude tension nut by say 1\4 to 1/2 a turn. Here is a picture showing the nut :

gallery_16670_886_1338790417_8585.jpeg

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Yes that is the type of magnet I have on my scope John. There is a tension nut that you can tighten to stop the slippage (all you are describing is perefectly normal and has happened to my scope after first buying it).

I would try a counterweight before tigthening anything but if you want to use the scope straight away you can remove the black cover where the power switch is and tighten the altitude tension nut by say 1\4 to 1/2 a turn. Here is a picture showing the nut :

gallery_16670_886_1338790417_8585.jpeg

That's great Stuart thanks. I've asked similar questions on some Auto tracking threads i've searched for so i'm repeating myself here somewhat but what about setting the auto tracking up. I've lined it up to my altitude and set that in the handset as per some great advice on another thread but once in tracking mode the scope just seems to sit there. I'm really not sure how fast it should travel and whether i should be able to discern any movement with the naked eye over a few minutes. How does the scope *know* how fast to track i.e if i'm pointing at a planet (fast tracking needed i'd guess) or a DSO (slow tracking?)

cheers

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