EQ5 Drive motors need some advice

[TheNthDr]

hi folks

I have an orion europa 8" reflector on a skywatcher Eq5 mount and looking for some motors for it

whats my best bet and best place to purchase

side tracking slightly where can i get a mount serviced as i have a nasty feeling that one of the latitude screws

is either crossthreaded or just hellishly tight ( i do love this tripod only thing i have trouble reaching to see fully extended)

many thanks

[Quatermass]

If your going to get the dual axis motors make sure you get them from a shop that will replace the motor control pad if it burns out. I have had my 4th one burn out on me they are terrible for it. Also get your lat bolt removed and replaced with two stronger bolts as the orig bolts are too soft.

Had my eq5 for about 3 years now great mount but the bolts and control units are duff.

Sent from my GT-S5670 using Tapatalk 2

[andyboy1970]

I had my EQ5 for 8 years without any problems.

The Latitude adjusters are rubbish and very tight.

[Capricorn]

Several of the retailers sell the Skywatcher RS/Dec motors, usually somewhere is the region of £80-100.

Read up how to install.

Have been reports of the hand control box going wrong which is worrying, SW electronics are getting pretty bad it would seem.

You cannot generally get a control box on it's own, so as Quatermass said buy from a good retailer in case you have troubles.

There are altrnatives but these are about double the SW cost, and no idea how well they perform.

As to the service of your mount, do not know of anyone that does this.

Best is for you to remove the bolts yourself, hoping they have not bent already, and purchase a better set, cannot recall where from so if you do put a post up asking for suppliers.

[andyboy1970]

Ebay sellers have the upgrade bolts, £28 - £50 just search through the telescopes section.

[TheNthDr]

thank you folks ill start looking into best place to get them , with the untis having a burnout problem anyone know what tends to burn out

ik none to shabby with a soldering iron when needed , its a shame they burn out makes you wonder about what the quality of the parts ar they use

thanks for the info once again ill let u know how i get on

have a good christmas folks

[stem1989]

lots of places online, buying them is the easy part (search dual [or single] motors for eq5 on google) its putting it all together thats the hard part keep it all greased if you go down this road

[Quatermass]

Best by just the ra motor kit second hand if you can cheaper and just as functional they are badly made control boxes do not over load them or leave in the damp or they will die on you. Others may have been lucky but after my 4th one I can tell you they are NOT great.

Sent from my GT-S5670 using Tapatalk 2

[andyboy1970]

I had the Celestron version and had no problems, looking inside the controller the joints on the circuit board look less than idea, signs of dry joints.

[TheNthDr]

if needs be ill re solder the joints and do a proper job on it , there really should be no excue for bad electronics these days

but hey i rant , something i will be doing a lot of research into and see if i can find what is out there either amateur made or prof made

on a side note i saw the orion nebula the night sir moore died , totaly breath taking its sights like that , that make my amateur bumbling worth it

thanks guys and merry xmas to you all

[Mike73]

I've just bought a EQ5 and read a lot about the problems with Skywatcher motors so I've gone for the DK3 motors that are used in Vixen mounts.

From what I've read they are alot better than Skywatcher but they are more expensive...

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p434_Dual-axis-motor-drive-for-GP-EQ5-mounts-and-equivalent.html

[TheNthDr]

now tooks prety good quality i must say , worth paying that little bit extra for the quality

thank you for that much apreciated

[Mike73]

Theres a thread about them here -

[Catweazel]

Quite a bit more expensive though! I got my SW dual axis motors used from AB&S for £50, never had any trouble with them

[TheNthDr]

Hello again folks , finally got the dodgy bolt out of the mount , damn thing was banana shaped so replaced with a temory bolt for now ,

was a cow to get out but managed it

[Quatermass]

Yes remember when that happened to me what a pain why they can't produce something better is beyond me whatever happened to craftsmanship?

Sent from my Scroll Plus using Tapatalk 2