Problems adding a goto upgrade to an EQ5

[Robbo AR]

Guys I really need your help.

On Monday I added a goto upgrade to my mount. I followed closely the 'how to' thread and watched the video - thought I'd got everything spot on.
However , when I tried it out under load (balanced properly of course) the RA motor made a nasty noise and started slipping. Suspecting that the gear mesh was out I re adjusted the gears putting a piece of paper between them (the only video I could find about gear meshes was one for RC cars - they suggested this)

I then fired it up with the covers off to see exactly what was going on. It would appear that the gear that is attached to the mount (the top gear) is slipping. I've tried tightening it up as far as it will go and it still slips. The allen bolts are in exactly the place recommended in both the 'how to thread' and video - one on the bevel and one on the shaft , but whatever I do it seems to slip occasionally.

Basically I'm out of ideas now and I'm hoping that one of you may have had (or heard of) the same problem and know what to do, because I can no longer go outside and stargaze and it's killing me.

I'm seriously thinking of going back to my old drives..... 

[Owmuchonomy]

Hi.  Do you really mean slipping or is the clutch kicking in?  If the clutch is kicking in then something is too TIGHT on that axis.  I'm not familiar with the EQ5 but if its similar to my HEQ5, when the clutch kicks in I adjust the float on the worm drive of the offending axis and this fixes it.  

[Robbo AR]

Thanks for the reply matey.

The top cog that's shown in this photo (not a photo of mine - just pinched from a thread) is occasionally spinning on the axle and making a grinding sound. I've tried changing the gear mesh , tried tightening up the allen screws holding it - nothing seems to work.
It's leading me to believe that the RA drive itself is too tight , and when the weight of the scope and counter weight is in the right place I'm assuming that the RA drive cannot be moved properly - leading to the cog spinning.

When you say adjust the float - is that the way of adjusting slack I was reading about? I saw an article on the net talking about removing backlash - I was thinking of doing the steps in reverse order (watching out for play) to try to free up the RA

[ChrisLX200]

Take the motor off and try turning the gear with your fingers, it should turn easily (keep turning it for a fair distance to check). If it feels tight then the worm engagement needs adjusting because it's in too tight a mesh with the worm gear.

ChrisH

[Robbo AR]

Yeah I can barely turn it at all.

How do I go about adjusting the worm engagement ?

[Robbo AR]

http://www.astrotarp.com/Celestron_CG-5_worm_gear_adjustment.html

Am I right in thinking that this is the way to do it? Because if so , I think I have a screw missing.

If you look at the photo of the underside of my mount there is no middle adjusting screw. I've only had the mount 3 months not gone near that section before today but there's definitely no middle screw there

[Peter Drew]

There should be a grub screw with an Allen key fit at the centre position. 

[Robbo AR]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. Suddenly it begins to make sense.

Looks like I'll have to contact FLO.

[Robbo AR]

Thanks everybody that helped me out. Believe me when I say I was at my wits end yesterday

[Dave_D]

Thanks for the reply matey.

The top cog that's shown in this photo (not a photo of mine - just pinched from a thread) is occasionally spinning on the axle and making a grinding sound. I've tried changing the gear mesh , tried tightening up the allen screws holding it - nothing seems to work.

It's leading me to believe that the RA drive itself is too tight , and when the weight of the scope and counter weight is in the right place I'm assuming that the RA drive cannot be moved properly - leading to the cog spinning.

When you say adjust the float - is that the way of adjusting slack I was reading about? I saw an article on the net talking about removing backlash - I was thinking of doing the steps in reverse order (watching out for play) to try to free up the RA

don't know about the EQ5 as i have a Vixen GP, but that top cog is on backwards. there are 2 grub screws on the top cog and one grub screw should be pushing up to the flat face on the spindle and locks it solid.

at least thats what i found when i swapped my dual drives for the eq5 synscan upgrade

[Robbo AR]

Yeah , like I said I just pinched that photo from another thread to illustrate which cog was giving me problems - the guy who took the original photo actually said it was on the wrong way round later in the thread.

[Andy Milner]

Robbo I have exactly the same problem with grinding. I bought my eq5 from FLO too. My middle hole seems empty too. How did you get on? I'm confused what to do next.

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[Andy Milner]

Okay I've found the grinding problem. It's this... Both lever and knob were colliding.

Glad I haven't spent much more than 15 minutes discovering this.

Anyway... It still begs the question why my centre hole us the same as yours and appears to be missing a grub screw as mentioned above.

Should I be worried incase I need to adjust it in the future?

Robbo: did you discover your fault and fix it?

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[ChrisLX200]

From what I recall on the Vixen GP (looks a similar arrangement) the grubscrew sets the worm clearance then you can nip up the other two cap-head bolts (not too tightly!) and everything is held firmly in place, the grubscrew prevents you accidentaly clamping the worm tightly into contact with the worm gear as you tighten the housing up with those two cap-heads. Might be different here of course.

ChrisH

[Andy Milner]

Yes thanks for that. I'm just wondering how it's adjusted on the EQ5. I wonder if no grub screw is actually supposed to be there on my mount.

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