"Bendy bolts" no more .....

[Scott]

I bought one of Gunnar's NEQ6 tuning kits for £35 delivered and nearly half of that was postal costs. And it works a treat. I reckon you could even get away with keeping the origional bolts (but don't hold me to it)

[The universal]

Does any responsibility lie with the actual suppliers in the regions that are affected?

From day one, even putting the mount into position without a load on it made me feel uneasy

[tich]

It looks well made & the movement seems to operate nice & smooth, personaly I think it would beneift from having caps fitted with the lattitude printed & some sort of spacer & longer screws for the pointer just to finish it off.
But then I guess that would just add more to the price unless you can remove the caps of doom in one piece & use those.



 

[The universal]

I bought one of these off a member of sgl for £35 delivered and nearly half of that was postal costs. (not sure if I'm allowed to mention him so I won't) and it works a treat. I reckon you could even get away with keeping the origional bolts (but don't hold me to it)

eq6 mod.jpg

Those look great. Dam warranty is stopping me from actually trying to fix skywatchers bad design

[JamesF]

Does any responsibility lie with the actual suppliers in the regions that are affected?

I think it might be a difficult case to make.  If you adjust the mount without a hefty telescope and 10kg of counterweights on then it doesn't seem to be that big a deal.  I think the suppliers or importer would take the line that you shouldn't be fiddling with the alt adjusters with 20kg of stuff on the top, though their position might be stronger if it said that clearly in the instructions.  I'm not sure it does in mine.

James

[The universal]

It specifically says that the telescope and the weights should be on the mount to polar align, so that you don't alter it by adding them after aligning the polarscope

[JamesF]

It specifically says that the telescope and the weights should be on the mount to polar align, so that you don't alter it by adding them after aligning the polarscope

In that case they might be rather short of a leg to stand on

James

[ChrisLX200]

The existing ALT adjustment mechanism is poor and a copy of the old Vixen GP system (just that the whole mount is a lot bigger and thus weights and pressures are increased), If I were to design a system (and I have) I would use a worm drive to move the mount in ALT. At the manufacturing stage it would not be difficult to implement and it would remove backlach and increase precision. Tweaking alignment by a few arc-sec (even arc-min!) with the push-pull system is nigh on impossible. However, the designer of this sytem will know this but the problem he had to contend with was that it needed to be easily retro-fitted by the owner which placed heavy constraints on how he could go about it. Machining mating surfaces, drilling and tapping for bolts etc., were not an option. Been there done that. Adding to the problems - as mentioned in the video regarding the placement of the bolt holes - attaching your precision accessory to rough-finished/variable dimension castings is an absolute bear. So kudos to the designer for achieving it at all. I suspect few people will be prepared to pay for the actual work involved in making them though.

ChrisH

[sbooder]

The existing ALT adjustment mechanism is poor and a copy of the old Vixen GP system (just that the whole mount is a lot bigger and thus weights and pressures are increased), If I were to design a system (and I have) I would use a worm drive to move the mount in ALT. At the manufacturing stage it would not be difficult to implement and it would remove backlach and increase precision. Tweaking alignment by a few arc-sec (even arc-min!) with the push-pull system is nigh on impossible. However, the designer of this sytem will know this but the problem he had to contend with was that it needed to be easily retro-fitted by the owner which placed heavy constraints on how he could go about it. Machining mating surfaces, drilling and tapping for bolts etc., were not an option. Been there done that. Adding to the problems - as mentioned in the video regarding the placement of the bolt holes - attaching your precision accessory to rough-finished/variable dimension castings is an absolute bear. So kudos to the designer for achieving it at all. I suspect few people will be prepared to pay for the actual work involved in making them though.

ChrisH

I am lost!  What backlash?  We are talking of the Alt adjustments not the RA or Dec.  Once set there is no movement during tracking or slews, it is purely for polar alignment.

[Stu]

The Vixen Sphinx has a nice arrangement for alt adjustment, similar to your suggestion I think Chris?

Stu

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ChrisLX200]

I am lost!  What backlash?  We are talking of the Alt adjustments not the RA or Dec.  Once set there is no movement during tracking or slews, it is purely for polar alignment.

In doing your polar alignment - you want to move the polar axis up/down/left/right to get it as near perfect as possible, you may be doing this using drift alignment or some other method. So, during this process you may find it necessary to move the Polar axis UP by a few arc-min, then move it down again by a few arc-sec. Repeat iteratively until it's correct. Try making those fine adjustments with a crude push-pull 2-bolt adjuster. With a wom drive these adjustments can be made very precisely, and if you moved it too far UP at first you can reverse the

direction and move DOWN again very precisely - with no backlash.

Chrish

[sbooder]

In doing your polar alignment - you want to move the polar axis up/down/left/right to get it as near perfect as possible, you may be doing this using drift alignment or some other method. So, during this process you may find it necessary to move the Polar axis UP by a few arc-min, then move it down again by a few arc-sec. Repeat iteratively until it's correct. Try making those fine adjustments with a crude push-pull 2-bolt adjuster. With a wom drive these adjustments can be made very precisely, and if you moved it too far UP at first you can reverse the

direction and move DOWN again very precisely - with no backlash.

Chrish

But what has that got to do with backlash?

[ChrisLX200]

But what has that got to do with backlash?

The worm drive has (almost) zero backlash - you can tweak it one direction and then you can reverse direction with no 'dead space' if you like between. With the push-pull as soon as you slacken one or other bolts the head will move slightly as the tension is taken off, similarly, when you have made an adjustment you can't clamp the mount using the opposing bolt without the head moving slightly again. In other words you can't move it precisely enough. If you don't want to call it 'backlash' then use your own terminology, it's slack movement between moving in one direction and then the other.

ChrisH.

[sbooder]

Sorry but I have been using the EQ6 for over 4 years now and I have never found a need to limit backlash on the Alt adjustments.  To me a worm gear on the Alt axis would be like putting an umbrella stand on a yacht...pointless.

[ChrisLX200]

Sorry but I have been using the EQ6 for over 4 years now and I have never found a need to limit backlash on the Alt adjustments.  To me a worm gear on the Alt axis would be like putting an umbrella stand on a yacht...pointless.

One last try before I give up on you.

See this - It's a worm gear machined into the bottom of the RA carrier. See the worm itself in the bottom of the base section? ITs bearings are eccentric-bored so the engagement with the worm gear segment can be adjusted.

and this - turning the knob at the front raises and lowers the ALT setting. No backlash (endfloat is taken out using the allen key in the picture above)

ChrisH

[sbooder]

You can give up on me if you like but I say again.....What backlash?????  It is not an issue!

[ChrisLX200]

Forget it my friend...  :-)

ChrisH

[sbooder]

Forget it my friend...  :-)

ChrisH

Don't go away!  Science at its best is made through good discussion?  Just because I do not agree does not mean your design/idea is not good, it just means I need more convincing?

I know what you are saying is correct, a worm adjustment is going to be more precise than a bolt system, but what you showed in your images...can this be fitted to the EQ6?

[Tiny Small]

295 Euros: http://www.eq6wedge.com/how-to-order/

[Tinker1947]

....

[Tinker1947]

I have sent Bernard a e-mail requesting a price and delivery dates if he has any, will post here if i get a reply.....

 Bernard's reply....

t present exchange rates we’re talking approx £259 + delivery.

I have an initial order in for 6x units and looks like three takers already.

I expect to receive the order in the next week or so.

[barkis]

It's certainly a nice bit of engineering, and useful for sure.

However, If your EQ6 PRO is Obs located, and pier mounted,. only one Alt Az. adjustment is needed,

and once done, is permanent, so a big expense for to do one action.

Ideal for mounts on the move to Star Parties at varying locations though.

I leave others  to decide if the price is justifiable though  .

Ron.

[ChrisLX200]

Yes it's only for those who need to setup each night, but then not many have the luxury of a permanent obs.

ChrisH

[Scott]

Yes it's only for those who need to setup each night, but then not many have the luxury of a permanent obs.

ChrisH

Even though most don't have an obs, I dare say quite a few of us use the same spot in the garden. I only ever do very minor adjustments and I put it all in the shed after every session.

yes, it looks nicely engineered. Yes I'd like it. Not I wouldn't pay £950 for an neq6 + £250 for the mod when there's the az neq6 for around the same price. And no, I wouldn't even pay the£250 just for the upgrade when a £30 mod and a little care would serve the same purpose. Just my view

[trazor]

Even though most don't have an obs, I dare say quite a few of us use the same spot in the garden. I only ever do very minor adjustments and I put it all in the shed after every session.

yes, it looks nicely engineered. Yes I'd like it. Not I wouldn't pay £950 for an neq6 + £250 for the mod when there's the az neq6 for around the same price. And no, I wouldn't even pay the£250 just for the upgrade when a £30 mod and a little care would serve the same purpose. Just my view

Yes, has to be considered as a retrofit only, for stargazers on the move.