AZ3 mount unsteady

[coulthamst]

The top surface of the plate to which the telescope is fixed to the "Alt" section of the AZ3 mount. It has two raised edges which form a channel section with the "base" of the casting. Easier to point to than to describe!

[Earl]

Not quiet the same, but hanging extra weight under ther mount like a pendulm can make the a fair bit studier. say a bag with some bricks in

[glass]

Coulthamst...........I thought that was it, I might look into your solution before I get an AZ4. Wouldn't get much for my AZ3, could sell it as a weight I suppose.

[glass]

Earl, yes that's about what it comes to! I don't think it a matter of weight though, if I put a weight at the end of the telescope and point at the object, all the weight does is to dip the telescope the 1" to 2" until it meets the resistance. I've tried the eyepiece end and get the reverse result. (no bricks though)

[coulthamst]

Weights make a great differenceif  placed in the tray fastened to the tripod spreader or hung beneath it. My preference is in the tray.

[happy-kat]

Weight in the tray only influences tripod wobble, not telescope diving.

[Earl]

Weight in the tray only influences tripod wobble, not telescope diving.

kinda

any balancing situation needs to be resolved upwards as an unsteady tripod can make things above worse and harder to deal with as you start to fight two issues.

[coulthamst]

Telescope "diving" on AZ3 mounts can be cured by replacing the Nyloc nut on the Alt pivot bolt by two plain locknuts and adjusting appropriately. See my post of 8.37pm on 30 March further up this thread. I happily use a 7kg SW 150mm F5 refractoron an AZ3 using this modification.

[glass]

Thanks coulthamst, but I'm getting fed up with this AZ3, I've tried various adjustments, maybe I'm missing something. Anyway I'm going to get an AZ4 and all will be well, Good luck to whoever buys my AZ3...................I'll explain why I'm selling it of course but it could work with a lighter telescope.......................

[John]

I've owned a couple of AZ-3's over the years and I'm a little suprised that they sell them paired with the ST120 refractors to be honest with you. My Vixen 102mm ED is shorter and lighter than an ST120 but the AZ-3 struggled a bit with that. The AZ-4 is a much more stable mount especially on the steel tubed tripod. It's quite a bit heavier than the AZ-3 though.

[glass]

Thanks for that information, I'll get an AZ4 as soon as possible.