NEQ6 issue ?

[alan4908]

I've an issue associated with the movement of my NEQ6 but I'm not sure if the root cause is associated with the mount or my software. To explain, I've noticed two "niggles" that repeatably occur but only a certain proportion of the time:

1. Niggle 1: when I'm attempting to calibrate my guide scope (using MAXIM DL in conjunction with EQMOD pulse guiding) - the telescope is firstly moved in the X direction and then in the Y direction and you are supposed to end up with an L shaped image on your selected guide star. For reasons unknown, whilst the telescope always moves in the X direction it sometimes refuses to move in the Y direction. If I repeat the process a few times, it will eventually work and I get good guiding results. I presume X = RA and Y = DEC but I'm not certain. 

2. Niggle 2: I normally image only one object per night.  My configuration is: MAXIM DL->MAXPOINT->MOUNT. After I issue a slew command within MAXIM DL, it gets corrected by MAXPOINT which then sends it to the mount. EQMOD then issues the command to slew it to the target. I've found that it never gets the target exactly centered, so I've configured MAXIM DL to automatically run pinpoint (a plate solving utility) after a slew. After completing the plate solve, MAXIM DL then automatically sends a  slew refinement,  via the delta RA and delta DEC option. Now, some of the time this works (eg the star/object is exactly in the center of the CCD cross hairs) but sometimes it is only approximately centered (eg up to a full moon width in error). On the occasions it doesn't work, I simply repeat the process until it does work.

Do you think that this is a NEQ6 mount issue  ?  My theory is that I've some backlash in my DEC mount axis which is preventing the mount moving when I issue a relatively small slew.

I'd appreciate your views. 

Alan