NEQ6 Play in RA after Belt Mod

[Spoon]

Redo your taper bearing, if this is in crooked it will cause the problem you have. When you say locking bolt, do you mean clutch?

It was like that before I put the taper bearing in.

Yeah the clutch. I see a clutch as a slipper clutch on a 1995 sports bike (rebuilding a zx6r)

Cam

[Astro_Baby]

The backlash could be the worm adjustment.  As others have said its very fine and I have spent hours doing adjustments to my HEQ5 and to the EQ6s I have done for other people.  Also the mount can seem fine after adjustment but then play creeps in as the worm carrier can shift a little as it beds back in.  Sometimes I have had a mount need a little bit of settling in and then a gentle retune to get it spot on.

[Spoon]

The backlash could be the worm adjustment. As others have said its very fine and I have spent hours doing adjustments to my HEQ5 and to the EQ6s I have done for other people. Also the mount can seem fine after adjustment but then play creeps in as the worm carrier can shift a little as it beds back in. Sometimes I have had a mount need a little bit of settling in and then a gentle retune to get it spot on.

Thanks for that, my only problem now is that the RA is really stiff when I release the RA clutch. It's the same when I take out the taper bearing at the polariscope end.

[1parsec]

H Cam,

If you back off the worm so there is a bit of backlash does this free off the Ra axis ?

Were all the plastic shims put back in the correct positions?

[Spoon]

H Cam,

If you back off the worm so there is a bit of backlash does this free off the Ra axis ?

Were all the plastic shims put back in the correct positions?

Hi

Nope that doesn't do anything.

Yep I didn't move any

Cam

[1parsec]

It's difficult to diagnose the issue remotely and not sure what to suggest next ??

[Spoon]

Might just do a complete strip down and start again. Does the big brass cylinder that binds with the worm need to be greased, not the teeth but the actually flat surface

[1parsec]

A very light coating of grease on the outside diameter is all that's needed.

[Spoon]

That might be it then. I removed all the grease

[malc-c]

There's a thread somewhere discussing the merrits of which grease is best to use in mount rebuilds, but having some grease in there is better than none at all..

I would carefully strip the mount down again, and re-build applying a decent coat of lithium grease to all moving surfaces - hopefully that will resolve the binding issue you now have

[Astro_Baby]

Ah ha - it might well be that the brass ring gear cylinder may be dry.  Be careful when you refit that that are relatively easy to distort and have quite a tight and precise fit.  Any wonkiness in that fitting can cause the brass part to jam itself in and it can be a real pain to free it if its jammed in badly.

[Adrian Condon]

Hi Malcolm,

I have just completed the Vimech EQ6 Wedge Mark II upgrade from Modern Astronomy and that works fine.

I have the mount now working with SkySafari Pro 4 wirelessly using the wifi Skyfi box. It mount can now be operated from my iPad, iPhone and MacBook Pro, all at the same time.

Also done (?) the Rowan Astronomy Belt upgrade........

We ended up with the same problem of a movable RA, it moves about 1/4 inch.

Have tried a number of the above recommendations but to no avail.

Initially, we had a thundery sound at the start of a movement, sorted that out.

It is now very quiet, it is inaudible when tracking.

The RA can perform the 360 degree turn no problem.

I tend on the next clear night to see what happens when a scope is mounted on it......

Currently, the advantage of purchasing the Rowan Belt upgrade is one very quiet mount, the only loser is the local barber as I have nearly pulled all my hair out!

Trust you are keeping well.

Cheers

Adrian

[sbooder]

I have dismantled my mount (since the belt upgrade) about 5 times (mainly to try different greases) and it has taken between 20 mins and 3 hours to get the RA axis correct by tweaking both the worm mesh and the float (using the worm retaining nut).  So, try again, it can be a real pain but I am sure this is the reason for your loose RA.

I know it is a pain having to loosen the worm housing bolts & then retightening them every time you want to alter the worm mesh using the two grub screws, but it is worth it.

[malc-c]

Hi Adrian, yes I'm doing OK.  A few health issues since we last met at the SGL star party, but otherwise doing OK.

Now not wanting to point the finger, but the common denominator here seems to be that everyone with this "backlash" has also done the Rowan belt mod.  Now I'm not saying this is the cause, and to be honest a belt mod should make things better as you are reducing the number of instances where backlash can occure (well certainly with the HEQ5 conversion as the middle transfer gear is illiminated from the equation).  Looking at the installation notes, I see that the belt on the Rowan kit is held around the motor pulley by two idler guide wheels, which shouldn't have any effect on the tension, so any slop in the mount is either down to worm gear meshing, or in the shafts / bearings and cluch.  My bet would be that the tapper thrust bearing is allowing the slight movement and could do with being reseated...  I had a similar issue with my HEQ5 after a re-grease, and on the 3rds attempt the slack was hardly noticeable

[Demon Barber]

Hi All, for ease of access i drilled my mount  carefully opposite the shafts ,i can now easily  tension the belts--- i put some large rubber plugs in holes,admittedly not everyone wants to drill their mount but i find it very easy to make any adjustments needed,and you can visually check.

As long as you use a sharp drill i found it very easy metal to drill.

Regards

Mike

[Spoon]

Hi

Where did you drill exactly?

Cam

[sbooder]

Hi All, for ease of access i drilled my mount  carefully opposite the shafts ,i can now easily  tension the belts--- i put some large rubber plugs in holes,admittedly not everyone wants to drill their mount but i find it very easy to make any adjustments needed,and you can visually check.

As long as you use a sharp drill i found it very easy metal to drill.

Regards

Mike

Sorry you've lost me.  How on earth are you tensioning the belts without loosening the motors?

[Demon Barber]

Sorry for confusion,i found access to be tight in casing,i`ve large fingers and suffer poor coordination, i just figured that if i could see the other face of the rollers it would be easier for me,i drilled the casing adjacent each roller using a good quality flat bit 13mm seemed about right,i will get perspex  covers made but i find it quite soporific being able to see the movement,i of course had the motors loose whilst tensioning the belts. Just use small adjustments and hope when your mount is finished it runs as smooth as mine. 

I also have one of Malcoms (Malc-c) heq5 belt kits and it runs fine as well   Hope this is little clearer

Regards

Mike

[malc-c]

I also have one of Malcoms (Malc-c) heq5 belt kits and it runs fine as well   Hope this is little clearer

Regards

Mike

LOL - nice to hear it's still giving you good service

Must admit the HEQ5 conversion is certainly a lot simpler in construction, fitting and maintaining compared to the EQ6 version...

[mhard26339]

Hi All. I was thinking of doing the Rowan belt mod but this thread has me wondering whether to just leave alone!!!

Regards

Mike

[Spoon]

Hi All. I was thinking of doing the Rowan belt mod but this thread has me wondering whether to just leave alone!!!

Regards

Mike

Hi,

I'm sure after everything is sorted it'll be great. Maybe get it done by Graham at AstroTec uk?

[Adrian Condon]

Hi Mike

Hi All. I was thinking of doing the Rowan belt mod but this thread has me wondering whether to just leave alone!!!

 

Regards

 

Mike

Great thought.... I found it difficult to do, I had a friend Reg help out, we disassembled the mount and did the change, (his help was invaluable).

Had a number of issues around the tensioning of the belts especially on the RA one. Had a wobble effect, so we stripped the mount again, did some tightening and re-assembled it.

After that we ended up with less wobble... progress... I didn't feel like another dis-assemble, so I spoke to Neil at Tring Astronomy Centre and as I had earlier spoken to him about doing the Rowan Belt and the EQ6Wedge upgrade from Modern Astronomy.

I paid him a visit to show him the progress made. We checked other mounts that he had in the shop for wobble... none wobbled.

Neil did some small adjustments and within 5 minutes the mount was working perfectly.

It is very quiet on starting a slew and and silent once in tracking mode.

The alternative is to get Graham at AstroTec uk to do the upgrade.

I feel that both upgrades have improved the operation of the mount and make it a joy to use, now looking for an upgrade for clear skies!!!

Cheers

Adrian

[r3i]

Hi Mike

Great thought.... I found it difficult to do, I had a friend Reg help out, we disassembled the mount and did the change, (his help was invaluable).

Had a number of issues around the tensioning of the belts especially on the RA one. Had a wobble effect, so we stripped the mount again, did some tightening and re-assembled it.

After that we ended up with less wobble... progress... I didn't feel like another dis-assemble, so I spoke to Neil at Tring Astronomy Centre and as I had earlier spoken to him about doing the Rowan Belt and the EQ6Wedge upgrade from Modern Astronomy.

I paid him a visit to show him the progress made. We checked other mounts that he had in the shop for wobble... none wobbled.

Neil did some small adjustments and within 5 minutes the mount was working perfectly.

It is very quiet on starting a slew and and silent once in tracking mode.

The alternative is to get Graham at AstroTec uk to do the upgrade.

I feel that both upgrades have improved the operation of the mount and make it a joy to use, now looking for an upgrade for clear skies!!!

Cheers

Adrian

It also took me a few iterations to get the belt mod sorted (directly as a result of my limited mechanical skills as opposed to  than anything else) but the result was worthwhile, in that the PE was reduced and the mount slews and tracks very smoothly.

[1parsec]

Hi All. I was thinking of doing the Rowan belt mod but this thread has me wondering whether to just leave alone!!!

Regards

Mike

Hi,

I think the decision to fit the kit yourself depends on much experience you have with working with mechanical devices.

Having a look through the instructions on the website will help the decision for a self fit or getting it fitted by Graham at Astrotech etc.

Cheers,

[1parsec]

Hi Mike

Great thought.... I found it difficult to do, I had a friend Reg help out, we disassembled the mount and did the change, (his help was invaluable).

Had a number of issues around the tensioning of the belts especially on the RA one. Had a wobble effect, so we stripped the mount again, did some tightening and re-assembled it.

After that we ended up with less wobble... progress... I didn't feel like another dis-assemble, so I spoke to Neil at Tring Astronomy Centre and as I had earlier spoken to him about doing the Rowan Belt and the EQ6Wedge upgrade from Modern Astronomy.

I paid him a visit to show him the progress made. We checked other mounts that he had in the shop for wobble... none wobbled.

Neil did some small adjustments and within 5 minutes the mount was working perfectly.

It is very quiet on starting a slew and and silent once in tracking mode.

The alternative is to get Graham at AstroTec uk to do the upgrade.

I feel that both upgrades have improved the operation of the mount and make it a joy to use, now looking for an upgrade for clear skies!!!

Cheers

Adrian

Hi Adrian,

I'd be interested to know what it was that was wobbling ? And what was done to get in running correctly

Thanks, Dave.