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Help! AVX Mount accident.

Jimtom

By Jimtom
in Discussions - Mounts

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Jimtom

Jimtom

Posted
Posted

Catastrophe! I left my AVX mount out, thinking the wind had gone  but it hadn't and a gust turned the cover into a sail and toppled it over. The OTA was not attached but the DEC [edit!] axis has snapped.post-45989-0-77032900-1447673838.jpgpost-45989-0-21517100-1447673849.jpg

Are spares available for these mounts and does anyone know who might attempt the job?

GRRR! Only myself [and the b wind] to blame but don't want to miss out on the best part of the season!

Cheers,  Jim .

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Peter Drew

Peter Drew

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Ouch Jim! that really is bad luck. If all else fails, a quick fix would be a thick walled steel tube machined to fit the bore of the dec axis and then bonded into place with the orientation of the fracture matched to its original position. Good future luck!   :smiley:

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wuthton

wuthton

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I'd dissemble the mount and whip off an enquiry to FLO with pictures of the required parts, I'd be amazed if spares are not available. Have a good check that the worm isn't damaged and that everything else appears straight.

Take plenty photos during the disassembly, they can be invaluable when you can't remember where a shim goes.

Good luck!

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Jimtom

Jimtom

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I'd dissemble the mount and whip off an enquiry to FLO with pictures of the required parts, I'd be amazed if spares are not available. Have a good check that the worm isn't damaged and that everything else appears straight.

Take plenty photos during the disassembly, they can be invaluable when you can't remember where a shim goes.

Good luck!

Thanks Matt, I've done a fair bit of dis-assembly and got the pics as an aide-memoire. I'll get in touch with the lads at FLO.

Cheers.

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Jimtom

Jimtom

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House insurance claim (assuming you have accidental damage)

That's what I would be doing.

I contacted my insurers who confirmed that I have cover for accidental damage to household goods which includes my photographic gear. This also extends to items that I might have with me and , for example , get stolen from the car etc. They also said that I'm covered for storm damage .... but .... household goods [i.e. things kept in the house] being used in the garden were not usually covered. ???? I'm having difficulty with this part, if my cameras are covered when I'm out and about surely the astro gear is as well. I'm still waiting to hear what they say.

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wuthton

wuthton

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I contacted my insurers who confirmed that I have cover for accidental damage to household goods which includes my photographic gear. This also extends to items that I might have with me and , for example , get stolen from the car etc. They also said that I'm covered for storm damage .... but .... household goods [i.e. things kept in the house] being used in the garden were not usually covered. ???? I'm having difficulty with this part, if my cameras are covered when I'm out and about surely the astro gear is as well. I'm still waiting to hear what they say.

I think you have the high ground here as the place of use for your mount is outside unlike claiming for storm damage on a kitchen blender.

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Joel Shepherd

Joel Shepherd

Posted
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If you run out of options, maybe my disaster can help salvage yours. I have an AVX Dec assembly (smooth but needs a bit of adjustment to eliminate play when locked down) which is of little value to me because the RA is toast. (See "The enemy of the good" in The Lounge). It'd be coming from the States, so shipping will be a factor, but if you decide you're interested please let me know.

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Jimtom

Jimtom

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If you run out of options, maybe my disaster can help salvage yours. I have an AVX Dec assembly (smooth but needs a bit of adjustment to eliminate play when locked down) which is of little value to me because the RA is toast. (See "The enemy of the good" in The Lounge). It'd be coming from the States, so shipping will be a factor, but if you decide you're interested please let me know.

Thanks Joel.

My immediate problem has been solved as the insurance has agreed to pay [ good old NFU!] I'm stripping it down now to see if I can get a part number.

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Bukko

Bukko

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Jim,

So sorry to see that your mount broke like that.

I am surprised it simply toppling over could break the casting and as Jonn said, looks like Monkey Metal.

I would expect the Skywatchers will be just as vulnerable and I wonder how far up the food chain we need to go to get away from this...

10 micron? AP? Avalon? ASA? Bisque?? Or is iOptron far enough?

I hope you manage to find a fix soon and good news the insurance company have been reasonable about it.

Gordon.

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1parsec

1parsec

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I would expect the Skywatchers will be just as vulnerable and I wonder how far up the food chain we need to go to get away from this...

10 micron? AP? Avalon? ASA? Bisque?? Or is iOptron far enough?

Gordon.

It is a shame to see the damage.

It's cast to keep the machining time and component count as low as possible as well as the  selling price.

I don't think there are many mounts out there that you could simply stand upright again after a fall like that and work perfectly again every time.

The HEQ5 and NEQ6 mounts from Skywatcher have separate steel axis shafts and wouldn't break off, but I guess could be bent in the same situation :-(

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Jimtom

Jimtom

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To be fair to the manafacturers, when you consider the weight of the mount including the counter-weight, the forces exerted on the shaft when the mount hit the ground would be way in excess of anything it would encounter in normal operation. It landed on the c/weight bar. I'm no mathamaticion but I reckon  it'd be a hell of a blooming jolt!

I have a good friend who has a Scientific engineering company, he said he'd give it to his lads and see if they could do something. Sounds a better option than me trying to stick something in the polar scope 'ole :smiley: 

Whether or not I'll still track acurately again is another matter.

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spaceman_spiff

spaceman_spiff

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That a pretty nasty brake there! Luckily, it is quite a clean fracture and probably can be fixed quite easily (reading the posts above). Maybe because the counterweight bar took the majority of the force, other parts of the mount (electronics, small gear teeth...etc) were spared from being damaged. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
Jimtom

Jimtom

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Thought I ought to finish the story of the broken AVX.

Joel Shepherd from Seattle has saved the day, he's sent me the broken part from his fried AVX.

Well done that man ......... especially as he's sent it before I'd paid him anything, I think that shows a lot about the calibre of people on this forum!

Thanks very much Joel and happy Christmas. [ and no thanks to HMCR who decided to charge me £23 VAT and duty on a second-hand part! :eek: ]

Happy Christmas all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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