Slack/play in Nexstar Evolution alt drive

[Stout Porter]

Had my new Nexstar Evolution 9.25 delivered yesterday, and amazingly it was a clear night! Anyhow, I have a couple of issues with the red dot finder not working and scratches to the mount and corrector plate cover but I've contacted FLO regarding these. The reason I'm posting here is there seems to be a lot of slack in the alt drive. The az drive is solid, there is no discernible play in it at all, but there's about 4 or 5mm vertical play at the corrector plate end of the OTA. The slack is definitely in the drive, the dovetail mount is done up tight. So, my question is - is this normal or do I have an issue?

Thanks in advance. 

[JG777]

Mine is the same, as are many out there. CN has some threads about it if you search for them although opinions vary, particularly from alarmed non Evolution owners! Mine was re checked by FLO and Celestron said this was normal and within limits. BTW mine is also 4 mm in Alt. Most reports from EVO users suggest slightly front loading the scope balance which I do, and have not seen any adverse movement in alt in use. The underlying point is this, does it align and are the GOTOS good? If the functionality is fine with alignment, GOTO and tracking then there is no issue. I have not seen any confirmed reports that a few millimetres play in Alt has affected the scopes operation. 

Don't forget you will likely need to dial in/out any required backlash settings it may need and ensure your set up for alignment is accurate as possible. I mention this because any issues you might have are very unlikely to be caused by a few mm play in Alt!

[Stout Porter]

Thanks JG, that's put my mind at rest a bit. It didn't effect operation, and I have to front load it anyway to get clearance on my 2" diagonal. I'm just a bit concerned it might reach the balance point when it's near zenith and clunk across the slack, but that's yet to happen. Goto was spot on, as was tracking. 

All that aside, it's a lovely piece of kit. I had some good views last night despite the full moon. Looking forward to some dark skies!

[JG777]

Yes the balance point was my concern as well but I haven't managed to trip it over on any occasion either. The clearance at the bottom is not too genourous so some front loading is usually required once you have your add ons. I also added a RACI and a decent RDF plus a Starlight feathertouch focusser which makes this scope a delight to use. 

[Stout Porter]

I was considering stealing the RACI off my dob but decided against it, I'd only use it for initial alignment so it'd be more beneficial on the dob. A  feathertouch focuser is definitely on the shopping list though. I'm hoping to get it out again tonight to play with the slew limits and backlash. Fingers crossed...

[JG777]

You might want to check the firmware as well, I recently updated a friends 8 inch Evo that she got only a few months ago and it shipped with the same original firmware that mine did. The main advantage here is once you have the latest versions of HC and MC you can update over the WiFi and forget about the serial cable nonsense.

Get this beast out under a dark sky and watch it rip the heavens apart....you will love it!

[Stout Porter]

Ok thanks, I'll look into the firmware version. Just had a response from FLO, they've confirmed the alt play is normal and are sending me a replacement corrector plate cover and an illuminated RACI to replace the duff RDF. I would sing their praises in the supplier feedback forum but because I don't have 50 posts on here my opinion on customer service isn't deemed safe...

Thanks for your advice ??