Watcher Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 I was getting frustrated with my Skymax 127 mount and was looking for a new sturdy mount. I spotted an auction on eBay for an EQ6 with a Skywatcher 250mm Newtonian included and decided to watch it as, from the listing, it seemed badly described. I got it for £351 and picked it up this morning. Vendors were nice people and had apparently bought it for a son but due to light pollution and moving house they were selling. It was telling that the Dad told me he had tried to set it up pointing through their roof skylight. I think they were glad to be rid of it! They had clearly struggled moving it around as they didn't realise you could remove the mount from the tripod. So now it's home I've had a chance to have a look. The mount seems to be in good condition. Some very minor surface corrosion on parts of the tripod but mount itself is fine with a couple of minor knocks only. The scope also seems to be good. Someone has tinkered with the adjustment knobs for the mirror at the bottom and has lost two of them (anyone got a spare I can buy?) but other than that and a couple of minor surface marks it is in good order too. Also included were some eyepieces (unbranded - can anyone identify them?). Possibly one of my best eBay purchases. Once I have the mirror fixings sorted and have collimation done I'm looking forward to giving it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceboy Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 The bolts missing from the scope are collimation knobs. I think you may get replacements from Bob's knobs in the US. Other than a wipe over I think you have done OK but be careful as you now only have one bolt holding the mirror in place. You may want to check the alt adjust bolt on the back of the EQ6 to make sure this hasn't been bent. Have you had chance to try the motors on the mount yet ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceboy Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Nope sorry just checked Bob's knobs and they don't have any collimation knobs that would suit. You could keep an eye on astroboot but if I'm honest unless someone knows of a place that sell alternatives I think your going to struggle getting some. Without them your not going to be able to collimate the scope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceboy Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Not sure if these might work ? http://www.365astronomy.com/Farpoint-12-LightBridge-Knob-and-Spring-Primary-Mirror-Upgrade-Kit.html you could always email Zoltan to ask ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alacant Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Hi Great buy. Exactly what I had. It's one of the old non-goto mounts with the black bitumen glue, greaseless bearings and metal swarf. It's a 2 hour job to pull it to bits, clean and regrease it and make it better than new. The mirror bolts are standard M5 thread. You'd need to remove the mirror to get at the bolts, replace them with longer ones so they protrude and then you can use a washer and wingnuts to tighten against the springs. Use thin rubber tube around the bit that protrudes; you'll notice that the holes are larger than the M5 bolt. HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 29 minutes ago, alacant said: Hi Great buy. Exactly what I had. It's one of the old non-goto mounts with the black bitumen glue, greaseless bearings and metal swarf. It's a 2 hour job to pull it to bits, clean and regrease it and make it better than new. The mirror bolts are standard M5 thread. You'd need to remove the mirror to get at the bolts, replace them with longer ones so they protrude and then you can use a washer and wingnuts to tighten against the springs. Use thin rubber tube around the bit that protrudes; you'll notice that the holes are larger than the M5 bolt. HTH. Brilliant, thanks. I've put a couple of nuts to clamp the mirror in to prevent any mishaps. Longer bolts is a great idea! I was looking on eBay too as plenty of knurled thumb nuts on there for a couple of quid. Alt adjust knobs are fine (it was set to 10 degrees). I'm testing the motors at the moment. There's whirring but no movement yet so tonight it might be a strip down to have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceboy Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 If you remove these screws you will be able to see if the gears are turning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 11 minutes ago, spaceboy said: If you remove these screws you will be able to see if the gears are turning. Great tip, thanks. Bottom screw hole (RA) I can see going round. DEC doesn't look like it is but when I press the buttons on the controller it's clear it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alacant Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 37 minutes ago, Watcher said: There's whirring but no movement Even on its fastest -I think 16x- it's too slow to see. HTH. edit: no, hang on. You may be able to see it rotating against the setting circle if you leave the clutch loose... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceboy Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Even on the slowest you can see the cog teeth move against each other so it will at least let him know the motors are in order. As for the collimation knobs these may do the trick and cheap too http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STAINLESS-STEEL-KNURLED-THUMB-NUTS-DIN-466-REGULAR-DIN-467-THIN-GRIP-KNOB-/201492850579 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alacant Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 27 minutes ago, Watcher said: Bottom screw hole (RA) I can see going round. DEC doesn't look like it is but when I press the buttons on the controller it's clear it is. That's right. The dec only moves when told. I suppose because it doesn't need to track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceboy Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Sounds like the mount is all in good order. Although as Alacant said you may want to consider stripping and re-greasing at some point. http://www.astro-baby.com/EQ6 rebuild guide/EQ6 Strip Down Home.htm if for no other reason than to check the shims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottletopburly Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 good buy, if it aint broke dont fix it ,if it has not been used much im sure it will run fine just clean up the mount with wd40 ,scope is fixable im sure FLO or the like will be able to source new screws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 Thanks for the tips everyone. Took the mirror out and bolts are indeed M5 countersunk screws. I've ordered replacements in several lengths as while they need to be longer I don't want them protruding at the bottom so I can't stand the scope up. I've also ordered some knurled knob things and wingnuts so I can have a play to find the right configuration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceboy Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 How did you get on in the end with the replacement collimation bolts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 7 hours ago, spaceboy said: How did you get on in the end with the replacement collimation bolts? Fine. Bought some stainless countersunk hex bolts from eBay and some matching knurled knobs. Cost me about £10 in total as I bought a few different lengths of screw to see which fitted best. They all arrived yesterday so I have put it all back together and I am learning collimation as I have never tried before. I rebuilt my 7ah Powertank yesterday too (replacement battery £11) so if the cloud ever breaks I might get to try it all out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceboy Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Make sure you check the voltage on the mount before trying it out as I know a few SW drives run at 6v so you may need to get a switched adapter if this is the case or you risk frying the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 First attempt at replacing the collimation knobs failed as I bought the wrong diameter hex bolts. Now rectified. All I needed was 3 40mm countersunk M6 bolts (£1.49 for 5 stainless steel ones), 3 6mm x 25mm washers (£1.49 for 10), 3 nylon washers (£1.49 for 10) and 3 stainless steel 6mm "thumb nuts" which were £4.99 for 5. All bought from eBay and prices included postage. The knobs aren't an exact match for the originals, hence I used longer bolts and the washers to make things run smoothly but they do work really well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alacant Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 11 hours ago, Watcher said: diameter Hi. Sorry, that's my fault. I said m5. Over here, hardware stores are enormous Chinese import affairs where due to low prices you get the feeling that you may as well get every size they stock whilst you are there just in case you'll need it. I should have checked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 Not a problem at all. I tried it with 5mm but 6mm worked better. The spares will go into my toolbox and I'm sure they will come in handy for another project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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