Lakeside Focuser and Tension Screw

[AlistairW]

Hello, 

I have a Lakeside focuser attached to my Frac. How tight should I make the tension screw though ? At the moment I have it finger tight, but am not sure what I should look for.

Thanks

Alistair

[Davey-T]

I've got mine just finger tight but I don't think it matters as the stepper motor will hold it in place.

Dave

[Filroden]

I have mine completely loose and the motor holds its position even at altitudes up to 50 (I've not tried higher yet).

[SonnyE]

I set mine (non-Lakeside) as needed. Usually when bringing in my telescope, I will give it a tweak tighter to hold the tube snug.

But the intention of it is to dampen the travel of the focuser tube. For me, I snug it up when my telescope goes more vertical so the weight of my imaging camera is less likely to change my focusing.

Mine is the original Crayford Style Dual-Speed that Orion put on the Refractor. The screw actually presses a brass block against the adjusting rod to apply more (tightening), or less (loosening) tension.

But this is the second one, the original developed a cracked guide wheel (one of 4) and damaged the tube. It was replaced under warranty.

Short answer: Variable. Gently snug it up to hold the position of the tube. The focuser will still operate with a considerable amount of tension applied.

[AlistairW]

Thanks for the replies.