Skywatcher/Acuter Merlin Mount AZ gearbox

[DrRobin]

Hi,

My Merlin mount stripped the gears in the AZ gearbox whislt on holiday and I can get a replacement (through FLO) but it is a complete assembly of gearbox and motor and will take four months to arrive.  It is only the gearbox which has failed, the motor and optical encoder are all fine.

Does anyone have a gearbox from an old Merlin or Skywatcher mount they would like to sell, or do you know where I can get spares a little faster?

The gearbox has the reference number MF-F00-10.110627, it is the same size as the Alt gearbox, but the motors are different and I don't know if the gear ratio is different.

Alternatively, I might strip it apart and see what is wrong.  Has anyone on here taken on of these gearboxes apart?

 

Thanks

Robin

[Davey-T]

Can't be a whole lot going on in there Robin, I'd dismantle it and approach your local model engineering society, there's bound to be some one there wanting to show how clever they are at making gears etc 

Dave

PS Nice prom ATM if you get a chance

[DrRobin]

Hi,

Yes it has just got a few plastic gears in it.  I will most likely take it apart and see if it can be repaired, or perhaps find a replacement gear or even if someone will print me one on a 3D printer?

There is mount for sale on ABS, includes everything except the Synscan (which I have), so I might buy that to get me going again if all else fails and I don't want to wait 4 months.

A do however, have another Skywatcher AZ mount I use for solar (at home) and an iOptron Cube which I can also use, but my Merlin mount is smaller and lighter than both of these so I use it when travelling (on the aeroplane).  Still with less and less activity I might not take it this summer.

[DrRobin]

Hi,

It is fixed.  I took the top off to find 3 gears inside.  One of them had stripped the end of the gear where it makes contact with the next cog.  It was easy to cut it down and then fit a spacer above to hold it in place.  So I am now back up and running.

If anyone else has the same problem the gears are just plastic and several people sell packs of plastic gears on a well known auction site if yours is not repairable.