HEQ5 grinding noise and bubble level

[Seanelly]

   My new (one month) HEQ5 mount is still making that unsettling grinding noise briefly on start up in high-speed (top 3 speeds, 400x 600x and 800x) slew of RA, though it has almost vanished now from DEC. You can actually feel the vibration through the mount. The tech where I bought it says this is normal, and googling the symptom gets me every response in the book, generally speaking, but I can't find any testimony from astrophotographers using this mount verifying that the tracking is not in any way affected, and I have not gained the experience to know for myself. Please ease my mind on this matter.

   One more thing: The bubble level does not appear to be accurate. My son and I poured a near perfectly level triangular pad (pointing north of course) for ease of setup, the extended tripod verifies the level, but the mount shows off by a noticeable margin. Can such a simple device have been installed improperly? I can't see any way around that assumption. Anyone?

[dweller25]

I would return that mount

[bottletopburly]

Yes take it back , it’s known synta Qc not the best , reject mount for a different one , I wouldn’t worry about the bubble level , use a small boat level on spreader bar to level . 

[Whistlin Bob]

Not so sure. HEQ5s are renowned for the bad noises they make. Mine sounds dreadful, but tracks perfectly for hours at a time. I've been doing 10 min guided exposures on it recently with no problems. I'd set yours up, align it and centre a star and then leave it for an hour or two. Or, if you have the kit, try and take a picture with it. Either should tell you if you have a problem....

[1parsec]

Hello, 
The rattling you are are describing is usually caused by the worm gear mesh being a fraction too tight. It's a straight forward user adjustment to make.

See Astro-Baby's guide on Worn Engagement for RA Axis on this page - http://www.astro-baby.com/heq5-rebuild/heq5-we1.htm
1/8 turn on the adjustment screws should do it.

 

 

 

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[drjolo]

I have heard this grinding noise in many HEQ5. I had HEQ5 for about two years and it also was noisy at GoTo start. I think it comes from these intermediate gears between stepper and worm gear. When I replaced them with belt mod it became quite silent. I have not noticed it affected tracking significantly. 

[Cornelius Varley]

Re the bubble level. Ignore it . Equatorial mount don't need levelling up prior to polar alignment. If you get the bubble into the centre of the ring every time then you have a repeatable start point to work from. Don't worry too much about it, there are some more expensive EQ mounts that don't have bubble levels for that reason.

[carastro]

I've always been told that the bubble on the mount is unreliable so I use an every day spirit level on the top of the tripod before I put the mount head on to level mine.  I know some say it doesn't have to be level, but I am not convinced, it doesn't take much time to check it anyway.   Incidentally my HEQ5 doesn't make that grinding noise you mention.  But I am not mechanically minded, so can't advise.  

Carole 

[steppenwolf]

A rattle at start-up and ramp down is quite normal but a 'rattle' is different from a 'grind' - language is a difficult thing here, could you record its sound and post it here?

Don't worry about the bubble level, you categorically do NOT have to have an EQ mount level, the only advantage to having it level is that the adjustments for altitude and azimuth when setting up your polar alignment don't interact with one another when the mount is PERFECTLY level. From a slewing and tracking point of view, you could have your mount set at a 15.786° tilt (or any other number you care to choose ?) and it would work just fine!

53 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Don't worry too much about it, there are some more expensive EQ mounts that don't have bubble levels for that reason.

My Mesu 200 mount being one of them!

[Grotemobile]

I have a CG-5 mount which is nearly the same. Mine sounds like a coffee 

grinder @ full tilt , but tracks perfectly . Have re greased & checked the 

gear meshing & all ok. So I just put up with it now. ?

[Stub Mandrel]

You mount doesn't need to be level, it works at (virtually, limited by DEC adjustment) any point on earth which is a sphere so it can clearly be oriented in any direction! Levelling just makes things a tad quicker.

My HEQ5 purrs now I have adjusted the gears.

[Seanelly]

Thank you for all the advice. To clarify, there was no mention of rattling, only what sounds like a grinding (that coffee-grinder comment from Grotemobile was about right, only milder) briefly upon startup in high speed slew. Sending it back immediately seems like an overreaction to start with, as once again I'm reading that this noise seems to be a rather common occurance, which is more of a relief than it should be maybe considering that it IS a grinding noise, and it would also entail the loss of a month or more of the experience I need in trying to get this new kit off the ground, so to speak (and it's getting colder by the day here in eastern Ontario!). I think I will for now follow the guidance to persevere in getting the kit set up and tracking properly with the autoguider and see what results I get. Thanks again!