Skywatcher EQ2 wobbly mount nut socket ?

[rob12770]

Hi, so got a Skywatcher Explorer 130 with the EQ2 mount, but find theres way too much movement when everything is tightened down,

i have carefully balanced the scope as it should be,,

my real question is, what deep socket do i need to tighten the RA nut ? there is little to no space to fit a socked...?? looks about a 16mm ish nut

i cant get anything to fit in the RA tube. any socket would have to very VERY thin walled.. i dont get it ??

cheers Rob 

[Cosmic Geoff]

A photograph or two might elicit a reply. 

All mounts have a degree of backlash, and commonly it can be adjusted by moving the bracket holding the worm gear shaft (if accessible).

The EQ-2 is a rather wobbly mount anyway, so do not expect too much. I used to have a EQ-2 clone.

[rob12770]

yeah, its ok, but probably not for astrophotography ..what mount would you recommend for that ?? on the cheaper side ? cheers

[wulfrun]

If you really need access and can ascertain the size, would a box-spanner get at it? They are generally quite thin-walled.

[Xoc1]

It took me quite a while to find a socket that would fit when I was playing around with one of these mounts. I eventually found a very cheap 3/8" socket set that did fit. The sort where the sockets are labelled Taiwan.

Unfortunately I found that the shaft hole was a very loose fit and the nut was done up to a shoulder. I took it apart and regreased and looked around in my junk bits and found a slim shim washer which allowed a certain amount of the movement to be taken out. You can with a bit of inventive bodging take quite a bit of the movement out of the mount. Its never going to be much good but it certainly makes it more usesable.

[Shimrod]

On 06/04/2021 at 06:02, rob12770 said:

Hi, so got a Skywatcher Explorer 130 with the EQ2 mount, but find theres way too much movement when everything is tightened down,

i have carefully balanced the scope as it should be,,

my real question is, what deep socket do i need to tighten the RA nut ? there is little to no space to fit a socked...?? looks about a 16mm ish nut

i cant get anything to fit in the RA tube. any socket would have to very VERY thin walled.. i dont get it ??

cheers Rob 

Have a look for a monoblock tap spanner in the right size - they are normally quite thing and very long - example