Vibration Isssues

[weareborg]

Hi all

I was hoping that some one could give me some advice with an issue i have with my Skywatcher 200P scope on an EQ5 mount.

My scope has the standard R&P focuser, and wheneva I adjust the focus, I get vibrations in the eyepiece. Is this normal?

I have stripped the focuser down and regreased it, and although it shows some improvement, the vibrations are still there. Theyt only last a few seconds, but I'd really like to elimated it as much as possible.

Could this be a balance issue with the scope and mount, or a focuser isssue?????

Thanks in advance

Andy

PS other than this small issue, I just love my scope

[John]

A few vibrations when you re-focus are normal for your scope and mount combination but they should die down within a few seconds. There are some steps you can take to reduce this:

- make sure all the nuts, bolts and screws on the mount are well tightened - some can loosen over time.

- you can get some anti-vibration pads to go under the tripod feet - they cost around £30 I think.

- If your EQ5 has the aluminum legs you could upgrade to a tubular steel tripod.

- You could fit an electronic focusser.

I'm sure other ideas will come forward soon

John

[dave1978]

Hello,

I think most of us are plagued with this issue! I have a Nexstar 102 and the through trial and error i have only managed to lessen the problem not cure completly. What i did was to ensure all clamps & screws etc are fully tightened. Another thing i tried was to hang a carrier bag with about 4 kilo in it off the tripod, this also seemed to help. The only other thing is to be very gentle when using the focus knob, and i mean gentle!

[weareborg]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

John, my EQ5 mount has the tubular steel tripod already, but I was jsut looking at the Anti Vibration pads and a possible electric focuser.

Andy

[brendant]

Hi Andy,

I use a 6" Tal Newt on an EQ5 and the only answer is a motorised focuser, I fitted the Skywatcher unit (was around £45) and it turns an unusable instrument into a useable one, works great, the unit should fit directly to your scope I think and will be money well spent.

Brendan

[weareborg]

I've been trying to way up the decision lately about purchasing the Motor Focuser lately, so I guess its time to go ahead and do just that. Guess a call to Steve is in order.

Andy

[ilbrec]

I have a Skywatcher 200 on EQ5 with the goto upgrade. Got it second hand and the R+P focusser was terrible, lots of vibrations and enormous amounts of slop. Swapped it out for a cheapish dual speed crayford focuser (about £90) and the difference was astounding. Now the scope is a joy to use, no slop on the crayford and as the action is a lot smoother you use less force on the focusser and vibrations induced by its use are minimal.