A couple of Skytee 2 questions!

[badhex]

Hello all,

Having just got my hands on a Skytee 2 (or the TS version at least) I have a couple of questions that have arisen.

1. Mount bag/storage: I can't leave it assembled at all times so will need a bag or case of some kind. What does everyone else use? Geoptik and TS have some padded bags around 35cm square which might work but would probably need additional foam inserts.

2. Counterweights shaft: supposedly the shaft should allow large Skywatcher CWs to be used, however the shaft is about 2-3mm too large to use CWs from my EQ6-R pro. This strikes me as odd, given that the EQ6 is ostensibly the second most heavy duty offering from Skywatcher. I checked the thread size and shaft diameter on the SW shaft and they are both smaller than the thread/shaft diameter on the Skytee. Whate does everyone else do here?

3. The infamous grease: obviously this is a well known issue. The AZ axis is okay but the ALT axis is very stiff - at some point I will strip the mount and apply Aeroshell 33 but for now are there any tips to help de-stiffen the movement?

 

[johninderby]

Here is a size chart for counterweights giving the hole size. The Skytee uses EQ3 / EQ5 counterweights. Aeroshell 33 airframe grease is the very best grease to use and while expensive you get what you pay for.

Edited October 28, 2021 by johninderby

[Alan White]

Also don’t forget the Skytee is not a Skywatcher product, been well documented before.

Its from another source, but is sold by the wholesaler that sells Skywatcher brand in the UK, hence why TS and others resell the same mount.

[badhex]

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

Here is a size chart for counterweights giving the hole size. The Skytee uses EQ3 / EQ5 counterweights. Aeroshell 33 airframe grease is the very best grease to use and while expensive you get what you pay for.

Thanks John! Very helpful. So the issue is with the CWs rather than the shaft. Whyyyyy then does the EQ6 have smaller diameter holes than for lower rated mounts?! Surely it would make sense even if only for interoperability.🤯

Read nothing but good feedback about eh Aeroshell so will definitely give that a go one day when I'm feeling brave.

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Also don’t forget the Skytee is not a Skywatcher product, been well documented before.

Its from another source, but is sold by the wholesaler that sells Skywatcher brand in the UK, hence why TS and others resell the same mount.

Thanks Alan, yes, have read plenty of posts etc. to that effect. I believe it's OVL in the UK, TS over here in Germany and I believe there's even an Omegon branded version knocking about.

As above though, it seems that the issue lies more with the EQ6 inexplicably having smaller bore CWs than the other heavy scopes, rather than the shaft of the Skytee being too big.

 

At the moment, it's not a major issue as the scope going on the left side is only about 5kg fully loaded with accessories so will be fine for now. I guess I either need a counterweight bar with the right size bore and threads or perhaps a thread adaptor to fit an EQ6 shaft which has smaller threads than the Skytee.

[johninderby]

Yes ot is great mystery as why the counterweight shafts are different sizes and also why make the EQ5 and EQ6 mounts with slightly different fittings so you need different tripods for theEQ5 / HEQ5 and EQ6. 🤔

[Alan White]

16 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Yes ot is great mystery as why the counterweight shafts are different sizes and also why make the EQ5 and EQ6 mounts with slightly different fittings so you need different tripods for theEQ5 / HEQ5 and EQ6. 🤔

Indeed a mystery to me too, but I do wonder if it’s more marketing to make more options in a range and more sales, but who knows. Historically the EQ5 was the Vixen size and the EQ6 the Takahashi size, so perhaps stems from the home Japan market?

[badhex]

I guess it makes sense that you might want a heavier duty fitting as mounts increase in size and weight, but it's pretty odd to go the other way. Very confusing.

[badhex]

Having now used the mount in earnest with my 80ED, I can report that the AZ is basically fine, but the ALT is ridiculously stiff. Even more so when the temperature cooled. I may have to get on the Aeroshell sooner than I thought! Other than that though, very solid and very capable especially on EQ6 tripod.

Another question that comes to mind: I have the first saddle on the left side and hoping to attach the second saddle on the right side as opposed to the top. It seems like the tapped holes are not level/in line with the tapped holes on the left.

I have seen others use this setup but not sure where to adjust the levelling/altitude of the right end.

Does this make sense?

[Stu]

Some good info here @badhex, not sure if it answers any of your questions specifically though. I know I adjusted the worm gears on mine just to reduce the backlash a bit without doing a full strip down. Yours might just be too tight?

 

[badhex]

Thanks @Stu this looks great. When I'm back in the house I will have a good look.

I have noticed a very small amount of backlash in one of the axes (I forget which)  but even with the clutch disengaged it's super stiff. As I'm not currently using counterweights or the top mount point, I'm strongly considering using the CW shaft as a pan well, tilt) handle - grabbing the scope to move it around does not feel right!