Motor Trouble

[pbyrne]

Hi there

I recently purchased a dual axis drive for my CG-5 mount, tonight was the first opportunity I got to use it and it wouldn't work. Everything is connected up correctly and the batteries are freshly charged.

Here's what happens. At X8 when I press either the RA or dec button the brass cogs turn, but the scope does not. At X2 I can hear the "clock" ticking over, but it is not tracking the stars, the scope, a Celestron 8" newtonian, is balanced and polar aligned and the object drifts out of the field of view.

This is only a new unit, I have contacted the company for advice, and potential refund, but I thought that someone ou there might have an idea as to the trouble.

Thanks

Paul

[GazOC]

Hi Paul,

Even at x8 you may not actually see the scope move, its still very slow. At x2 the scope will not track the stars, it should track the stars when its at x1 which is is the default speed when none of the others are selected.

Gaz

[Ant]

Make sure that the locking knobs (for the want of the proper word) are tight.

The amount of times I find that I haven't tightened one of the locking knobs on either RA or Dec....

Ant

[pbyrne]

Hi guys

I've tightened the locking knobs as tight as they will go, I find that they come loose very easily, every minute or so I have to go back and tighten them again. Is this normal?

Paul

[gfletcher]

Maybe the plastc locking levers need removing and repositioning on the cogs to allow you a more adequate security when locked .

Just a thought.

Graham

[David Galvin]

Odd that it is happening in RA and Dec, I would have suggested that you check the small grub screws that hold the 'cog' to the motor shaft(s) These used to work loose on the Vixen mounts and give the same symptoms.

One other thought is to check the hand control for a N-S switch as if this is set to the wrong hemisphere then every thing will be working except that the telescope will drive in the wrong direction. This will not explain the Dec not working.

[Jarndyce]

When the gears are turning with the motor, is the other end of the shaft also turning? If it isn't, either the knurled clutches are lose or the gears are spinning on the shaft, in whichcase you'll need to tighten the grub screws.

[steppenwolf]

If you can hear the 'clock' ticking over, I would suspect that as this is affecting both DEC and RA, the problem is more fundamental and is most likely a case of not doing up the grub screws adequately - I assume that up until now, you could track a star manually using the flexible RA and DEC knobs?

[pbyrne]

I'll try the grub screws first and check if the other end of the shaft is turning.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Paul

[pbyrne]

I've managed to get the RA moving, but the dec won't budge, the other end of the shaft doesn't even turn. I took the dec worm from the scope and it turns by hand, so I'm not sure at this point.

Still, at least I can work with the RA.

Paul

[Jarndyce]

If the drive gear is pressed too tightly against the gear on the shaft, they will bind and not turn. I had this issue with my dec motor.

Try loosing the bolt that attaches the motor to the mount and then run the motor. With a bit of slack in the system, you may find it will work.

The tolerance between the drive gears is crucial.

Hope this helps. At least it's half working...

[The Warthog]

The Dec gear on my EQ3-2 drive has a knob that can be tightened or loosened to allow manual adjustments. Make sure it is tight against the gear if you have the same feature on yours.