Time to Stripdown my Tal

[musherrob]

Hi All..Time has arrived to strip down my Tal 2 mount...so....looks pretty straight forward !...but....before i leap is there a match out there for Ball- race assembilies should i come across a flat spot or slop in a race.And any useful hints would be handy..Ta Rob

[AndyH]

Hopefully this thread may be of use,

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-help/62790-tal-2m-mount-rebuild.html

Cheers,

Andy.

[musherrob]

Ok Andy and thanks... so time for a strip!!..On A recap..Recieved an e-mail 10 min ago from a Mr Yuri EvolenKo from NPZ..Uncertain what the order process is with them.He appears to send the goods to the Warehouse as it says here...... Hello Rob

> cost of the engine 510 rubles (about $ 17), sending 400 rubles (about

> 13.6 dollars).

> Shop for my return all the packs, will show you details for

> payment and

> send all.

> Sincerely, Elovenko Jury

Can you relate to this as to what the process is!!.Have probed their website for motor/gearbox but no related item to enable

[AndyH]

Hehehehehe.

Got a similar if not nearly exact email this morn too.

My take on it is as follows.

There's lots of goverment red tape and exporting is not exactly simple in Russia.

He raises an order from the shop/factory and they will send the motor to his department. He'll pack it up and then email me/us to advise cost incl shipping and then will give me/us the western union 'money delivery details' .

Andy.

ps: I think quite a bit is lost in translation. Previous emails he's sent have included the Russian mail, which I put through a translator and were at times a bit clearer than the english mail.

[musherrob]

I thinks i disturbed him in a meeting here follows reply recieved!!......Quote; Rob, anywhere access is not necessary.

The production departmentis preparing an order, shall deliver to the warehouse.

I come from a business trip to be contacted, you are a waste of money, I send you.;unquote;...OOPPS

[AndyH]

New message in today regarding the transfer of monies for my replacement motor.

I think he's been on a 2 week holiday/business trip.

Just need to wait on confirmation he's received it okay, then he'll post it out.

A happy,

Andy.

ps: small items can't be sent from the factory and have to be sent by him personally. I think this is what causes the delay. He could quite easily say, sorry can't send that, minimum order etc. After all the MT-3S motor is only $7 !!! So very good of him I think.

[AndyH]

Yaaaay. Motor being shipped out, begining of the week.

Hurrah.

Andy.

[musherrob]

Andy, Did you use Western Union as mentioned ? and if not a rude quest what were their charges ?.Ta Rob

[AndyH]

Yes I did. Did it all online. No problems.

£4-90 !!!!!! Barstewards.

No matter. That's it done.

Cheers,

Andy.

[AndyH]

Hi Rob.

Have you had a reply regarding your 2M motor?

I noticed on the factory pricelist that they still produce and sell the Tal 1M which has the smaller driven mount(MT-1C), which, along with the 2M, used to be available in this country. I guess the interiors of the motor housing are the same as the 2M, which is why spares are available. Good stuff.

I also noticed a 1M has come up on UK Astro Buy & Sell for £50 (#29183)!! Don't see these often and an incredable price. Can't hold near the weight of the 2M, but still a good mount.

Back to your mount. Have you tried the stripdown of it as you planned? How were your bearings, if you did?

Cheers,

Andy.

[musherrob]

Andy,

yes had a reply and sent off payment $35 US Dollars inc shipping thro Western Union today.Never used them before for transfer always trusted PayPal.Will have a peep at Astro Buy and sell later!Put a half hearted bid on the TAL 150 you kindly mentioned showing on Ebay for i,m only interested in the OTA to be honest.I'm the "old skool " nuts an' bolts and like to fix/repair rather than spend copius amounts of cash on new Goto mounts etc;.Still waiting for some decent dark cloud free nights to have my first real attempt at imaging hence the need for a good Newt for the purpose of imaging then getting my head around the grey area of exposure,iso's,aperture and the like!!...Yeh dissasembled the worm shaft etc and the the bearings look in good order and did;nt notice/feel any slop on that shaft.Yet to strip down the big un' for there does seem to be some play or what i would call a dead/loose spot at the top of the rotation.That new 12 v motor/gearbox from that UK comp is working a treat and smooth quiet running to boot but yet to run it alongside the Motor Corrector i bought off Jon(Rawhead)

Thanks Rob

[AndyH]

Have you seen Jorma Mantyla's excellent pics with his Tal equipment?

Tal MT-3S

You probably have, but I'll post the link anyway.

Shows what can be done.

Cheers,

Andy.

ps: Forgotton what clear skies are.

[musherrob]

Andy. Looked up that on AS&B and it is a TAL -1M so i take it is a 4.5 " mirror?.

Rob

[AndyH]

Yes it is. Shame that mount wasn't the one offered with the 150P.

Andy.

[musherrob]

Andy,picked up that TAL 1M Mount for the asking price and first looks appears in good nick and engine/gearbox in good shape !!.But tube rings are a one piece fixture so may pose a prob if in the future should i obtain onother larger OTA. Noticed on Ebay too a TAL 200K what do reckon on the bidding price ?.Ta Rob

[AndyH]

Andy,picked up that TAL 1M Mount for the asking price and first looks appears in good nick and engine/gearbox in good shape !!.But tube rings are a one piece fixture so may pose a prob if in the future should i obtain onother larger OTA. Noticed on Ebay too a TAL 200K what do reckon on the bidding price ?.Ta Rob

Been on holiday last week so just read your post.

Regarding the 200K, I think it's a good price, especially when a mount is included which could be kept or sold on.

Tube rings were part of the casting on the 1M ?!?!?! Didn't mention that in the add. Must be an old model. I have a undriven Tal 1 where the rings are cast on. There are ways round it, but it would mean destroying the cast on rings.

Andy.

[AndyH]

Received my motor and 12v battery connector lead today.

17 days to get here, which is not bad considering the distance travelled and time of year.

And it got through customs untouched too !!

Shall get to work fitting in the next few days.

Andy.

[Komet]

I have come to this thread late but I used to have a TAL2M a few years ago. I modded it somewhat to run from a 12v battery rather than the mains and also added a homemade electric focuser as it was THE scope that started me off in imaging.

I stripped mine down a few times to try and smooth out its PE (no guiding of course!). The first time I did it I found the grease in the main RA bearings to be not only thick but in the bearing assemblies themselves was remnants of the (what I can only assume that is) original packing the bearings were actually in. Once I had cleaned the packing bits out and soaked them in petrol then relubricated then they were lovley. That was the single biggest improvement to my mount. Its tarcking was much improved and I got (what I felt at least) were some half decent images out of it bearing in mind what it was!

A mine of information on the TAL2 (despite the fact he hasn't got one anymore) is Jan Timmermans http://www.thefirmament.nl/ Some of his images using the TAL were superb and much of what I did to improve mine was following what Jan did. If you click on the Site Map button on his site you will find the TAL2 link on the left somewhere. Its worth having a read.

I liked my TAL and was sad to see it go as it taught me loads about mounts! I got a badly behaved Vixen after it which was tamed with the experience I gleaned from the Russian beast!

Good luck

--

Mick

[AndyH]

Hi Mick.

My 2M mount runs on 12V battery too a Tal Vega drive corrector, so it runs at the proper speeds. Much more convenient, especially for star parties etc.

Another bloke with great pics is Jorma Mantyla's site, Tal MT-3S

He uses the newer Tal MT-3S stepper mount. Got one of these too. This mount includes a polar finder scope and motor corrector as standard.

Just goes to show what can be done with these sturdy mounts.

Regarding the bearings. I stripped done my 2M some time back, and, like you, found the supplied grease a bit iffy. After bathing and cleaning them I found 3 of them, a bit rough. After replacement, it defo improved performance.

Cheers,

Andy.

ps: Working on these mounts reminded me of my long gone beloved Triumph Dolomite 1300. A joy to work with. No stupid sensors and computer cr*p like in my ******* Megane. Good down to earth engineering, just like these mounts.