Balancing an equatorial mount the right way

[themos]

I've been told of a very useful article detailing a process for balancing an equatorial mount. How many of you knew that there are 4 distinct steps to it?

Four pdf files attached, each containing a page from the 1940s-era article.

More than 95% of amateurs do not balance their scopes correctly. That's not a scientific estimate, by the way, just a gut feeling.

Bal1.pdf

Bal2.pdf

Bal3.pdf

Bal4.pdf

[greenkat]

They dont write em like that anymore, unfortunately

I love the way old textbooks were written,

I like the first bit about the Martian animals especialy

Nice one

[robneath]

Very useful and makes a lot of sense. Going to apply when I need to balance next.

[Tim]

It would be great if somebody was able to get the text and make a single post out of it, make a good sticky this one, thanks Themos!

However, I'm not sure I understand it ? ? ? Are the mounts he was talking about different in some way? How would you shift weights horizontally as it suggests ??

Cheers

[jgs001]

Thanks Themos... that's going to require some re reading... (would help if I knew what the names of the axis and positions were called but that's another ballgame )...

[themos]

I think people tend to do just 2 of the 4 adjustments. We move the scope in its rings and we adjust the counterweight distance. The third one is rotating the scope in its rings (possibly adding a weight near the tube surface so that rotating will have a bigger effect). The fourth one amounts to adding an eccentric counterweight and adjusting its angle.