WO Megrez 72FD

[acme]

Hi,

I have a Megrez FD 72mm f6, it only came in the post today, second user euipment, mint condition great price but the focuser is not as smooth as I would have expected!! I can only compare it to my skywatcher dual speed crayford and that is smooth as a butter so to speak..

Any one got any ideas, can these be serviced or re greased???

Acme.

[hunterknox]

Can't offer you any solutions but I have the same scope and can confirm that it appears to be normal, if not desirable, for the focusers on M72s to be slightly "grainy". For me it's not a big deal (I'd still buy the same scope again) but I'd be interested if anyone has any answers.

[Brinders]

Mine is silky smooth, however, there is an adjustable draw screw on the bottom of the focuser to adjust the tension, which may help. The screw is of the Allen type and requires a 2mm key.

There is also a draw lock screw to lock focus on the bottom of the focuser, this will need releasing before you focus, if not, you may experience the problem you describe. I notice WO don't fit this screw when the scope arrives and leave it taped in the box. At first I thought it was a spare, then realised from the instructions what it was intended to be!

Hope that helps.

Brinders

[johninderby]

Assuming that the drawtube tension is set right it's probably the planetary gearbox in the fine/coarse knobs that needs adjusting. Fortunately it's a very simple procedure that only takes a couple of minutes.

Remove the fine/coarse knob assembly by undoing the two grub screws on the underside. When the knob assembly is removed you will see a brass locking ring on the inside of the knob that adjusts the "play" in the gearbox. Adjust this one way or the other until the knob turns smoothly. I found a screwdriver in one of the slots was enough to turn the locking ring, but you might have to resort to pliers to turn it.

For some reason many WO scopes don't have the gearbox "play" setup properly which gives that rough feel. The knob assembly is the same on the SkyWatcher focusers.

John

[Takahashi]

Weird... I had the opposite experience with my Meg72 and FLT110. The FLT110, my first Crayford-equipped scope, seemed fine 'til I got the Meg, which had a buttery-smooth focuser, and the 110 was decidedly "gritty" when moving. However, this has since been narrowed down to the 110 having a faulty or damaged focuser, and the Meg is still as smooth as the day it came out the case.

As mentioned earlier, look into adjusting the tension grub-screw.

[acme]

Thank's guy's, I'll give it a go tomorrow and post back my findings..

Acme

[acme]

Hi,

Followed Johns advice, I found that the silicon or some sort of sealant had perished and gone flaky this was causing some of the stiffness in the mechanism. I cleaned the main hub of any debris and all seem well until I got a little carried away and loosened off the thread completely, I thought I had best check inside for any loose particles... Big mistake!! About 20 or so minute ball bearings fell out!!!! l managed to put them all back in place adjusted the 2 grub screws on the underside and now it's very, very smooth.

Thank's for your help on this.....

Acme.