eq6

[astrokat]

trying to find the max weight it can take, when ive got the 10" mounted ihave to put on a extra weight on the bar is it worth getting an extenstion bar or just use a extra weight will it damage the mounts motors?

thanks toby

[Earl]

I have seen up to 25kg.

[Deneb]

mmm, I dont know what the 10" weighs, but I put the 190MN on my EQ6, which the OTA is aroung 10kg, with an additional 2.5kg weight along side the 2x 5kg weights to balance everything. I had no problem with it, the EQ6 can take a substantial bit of weight, can't remember how much though..

Nadeem..

[astrokat]

ive been putting on a extra 5kg after my last **** up i dont wanna have another lol

[Bizibilder]

I concur with the 25Kg limit. If the scope is properly balanced the load on the mount will be minimal - its out of balance that causes problems. (Don't forget to balance WITH eyepieces, cameras etc in place!). Adding another weight is probably OK and may well be better than extending the weight bar - just something else to walk into in the dark!!

[ollypenrice]

If it's in balance the motors have almost nothing to do anyway. The 200 inch at mount Palomar has motors rated at a similar output to domestic hair driers, I read somewhere.

Olly

[brianb]

It's much more a question of the moment of inertia rather than the static weight. A long tube is much harder to handle than a short one of the same weight.

If you have the thing reasonably well balanced, you aren't going to damage the motors. Vibration - most likely caused by wind - and how fast it damps out are much more of an indication of how much the mount will take than a figure in lbs or kgs. That's why the quoted load for imaging is lower than for visual ... and why quoted loads actually mean very little. Well balanced scope on a nice solid pier in an observatory to keep the wind off, load rating high. Long scope exposed to the wind using the supplied tripod, load rating low.

Personally I'd far rather add an extra counterweight than use an extension to the dec axis ... the dec axis isn't very thick & using a long arm just adds somewhere that vibration can set in.

[astrokat]

ahh ok so it does not mater if i put on extra weight long as all is balanced

i dont think the mrs will be happy to see her hairdryer attached to the eq6 lol though that is interesting

[astrokat]

thanks guys thats a big help il make sure every yhing is well balance with another weight

[MikeD]

I have a 10" +80Ed + CCD+ guider balanced with three weights and a car disc brake( the disc brake weighs a little bit more than a standard weight) on my EQ6 Pro.

Even when it was running with the standard motors (it was a Rajiva modified EQ6 Before the pro mounts came out) it guided with no problems for three years.

Mike.

[Mr Spock]

I used to have a 80mm f5 attached to the outside of my 10" tube. With that I used 3x5kg and 1x3.2kg weights. The 3 5kg were at the bottom of the counterweight bar and the 3.2kg about half way up. Worked fine

[Sam]

I've got a 10" reflector + ST80 + canon 1000D + QHY5 + finderscope and the tube rings that stick it all together. This all balances nicely with 4 weights and my EQ6 has no problem with all of that.

[astrokat]

ok so i think ive taken one step forward and three back lol

i sorted out my mount the first time using astro baby rebuild and tune up guide i gave the mount a tune up and got it working fine again not a problem with one weight and the 70mm so i tryed the 10" it need the two standard weight plus 4kg extra and the mount did not like it at all started griding not a nice sound anyway, so took of then had to retune again so im now back to square one sounds like i may need a new mount or just use the 10" on the dob mount

[Digz]

That certainly doesnt sound good at all. I have a 10" reflector on my EQ6 and that works fine although I do not have enough weights at the moment to properly balance everything, something I should sort out pretty quickly before prolonged use!

[astrokat]

i would bud also dont drink too much then take the weights of well its still tracking lol thats what i did may get myself a brand new eq6 later in the year if i have to sob sob

[simon84]

If its an EQ6 Pro, white one, then it can take a fair bit. I'm using the NEQ6 Pro which is designed to take the 300P, 35kg, and 4x5kg weights. It has a 200mm extension bar for the weights aswell.

[astrokat]

it was fine before the accident i must have messed up the gears ive spent hours trying to sort it out

[Earl]

i cant find the neq6 done seperate

[simon84]

Hi Earl,

The NEQ6 that I have is just a normal NEQ6 but with a losmandy saddle and an extension bar for the counter weights, other than that its exactly the same.

http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=proeq6

[Digz]

Oh dear thats not good at all astrokat. Ill make sure to be sober when viewing, lol.

In actual fact my mount is labelled as the NEQ6 but is doesnt have a 200mm extension bar for the weights - did yours come with the extension slysi84?

[simon84]

Sure did, that and a losmandy saddle, my uprated version is only available when you buy it with the Explorer 300P.

[Digz]

ah ok that makes sense, I brought mine with the 250p ds and just thought I might have been missing something - wouldnt surprise me if I was!

[simon84]

Would be a real pain if one of the legs was missing from the tripod......

[Digz]

Would be a real pain if one of the legs was missing from the tripod......

rolf, now id like to think I wouldnt miss something like that......

[simon84]

I probably would these days.....lol.