EQ6 Pro Help

[astro mick]

Hi,

I hope this isn,t a daft question,but i,ve just got a new EQ6.My problem is that ,i,m trying to set my Latitude,and i am trying to screw in the threaded bolt to raise the head to the correct angle,but it is really stiff,and i,m worried that i,m damaging something,the opposite bolt is free.so its not pushing against that.Is there somthing that has to be loosened,i cant see anything.All this without the weight of a scope.

Should it be this tight.

Please help.

Mick.

[BlueAstra]

The bolts are a known issue with an EQ6. Try a search on the forum. With mine I unscrewed them completely, cleaned them and the threaded holes, WD40'd them, then re-inserted them. Worked a lot smoother then.

The main fix is to buy a set of replacement bolts, available from a few suppliers.

[astro mick]

Hi.

It does,nt seem to be the bolts,they are quite free,its the actual,raising of the head.Its as if the pivot nut has been tightened to tight,making it extremely hard to adjust latitude.

Is there a way to get access to this nut,as i,m know where near the setting i want,and i can hardly turn the bolts any more.

Mick.

[astromerlin]

I remember when I first got my EQ6 I had the same problem. I had to remove one of the EQ6 logo badges off the side and underneath you have a main bolt and a few grubscrews. I had to unloosen the grub screws abit and that freed it off.

If you're careful getting the badge off it'll stick straight back on.

er, mines the black EQ6 so yours might be different.

[Rossco72]

If you completely unscrew both bolts can you move the mount head with your hands?

At my latitude here in Glasgow I need to screw the reaward bolt almost all the way in and the forward bolt almost all the way out.

On the asusmption you are trying to increase the elevation, take the forward bolt out altogether, pull back on the mount head taking the pressure off the bolt and turn it with no load on it until it is at least close. Mine is difficult for the last couple of degrees but so is my CGE costing 3-4 times as much!!!

[BlueAstra]

It was very stiff on mine as well. But I'm fairly sure it was dirt in the threads since it was a lot smoother after cleaning. When you get to the right lat, you still need to make small adjustments for polar aln.

[cgarry]

Hi,

I hope this isn,t a daft question,but i,ve just got a new EQ6.My problem is that ,i,m trying to set my Latitude,and i am trying to screw in the threaded bolt to raise the head to the correct angle,but it is really stiff,and i,m worried that i,m damaging something,the opposite bolt is free.so its not pushing against that.Is there somthing that has to be loosened,i cant see anything.All this without the weight of a scope.

Should it be this tight.

Please help.

Mick.

I found exactly the same problem, I thought either the bolts were going to snap or my thumbs would break. I got it to 50 degrees with some effort, but the extra couple of degrees needed for my location were really hard work.

I did consider giving up and moving a bit further south.

Chris

[Rossco72]

It's worse when you do it with 3 counterweights and 2 scopes on top for the final polar alignment!!!!

Oh for a fixed pier and Obsy...

[astro mick]

This is rediculous,i,ve got it to 45 degrees,and now its vitually unmovable,lower the elevation,and of course you have gravity assist its fine.The strain on the bolts and threads does,nt bear thinking about.

I cant move it by hand,so either i,m a weakling,or this is a serious design flaw.You dont expect this with brand new kit.

Why is this hobby fraught with ****** problems.

Do i just go for it and hope nothing breaks,bearing in mind i dont want to invalidate the waranty.

Mick.

[barkis]

Rossco has nailed it for you. Trying to raise the elevation of the Polar axis by turning that fragile bolt on it's own, is nigh on impossible. You must loosen off it's counterpart a long way, and give some assistance yourself by taking some of the weight off the mount by lifting it . Take it a little further than youi need, then tighten the counter bolt. For making final adjustment, loosen the counter bolt in small increments, and tighten the other until you reach the angle you require.

If you polar align via star drift, you may need to make minor adjustments to complete the accuracy of the altitude. Use the same method of loosen and tighten in small increments.

You might want to consider buying the High Tensile replacement bolts for your mount. They are far better than the original ones.

It isn't mandatory, but perhaps wiser to do so.

Ron.

[astro mick]

Hi Everyone.

Just to let you know,that i have achieved latitude.I could not have done it without all your help.

The tips were more than useful,but above all you all gave me the confidence to go for it.

I have set it higher so i can easily reduce when polar alighning.

It seems just a simple thing,and i suppose it is,but with expert help out there,why struggle.

Great forum.

Mick.

[OzDave]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but since it is related, I am wondering if stripping of the mount threads is a common problem? I can totally imagine the bolts bending with the strain, hence the reason why people replace them, but are the threads that the bolts (original or replacement) screw into prone to stripping?

If so, is there a cure for that, besides new mount?

David

[barkis]

There is always the risk of stripping the threads David, especially if a bolt is bent badly, and it is forcefully removed.

There have been a number of instances where the the bolt has had to be severed inside the housing, to facilitate it's removal, even in those cases, damage to the housing threads are a big risk.

In the event of the housing threads being damaged, it could be drilled and tapped to the next size up, and a heli coil inserted to bring it back to the standard thread size. That's if Heli Coil inserts are still available.

Ron.