LewisM
16-03-2018, 05:36 PM
NOT a complaint about my splendid Vixen SXP mount, BUT...
The thing has 15 bearings and steel shafts. Moving it is both axes manually is as easy as breathing on it. Balancing time...if a fly lands on it, it'll swing. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. It's silkier than a silk worms bum!
Anyway, balancing it is "problematic".If I balance it in Dec (counterweights horizontal, scope level), it is out of balance when top dead centre. Having a finder on it sees it swing to the left until it reaches it's CoG/moment. I don't feel inclined to put a bag of lead shot on the other side to balance that out :lol:.
Any tricks at balancing an extremelly sensitive and smooth mount, or just balance for the usual/traditional RA and Dec positions and ignore the everywhere else out of balance situation? The mount does not seem to care - it still gives me the flatline results I posted the other day irrespective of position.
The thing has 15 bearings and steel shafts. Moving it is both axes manually is as easy as breathing on it. Balancing time...if a fly lands on it, it'll swing. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. It's silkier than a silk worms bum!
Anyway, balancing it is "problematic".If I balance it in Dec (counterweights horizontal, scope level), it is out of balance when top dead centre. Having a finder on it sees it swing to the left until it reaches it's CoG/moment. I don't feel inclined to put a bag of lead shot on the other side to balance that out :lol:.
Any tricks at balancing an extremelly sensitive and smooth mount, or just balance for the usual/traditional RA and Dec positions and ignore the everywhere else out of balance situation? The mount does not seem to care - it still gives me the flatline results I posted the other day irrespective of position.