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Alternative to a rubber drive belt
Having modified the mounting of an Orion electric focuser motor several times for several telescopes I’ve had to make rubber drive belts to fit each time. They’ve been made from strips of insertion rubber glued together or existing belts cut and rejoined using a strip of glued on rubber. Yesterday the glue failed on the recent one and it made me think of other ways to join the rubber strips. Velcro came to mind and was dismissed as its too thick and would not reliably bond. Then I remembered some very thin lightweight velcro tape I’ve used for plant ties. I cut a length angled at each end longer than the belt needed wrapped it around the motor drive wheel and focuser wheel and tightly joined the ends. Turned the motor on and it worked! Easy to make , easy to attach and cheap.
Philip
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