[Eris (Gerard)]

Hi just an update if anyone's wondering about what progress has been made re the tracking problems on the G11.

Firstly many thanks to Charles (for his time and expertise) who came over and worked with me on the problem.

We pulled both RA and Dec axis apart and cleaned the pads etc of oil as Peter had predicted. However, we were unable to free up the bearings embedded within the polar axis shaft itself.

Also Charles noted that even though the polar axis knob was on tight there was still a fair amount of 'looseness' still remaining when attempting to turn the scope by hand. We were able to improve on this tightening by removing the polar axis scope which is now not required owing to PoleMaster working at the other end.

Charles mentioned that although the pins had been cleaned between the hand controller and the Gemini there could still be corrosion remaining preventing a good connection. Moving the pins in and out of their sockets again several times in RA and Dec has helped and movement in both axes seems fixed.

I am hoping these measures have gone a long way in fixing the problem but as on many occasions before clouds have prevented me doing a further polar alignment and a star tracking test. So until then I am waiting for the next clear night to be sure it is fixed.