LightBridge 10" and 12" Deluxe Az tension bolt survey

[gary]

Dear LightBridge owners,

As members of IceInSpace are aware, Wildcard Innovations design
and manufacture the Argo Navis Digital Telescope Computer (http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au) (DTC).

We also provide a large portfolio of kits (http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/mnt_hw_describe.html) to suit many types of mounts.
A new range of kits which will be announced shortly are for the
LightBridge (http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/kits/pn-lb-12d-spec_describe.html) series of telescopes.

To this end, we are seeking the kind assistance of LightBridge owners.

We are interested to hear from owners of 10" and 12" LightBridge Deluxe
mounts as to whether the Azimuth tension knob on your mount has a
5/16-18 x 2" thread or whether it has a larger 3/8-16 x 2" thread.

We have heard of instances of both.

If you are able to assist, please email me directly at
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au with the details of the scope you own
(10" Deluxe or 12" Deluxe) and the dimensions of the Az tension bolt
fitted in your particular mount. I thank you in advance.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place
Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080
Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

[vespine]

Is there a foolproof way to ascertain this without the use of verneer calipers?

I'd love to help but I'm afraid I'm quite completely tool less at my current abode.

Could people who have one or the other post a decent close-up picture to compare to maybe?

[gary]

Thanks for your kind offer to help.

The difference in diameter of the two variants is about 1.5mm.
We believe that the 5/16" diameter bolt is probably the most commonly used.
For all practical purposes, the diameter can be measured across the threads.

Attached is a couple of pictures of the Az bolt from a 12" Deluxe.
In this instance, this is a 5/16"-18 x 2" bolt. As you can see, a good ruler
and a keen eye can provide a reasonable estimate. The '-18' refers to
how many turns per inch, which again can be estimated with a ruler.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

[vespine]

Well, mine is quite different indeed. I have the Deluxe 12" version, bought it at the end of march from Astro Optical in Melbourne who shipped it from their store in Sydney. (Bintel were sold out) . I think the cover was packed NOT in the mirror housing like the 1st release.


Anyway, I do believe the screw is still 5/16ths but only 5mm of the very end is threaded. The picture was taken on 5mm graph paper.

Oh, and great to hear the LB kit is coming along! :)

[spacezebra]

Hi Gary

Watching with interest - the pennies are saved!

Cheers Petra

[gary]

Indeed, yours is very different! Thank you very much for taking the trouble
to document this.

Best Regards

Gary

[astrogeek]

Mine is the same as Vespines.

[gary]

Thank you very much. May I ask, through whom did you purchase the mount?

Best Regards

Gary

[astrogeek]

Bintel in melbourne

[astronut]

Hi Gary, Mine is the fully threaded 5/16-18 x 2".
Bought from Bintel ( Sydney ) in their first shipment, Late March. This scope has the alt brake. John.

[gary]

Thank you very much John. It certainly looks as if this element of the
design has a few variants.

Best Regards

Gary

[gary]

Astrogeek or Vespine,

We're starting to speculate that later model mounts have the
brass bolt.

Could you please tell me if the ring indicated in the attached picture
is actually machined into the shank, or is it a moveable circlip?

What function do you believe it provides?

Much appreciated.

Best Regards

Gary

[astrogeek]

The ring is machined onto the shank. It serves to hold the black brake piece in place. This stops it coming of the little bump on the mount when the brake is untightened. I have attached to picture that hopefully give you an idea. If you want, I could do one with it attached to the mount. Also, my scope was in the first BINTEL shipment so I don't know why me and astronut have different bolts. I now that it was the first shipment because I had pre-ordered and I picked it up the day it arrived. Hope this helps (although I suppose that it just makes things more confusing),

Leon

[astrogeek]

Opps, I just realised that I am a complete idiot. You wanted the Azimuth bolt not the friction brake bolt. I feel like a complete idiot now, should have read the post more carefully. I will get a measurement of the AZIMUTH bolt for you and post it :)

Leon

[astrogeek]

I don't have a ruler that measures inches so mm will have to do. Across the threads it looks like 9mm to me with 16 threads every 25mm. Hope this helps :)

[gary]

Thanks Astrogeek!

Yes, I was after the Azimuth bolt dimensions, not the Altitude.
So seeing the picture of what turns out to be the Altitude tension
bolt had set the cat among the pidgeons. :)

Thanks for the clarification and the dimensions.

Best Regards

Gary

[astrogeek]

It's strange that mine and astronut's are from the same order but have different sizes. I wonder why there is the difference. Why did meade do some one way and some another?

[gary]

Hi Astrogeek,

It's not immediately clear why there are at least two different sized bolts
employed, but that's why we are gathering as much information as we can.

One additional question for those who have responded is whether their
Az pivot bolt also came with a nylon sleeve on it or not?

Astrogeek, did your Az pivot bolt have the black plastic knob on it, or was it just
a bolt?

Best Regards

Gary

[astrogeek]

Mine had the black plastic knob on it. It is just like the one in the picture you posted. I don't think it had a nylon sleeve though. What would this look like?

[gary]

Thanks Astrogeek for that information.

If there were a nylon sleeve employed, one would suspect it to be used
on the narrower bolts. The sleeve would act as a bush and would have the
side-effect that the bolt/sleeve combination would have a wider diameter.

A hypothetical sleeve would probably be about an inch or so long and
be a plastic tube made of nylon or possibly teflon, that would slip over
the shaft of the bolt.

Best Regards

Gary

[gary]

Hi Leon,

Could I ask a big favour and could you possibly snap me a picture of the
Altitude brake attached to the mount?

Many thanks.

Gary Kopff
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

[vespine]

yeas astronut, it's not your fault, it was me who posted the pic of the alt tension bolt... I'm still a newb so get my alt az tension thingies confised... I think the "tension" part is what confused me, i've never adjusted the az tension nut so the fitst 'tension' thing that came to mind was the break tension bolt...

I'll have a look at the correct bolt next time i have a chance..... Apologies for causing all the confusion! :doh:

[astrogeek]

Sorry for the delay. I have been out of town and away from the net for the last week. Tomorrow I will snap a picture for you and post it :).

Leon