AZEQ6 v EQ6 belt mod

[traveller]

Just wondering if any members out there had an EQ6 belt mod and then upgraded to an AZEQ6 and if you thought the move was worth it.
I am heading to the UK shortly and am considering buying a belt mod kit (despite the bad exchange rate at the moment...).
My other option is to upgrade to an AZEQ6 with all its advantages.
Some user experience on both will be most welcome.
Cheers
Bo

[Camelopardalis]

Bo, I belt modded my NEQ6 because I'd bought it before the AZ version was released. The altitude adjuster on the AZ-EQ6 is worth the extra money if buying new, but for the cost of upgrading? I'm not convinced.

The belt mod is nice, but I don't know for sure if it has improved my EQ6 as I wasn't imaging with it before I modded it.

On my shopping list would probably be http://eq6wedge.com instead :D

I guess it just depends on what you want out of it.

[codemonkey]

Oh wow, that wedge looks awesome. I can't stand the alt adjustment on the EQ6.

I recently adjusted my alt alignment and went from >14' out of alignment to <1 with the smallest adjustment I could make. A happy fluke, for sure, but not so easy to replicate ;-)

I just bought a belt mod kit. I've had a few issues with my mount lately, and AlexN has convinced me to try modding it rather than sending it back. I'm mechanically inept so it should be a fun ride... hasn't arrived yet, still over in the UK according to tracking info.

[traveller]

Thanks Dunk,
I am on a learning curve with AP, so pointing accuracy, tracking accuracy etc are all important.
Looks like AZEQ6 is the way to go, considering belt mod costs :question:
I never had too much trouble with the Alt adjuster, I replaced it with a star nut shaped bolt and it works fine.
Bo

[RobF]

It would be interesting to see if the PE is any better in the newer mounts. I agree altitude adjustment is nice, but really you tend to be tweaking az more often than not unless you travel a lot between dark sky sites.

[Steffen]

That looks like a worthwhile upgrade. Bendy steel bolts digging into aluminium do not lend themselves to precise adjustment. Sadly there doesn't appear to be an http://heq5wedge.com...

[Nico13]

Hi Bo,
I haven't had any experience with the AZ EQ6 other than what people have said about it but what I can say is since going off axis guiding and still keeping my side by side with the RC8 and ED80 my last imaging run, one of not many due to work and weather, I did 5 hours and you could blink the ten minute subs and not see any movement.
So my EQ6 is working fine but I have thought about making a new base like the one in the link as the Arthritis in the fingers doesn't like the Azimuth or the Altitude adjusters on the standard base.
I'd go with the new AZ one just for that reason.

Enjoy your trip, oh and are you going to the SV camp, if you are I'll see you there.

[Slawomir]

Altitude adjustement is nice in AZ-EQ6, but I do not like that bolt sticking out a fair bit - need to be careful with organising cords (camera and filter wheel) so they do not wrap around it.

I do not suspect that there will be much difference between EQ6 and AZ-EQ6 in PE. Anyway, I did not notice a huge improvement in PE when I upgraded from HeQ5 (with belts: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=100503 ) to AZ-EQ6.

In both of my mounts, to some degree, PE can be controlled by careful adjustement of the worm gear.

[RobF]

Would be interested to hear more on how you did worm adjustment to tackle PE Slawomir? Even a link to a guide. I suspect you're talking about a combination of worm/gear pressure and perhaps shimming at the bearing end?

[Slawomir]

No shimming, just worm/gear pressure (Astrobaby's guide). Minimising backlash and finding that sweet spot in worm/gear pressure has made for me a significant difference in longer exposures. Overall amplitude of PE does not seem to change, but guiding definitely can be improved by tweaking the worm gear.

[RobF]

Ok, so probably better in terms of tightness and no backlash giving more responsive guiding and less overshooting in DEC corrections. I'm thinking of swapping the RA and DEC gears in my NEQ6 sometime to see what happens.

[traveller]

Cheers Ken, I was impressed with the AZEQ6 at our last SV camp, hence the query. I am happy with my EQ6 but there is always room for upgrade :D
Not sure about SV in Nov as timing is tricky. May even pop in on the night just check out the usual crowd.
Bo

[Atmos]

Just ordered it :)
I do a fair bit of travelling back and forth from my dark site. After carrying it inside and crushing one of my fingers between the polar scope bit and the bolt and slicing one of my fingers when doing an adjustment, something better is needed!!
Had been toying between spending $140 on a full bolt replacement (eBay) I decided to go down this path as from what I saw it looks like the little knobby adapter thing can be removed from the base so that it can be attached directly to a pier without the need of another adapter :)

[Camelopardalis]

Nice one Colin, look forward to hearing what you think of it :thumbsup: