MyT regrease and new astro shed

[SimmoW]

Hi folks, just a quick update. As you know I've been having guiding problems with the MyT mount, did lots of troubleshooting but never really fixed it to my standards. So more googling revealed a certain fix, I hope, that is the mount needing a yearly regrease- except I hadn't done it for almost 3yrs! Pretty sure the clean and regrease will fix, as now I recall stiction was pretty bad- even just slewing revealed sticky gears. So here are the gory pictures, including the nice clean gears and newly greased teeth. Learned plenty from the disassembly process. And wow, such workmanship. And boy, was there a heap of dirty grease in there!

Oh and a bonus pic of the first obs shed to go onto our property here in Tamleugh (Bortle 1 skies 21.9 mags/arcsecs), hereby to be known as TPO-1 , Tamleugh Park Obs 1. It'll look better soon!

[LewisM]

Last picture looks like someone ate a can of beans around a naked flame :lol:

Are any of the teeth etc damaged? It looks like small chips in some of them and a shiny spot on the worm.

[SimmoW]

Haha you're a funny bugger Lewis! And I love your new deep space thumbnail approach, that tickles my funny one.

So far there are only very small marks on the surface of the worm. That surface doesn't mesh with the gear. Doing the last axis tonite and will then test. Nervous times...

[Logieberra]

Has SB been any help?! Struth...

[Logieberra]

And where’s that “Frolimomd” Member that previously reply to all SB related posts?

[RickS]

Shed from IKEA, Simon? :lol: Good luck with the regreased mount.

[SimmoW]

Logan, I haven't needed SB's help yet, plus they have plenty of instructions and videos featuring the lovely Sarah. As long as you are very careful and thorough it's not rocket surgery.

And a quick test last night showed the mount was tracking and guiding far smoother. I was shocked the thing turned on after I had pulled it apart!

Rick, fortunately the shed should be far easier than ikea! Only 4 sides and 2 roof components. I even marked them clearly for ease of assembly, better than Ikea. Adapting and motorising the roof however, that'll be more like a mechano set!

[Lognic04]

Wow, nice! Reminds me of when i did surgery on my cgem! (with less nicely machined parts though :P ) Is that shed roll off/fold off?

Also, since when was there another Logan here?! :D

[SimmoW]

Yeah Logan, I was confused at first, yes there seems to be a few of you about. Good name actually.

The shed was a standard suburban shed. I will be cutting the ends of the roof off 'precisely', then affixing timber bases ready for the wheels and tracks. Diego will hopefully make the trip up to help me install it and then I hook up Spotify and speakers to play the Imperial March every time it opens.

[Logieberra]

I’ve never heard of the strict requirement to regrease annually. It’s good practice, no doubt, and I certainly do it. The thing should guide well regardless of that. E.g. EQ6 owners rarely regrease, if ever, and the stock grease in those things is just nasty. The Lubriplate that we use for our SB mounts is infinitely better quality. I guess my point is - for a mount of that cost, it should just work, regardless of grease state.

[Logieberra]

8 years ago grasshopper...

[Lognic04]

Awesome!I want an obsy really bad, it would let me image MUCH more often!
:)For me, setting up during a full moon just isnt worth it :(

[SimmoW]

Yes the yearly requirement is common knowledge, I could get away with every 2 I hope, esp once the shed is done. I've imaged in the ASV dark site regularly and it is very dusty. You're right tho, we shouldn't have to do it that regularly!


Younger Logan- you just need to be patient, get your 1600 first before you start pushing after an Obsy! I waited over 40yrs to buy my first telescope :(

[Paul Haese]

Yearly? I think I do the PME once ever three or so years and the PMX has never been done. I think I have had that for about 4 years now. I suppose I need to have a check soon. I know they recommend regreasing regularly but it surely depends on use. I think both my mounts run about 600 odd hours a year and my lack of greasing has not seemed to change guide parameters

I doubt your issue is grease orientated. It could be that you have a very out of spec worm. Or it might be one of the adjustment pins are too tight.

[Logieberra]

My point exactly. Greasing did not change the performance of my old MX.

[SimmoW]

Thanks for chiming in Paul. Have you seen the pic of my worm gear in this thread? Does it look ok to you?

My gear has always been outside, in dusty environments during imaging, now at home I often leave out for weeks, with 2 or more tarps on during day. Yours are in observatories? I'm hoping that's the difference as I don't want to have to order new components! Esp after just 3 yrs

[LewisM]

Unless a system is seriously exposed to the elements or suffers direct ingress or suffers extreme heat or cold, I cannot see the need to replace grease more often than every 3 to 4 years like Paul mentioned.

[SimmoW]

And adjustment pins? Which ones? Not that I ever want to touch such things

[Paul Haese]

I haven't seen anything I thought was alarming in your pictures.

My gear is always in observatories but left unattended. Dust gets inside the observatories, probably more so than if they were under a tarp. I do regular twice a year cleans of the surfaces with a damp cloth but don't bother too much about the endurance of most of the equipment. If you follow the adjustment of the equipment in the PDF supplied by SB on replacing worm gears you should be ok. The regrease is a good thing but like I said I doubt that is the problem. It might be but I am guessing it is something was too tight.

[SimmoW]

Thanks Lewis, hmm we had a few 42c days here, even with the tarps on I know it got very hot under there. Hence the obs shed effort.

I'll get back to everyone once I can test more

[Paul Haese]

That is the cam stops which need to be adjusted correctly to stop the worm from separating from the worm. There are several PDF's on SB site which detail the removal and replacement of the worm block and the adjustment of the cam stops.

[SimmoW]

Thanks Paul, found this long and useful thread with links to the PDF, will test and then pull apart if needed. I have spent months trying to minimise movement in my system, very frustrating. So thanks to everyone for the help and suggestions!

[SimmoW]

http://www.bisque.com/sc/forums/p/29956/149783.aspx#149783

[Lognic04]

Yep, patience is a weak point for me! :P

[SimmoW]

Paul and others, here is the Dec axis (I think), is the movement of the worm assembly normal?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ojIFlih5WJHpH7xdle58K1cqfMVeSqb8/view?usp=drivesdk

[PRejto]

Simon,

The up/down motion is entirely normal with the cover removed. When the cover is on and the cam stop adjusted properly the worm is engaged with the ring gear. In balance mode the worm is separated from the ring gear (such as the natural state with the cover removed). The critical thing is that the cam not be adjusted too tight. I.e., it shouldn't take much force to turn the knob from balance to run! (But, also caution if too loose because any imbalance might cause the worm to ratchet over the ring gear!). The next adjustment concerns the plungers (the two vertical screws). The default position is 2.5 turns out. I have found that less tension is often better in the following situations.

1. Observe guiding and see if declination corrections are causing simultaneous RA excursions. This can be a sign of "stiction" and reducing plunger tension can eliminate the RA excursions. One good way to know if dec corrections are messing with RA is just to turn off dec corrections and see if RA improves.

2. If after fixing declination guiding RA continues to be rough try slowly backing off the plungers by 1/4 - 1/2 turn. I have seen huge improvements doing this. I think this works because the ring gear is not perfectly circular. Some spots may be a little higher than others so when the plungers are too tight the worm struggles just a bit as it moves over over these "bumps." Reduce plunger tension and the worm starts to glide. To make the plunger adjustments you don't need to remove the cover. Just pull out the rubber plug in the housing. You can easily make adjustments with the mount running.

Peter

[SimmoW]

Wow thanks Peter, they are great suggestions.

I did a fair bit of imaging last night, but sadly the problem still exists. You were right Paul! The Dec balance was poor however due to side by side guidescope setup and heavy Pentax 200mm lens on other

Will post screenpics later

So I will have to try all your suggestions everyone, before I dare to approach the SB forums...

Thanks again

[SimmoW]

This was the better part of last night's session, maybe not too bad with the side by side guidescope and poor balance? But at 4 mins all my stars were quite elongated
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B761Sh7cppxSN2tkSDRabTNoTXhYdTFsb1 Y0ZHpJbTZZOV9N/view?usp=drivesdk

[Lognic04]

Huh, my CGEM gets guiding that good! :P

[SimmoW]

Yep that's the issue Logan. It's capable of far better and frankly makes my scopes useless until resolved. It's just a test of my resolve, he/she/it will not stop me

[Lognic04]

Ah i see.

[PRejto]

Simon,

I just read your post at SB re the broken USB mini plug on the MKS5000. That is most unfortunate! The standard response from SB will be to replace the MKS5000. There are no instructions on repair, however, it has been done and done recently though I can't locate that post. You just need to locate an experienced electronics person with the capability. Perhaps start asking around at JayCar if anyone knows such a person. For sure explore that option before dropping the funds for a new board. BTW, the design really sucks; it is asking for trouble when such components are not isolated from strain and mounted directly on CBs. This seems to be such common practice these days with guide cameras, etc. Way too easy to break and way too expensive to repair. When I broke my SBIG guide camera it nearly cost the price of the camera to repair.

Good luck!

Peter

[SimmoW]

Glad you noticed my post Peter. Jeez the gods are against me! 21.9 skies and I can't guide...

Still need to get my second hand eq5 mount running, might have to use that for awhile! Sheesh I'll be lucky to do *struggles to say* wwwidefield!

[lazjen]

I'll join the chorus on this. There appears to be little thought about how and where these cameras are going to be used, so they miss the obvious need to make them more robust.

[SimmoW]

Good news, a nice club member with the expertise thinks he can fix the connection. Might as well try before being up for a grand! Many folks on their forums recommend affixing a 90 degree adapter permanently to the connection to minimise pressure on the flimsy PCB. Crazy stuff for such a reputed brand. Maybe in another life I should have bought 4 AZ EQs and rotated periodically, they would last longer

[LewisM]

If it makes you feel any better Simon, I this morning stripped the completely cludged/hardened grease out of my Tak FSQ-85's CAA and regreased :lol: (I mean, it had completely hardened like paint!) Wasn't really difficult :)

Sorry to hear of the MyT woes - sadly, not the first either. I hope you do find an elec-trick-'em with necessary skill.

[gregbradley]

Why don't you sell it and replace it with an AP1100. Then there would never be an issue with anything again.

Software Bisque used to be a premium brand you could totally trust. But some sort of shift to Mexico based assembly or whatever they are doing puts them more as a competitor to lower end mounts.


Greg.

[Slawomir]

Sorry to hear about your issues with the mount Simon. Unfortunately, these days it seems that no brand is immune to issues. I hope you will get that sorted quickly (and cheaply!).

[RickS]

Taking the connectors off the PCB requires more parts and makes assembly more time-consuming. That all adds to cost, unfortunately. Not sure it's lack of thought so much as economics driving some of these design decisions.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Marke]

One of the reasons I love the AP mounts just simplicity and designed to be serviceable in the field with the electronics in a separate box. I had an issue were something died in the control box out of warranty I just posted it to AP and it was repaired and returned the same day they received it no charge other than the postage so a lot to be said keeping parts separate imho.

[LewisM]

I concur re Astro Physics - incredible customer service. The only other astro company that in my experience is even better has been Terry Platt at Starlight Xpress cameras - absolutely phenomenal service!!!

I had ONE dealing with Software Bisque, and I can't say it was pleasant either. The usual SB licence BS reared it's very ugly head (despite me having paid for the licence!)