Who services Skywatcher mounts?

[vlazg]

Hi All,
Does anybody in Australia service Skywatcher AZEQ6 mounts? I thought there was a thread mentioning somebody in Perth but i cannot find it.
Thanks in advance

George

[noswonky]

Skywatcher probably does.


https://skywatcheraustralia.com.au/

[RobF]

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/search.php?searchid=4790196

[AndyG]

Is this the joint?
https://www.facebook.com/AAPERTH/

[vlazg]

Yep, Astronomy Academy, i have contacted them so thanks for all your help

[The_bluester]

What is your mount doing George?

[vlazg]

Hi Paul, the mount is performing ok most of the time but it does bind sometimes when approaching the meridian and there is a spike around the 6 min mark. Not being very technically minded i want it serviced by somebody who knows what they are doing.

[The_bluester]

It may have the same issue mine did (I have the Orion version) the axis clutch discs are part of what sets the end clearance of the moving part of the axis to the fixed part. The clutch discs compress in use and eventually the clearance between the fixed and moving parts disappears and the parts bind together and stop the mount from tracking. Once it happens it rapidly gets worse as doing the clutch up tighter just compresses it more and also increases the binding force, so the clutch gets weaker and the binding stronger.


The good news is they are a pretty simple fix, but eventually it will happen again. I modified mine by packing the clutch discs out with alloy shims of the same dimensions, it is not quite as smooth to do up the clutch on but it should never bind again.

[vlazg]

That sounds about it Paul, thanks for the info, i will speak to Astronomy Academy to see if they know about this.
Cheers

[The_bluester]

There is an easy way to do a quick check on it. The setting circles should be the first thing to bind up.

Release the thumbscrews on the setting circles and with the axis cluch released (Without a scope mounted of course) spin the setting circle, it should move freely. Then try again with the clutch tightened, if the setting circle has gone tight with the clutch done up it is fouling on the fixed part of the axis.

I got maybe 4 years of use out of mine before it became an issue, but it would depend on how tightly the clutches are done up, the tighter you do them (I have heard of people breaking the RA clutch lever!) the more quickly the discs will compress.