I think the thing was not so much a real problem (ie not a warranty problem), as the reality of mass production where things are not set up quite as nicely as they could be. Subsequent to my last post, I have dismantled again and tweaked a few things. I removed excess grease from my earlier work. I found the Dec worm shaft was not spinning smoothly, and that by removing the black end cover of the worm shaft, (which was VERY tight) it allowed the worm shaft to spin freely. The cover was actually pressed against the bearing or shaft. I have refitted it securly, but not binding. I then adjusted the worm mesh very carefully. The real cracker was checking out the motor / transfer gear mesh. The little silver screws in the casing give a tiny window to the gear mesh. Nothing was very apparent with the mount switched off, but looking through the little holes with a torch with the mount running was very interesting. At slew speed 2 and driving in one direction and then the other, I could actually see the amount of backlash get taken up. The Dec backlash was very noticeable but the RA gap was simply huge. The teeth were only just catching. I ended up loosening the motor mounts and took up the slack. The mount is now doing what I had hoped for when I began the learning experience; I can barely hear it. There is a tiny hum instead of the "brrr brrr brrr" sound before and the high speed slews don't start and end with the harsh sounds.
Bruce (sleeping a little better)
