Clutches and focuser tube

[Cody (Cody)]

Some stupid questions.

1) With the RA and DEC clutches on an AZ-EQ6, are these meant to be tight or loose while slewing with the handset?

It seems obvious that they should be loose while point the mount by hand (or during transport)... but sometimes the way people write about it with the motor slewing it seems like maybe they should be tightened in that case?

2) I have a refractor and after I attach my camera in prime focus the focuser just slides all the way down to the bottom... it's too heavy to focus (I have to support some of the weight in my hand and focus that way). Are they all like that, or is it bad, or are you meant to point it somewhere horizontal and focus and lock it earlier in the night?

Thanks

[raymo]

On any mount the clutches should be loosened whilst moving the scope or the mount by hand, and then tightened when the desired position has been reached. If the motors are operated with the clutches loose, nothing
will happen. The motors will turn, but will not be driving anything, so
the clutches must be tightened when slewing.
With computerised scopes, the clutches should not be loosened during
an observing or imaging session, as the scope will lose it's position in the sky, and will not be able to take you to a selected target.
Most focusers have four screws underneath [ between the two focuser knobs ] which can be nipped up equally in turn to stop the focuser slipping.
raymo