I placed the RASA 11 on my EQ6R which was probably expecting too much however noticed the RA clutch would not hold..my strength is non existent so I tapped the lever with a hammer..not too hard but surely enough to get it to grip..but push rather gently on the scope and it is clear the clutch is not holding.
I am not sure what to do and I suspect that a lighter scope will not see the problem resolved.
Any ideas? Particularly have you had a similar experience...
Maybe it is because the mount sat unused since the start of the year ... When I get the RASA off I will drag it back and forth as all I can imagine is there is some sort of film which hopefully will disappear when it is dragged around and back and forth.
Alex
There's a little brass button under the screw that makes contact with the worm wheels to hold them.
Perhaps check that to see if there is too much / too little / wrong kind of lubricant? You get at it by removing the knob from the screw and removing the screw, the button usually sticks to it and comes out (but be careful not to lose or damage it).
I've only had about 14kg on my CGEM which is mechanically mostly the same parts as the EQ6-R and so have never had any issues with the clutches. I currently have way oil on the journals (the kind used on slide ways of mills and lathes) and superlube on the worms. It was much more difficult to balance with TF2 bike grease on everything than it currently is now so I suspect a sticker grease or lubricant may assist with holding.
With the right amount of counter weight there shouldn't really be much force required for the clutches to hold, although the RASA11 looks like it weighs in at ~19kg so with accessories / cameras / etc it might just be a bit too much weight.
Thank you very much Elliot I had visions of having to dismantle the mount to get at it..you see this is the problem with old age and failing memory..now that you describe whats there I can recall having taken it apart, the old one a decade ago ...but even now cant remember much at all.
Hi David
I did ask here about mounting the RASA on the EQ 6 and received encouragement but the instant I saw that big sucker I just felt it could not work...maybe it would if you were careful and slew manually, shot objects mainly above in a tight segment...but now I dont have to worry fortunately.
And thinking back I seemed to be moving the counter weights on the EQ6 a heck of a lot during tracking using the 115mm which I wrote off to not auto guiding but I bet it was slipping a little way back then..
I get a scan on Tuesday ( had the dates wrong I told folk grom here it was last week) and later will see my Oncologist who is a cancer doctor as well he will look at the scan results and tell me if we are wining or losing the battle...no doubt it will be good news given I am the luckiest man on the planet...now if I could only walk just a little today and tonight it would help that image.
Alex
I am surprised it won't carry it provided you have enough counterweights to balance it. I would expect to be able to put my big newt on my Orion Atlas (AZEQ6 clone) and it should carry it OK and drive it around, just I would expect guiding and possibly pointing accuracy to be pretty ordinary. That would weigh almost as much as a RASA 11", plus it is a meter long. I know others with newts as big and heavy as mine on EQ6 mounts.
I would not think it would strip the gears, but it might "loose" steps on slews and have the pointing accuracy suffer.
I placed the RASA 11 on my EQ6R which was probably expecting too much however noticed the RA clutch would not hold..my strength is non existent so I tapped the lever with a hammer..not too hard but surely enough to get it to grip..but push rather gently on the scope and it is clear the clutch is not holding.
I am not sure what to do and I suspect that a lighter scope will not see the problem resolved.
Any ideas? Particularly have you had a similar experience...
Maybe it is because the mount sat unused since the start of the year ... When I get the RASA off I will drag it back and forth as all I can imagine is there is some sort of film which hopefully will disappear when it is dragged around and back and forth.
Alex
In any event I'd shy away from using the hammer no matter how "gently". Try and fashion a lever/spanner which grips the whole clutch knob to use. Even then go easy.
PS maybe you have somehow too much wear, the screw doesn't seat down far enough or possibly even lost the little brass button which is shown in the pic below and explained in the thread I linked above.
I am surprised it won't carry it provided you have enough counterweights to balance it. I would expect to be able to put my big newt on my Orion Atlas (AZEQ6 clone) and it should carry it OK and drive it around, just I would expect guiding and possibly pointing accuracy to be pretty ordinary. That would weigh almost as much as a RASA 11", plus it is a meter long. I know others with newts as big and heavy as mine on EQ6 mounts.
I would not think it would strip the gears, but it might "loose" steps on slews and have the pointing accuracy suffer.
OK If will own up...I really needed the EQ 8 otherwise I could not use my new scope and that would be a waste of money...at least thats what I told the girls
I really didn't want to buy another mount and spend even more money honest...but now thats its here what can I do????
In any event I'd shy away from using the hammer not matter how "gently". Try and fashion a lever/spanner which grips he whole clutch knob to use. Even then go easy.
PS maybe you have somehow too much wear, the screw doesn't seat down far enough or possibly even lost the little brass button which is shown in the pic below and explained in the thread I linked above. Attachment 282286
Best
JA
Thanks for the link to Stargazer lounge it made me feel much better knowing I was not the only one experiencing a slipping clutch.
Did I say that I used a hammer? Sorry I meant to say that I used a Russian spanner...yes terrible but at that point
I had visions of the RASA crashing into the side of the mount during the night..I was all over the place..confused ..so unlike me
.But I moved the counter weights as far as possible on the extended shaft then got some rope and tied the monster down so it would not go any where even if possums got in and danced on the scope...over kill but thats what I do.
Did you add stuff to your post? Dont worry if it was there and I missed it well I now see it ..
I will check out the remedy but I am already thinking over kill..drill into the main shaft thread the hole and add a bolt so nothing moves at all.. maybe super glue in the interim.. certainly duper glue the bolt in place and safety wire thru the bolt head...heck why just use a clutch? Sure to move stuff around ....well I now know how to use the hand paddle and change the slew speeds I am past my move it manually...who needs a clutch? so the more I think about it, bolting in place makes sense..it is a very weak link in the chain.
Who knows if it slips during a session even when it feels very secure? Well you dont...a clutch really seems like a dumb idea...Anyways I will look at what others did ..but if they haven't bolted it down get ready to witness another first from me
OK to save others pointing it out the clutch is mainly to avoid gear damage in the event of a big bump..but its belt drive so who needs a clutch? Rd
Alex
They don't take much to twist right off, I did that just hand tightening.
If it's belt driven then I doubt you have much to worry about gear wise. I had much larger than necessary closed loop motors in mine to test when I made the belt drive for my CGEM, they stuck right out the side of the mount, plus I used a two stage belt reduction around 9:1 before the worm. I was more worried about the belts than the worm gear, and the worst I could do was stall the motors.
You shouldn't have slippage issues if its well balanced, the main issue would be all the extra load on the bearings from the weight of the RASA but they are pretty big and should be fine. The extra mass will also make it harder to accelerate and stop when slewing, and probably wear the worm wheel a little quicker.
How would you swing the scope from one part of the sky to another without
having a clutch that you can release? Slewing right across the sky would be tedious, unless the scope had an extremely high slewing rate.
raymo
The EQ6R is rated for 20kg for visual. If the scope is even reasonably
balanced, the clutches should have no problem. As far as the clutch is
concerned, if the scope is balanced then its weight is almost irrelevant.
If I remember correctly, Steve Massey has a 12"Newt on his HEQ5.
No matter how heavy the scope is, the only force acting on the clutch is
the tiny amount of balance against the drive introduced to keep the gears meshed. Mechanically an EQ6R could handle a greater payload than is
stated by SW; the motors are the limiting factor. The same goes for the HEQ5.
raymo
How would you swing the scope from one part of the sky to another without
having a clutch that you can release? Slewing right across the sky would be tedious, unless the scope had an extremely high slewing rate.
raymo
While its slewing I will go and attend to one of the other two telescopes
The EQ6R is rated for 20kg for visual. If the scope is even reasonably
balanced, the clutches should have no problem. As far as the clutch is
concerned, if the scope is balanced then its weight is almost irrelevant.
If I remember correctly, Steve Massey has a 12"Newt on his HEQ5.
No matter how heavy the scope is, the only force acting on the clutch is
the tiny amount of balance against the drive introduced to keep the gears meshed. Mechanically an EQ6R could handle a greater payload than is
stated by SW; the motors are the limiting factor. The same goes for the HEQ5.
raymo
Well there are now all three mounts in the Observatory .. EQ6-R on its pier in the middle with the HEQ5 in one corner and the EQ8R in the other corner...
If I could not get my hands on the EQ8r I would have had to make it work but I was very lucky to get this one...and I now have four mounts and four cameras, three dedicated astro cameras two mono and one colour and my Nikon DSLR...so hopefully in a little while I get it all working and start producing some photos. I have a great new lap top which should manage the zwo 2600,but I dont know if the old lap top can manage a 2600 but given I have a decent power set up I guess I could use the desk top plus I have a desk top for the microscopes if they will fit..I may have to get rid of one desk so if it goes do do the microscopes...anyways it's a mess at present and until I dee how the EQ8 likes its spot I cant make any concrete plans...but all of this is keeping me interested in getting out of bed each day...although today I had big plans but just cant walk so not a thing got done unfortunately but I sure would like to have at least the RASA and the mono 2600 going soon and the weather stays good.. if the legs keep on being a problem I will drop the Eq5 and put in a bed but I am sick of being sick thats for sure.
While its slewing I will go and attend to one of the other two telescopes
I have mine setup at 1 deg/sec, which seems much slower than many other OnStep users go for, but I also use 256 microsteps which makes going faster problematic, and its really not that slow. It takes a minute or so on average each time you change target.
I have mine setup at 1 deg/sec, which seems much slower than many other OnStep users go for, but I also use 256 microsteps which makes going faster problematic, and its really not that slow. It takes a minute or so on average each time you change target.
I find that the drugs..er meds, I am on has me sitting and looking into the distance...I take a small amount of an opiate each day and I suspect it is causing the problem but when I stopped it I found a couple of days later that it was very certainly cutting pain given its come back..so back on it although happily I have not increased the dose and the doctor thought that I would need a higher intake some time ago ...but I no longer experience the uphoria like at the start... its is easy to see why it would appeal to folk who lack confidence or even just sad.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with your mount..
I had visions of having to dismantle the mount to get at it..you see this is the problem with old age and failing memory..now that you describe whats there I can recall having taken it apart, the old one a decade ago ...but even now cant remember much at all.
he will look at the scan results and tell me if we are wining or losing the battle...no doubt it will be good news given I am the luckiest man on the planet...now if I could only walk just a little today and tonight it would help that image.
...but now thats its here what can I do????
