Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 1:44:56 GMT
Looking at your avatar Karl, you could get a small dovetail clamp [ to the orange bar] to go on it at the front, remove the thumb screw and fit a threaded rod in its place and fit a small counter weight on it with a nut either side of the weight Holy smoke a big fat one Johhno, you're my genius of the day!! Gonna have a look at that right now!
|
|
|
Post by johnno on Feb 1, 2014 1:47:02 GMT
|
|
|
Post by johnno on Feb 1, 2014 1:57:56 GMT
my mount is quite easy to level as it as adjustable legs on which the mount sits on the tripod
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 1:58:32 GMT
Looking at your avatar Karl, you could get a small dovetail clamp [ to the orange bar] to go on it at the front, remove the thumb screw and fit a threaded rod in its place and fit a small counter weight on it with a nut either side of the weight Holy smoke a big fat one Johhno, you're my genius of the day!! Gonna have a look at that right now! Okay just checked it and there is one threaded hole at each end of the dovetail. I recon it is about 6mm. So all I need is to find the right size bar, screw it in, add a load of nuts and washers and the adjust to suit. So rather than sliding it back and forth along the dovetail I just add or remove as needed. Thanks John I'll try this out tomorrow.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 2:02:50 GMT
Okay so the after checking on all legs the bubble needs to be exactly where is to start in the picture? I thought about just marking the glass when it first goes on the mount or just replacing it all together. I have always just made sure the tripod was near perfect before adding the mount and then assumed the mount was level despite what the bubble was showing?
|
|
|
Post by davy on Feb 1, 2014 7:14:51 GMT
Hi Karl. .to balance the scope I would put it in eq...lock it so that your scope sits horizontal and find unlock the clutch and slide the scope with all its cameras ect on it till you reach balance then lock that clutch undo other clutch and using your guide scope and weights balance scope on that axis.. remember to balance the guide scope on its mount too.
An unbalanced scope will apply a force on the leading edge of a gear..with these being spur gears they will be very noisy on operation. .like reverse gear in a car as a example because its not epicyclic ( curved gear) to keep noise levels down. .if its balanced in eq it would then be balanced in az mode as well..
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 8:51:15 GMT
Hi Karl. .to balance the scope I would put it in eq...lock it so that your scope sits horizontal and find unlock the clutch and slide the scope with all its cameras ect on it till you reach balance then lock that clutch undo other clutch and using your guide scope and weights balance scope on that axis.. remember to balance the guide scope on its mount too. An unbalanced scope will apply a force on the leading edge of a gear..with these being spur gears they will be very noisy on operation. .like reverse gear in a car as a example because its not epicyclic ( curved gear) to keep noise levels down. .if its balanced in eq it would then be balanced in az mode as well.. Thanks Davy,
I'm going to be practicing balance over the next few days until it near darn perfect!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2014 9:17:40 GMT
Okay, spent quite a bit of time practicing this yesterday and whilst it was better it's still not perfect. I'm not sure however that it could be with the multitude of cables hanging of the back of three cameras! I tried securing as best as possible but the fact is when the scope rotates all those cables shift with it and the weight changes from side to side. Has anyone else mastered this yet or have a solution to the problem?
|
|
|
Post by johnno on Feb 3, 2014 12:24:31 GMT
I've only got 2 cables so I don't have that problem, but you must have at least 6+. Ideally I'd have them made all into one loom but you might get some cross interference
|
|
|
Post by johnno on Feb 3, 2014 12:36:55 GMT
Don't laugh at my masterpiece, but I think I would do it like this , but has I don't use these many cables it most likely be wrong, I think that the cables from the camera's to the mount head should be in a fixed position but allow for scope movement .
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2014 17:55:22 GMT
Hi all , I use Velcro stick on strip on the OTA near the centre. It keeps any cable stress off the cameras. Being near the centre (close to the centre of the mount) They move the least amount when slewing as well. Works fine so far.
|
|
|
Post by davy on Feb 3, 2014 18:43:44 GMT
Me..I use long lengths of cable and gravity. .because the cables have a mind if there own and would still get tangled or be a trip hazard in the dark and give you loose connections by nudging cables..lol
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2014 23:56:12 GMT
Don't laugh at my masterpiece, but I think I would do it like this , but has I don't use these many cables it most likely be wrong, I think that the cables from the camera's to the mount head should be in a fixed position but allow for scope movement .
Thanks John,
I would not laugh as it's better than my back of a fag box drawings It is similar to what I do already but the problem I have is I must have 6 cables just for the cameras and then 2 for the focusers and 1 for the laser remote. I think I've over complicated things!!
|
|
|
Post by johnno on Feb 4, 2014 0:08:37 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 0:09:42 GMT
Hi all , I use Velcro stick on strip on the OTA near the centre. It keeps any cable stress off the cameras. Being near the centre (close to the centre of the mount) They move the least amount when slewing as well. Works fine so far. Thanks Carl, if you get chance I'd love to see a picture?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 0:23:20 GMT
Thanks John,
These look good thank you. Currently I have all cables tied together running from the external socket to the mount. I then tie this to the tripod leg and leave enough slack for the scope to rotate from SW to NE. The end of the cables run to all their connections and it is this part that shifts the weight when you rotate. I was not too worried before but now I understand balancing a little better I know the tiniest thing will throw it off. It's doable as it is but just looking to improve on the setup as I'm sure better balance = better Goto accuracy and less strain on the motors!
This is roughly the set up but another couple of cables since address with a dew heater and focuser for the Equinox.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 0:39:16 GMT
Hi all , I use Velcro stick on strip on the OTA near the centre. It keeps any cable stress off the cameras. Being near the centre (close to the centre of the mount) They move the least amount when slewing as well. Works fine so far. Thanks Carl, if you get chance I'd love to see a picture? First its been a while since I have seen my scope a pic maybe difficult. Wow thats a lot of cable Karl! It will effect the balance as well as it moves. How do you pack your gear up, do you remove cams etc?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 0:51:25 GMT
Hi Carl,
Yes it's ridiculous I know! Yeah I remove it all unless the weather is not too bad then I may leave the C11 and the mount out and just throw the cover over but breakdown time is a chore!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 1:03:37 GMT
I would try and get all the cable velcroed to this point then let them go to ground and then velcro every 6 ins together until ground level. This should mean you have all the cable hanging at one point even when the scope is moving. It is a challenge.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 1:23:57 GMT
I would try and get all the cable velcroed to this point then let them go to ground and then velcro every 6 ins together until ground level. This should mean you have all the cable hanging at one point even when the scope is moving. It is a challenge. Thanks Carl, I think this is going to be another work in progress
|
|