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RA axis has some play
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Bill Long
My 1100 uses the auto-adjusting mesh system and there can be some springiness in it when parked, like Roland mentioned below. I have seen no issues due to that though, so I calmed my OCD down (I can be very OCD about astro stuff
🙂) and just used it, and it worked like a champ.
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 8:01 AM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> Subject: Re: [ap-gto] RA axis has some play Backlash or play in the RA axis has no effect on guiding. This is especially so for encoder mounts.
Sometimes when user adjusts the backstop, they may either do it too tightly or on occasion do it backwards and actually back it off. Too tight will cause friction which can result in guiding problems. Too loose won't affect guiding at all
but will make the axis feel spongy when parked.
If the worm is properly in mesh and the backstop is set correctly, then the other item to check is the worm end play nut. If that has loosened it could allow the worm to move back and forth slightly and cause the axis to feel loose or have
play. Make sure that when testing for play that you are using only finger pressure and not pushing hard on the axis.
If you need help in figuring out what to do, call AP during office hours and ask for either George or Dave.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Hughes <hughesy72@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Tue, Jul 26, 2022 6:05 am Subject: [ap-gto] RA axis has some play Hi AP team and users,
My RA guiding has been pretty poor recently on my AP 1100 AE. I inspected the axis and discovered that it has some “play” when the axis is parked. I tried adjusting the gearbox back stops but it made no difference. Could it be the auto adjusting spring for the mesh system on the gear box? any guidance would be appreciated. thanks Matt -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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that make sense Rolando. I just looked at that screw and it was loose. There is a reason for everything. I have a week of bad weather ahead and it’s time for a re-greasing and worm/ axis rotation.
looking forward to the 110 Scope random entry announcement……. 👽 |
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Thanks Brian I will have a look at it.
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Roland Christen
Backlash or play in the RA axis has no effect on guiding. This is especially so for encoder mounts.
Sometimes when user adjusts the backstop, they may either do it too tightly or on occasion do it backwards and actually back it off. Too tight will cause friction which can result in guiding problems. Too loose won't affect guiding at all but will make the axis feel spongy when parked.
If the worm is properly in mesh and the backstop is set correctly, then the other item to check is the worm end play nut. If that has loosened it could allow the worm to move back and forth slightly and cause the axis to feel loose or have play. Make sure that when testing for play that you are using only finger pressure and not pushing hard on the axis.
If you need help in figuring out what to do, call AP during office hours and ask for either George or Dave.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Hughes <hughesy72@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Tue, Jul 26, 2022 6:05 am Subject: [ap-gto] RA axis has some play Hi AP team and users,
My RA guiding has been pretty poor recently on my AP 1100 AE. I inspected the axis and discovered that it has some “play” when the axis is parked. I tried adjusting the gearbox back stops but it made no difference. Could it be the auto adjusting spring for the mesh system on the gear box? any guidance would be appreciated. thanks Matt -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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Hi Matt Do you have some examples of your guiding you can share? like a phd guidelog Aside from your question on RA axis, using the wrong settings for guiding on an encoder mount can produce poor guiding results, default values are definitely in the "wrong settings" category There is a video that covers this: https://youtu.be/wCu8PKjDZ20 On Tue, Jul 26, 2022 at 4:05 AM Matthew Hughes <hughesy72@...> wrote: Hi AP team and users, --
Brian Brian Valente astro portfolio https://www.brianvalentephotography.com/astrophotography/ portfolio brianvalentephotography.com |
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Hi AP team and users,
My RA guiding has been pretty poor recently on my AP 1100 AE. I inspected the axis and discovered that it has some “play” when the axis is parked. I tried adjusting the gearbox back stops but it made no difference. Could it be the auto adjusting spring for the mesh system on the gear box? any guidance would be appreciated. thanks Matt |
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