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Balancing east heavy? #Mach2GTO
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AaronW
New Mach2 owner here. I have read that it is typically advisable to balance one's mount slightly east heavy (counterweight shaft side) so that the gears are always engaged as they track. Is this also the case on an encoder mount like the Mach2?
Best, Aaron
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On 11/19/2021 10:14 AM, AaronW wrote:
New Mach2 owner here. I have read that it is typically advisable to balance one's mount slightly east heavy (counterweight shaft side) so that the gears are always engaged as they track. Is this also the case on an encoder mount like the Mach2?Probably not. Roland has posted here several times that A-P mounts don't need the east-heavy balance. My AP1200 is balanced neutrally, and it tracks and guides fine. --- Mike
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AaronW
Ok great thank you!
On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 7:20 AM Mike Dodd <mike@...> wrote: On 11/19/2021 10:14 AM, AaronW wrote:
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I should add that I've always considered the east-heavy mantra flawed. The idea was that the worm would be "pushing" against the worm wheel teeth. But what happens after a meridian flip? Now the opposite face of the worm wheel teeth are pushing against the worm!
I balanced my old G11 mount neutrally, then wrapped a cord around the RA hub and over a pulley to a suspended weight, to apply an east-heavy bias regardless of which way the scope was pointing. I don't need this on my non-encoder 1200. --- Mike
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George
Aaron, et al.,
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Absolute Encoder mounts should be accurately balanced for best performance. Do not offset the weight. Regards, George George Whitney Astro-Physics, Inc. Phone: 815-222-6538 (direct line) Phone: 815-282-1513 (office) Email: george@astro-physics.com
-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> On Behalf Of Mike Dodd Sent: Friday, November 19, 2021 9:26 AM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Balancing east heavy? #Mach2GTO I should add that I've always considered the east-heavy mantra flawed. The idea was that the worm would be "pushing" against the worm wheel teeth. But what happens after a meridian flip? Now the opposite face of the worm wheel teeth are pushing against the worm! I balanced my old G11 mount neutrally, then wrapped a cord around the RA hub and over a pulley to a suspended weight, to apply an east-heavy bias regardless of which way the scope was pointing. I don't need this on my non-encoder 1200. --- Mike
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>>>
I should add that I've always considered the east-heavy mantra flawed. The idea was that the worm would be "pushing" against the worm wheel teeth. But what happens after a meridian flip? Now the opposite face of the worm wheel teeth are pushing against the worm! In that "mantra" one would have to adjust the counterweight after the flip so it would still bias the weight east. Back then (like it was a million years ago haha) complete automation wasn't as prevalent or expected, so I think people were more willing to do that.
On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 7:26 AM Mike Dodd <mike@...> wrote: I should add that I've always considered the east-heavy mantra flawed. --
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Roland Christen
With spring loaded gearboxes you need to balance the axes. Do not unbalance the Mach2 axes.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: AaronW <aaron.wilhelm@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Fri, Nov 19, 2021 9:14 am Subject: [ap-gto] Balancing east heavy? #Mach2GTO New Mach2 owner here. I have read that it is typically advisable to balance one's mount slightly east heavy (counterweight shaft side) so that the gears are always engaged as they track. Is this also the case on an encoder mount like the Mach2?
Best, Aaron -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics
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