Celeste Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 After fighting with my EQ 3.2 mount RA drive (GRR ) I managed to get the motor and gears to work together instead of arguing with each other (making ALOT of crunching/grinding noises as heard by EMS guys lol ) I found the motor had been moved off the worm, completely missing it! How that happened I have no idea.....anyway I moved the motor back and engaged the gears, tried to move the mount via handset but it was having none of it. It wouldn't move a bit...and rewarded me with a very loud CRUNCH and the motor sprang away again. So I removed the motor and the worm housing (is that what it's called?) by the 4 alan screws.....eyeballed over the gear inside, held the worm back on by hand and turned the worm by hand...it moved the mount so it wasn't seized as I thought. I put it all back together in the hope it would work right and WOOHOO I got it to work-ish. Fiddling with the screw tensions I have it now working away nicely but tracking is an issue, theres a clicking noise still, I can't stop it. It seems the motor doesn't run 'smooth' it 'jerks' if you know what I mean? Is this fixable or is it deffo new motors needed? I need to test it outside, but when that will be who knows Sorry for the long ramble...and I hope I got the parts named right haha But for now i'm a happy bunny my mount is working again (for now! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Hi Nicky. It is fixable. Are you testing this on a bare mount or have you got a scope on top. You need to set it up on a bare mount. Once you have it turning the mount without any grief or backlash then load up the mount. If it starts clicking you will find the balance is out. What is happening is the gear is lifting the scope and when it gets to a certain point on the teeth the weight of the scope is making it jump over the gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Hi Graham, thanks for the info. I tried fixing it without scope/weights and I ended up over tightning, I hadn't had the scope out until last night when it went with a dramatic crunch. It still clicks without the scope on, I did a vid it's on here somewhere, it shows the problem Ihad at the start that made me fiddle with the motor/worm in the 1st place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 I cannot find your vid can you post it up again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) Yeah, it's on photobucket. I sat for a while making sure the scope is WELL balanced in ALL ways, turned the scope on and sent it off to the beehive cluster where it moved a cm then made a noise and the whole mount switched off......then restarted. The RA axis is quite loose, I have removed the lever and repositioned it but it wont turn any tighter. The noise is still the same, kinda crunching, and snappy motor movement. Edit: Unsure how to put vids from PB on here, this image leads to the vid on PB.... Edited August 30, 2012 by Celeste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Yeah, it's on photobucket. I sat for a while making sure the scope is WELL balanced in ALL ways, turned the scope on and sent it off to the beehive cluster where it moved a cm then made a noise and the whole mount switched off......then restarted. The RA axis is quite loose, I have removed the lever and repositioned it but it wont turn any tighter. The noise is still the same, kinda crunching, and snappy motor movement. Edit: Unsure how to put vids from PB on here, this image leads to the vid on PB.... You say you have removed the clutch lever and repositioned it but it will not not tighten up. I think you have just solved the mystery. If this is the case I would remove the lever again, then unscrew the bit the leaver goes onto it should be a brass square. When you have removed this look in the hole it leaves you should see a plastic plug in the bottom of the hole. I am betting you will not see one as yours has been worn down and it is now inside the mount causing it to jam up as the motor tries to rotate the RA axis. The plastic plug is what locks the mount when you tighten the clutch leaver. It can only be fitted from the inside once the mount has been stripped down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 (edited) Oh dear lord.....that sounds too much for me...stripping it down. There is no plastic at all down the hole. How hard/easy is it to strip the mount? bear in mind I know nothing about these things. Blimey just googled eq 3.2 strip down, I am at a loss with that...I know I will lose something or end up with a non working mount Urgh I suppose I had better read up more then wait until the kids are back in school. I hope to have it working right for Kelling. Edit....where do I get a new plastic plug from to replace the worn one? Edited September 1, 2012 by Celeste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Answer is I don't know where you would get a new one from but I do know a man who can make you one. If you want you can send me the just the mount and I will strip it down and sort it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 How much would that cost? And would it be back in time for Kelling? There may be other issues i'm not aware of with the mount as I am rather new to this kinda thing. I assume the plastic plug wearing is quite a common thing? Could it be replaced with something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 It is not unknown for this to happen. It is usually caused by the owner turning the scope without undoing the clutch fully. I would replace it with an Acetate one. The beauty of Acetate is it gets harder with age. I wont charge you to do it, all you need to do is pay the return postage or if you can wait until the Saturday I can deliver it to you at Kelling because I am coming up for a day out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 The mount is a used one, I guess thats why he sold it (the play in the axis) As a total newbie I assumed the play was normal, talking to the EMS guys it wasn't normal and tried a few things to fix the issue. I've not moved the scope with the clutches done tight. I tried to undo the head from the tripod but the screw is far too tight for me to undo, I shall have to get my brother to try when I see him. I shall look into posting, but I can imagine it to be expensive. Let me think on it, but if the mount won't work properly without this plug I guess it needs fixing, or do I cut my losses and buy a new mount? I can't really afford either atm with Kelling coming up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Well Nicky that is a decision only you can make. As you will probably gather from my avatar I do this for a living. If a member of the general public walked into my workshop with this mount they would be looking at a bill of £100.00 plus to get it fixed. As you are a forum member I am willing to do it just to help you out. The offer is there if you want it, I do not see how I can do any more than that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Yeah thanks alot for the offer. I shall look into postage, how much do these things weigh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 No idea stick it on your bathroom scales. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Lol, I will do once Ihave it all packed up....where do I send it to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Here's Grahams website and address Nicky: http://www.astroteclimited.co.uk/contact%20us.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste Posted September 2, 2012 Author Share Posted September 2, 2012 Yeah all sorted with address Kim thanks now to get this mount screw undone....it's VERY tight didn't you have a go at undoing it at Sawley? I can't shift it, gonna see if my bro will come up when he's awake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Hmmm... can't remember that Nicky - I may have done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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