You will find many threads with similar observations.? When I noticed that my G11S (before I added my DIY SLW) had a lot of backlash, I tightened it using the easily accessible adjustment screws.? Turns out, by doing so it then easily binds up when slewing - at least with the 3rd party motor / controller kit that I bought (the G11S has no goto).? The reason for this is that either the ring gear is not round, or that it does not rotate centered due to some other reasons such as play in the axes.? So, without SLW in order to slew there needs to be a good amount of slack.? In my case, as it was delivered from Losmandy, the slack was very noticeable and annoying in the FOV when just moving the scope gently back and forth.
The Losmandy SLW has a backoff screw that basically disables the SLW so long as the gear is below the worm setting as determined by the backoff screw.? Once the gear is engaged in the worm to the max due to whatever non-roundness, the SLW engages and there will be extra pressure from the spring - which seems to be quite strong.? That will cause friction and may have side effects (I don't know - for my DIY SLW I use weak springs that slowly engage but I don't need a backoff screw).?
Being practical, forgetting about the SLW, backlash in RA does not matter much for tracking so long as the gear is pushing (use a counterweight if needed).? For DEC, once you reach your target it won't need to change much.? That means that you can tighten it to reduce the backlash, just for that position.? When you have to slew again, loosen it so it won't bind.? Or you can live with slack in DEC and see if PHD2 can fix it - but it's not ideal.? These types of problems are quite commonly discussed here, and it is also my personal experience.? If you have the SLW, in that case you should engage it fully by turning the backoff screw so the worm is fully engaged without slack.? Or you can take it off and follow the above and see what works better.
While I don't have a Losmandy SLW myself, at the Grand Canyon / Kaibab Lodge star party I have adjusted one from a friend who had just received his G11G with all the trimmings from Losmandy and had horrible backlash.? I don't think this was Losmandy's fault, I think it happened because he did not know to disengage the clutches when transporting the mount.? As a result, huge forces occur that can cause the settings to be dislodged.? Fixing it was easy though.? We had looked at the Losmandy video on this and it's quite easy following Scott's instructions.? However, if your mount is like mine, you may need different settings at different positions of the OTA.
While Losmandy recommends to not change the factory settings, my experience is that you need to know how to change it when it is needed.? The Losmandy is made for DIY so I take advantage of it.? It is nice to have full control.? If it were me, I would try running without the SLW (by taking them off) and with the SLW, and see what works best.
