On Thu, Mar 28, 2024 at 09:53 AM, Michael A. Covington wrote:

I have not adjusted my GM811G.? What am I missing?? What would improve if I adjusted it

Unless you see obvious problems, don't bother.

开云体育

I have not adjusted my GM811G.? What am I missing?? What would improve if I adjusted it?

Well, I think you’ll probably get more positive reviews than not here but I have had my G11g for about a year now. I haven’t done the Gemini update yet and have only been using it for visual but I am building by astrophotography setup now so I am testing with NINA in the next few weeks.?

The learning curve on Gemini is pretty steep compared to petty much anything else out there. You need to be prepared to spend some time learning the Gemini system because it is much different than any other system. From a hardware perspective, I have the lightweight folding as well as the older heavyweight take apart tripod. Both are exceptionally solid, More often than not I am using the lightweight because I am not using anything bigger than a C8 on it. My Meade LX85 feels like a toy by comparison.?

No major issues so far, make sure you set the limits so your scope does’t bang into the legs or anything, I learned that very early on since one of my scopes is a F/11 90mm which isn’t overly long but long enough to be a concern. Having the GPS is very useful as well, especially if you go to different locations a lot.?

The biggest concern is the weight of the G11, this is not a lightweight mount even with the lightweight tripod. It will sink into soft ground pretty easily and picking it up and moving more than a foot or two when it is assembled is possible but difficult. With the heavy duty tripod it is not really something I’d want to do much. You can, and I’d recommend you do, get the RA extension so you can take it apart for storage and moving. IT makes it much more manageable in the field.?

That’s about it. Maybe some of the experienced astrophotography folks may have specifics they have come across to add.?

--
Visual Telescopes: Meade 395 90mm f/11, Celestron C8, AstroTech AT80
Beginning AP Scope: Meade Schmidt-Newtonian 6” with Moonlite focuser and motor
Current Mount: Meade LX85, Losmandy G11g

On Wed, Mar 27, 2024 at 07:14 PM, gsch159 wrote:

Do the spring loaded worms on the new mounts need to be adjusted or do you just use the mount right out of the box?

I have needed to adjust mine frequently. I also had to adjust the worm blocks to make the spring adjustment remove the RA stalling I was getting. These mounts do need adjusting, I cant say that "Just use it" is a good recommendation.

On Thu, Mar 28, 2024 at 07:56 AM, <kevinwalsh324@...> wrote:

Oh, btw, the RA and Dec motors are re-designed from what’s seen in the videos. The connectors have been relocated, so the installation instructions are wrong. When I initially installed the motors one of the connectors was against the mount and inaccessible for connecting the cable. It took me a minute to figure out where the missing connector was

Do you have pictures of this? I bought mine last April and I am curious to see what you mean.

After months of considering various mounts, I bought a G11G a few months ago and I’m extremely happy with it. Mine is on a permanent pier. I still have a Celestron CGEM ?on a pier in a different part of my property and an old CG5GT which is on a tripod.
I had an issue when I first got my G11 with a bad noise when slewing in Dec, but I contacted Losmandy and Tanya sent me a fix. Turns out, I had overtightened the Dec motor when I’d installed it.

Oh, btw, the RA and Dec motors are re-designed from what’s seen in the videos. The connectors have been relocated, so the installation instructions are wrong. When I initially installed the motors one of the connectors was against the mount and inaccessible for connecting the cable. It took me a minute to figure out where the missing connector was. (Duh. LOL)

I’m still learning how to get the best performance from the mount, but I’m impressed so far. I’ve built a ‘sky model’ (aka pointing model) and used the built-in PAC app to tweak the polar alignment. (Much like the ASPA app that Celestron has.)
I particularly like the G11’s ability to track through and beyond the Meridian. I designed my pier a bit like a ‘bent knee’ type, so the mount can track about 2 hours on either side of the Meridian without having to do a Meridian flip. (Ie., I’ve set the limits so an object in the East can be tracked to 2 hrs west of the Meridian; or the G11 can start tracking an object 2 hrs east of the Meridian and track towards the western horizon.)?

In the ‘Mounts’ section of Cloudy Nights there have been a couple threads going back a few months that discuss Losmandy mounts. Most of the comments are highly positive. It might be well worth your time to review them.

Good afternoon,

I'm trying to narrow down an upgrade for my atrophotography.
Right now my imaging train consists of an 80mm APO.? I'm looking to purchase a larger telescope to add to my imaging (120mm APO) and will need to get a larger mount.? My existing mount is just enough to handle what I currently image with.
I'm very interested in the G11G.
My only problem is that I cannot find any recent reviews from the last few years, from 2021 to present.

I would really like to know how the new G11G's are performing, problems, etc.

First question - my existing imaging train is only 14 pounds.? Will I still get good guiding with being that much underloaded from what the G11 can actually carry? I have been told that large capacity mounts do not perform well with small loads.? I would have to think this is false.

Do the spring loaded worms on the new mounts need to be adjusted or do you just use the mount right out of the box?

How tight do you make the clutches?? Should you still be able to move the RA axis and DEC axis with decent pressure from your hand? I'm used to locking down the clutches and the RA and DEC don't really move unless by force.

Is there is excessive dec backlash that seems to pop in reviews or is that just something that may happen? I understand that not everything made can always be 100% perfect. Things happen.

People talk about fiddling with the mount.? Reading things from Losmandy and other reviews, everything points to just use it, don't make any adjustments with the new mounts, don't fiddle, etc.

I know these questions have been answered in the past, but that's the problem.? I would like to know about the newer mounts, not 10 year old, 15 year old mounts.

I also know that problems, bad reviews, etc. get posted more than the good.? You really do not get a good picture of how things really are unfortunatley.

I know I have viewed all of the Losmandy tutorials on their youtube channel at least twice.

A new reliable mount is a lot of money.? I just want to make sure.

Any information is greatly appreciative.

Thank you.

I have 2 Wavy Washers coming. I hope I didn't buy them for nothing. I do have quite the dead zone when balancing.?

I bought the MA adapter to fit my G11 to my Primalucelab C120 EQ8-R adapter plate. With careful alignment, drilling and tapping it came out great.

On Sat, Mar 23, 2024 at 09:14 PM, Peter Eacmen wrote:

How are you getting a torque wrench on the RA?

I'm not suggesting a torque wrench and adapter.? Just the moment arm and force applied.? With the RA balanced and horizontal we slide the counterweights outward (same if inward).? ?We configure weights such that at some position the clutch slips.? For the weight chosen the difference in the center of mass positions calculates as (|"torque at slip" - "torque at balance"|).

Example, my 150mm refractor weighs 32# balanced/horizontal with a stack of 7# (inner) and two 11# (outer).? The outer two 11# balance at 12" (mass center).? On moving the two weights the clutch slips when moving 5" (I tensioned the clutch very tight).? The torque at 12" is 24 ft-lbs (12lbs * 2 * 12in / 12 in/ft) and there exist an equal opposing force (balanced).? The force at 17" becomes 34 ft-lbs.? Added torque to slip the clutch becomes then | 34 - 24 | or 10 ft-lbs.

{It's equivalent to saying, remove the weights at the balanced position and place them at the point of slippage or 17".? At 17" this requires 17# to balance but we place 7# more than that.? That extra 7lbs applies 7lbs * 1.4 ft or 10 ft-lbs.}

Balanced


Slipping

Hi Peter,

Just noticed your posting. The wavy washer is intended to take a little downward force off the RA clutch so you can balance your load at your latitude. You can get a sense of the balance by gently pushing CW or CCW on the counterweight bar, but this is never a freewheeling balance like some other brands. After balancing, there should be enough stiction to keep your mount from sliding in RA throughout the night. The clutch pad and surrounding plates should be grease and oil free as already mentioned.

If you are still uncomfortable with the lack of resistance you can remove the wavy washer and balance RA by cranking the altitude knob as close to 0 as possible. Then there will be as little normal force as possible minimizing the friction on the clutch surfaces. Just be careful you don't tip your tripod over when in this lowered position (not to worry with a pier). You can hang some temporary weights under the tripod to help with center of mass. When balance is achieved to satisfaction, crank your altitude back up to your latitude. You will need to redo your polar alignment after doing this. This is the method I use when changing telescopes, but I have a heavy duty in ground pier to hold all in place. And I also use the Micheal Herman high friction clutch pads which have less slippage as compared to?the Losmandy stock polyethylene type. Balance does not have to be perfect and most go for an east-heavy balance in RA, and a camera end heavy balance in Dec.

Good luck,

John
--
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Losmandy G11G2 on pier; refurbed Losmandy G11 with OnStep controller; SkyShed design roll-off observatory; ZWO ASI2600MM-P; ZWO ASI071MC; Sky-Watcher Esprit 100 ED with field flattener; Celestron C925 Edge HD with 0.7XFR, William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO; PHD2, Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight user

How are you getting a torque wrench on the RA? I have the RA extension kit and don’t see any bolt- like object to put a socket onto.

?This is what the RA clutch looked like when I disassembled it to install the wavy washer.

I was thinking of using a CGE Pro tripod to support my G11. How would I connect the G11 to the CGE Pro tripod?

Chris?

I have always wondered how tight the clutch knobs should be. On my 2 SkyWatcher mounts they have levers which are fairly easy to set to a consistent level.

Did you verify the clutch surfaces remained dry.? Free from any contamination from solids or oil from grease?

It's perhaps easier with a number.? A measure the torque that breaks the starting friction using the delta of torque from the outer counterweight slip minus balance positions.

My stock G11G currently slips at the RA around 8 foot-pounds currently.?

I have a new G11G carrying a ~50lb payload. I wasnt able to balance the payload very well (even setting the Altitude to horizontal). So I opt’d for the wavy washer upgrade. I just installed it tonight and am concerned the clutch will no longer tighten enough.

Before the wavy washer install with the RA on the bench if I fully tighten the clutch knob no matter how hard I try I cannot rotate the RA by hand.

With the wavy washer installed and the clutch knob fully tightened I am able to palm the RA extension and rotate the RA by hand. I don’t see how this could hold a 50lb payload without slipping.

Am I missing something?