Re: New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
Brian, I did order a wavy washer, I can move a 22 Lb. Counterweight a few inches before I get a reaction from the RA. Plus I needed to order a extra set of RA and DEC cables any how for my G11 survival kit. Thank you Brian and HAPPY SKIES.Deric.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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-------- Original message --------
From: Brian Valente <bvalente@...>
Date: 3/6/20 4:49 PM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
I should mention that Scott is a huge fan of vintage and he is a huge Lost in Space fan. (Star Trek too, i'm guess the original series?)
so we wanted to do something that let you know a little about who we are. it might turn into a couch gag kind of thing, a little different with each one? :)
Brian
On Fri, Mar 6, 2020 at 1:53 PM Rappnron via Groups.Io <Rappnron= [email protected]> wrote:
Wow, great job. love the intro
cant imagine your next intro being better, cant wait to see!!!
?Live long and prosper
Ron
?hoping for a balance video as the sticktion is the reason I upgraded to the wavey washer and balancing has been? super trickey with my 10" RC on G11
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Thanks for the video Brian, Really helpful !
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Re: New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
Great tutorial, Brian!
You cut down your beard. 8^0
--
SonnyE
(I suggest viewed in full screen)
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Re: New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
I should mention that Scott is a huge fan of vintage and he is a huge Lost in Space fan. (Star Trek too, i'm guess the original series?)
so we wanted to do something that let you know a little about who we are. it might turn into a couch gag kind of thing, a little different with each one? :)
Brian
On Fri, Mar 6, 2020 at 1:53 PM Rappnron via Groups.Io <Rappnron= [email protected]> wrote: Wow, great job. love the intro
cant imagine your next intro being better, cant wait to see!!!
?Live long and prosper
Ron
?hoping for a balance video as the sticktion is the reason I upgraded to the wavey washer and balancing has been? super trickey with my 10" RC on G11
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Re: New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
Brian's first tutorial video is proof positive that Scott Losmandy's?decision to bring Brian on-board is a brilliant stroke.? Well done by all involved!
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Re: New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
Well done, Bryan! Looking forward to many more.
On Fri, Mar 6, 2020 at 5:05 PM taylor waber < taylorwab@...> wrote: Great video tutorial!?Explanations were clear, video shots were well framed, and the sound was great. Looking forward to more of these.?
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Re: New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
Great video tutorial!?Explanations were clear, video shots were well framed, and the sound was great. Looking forward to more of these.?
|
Re: New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
Wow, great job. love the intro
cant imagine your next intro being better, cant wait to see!!!
?Live long and prosper
Ron
?hoping for a balance video as the sticktion is the reason I upgraded to the wavey washer and balancing has been? super trickey with my 10" RC on G11
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Re: New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
Brian,
My feedback is that it is an excellent video, clear and easy to understand and just the right length.
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On 7 Mar 2020, at 7:46:38 am, Brian Valente < brian@...> wrote:
Hi everyone, ? we just finished and uploaded our first in a new series of tutorials. this one is on the wavy washer upgrade (as requested!) ? ? it's our first one and my premiere, so be gentle haha. But seriously, any feedback or suggestions are welcome. ? It’s a bit longer than I would have preferred, but it’s pretty comprehensive ? ? One of our top priorities is more tutorials and documentation ? ? ? Thanks ? Brian ? Brian Valente Losmandy Astronomical ? ?
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Re: Likely causes of DEC stall?
Hi Taylor,
I find my DEC Stalled messages from one of 2 causes:
a. The DEC axis is not balanced.? This means the load is not in the dovetail saddle at the right position. Especially if it was balanced and I added a few shield (weights the front too much) or my deep sky camera (weights the back too much) To check this best: ? ?Always first install a 1/4-20 bolt in the front of the dovetail (should be a threaded hole there) so the scope can't slip out into the ground. ? ?Next, rotate your RA til the scope and counterweights are horizontal. This removes all weight from the clutch disk and the axis will freely spin. ? ?Then loosen the DEC clutch and this will cause the scope to flip up or down if not balanced (be ready to catch it!!!!).? ? ?Then carefully adjust the scope in the dovetail or else move other weights around (there are sliding weight systems for SCTs anyway).? Before I move my scope I put it back at CWD... because if horizontal there can be a lot of friction with the dovetail edges.??
b. The DEC worm is getting stuck. The Belleville washer you put in cannot make the worm get stuck. It's only a spring that keeps the worm from side to side motion.? So worm binding is most likely the worm pushed into the ring gear too tightly, or a speck of something (dust/sand) is jamming it.? So first try spraying in some lube (lithium grease, perhaps, or WD40?) and use a spark plug feeler gauge to slightly increase the worm to ring gear gap.? Always carry a set of US sized Allen wrenches if you go out to the field (or back yard!), because this adjustment is so common.??
Chip thinks the binding between the ring and worm is temperature related...as it surely can be. But the major parts that expand and contract radially from the DEC center are all aluminum.? I was hoping the expansion and contraction would scale so the gap would remain constant.? But as Chip also pointed out, if the ring gear is not perfectly centered, or one of the cylindrical needle bearings slightly higher, it will push the ring gear toward the worm gear at a certain high spot in the 360 degree rotation if the ring gear. So as Chip says, run your axis around 180 degrees clockwise, the back and 180 degrees Counterclockwise to be sure there are no high binding spots.
All the best, Michael
On Fri, Mar 6, 2020, 12:32 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: Hi Taylor
with those additional details, i would say your DEC worm is binding, particularly since you've been inside the gear and customizing it, it seems like the likely cause. I don't know much about Michael's belleville customization, so he may have input here.
If your electronics and battery were good before, they are probably still fine
Brian
On Fri, Mar 6, 2020 at 9:37 AM taylor waber < taylorwab@...> wrote: Brian – Thank you, I bought my mount ~Oct 2018 and it does not have spring loaded worms. I think it would be useful to add to the OPW adjustment to say do this during imaging temperatures and also slew the mount 360 deg in order to see if there are any spots that it binds, or in Chip’s recommendation, if there are any spots where the power draw is high.
?
Michael – Thanks as always for the detailed response! I’ll be giving this a shot tonight, as the forecast is cloudy.
?
Paul – I have a 12V DC battery with a DC-DC boost converter to 15V DC to the Gemini 2 unit.
?
Sonny- So glad you ironed out your issues! Hopefully I’ll be next!
?
Chip – I’m running OPW (not spring-loaded). Thanks! I’ll definitely run the mount all the way around to see if there’s any binding. Could I watch the current draw on the Gemini unit? Or should I hook up a multimeter? (mine was about $35 off amazon so I hope it’s of quality)
?
ALL – Would you expect worm adjustment to change when transporting the mount to a dark location? I feel that the small thumb screws, to adjust the worm distance, stick out so much that I could bump them in moving and it would adjust the worm. I might 3D print some small covers and Velcro them to cover these during transport. Also upgrading to the spring-loaded worms would solve this issue entirely so I might do that.
--
Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Nice Video, thank you Brian. HAPPY SKIES Deric.
Sent from my Boost Mobile Phone.
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-------- Original message --------
From: Brian Valente <bvalente@...>
Date: 3/6/20 10:55 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Quite sticky mount
FYI working on the video now
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Michael,
Your warranty is void.
You Crazy Man! LOL! ;^)
--
SonnyE
(I suggest viewed in full screen)
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New Tutorial video - wavy washer upgrade
Hi everyone, ? we just finished and uploaded our first in a new series of tutorials. this one is on the wavy washer upgrade (as requested!) ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_NlX21dksI ? it's our first one and my premiere, so be gentle haha. But seriously, any feedback or suggestions are welcome. ? It’s a bit longer than I would have preferred, but it’s pretty comprehensive ? ? One of our top priorities is more tutorials and documentation ? ? ? Thanks ? Brian ? Brian Valente Losmandy Astronomical ? Losmandy.com ?
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Re: Likely causes of DEC stall?
Hi Taylor
with those additional details, i would say your DEC worm is binding, particularly since you've been inside the gear and customizing it, it seems like the likely cause. I don't know much about Michael's belleville customization, so he may have input here.
If your electronics and battery were good before, they are probably still fine
Brian
On Fri, Mar 6, 2020 at 9:37 AM taylor waber < taylorwab@...> wrote: Brian – Thank you, I bought my mount ~Oct 2018 and it does not have spring loaded worms. I think it would be useful to add to the OPW adjustment to say do this during imaging temperatures and also slew the mount 360 deg in order to see if there are any spots that it binds, or in Chip’s recommendation, if there are any spots where the power draw is high.
?
Michael – Thanks as always for the detailed response! I’ll be giving this a shot tonight, as the forecast is cloudy.
?
Paul – I have a 12V DC battery with a DC-DC boost converter to 15V DC to the Gemini 2 unit.
?
Sonny- So glad you ironed out your issues! Hopefully I’ll be next!
?
Chip – I’m running OPW (not spring-loaded). Thanks! I’ll definitely run the mount all the way around to see if there’s any binding. Could I watch the current draw on the Gemini unit? Or should I hook up a multimeter? (mine was about $35 off amazon so I hope it’s of quality)
?
ALL – Would you expect worm adjustment to change when transporting the mount to a dark location? I feel that the small thumb screws, to adjust the worm distance, stick out so much that I could bump them in moving and it would adjust the worm. I might 3D print some small covers and Velcro them to cover these during transport. Also upgrading to the spring-loaded worms would solve this issue entirely so I might do that.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Re: Likely causes of DEC stall?
Hi Taylor,
I don't know your level of electronics but you probably cannot get a good current measurement with what you have. You could buy one of Michael Herman's magic power cord boxes which steps up voltage and has a digital display that shows volts or amps. For most folks that thing is a lifesaver and they are cheap. You could also order the parts from DigiKey eBay or Amazon and build one but probably not as good as Michel's box. When you get the lag errors you can usually hear the servo motors dragging or slowing, if you stop the mount immediately at that point you can also feel there is zero backlash on the axis with the problem. This will tell you your adjustment os off, you MUST set backlash on a COLD mount for the worm to have correct backlash under your cold working conditions or when the mount is cold it will have no backlash and drag/lag.?
.?
--
Chip Louie - Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware
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Re: PMC-Eight GoTo or Gemini?
No doubt Sonny, I'm waiting to as how Michael Herman's GM8 runs with about 60 Lbs payload runs. I think Scott Losmandy intentionally understates the payload limits of his mounts. This will test it.HAPPY SKIES Deric.
Sent from my Boost Mobile Phone.
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-------- Original message --------
From: Sonny Edmonds <sonnyedmonds@...>
Date: 3/6/20 10:43 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] PMC-Eight GoTo or Gemini?
You're welcome Deric.
That's it in a nutshell. Scott Losmandy knows how to track the Universe.
He also knows how the too drives differ in motion.
--
SonnyE
(I suggest viewed in full screen)
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Either a G11T or G11 should be fine for? solar imaging purposes.??
A G11T would hold a huge weight.? ?It will last you probably forever as you invest in more scopes later on.?? A G11 could also likely do fine for your application even with a 6 inch triplet.? No problem handling my 6 inch f/8 Meade AR6 doublet or 5 inch f/7 triplet.
All other things being equal, the G11T will have half the PE of the G11, as it has double the teeth on its RA ring gear, and the same worm as the G11 (and as the GM8).? ?If properly adjusted, it should not need a spring loading of the Titan RA worm.? You could likely get spring loading for the DEC worm if you wanted, as that is a G11 DEC section.??
For my solar imaging using 80 mm refractors, even a smaller GM8 works fine.? The very low PE possible on Losmandy mounts, about 1.5 arcsec RMS, gives a very stable solar image due to RA PE, but of course the sun is not exactly on the ecliptic so if polar aligned, it does require DEC autoguiding to keep the sun (or moon or planets) centered on the video imager over a long period of time.? Anyway autoguiding works fine too with a Gemini unit.
_____ other notes _____
Right now I have overloaded my G11 with a 47 lb C14 f11 SCT.? On that SCT are another ~11 pounds of 80mm finder/guide scope, and top extra Losmandy dovetail, and heavy JMI Crayford to the back.? I'll guess this is about 70+ pounds of scope gear when I've added a deep sky camera to the back cell.??
I ran out of counterweights so installed a longer, 3 foot long, counterweight bar for increased counter-torque at lower counterweight total weight.? The counterweights are now 2x21 + 7 = 49 lbs, and the bar is hollow, so add 3 pounds for that.? The G11 is holding up about 120 lbs.? It has high friction clutch disks that hold well.? Some photos of this overloaded G11 are attached.
Even with this high weight load, it slews, tracks, adjusts AZ and Elevation fine.? The balance needs to be near perfect in both RA and DEC though, else I get "Lags" messages on the Gemini even at 17 volts power supply.? The tracking current is still about 0.3 amps, and slewing about 1.3 amps, so still looking very normal for power consumption.??
I have just polar aligned it, but ran out of time to run a long PE test....rain coming of course. ( In fact I have anecdotal evidence that buying Astro equipment is one cure for drought conditions.? At least it draws in moisture and clouds. )
Have fun and enjoy yourself!
And order up some sunspots too...it's been a long time since there were any of interest!
Michael
On Fri, Mar 6, 2020, 9:50 AM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: Wow that is pretty incredible ? So I think the G11T would really do that job. A G11 might work as well, though the 150 is a bit large physically. ? ? I would probably go with a tripod pier extension for maximum range. You can get that for the G11 and the G11T (you have to ask for it for the T) ? I have a 165 refractor on the G11 and it works great but it is a carbon fiber tube so it was lighter than my 120ED refractor. Also it’s just one scope not two ? For exposures that short, I don’t think the spring loaded worm wouldn’t make much of a difference for you. It’s really when you get into longer exposures that it helps with smoothing tracking and guiding. ? ? ? ? ? ? Thanks ? Brian ? portfolio ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of rene diamond
Sent: Friday, March 6, 2020 9:13 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] G11T questions ? 1200mm without dew shield extended
exposures are less than 10ms. For animations I use a solar guider and will take 300 frames every 60 seconds for 30-60 min
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Wow that is pretty incredible ? So I think the G11T would really do that job. A G11 might work as well, though the 150 is a bit large physically. ? ? I would probably go with a tripod pier extension for maximum range. You can get that for the G11 and the G11T (you have to ask for it for the T) ? I have a 165 refractor on the G11 and it works great but it is a carbon fiber tube so it was lighter than my 120ED refractor. Also it’s just one scope not two ? For exposures that short, I don’t think the spring loaded worm wouldn’t make much of a difference for you. It’s really when you get into longer exposures that it helps with smoothing tracking and guiding. ? ? ? ? ? ? Thanks ? Brian ? portfolio https://www.brianvalentephotography.com/ ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of rene diamond
Sent: Friday, March 6, 2020 9:13 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] G11T questions ? 1200mm without dew shield extended
exposures are less than 10ms. For animations I use a solar guider and will take 300 frames every 60 seconds for 30-60 min
|
Re: Likely causes of DEC stall?
Brian – Thank you, I bought my mount ~Oct 2018 and it does not have spring loaded worms. I think it would be useful to add to the OPW adjustment to say do this during imaging temperatures and also slew the mount 360 deg in order to see if there are any spots that it binds, or in Chip’s recommendation, if there are any spots where the power draw is high.
?
Michael – Thanks as always for the detailed response! I’ll be giving this a shot tonight, as the forecast is cloudy.
?
Paul – I have a 12V DC battery with a DC-DC boost converter to 15V DC to the Gemini 2 unit.
?
Sonny- So glad you ironed out your issues! Hopefully I’ll be next!
?
Chip – I’m running OPW (not spring-loaded). Thanks! I’ll definitely run the mount all the way around to see if there’s any binding. Could I watch the current draw on the Gemini unit? Or should I hook up a multimeter? (mine was about $35 off amazon so I hope it’s of quality)
?
ALL – Would you expect worm adjustment to change when transporting the mount to a dark location? I feel that the small thumb screws, to adjust the worm distance, stick out so much that I could bump them in moving and it would adjust the worm. I might 3D print some small covers and Velcro them to cover these during transport. Also upgrading to the spring-loaded worms would solve this issue entirely so I might do that.
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Sonny
Sure. I will post pics,etc
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Mearl Balmer
Ron
Michael Herman
Chip Louie