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Signing off for 10 days ...going to look at some property near Bishop
Cal for my 30inch observatory site...OK, actually looking at
retirement
property, but with the 30 inch in mind.

Clear skies
Bill

Hi Gil, The very first day I had my HGM-200 mount, I immediately knew
it needed lubing.
As you mention, the RA bearings are easy to inspect, and re-lube.
If you have noticed that these bearings seemed sticky, and reluctant to
freely rotate, then for sure, the same will apply to the Dec Bearings
also.
Don't hesitate to disassemble as I have mentioned earlier. It will be
worth the work.
What the reasoning is behind Scott's use of this lube, I just don't
know.
To me this grease resembles a heavy damping grease.
Provided that tolerances are tight (Which my HGM-200 was, absolutely no
slop in these areas) I don't see the reasoning behind using them, if
they will eventually dry out, and hinder/damage the bearings, and shaft
surfaces over time.
I don't think you could go wrong using ANY type of high-grade grease.
About the GOTO for the HGM-200, I had been asking this same question for
2 years. (1997)
This upgrade should have been made available quite some time ago, and
new issue mounts should have had it as standard by now
It was one of the key reasons that I sold my HGM-200,( Spring '99) and
ordered the AP1200GTO. (Expected In Oct.)
I just got tired of waiting, and hearing excuses.
Please do not take my critical remarks as being too harsh though, as the
HGM-200 is a very, very fine mount.
I had talked with the folks at Astrometric at the '99 Astrofest meet,
and they had considered doing one for this mount.
The differences are not that great between the G-11, and HGM-200. Mark

Tom,

After another night fine tuning my G11 I still have not achieved your
guiding error rate.

So I'll keep trying. :-)

Two more questions: Do you use the King tracking rate? Do you find that the
PEC helps?

Greg Crawford

Does anyone know the exact size of the supplied nylon washer? I
guess I can find out by taking the head apart, but would rather see
if anyone knows.

Thanks,

Milton

--- In Losmandy_users@..., "Steve Nightingale"
<snightingale40@h...> wrote:

--- In Losmandy_users@..., "Elton J. Chambers, Jr."
<cabinets@l...> wrote:

about such a solution). However, I could not find 0.030 Teflon

but

instead I found a sheet of 0.039 at McMaster & Carr for about $12

USD,

Hey Folks,

I just checked out the site. They also have 1/32 inch (.031") which
is
actually closer to the supplied .03" nylon washer.

Steve

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Hi Greg,
I do not use the King tracking rate. My impression was it works for
low to the horizon shots. Since I do not have a complete understanding
of it, I have never tried it.
I have not tried the PEC, but I am thinking about giving it a try to
see if it provides any help. I am a little bothered by the fact that I
would have to retrain it every time I use it, but if it works, it
would be worth it.

Tom C



Greg Crawford wrote:

Milton,

I think it's 3.5" OD by 1.25" ID and .031 thick. Not quite sure about OD but it did measure it and
that's what I remember.

Don

Years ago, I was a subscriber to the APML list. Most folks there suggested
that I leave PEC turned off when autoguiding- let the autoguider take care
of all corrections. That's how I currently use my GM100 mount and ST4.

Paul Sterngold

--- Julie and Tom Carrico <carrico@...> wrote:

Hi Greg,
I do not use the King tracking rate. My impression was it works for
low to the horizon shots. Since I do not have a complete understanding
of it, I have never tried it.
I have not tried the PEC, but I am thinking about giving it a try to
see if it provides any help. I am a little bothered by the fact that I
would have to retrain it every time I use it, but if it works, it
would be worth it.

Tom C



Greg Crawford wrote:

Tom,

After another night fine tuning my G11 I still have not achieved your
guiding error rate.

So I'll keep trying. :-)

Two more questions: Do you use the King tracking rate? Do you find that

the

PEC helps?

Greg Crawford

-----Original Message-----
From: Julie and Tom Carrico [mailto:carrico@...]
Sent: Saturday, 5 August 2000 12:53 AM
To: Losmandy_users@...
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users] Recent 4" Tak Images from last
weekend at
ARGO


Greg,
The delay after correction (usually about .8 seconds) is absolutely
required. Until I did that, my corrections were always in the .5 to 1
pixel range. The mount was still responding to the prior move when

the

next guiding exposure was started.
If I use a tracking rate of more than 2 seconds, and there is a

change

in RA and DEC (my minimum move times are usually .2 to .25 seconds),
then it can be up to 2+.2+.2+.8+.8 = 4 seconds between corrections.
This now starts to get kind of long. I have noticed that the way my
drive works is that it hums along pretty well, and then has a jump of
.7 or so pixels that is usually guided out on the next correction. If
I wait too long between corrections, it will be too long before the
error is guided out.
I am still working with the drive. Since it is brand new, I have not
yet taken it all apart for a cleaning as recommended by so many other
G-11 motors. For the most part, I am very satisfied. The DSC are just
great and the mount is well built.

Tom C

Greg Crawford wrote:

Tom,

+/- .2 pixels is excellent. Would you have obtained the

same level of

guiding accuracy ifyou had exposed the tracking CCD for

say, 2 secs, without

any delay?

Greg Crawford



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--- In Losmandy_users@..., "Bill Faatz" <faatz1@l...> wrote:

Signing off for 10 days ...going to look at some property near

Bishop

Cal for my 30inch observatory site...OK, actually looking at
retirement
property, but with the 30 inch in mind.

Clear skies
Bill

Where near Bishop? My club will be going to Grandview campground in
the White Mountains later this month.

I also have the GM100 and ST-4 and do not use the PEC. It seems to
work fine without it.

--- In Losmandy_users@..., Paul Sterngold <psterngold@y...>
wrote:

Years ago, I was a subscriber to the APML list. Most folks there

suggested

that I leave PEC turned off when autoguiding- let the autoguider

take care

of all corrections. That's how I currently use my GM100 mount and

ST4.

Paul Sterngold

--- Julie and Tom Carrico <carrico@p...> wrote:

Hi Greg,
I do not use the King tracking rate. My impression was it works

for

low to the horizon shots. Since I do not have a complete

understanding

of it, I have never tried it.
I have not tried the PEC, but I am thinking about giving it a

try to

see if it provides any help. I am a little bothered by the fact

that I

would have to retrain it every time I use it, but if it works, it
would be worth it.

Tom C



Greg Crawford wrote:

Tom,

After another night fine tuning my G11 I still have not

achieved your

guiding error rate.

So I'll keep trying. :-)

Two more questions: Do you use the King tracking rate? Do you

find that

the

PEC helps?

Greg Crawford

-----Original Message-----
From: Julie and Tom Carrico [mailto:carrico@p...]
Sent: Saturday, 5 August 2000 12:53 AM
To: Losmandy_users@...
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users] Recent 4" Tak Images from last
weekend at
ARGO


Greg,
The delay after correction (usually about .8 seconds) is

absolutely

required. Until I did that, my corrections were always in

the .5 to 1

pixel range. The mount was still responding to the prior move

when

the

next guiding exposure was started.
If I use a tracking rate of more than 2 seconds, and there is

a

change

in RA and DEC (my minimum move times are usually .2 to .25

seconds),

then it can be up to 2+.2+.2+.8+.8 = 4 seconds between

corrections.

This now starts to get kind of long. I have noticed that the

way my

drive works is that it hums along pretty well, and then has a

jump of

.7 or so pixels that is usually guided out on the next

correction. If

I wait too long between corrections, it will be too long

before the

error is guided out.
I am still working with the drive. Since it is brand new, I

have not

yet taken it all apart for a cleaning as recommended by so

many other

G-11 motors. For the most part, I am very satisfied. The DSC

are just

great and the mount is well built.

Tom C

Greg Crawford wrote:

Tom,

+/- .2 pixels is excellent. Would you have obtained the

same level of

guiding accuracy ifyou had exposed the tracking CCD for

say, 2 secs, without

any delay?

Greg Crawford



To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Losmandy_users-unsubscribe@...

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Click Here!

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------|e>-

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__________________________________________________
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I thought someone would pick up on that; and if I remember correctly
someone posted that they thought that Scott was not too impressed
about the teflon fix in general.

I wonder if he has since found out there is a long term problem with
the fix since he first recommended it himself.

--- In Losmandy_users@..., "Bill Faatz" <faatz1@l...> wrote:

There are a couple of things you should know about the GM8 mounts

in

general, and the G9 in particular. My G9 shared a "stiction"

problem with

the GM8s, particularly in DEC. A replacement teflon bushing from

Scott

Losmandy resolved this problem, although it introduced a minor

issue: the

DEC clutch must be tightened more to achieve the same amount of

resistance.

IMO, that's a minor irritation, compared to the stiction problem,

which was

a HUGE pain-in-the-***!

Gee, this sounds familiar....so Scott has already had this fix in
his bag of tricks for the G9. When I emailed him about replacing

the

nylon clutch washer with teflon on my G11, I got the impression

from

his response that it was a new idea. Nothing was said about the

fact

that he already did this on the G9. Hmmmm...curiouser and

curiouser.

Bill

Hi Karl,

It's good to hear from another GM100 owner. How do you find the tracking
accuracy of your mount? Any tricks that have improved it? Any tricks to
improve (remove slop from) the DEC tangent arm?

Paul Sterngold

--- Karl Moll <karlmoll@...> wrote:

I also have the GM100 and ST-4 and do not use the PEC. It seems to
work fine without it.

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I've recently ordered an Intes MK66 Mak-Cass scope and hope to mount it on a
GM-8 mount. I've been told that the universal dovetail plate doesn't match
up to the MK66 and has to have minor modifications in order to work.

Does anyone know if this is still an issue, or has the problem been
corrected? I'd hate to spend that much money on a mount and still have to
attack it with a drill to get it all together! ;-)


Thanks, and Clear Skies!

Carl

Boys! Take a look at this page:


It looks lovely (at a price. :p)
When will it be available?

Edward Tam

Secondary system question please: already own a DM10 plate for the
G-11, but would like to use it for double duty with 6" A-P rings.
Other than the whole pattern, is the DM10 identical to the DAP6 for
thickness & strength? Thanks - Otto

Hi Edward,

Scott may confirm, but my supplier here in the UK tells me October
for first shipments.

CS,
Ian.

--- In Losmandy_users@..., "Tam Kam Fai" <98900945r@p...>
wrote:

Boys! Take a look at this page:


It looks lovely (at a price. :p)
When will it be available?

Edward Tam

Hi Paul -
I bought mine about 10 or 11 years ago at Riverside. It is serial
number 0016. I have an early drive gear. I know this because at the
time I bought it Scott offered to install a "new" type of gear with
less periodic error for a little more money and if I was willing to
wait. I decided not to, and have never really had a problem. With the
ST-4, its even less of a concern because the ST-4 controls so
precisely. When my photos are bad they are bad because of something I
did like poor polar alignment, not because of the error in the gear.

Regarding the tangent arm, I just tighten up on the belt as much as I
can. The drive never really gets so far off that I or the ST-4 can't
get it back on target quickly.


--- In Losmandy_users@..., Paul Sterngold <psterngold@y...>
wrote:

Hi Karl,

It's good to hear from another GM100 owner. How do you find the

tracking

accuracy of your mount? Any tricks that have improved it? Any

tricks to

improve (remove slop from) the DEC tangent arm?

Paul Sterngold

--- Karl Moll <karlmoll@e...> wrote:

I also have the GM100 and ST-4 and do not use the PEC. It seems

to

work fine without it.

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With all the hoopla about the new GOTO Losmandy system I wondered if
anyone else used one of the other aftermarket Losmandy GOTO retrofits
like "AIM Control" () or
Skywalker"()
They talk about servo based vs "brushless" motors..etc. What about
accuracy, easy of use and alignment procedures?
Thanks
Jay

Finished processing more of my images from the last week at ARGO. I
have arrived at the conclusion that there is no escaping the need for
lots and lots of exposure at f/8. Some of the newer images are
composites of 6-8 10 minute exposures, and they could have used lots
more. Just have to learn more patience.
You can tell that I really enjoy the fields of galaxies, but tonight I
plan on trying the barlow trick, which will make my 4" f/8 Tak about
f/20 (2.5X barlow). Hope the mount is up to the task.
I also took the mount apart and cleaned and regreased the bearings, as
suggested by nearly every Losmandy owner I have heard from. I'll
report results soonly.

Latest images are at


Scroll down to the Takahashi section to see the NEW images.

Thanks
Tom Carrico

Eddie,

I understand that the Losmandy GOTO upgrade will have its own version of
TPoint. Does the Astrometrics version have something similar? Is this what
you mean by drive corrector?

Greg Crawford

I'm just about to finally order my GM-8 and was wondering about
counter weight recommendations.

I'm putting a M603 on it. It's weight is speced at 12.5 lbs on ITE's
site. Markus, with his usual saracsm assures me his 6kg (13.4lb)
weight is correct, and I've been told by one who has weighed it that
it is 13.2lbs *including* the dewcap which is supposed to be about
2lbs itself. So taking the worst case scenario (Markus's weight) of
13.4lbs + 2lb (dewcap) + 1lb (2" diagaonal estimate) + 1lb (eyepiece)
= 17.4lbs. I'm also going to use the G-11 saddle plate which is about
1.25lbs heavier than the standard saddle plate (although very close
into to the axis so shouldn't add too much torque). So I have a total
of about 18.5-19lbs

I'm also thinking of putting my 80mm f6 piggyback and it weighs 6lbs
including 2" diagonal and eyepiece.

I was looking at adding another 7lb weight, but I'm not
sure how much extra leverage the counterweights get being further out
from the RA axis compared to the scope so I don't know if 7lbs would
be enough or if I should get the 11 lb weight.

Anybody with these kinds of OTA weights on the mount who can give
some suggestions?

TIA

P.S. Has anybody seen the GM-8, G-11, and GP-DX dovetails? If so
could you give me some idea of the relative sizes of the cross
sections (i.e. is the G-11 2x the size of a GM-8 for example). I'm
trying to get a handle on how much more weight the two Losmandy
dovetails are going to add compared to the standard GP-DX dovetail
that comes with the M603.