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Date

Re: Just purchased GM811GHD

 

+1 on not using damping feet. When I used them my imaging guiding etc. was noticeably worse and i'm on concrete (my rationale was i'm near a freeway, maybe the truck vibrations? i dunno what i was thinking)

B


Re: Just purchased GM811GHD

 

Hi Taylor,

?

Going to add my 2 Cents on the Vib Damping Feet :

When Imaging, you want everything to be as Rigid and Stable as possible.

There should be no 'vibration' to damp... and these feet add a source of compliance = drift/misalignment

?I see no purpose for damping feet with mounts this heavy and rigid.


My suggestion : just press the legs into the dirt solidly and go with it.

?

I've seen people use vib feet on grass .. not sure why .. all that does is make a spongy

soft mounting = something you do NOT want for imaging..

?

I used to have 3 iron pipes ~ 6" long, 2" dia that I would drive into the ground with a small sledge

?and use?them as the base points for my tripod.

?

Alex

?


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

Michael,

That was called the third bearing mod around 2000. Was going to add the third bearing to my 1996 vintage CG11, but decided to just order a longer bearing the length of two individual gearings. had no problem getting it in as I own an arbor press. If you decide to do it, make sure to get a full compliment bearing. It has no spaces between the individual needle rollers.

Don

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Herman mherman346@... [Losmandy_users]" <Losmandy_users@...>
To: <Losmandy_users@...>
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2018 8:01 PM
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users] Re: G11 Thrust Bearings


HI Rich,

Very interesting experiment. Next you should take PE data and see if it
improved the overall performance.

Assuming you have lubed the shims of course, is this lower noise than the
rollers of the needle bearing you removed...and is it sustainable over
time (the lube won't gum up)? If the rollers were poor quality and out of
round maybe you are in better shape. They do sell bearings of a range of
quality and cost.

Reminds me that...the original Meade LXD55 mount had lubed shims and no
bearings. Later in the LXD75 they put in bearings. They didn't go back to
shims on layer mounts!

-- on the subject of mount mods ---

I'm having a discussion with Chip about the position of the upper
cylindrical needle bearing in the GM8 and G11. The lower needle bearing is
all the way at the bottom near the clutch knob. But the upper cylindrical
needle bearing is 2 inches below the top. That gives torque on the the
1.25 inch shafts, and it also torques the body of the RA and Dec sleeves.
Chip has shown me a photo where someone put in a 2nd upper needle
cylindrical bearing...I think this idea might be a good one. Anyone tried
that or read about it?

Best,
Michael


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

Hi Michael,

I have read of one guy putting in a third bearing in the shaft tube. ?Seems like a good idea to me.

My guiding with this mod has most definitely helped my RA. ?My spikes are much less amplitude and frequency. ?I don't see me ever putting those lousy thrust bearing back in. ?I might by a better quality 6010zz though. ?The ones in my G11G are Chinese. ?I would think a good SKF would be superior.

My scatter plot?looks way better too, as not squashed along the RA axis. ?A very nice round pattern. ?Both RA and DEC numbers close together now.

-Rich-


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

Hi Michael,

The shim I put in doesn't need any lube because it is sandwiched by the 6010zz inner race and the spacer below it. ?The 6010zz outer race turns with the worm wheel.

-Rich-


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

HI Rich,

Very interesting experiment.? Next you should take PE data and see if it improved the overall performance.? ?

Assuming you have lubed the shims of course, is this lower noise than the rollers of the needle bearing you removed...and is it sustainable over time? (the lube won't gum up)?? If the rollers were poor quality and out of round maybe you are in better shape.? They do sell bearings of a range of quality and cost.

Reminds me that...the original Meade LXD55 mount had lubed shims and no bearings.? Later in the LXD75 they put in bearings.? They didn't go back to shims on layer mounts!??

-- on the subject of mount mods ---

I'm having a discussion with Chip about the position of the upper cylindrical needle bearing in the GM8 and G11.? The lower needle bearing is all the way at the bottom near the clutch knob.? But the upper cylindrical needle bearing is 2 inches below the top.? That gives torque on the the 1.25 inch shafts, and it also torques the body of the RA and Dec sleeves.? Chip has shown me a photo where someone put in a 2nd upper needle cylindrical bearing...I think this idea might be a good one.? Anyone tried that or read about it?

Best,
Michael

On Feb 1, 2018 4:47 PM, "sornborger@... [Losmandy_users]" <Losmandy_users@...> wrote:
?

Here's a link to some pictures, hope they make sense.? It's really pretty simple actually.? Take out the thrust bearing and install a .015 shim.? Put it all back together.


Interestingly, when I put the shim in I measured everything and found my worm wheel was .003 too high.? I had planned on installing a .015 and a .003 shim only to find out the .003 wasn't needed.

-Rich-







Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

Rich,

Very good images. Easily zoomable. :-)

Don

----- Original Message -----
From: "sornborger@... [Losmandy_users]" <Losmandy_users@...>
To: <Losmandy_users@...>
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2018 7:27 PM
Subject: [Losmandy_users] Re: G11 Thrust Bearings


Here's a link to some pictures, hope they make sense. It's really pretty simple actually. Take out the thrust bearing and install a .015 shim. Put it all back together.

Interestingly, when I put the shim in I measured everything and found my worm wheel was .003 too high. I had planned on installing a .015 and a .003 shim only to find out the .003 wasn't needed.


-Rich-













Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

Here's a link to some pictures, hope they make sense. ?It's really pretty simple actually. ?Take out the thrust bearing and install a .015 shim. ?Put it all back together.

Interestingly, when I put the shim in I measured everything and found my worm wheel was .003 too high. ?I had planned on installing a .015 and a .003 shim only to find out the .003 wasn't needed.

-Rich-







File - Guidance on Posting Documents and Pictures.doc

 

File : Guidance on Posting Documents and Pictures.doc
Description : A few rules and comments to prevent anarchy in the files and photos section


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

Hi Michael,

When I put the new shims in I'll take some pictures and upload them to the photos section.

I'm surprised that older G11's don't have that big ball bearing pressed into the backside of the ring gear?

I bought my G11G new in Oct.

-Rich-


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

Yea, I could definitely use a good visual also

-JA


Re: GM8 DEC Clearances

 

brilliant...sticky aluminum tape on a bolt.? ?

no wonder nobody sells a tiny bearing puller for these 1/4 inch ID bearings!


On Jan 31, 2018 9:08 AM, "a_pettit_jr@... [Losmandy_users]" <Losmandy_users@...> wrote:
?

P.S....getting the far bearing out:
My idea of making a 10-24 size bolt+nut+ heavy gauge steel wire into a bearing puller failed to get the bearing out of the far, black, DEC bearing block.? I failed with other ideas, but this worked: I used steel wood nails, with shaft diameter about 3/16 inch, and bent the ends into an L shape.? The end of the L was about 3/16 enough to get into the 1/4 ID of the bearing.? I jammed in 2 of these hooked nails.? The nail heads were then held in a vice, and I was able to gently tap on the block with a sand filled plastic mallet and knock the block off the bearing.? Not elegant but at least it did work.??


I put some aluminum tape around the threads of a long 1/4" hex head bolt. First lap, sticky side against the thread,
then folded back for another lap sticky side out.? Jam into bearing. Put Block into vice, crescent wrench on the
far end of the bolt at the hex head ; Wack Wrench Once With Hammer = fast extraction !
?(I would never use the bearing again, but no damage to the housing )

Alex


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

Rich,

I don't find a? 6010ZZ? bearing in the G11 or GM8.??
Is that one of the mounts you are talking about your improvements?
That is a large bearing that is not a needle type bearing (from my web searches).??

Maybe you can make a sketch and scan that in, and put that in our Files section... then email us a pointer to that picture.
That would help (me at least) understand the improvements you have made.

Best,
Michael



On Tue, Jan 30, 2018 at 1:57 PM, sornborger@... [Losmandy_users] <Losmandy_users@...> wrote:
?

One of the first things I did when I got the mount was cut my own clutch pads out of head gasket material so I wouldn't have to wrench down real tight on the clutch knob.

I'm probably not explaining myself well on my original post.? By removing the crappy thrust bearings the ring gear drops down .018" so it has to be spaced back up with spacers. By doing that it puts the large 6010ZZ bearing into service.? In stock form that bearing just centers the ring gear accurately.? But no thrust loads are ever placed on it.? Being that that bearing is very large (80mm) it can more than handle the thrust loads I'm putting on the mount.

For a test on the DEC axis I pulled off the worm block and then tightened the clutch knob down.? I could literally hear the stock thrust bearing dragging because the rollers are cylindrical not tapered.? It had a lot of drag with tight spots in the rotation.

after removing the thrust bearing and doing the same test the DEC axis would freewheel spin.? The difference is night and day.? And that's with the clutch knob cinched all the way.

So I"ve been running with the RA axis shimmed and tonight I'll try with both axis shimmed.

So far no ill effects.? Seeing conditions have been horrible lately though and hoping for better seeing tonight.

-Rich-




--
Michael Herman
mobile: 408 421-1239
email: mherman346@...


Re: GM8 DEC Clearances

 

Hi Don,

Thanks for finding that...I am glad that worked.? I would have guessed that the bearing would have quickly picked up heat from the heated aluminum block and the bearing would have remained stuck, but I guess the heat capacity of the bearing kept it cool enough to stay contracted.? That's a lot easier than trying to pull out the bearing... with a handmade puller.? ? ?

After putting in dual Belleville washers and lining up the coupler parts, I tested my (1998 used) G11 last night over about 12 worm periods and the PECPrep?analysis showed 1.95 arcsec RMS PE.? It was all assignable to the worm fundamental and harmonics.? I have a couple of other spare brass worms, and the one on the DEC axis too, to try out and see if one of them can get me lower PE.? With PEC, the program says the system can go down to 1.36 arcsec RMS.? So I am already in pretty good shape. but I want to get lower and hope to avoid having to use PEC.? ??

Best regards,
Michael

On Wed, Jan 31, 2018 at 7:42 AM, 'Don Degidio' djd521@... [Losmandy_users] <Losmandy_users@...> wrote:
?

Michael,

I used a long 10-32 screw to hold the housing and a Bernzomatic torch to heat it and the bearing
just fell out, then let the housing air cool.

Don

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Herman mherman346@... [Losmandy_users]" <Losmandy_users@yahoogroups.com>
To: <Losmandy_users@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2018 9:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users] Re: GM8 DEC Clearances

That is ...interesting. The companies making the mounts consider slight
off center alignment acceptable... in the Losmandy case this could be
because the ring and worm are not (advised to be ) forced to touch. That's
why many folks put a hanging weight wrapped cord around RA and maybe DEC to
have the teeth mesh on only one side of the worm thread.

Other mount systems use some type of spring or the elastic properties of
the materials to force the ring and worm into tight contact. The Orion
Atlas/Syntax EQ6 uses the aluminum housing as a kind of spring for this.
In that situation, you must shim under the time gear to put the ring gear
thread center at the same height as the worm axis center...at least within
the tolerance of the shims they provide.

Now we have the Pepsi Can solution of shimming! Thats a pretty nice way of
recycling!

......



Related to all this vertical spacing, you still have to get the worm and
it's coupling not to shift side to side. I had this trouble til today on
a used system I got last week.

I got a 1998 vintage used G11 last week. It was reported by the previous
owner to not able to get the worms to mesh consistently around the 360
degree turn of the ring. it would either be too loose (too much
hysteresis/time lag) or too tight (stall from jamming). He gave up and
sold the mount.

I got these fixed over the last few days. Here were the problems:

The DEC used 2 separated worm bearing blocks -- standard for the Losmandy
G11. The worm was able to slide side to side along its axis maybe 1/8 inch
or so...you could see the movement. I removed the far worm bearing (see
the notes at the end of this) and installed a single Belleville washer. I
also had to sandpaper down the OD of the bearing so it could slide with
lubricant along the cylinder of the block. The black blocks are anodized
so their surfaces are essentially sapphire hardness...those cannot be
sanded. It took about 20 minutes of sanding with grit 200 sandpaper to get
the OD small enough to slide in the block. Then I reinstalled that block
on the DEC axis, forcing the worm toward the gearbox. Now that DEC worm
has zero side movement, and then it was possible to push the worm touching
the ring...no more rotational hysteresis...no more time lag, and no more
jams either.
The DEC Oldham couper was also far out of axial center line, and that
proved hard to get coaxial. I had to completely loosen the Oldham coupler
both metal ends and when that was free, I did find a way to bolt the
gearbox so the gearbox shaft axis matched the worm axis. Then I locked
down the Oldham ends. So the DEC seems fixed.

The RA was a different matter. That had an OPW but same trouble....worm
side movement. This time I put a pair of face to face Belleville washers
into the far (silver color...stainless?) bearing block. Same work to
polish down the outer bearing OD to slide with lube.

But this OPW also had a "Ruland" type coupler, not the stock Oldham
coupler. The Ruland coupler design allowed it to flex, but I could not
tell visually if the gearbox shaft lined up with the worm. So I replaced
the Ruland with a (long version!!!) Oldham coupler. Then I lined those up
and...voila. I thought I was done.

Not so. The double back to back Belleville washers pushed out the far worm
block so the resulting wide space between the mounting blocks did not allow
the worm to be pushed inward toward the ring gear. I could not push the
worm to touch the RA ring gear....still lots of gap and time lag and
hysteresis. So I removed the OPW, and loosened the bolts holding the far
block. By pressing in the far worm block strongly by hand, the double
Belleville washers squashed down to bring the far block close enough to the
gearbox so now I was able to get the worm to touch the ring gear.

Now..I have full rotation of the RA and DEC...no jams, stalls, lags, no
hysteresis. (When it gets cold tonight, we'll see if I can still make that
claim.) I plan to run a PE test tonight and see what the results
are....the sky here is too milky and moonlight too severe for any other
fun. I'm hoping the mount will match my older CG11 with about 0.9 arcsec
RMS PE.

P.S....getting the far bearing out:
My idea of making a 10-24 size bolt+nut+ heavy gauge steel wire into a
bearing puller failed to get the bearing out of the far, black, DEC bearing
block. I failed with other ideas, but this worked: I used steel wood
nails, with shaft diameter about 3/16 inch, and bent the ends into an L
shape. The end of the L was about 3/16 enough to get into the 1/4 ID of
the bearing. I jammed in 2 of these hooked nails. The nail heads were
then held in a vice, and I was able to gently tap on the block with a sand
filled plastic mallet and knock the block off the bearing. Not elegant but
at least it did work.

All the best, and hope these notes help the group....

Michael




--
Michael Herman
mobile: 408 421-1239
email: mherman346@...


Re: GM8 DEC Clearances

 

Michael,

I used a long 10-32 screw to hold the housing and a Bernzomatic torch to heat it and the bearing just fell out, then let the housing air cool.

Don

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Herman mherman346@... [Losmandy_users]" <Losmandy_users@...>
To: <Losmandy_users@...>
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2018 9:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users] Re: GM8 DEC Clearances


That is ...interesting. The companies making the mounts consider slight
off center alignment acceptable... in the Losmandy case this could be
because the ring and worm are not (advised to be ) forced to touch. That's
why many folks put a hanging weight wrapped cord around RA and maybe DEC to
have the teeth mesh on only one side of the worm thread.

Other mount systems use some type of spring or the elastic properties of
the materials to force the ring and worm into tight contact. The Orion
Atlas/Syntax EQ6 uses the aluminum housing as a kind of spring for this.
In that situation, you must shim under the time gear to put the ring gear
thread center at the same height as the worm axis center...at least within
the tolerance of the shims they provide.

Now we have the Pepsi Can solution of shimming! Thats a pretty nice way of
recycling!

.....

Related to all this vertical spacing, you still have to get the worm and
it's coupling not to shift side to side. I had this trouble til today on
a used system I got last week.

I got a 1998 vintage used G11 last week. It was reported by the previous
owner to not able to get the worms to mesh consistently around the 360
degree turn of the ring. it would either be too loose (too much
hysteresis/time lag) or too tight (stall from jamming). He gave up and
sold the mount.

I got these fixed over the last few days. Here were the problems:

The DEC used 2 separated worm bearing blocks -- standard for the Losmandy
G11. The worm was able to slide side to side along its axis maybe 1/8 inch
or so...you could see the movement. I removed the far worm bearing (see
the notes at the end of this) and installed a single Belleville washer. I
also had to sandpaper down the OD of the bearing so it could slide with
lubricant along the cylinder of the block. The black blocks are anodized
so their surfaces are essentially sapphire hardness...those cannot be
sanded. It took about 20 minutes of sanding with grit 200 sandpaper to get
the OD small enough to slide in the block. Then I reinstalled that block
on the DEC axis, forcing the worm toward the gearbox. Now that DEC worm
has zero side movement, and then it was possible to push the worm touching
the ring...no more rotational hysteresis...no more time lag, and no more
jams either.
The DEC Oldham couper was also far out of axial center line, and that
proved hard to get coaxial. I had to completely loosen the Oldham coupler
both metal ends and when that was free, I did find a way to bolt the
gearbox so the gearbox shaft axis matched the worm axis. Then I locked
down the Oldham ends. So the DEC seems fixed.

The RA was a different matter. That had an OPW but same trouble....worm
side movement. This time I put a pair of face to face Belleville washers
into the far (silver color...stainless?) bearing block. Same work to
polish down the outer bearing OD to slide with lube.

But this OPW also had a "Ruland" type coupler, not the stock Oldham
coupler. The Ruland coupler design allowed it to flex, but I could not
tell visually if the gearbox shaft lined up with the worm. So I replaced
the Ruland with a (long version!!!) Oldham coupler. Then I lined those up
and...voila. I thought I was done.

Not so. The double back to back Belleville washers pushed out the far worm
block so the resulting wide space between the mounting blocks did not allow
the worm to be pushed inward toward the ring gear. I could not push the
worm to touch the RA ring gear....still lots of gap and time lag and
hysteresis. So I removed the OPW, and loosened the bolts holding the far
block. By pressing in the far worm block strongly by hand, the double
Belleville washers squashed down to bring the far block close enough to the
gearbox so now I was able to get the worm to touch the ring gear.

Now..I have full rotation of the RA and DEC...no jams, stalls, lags, no
hysteresis. (When it gets cold tonight, we'll see if I can still make that
claim.) I plan to run a PE test tonight and see what the results
are....the sky here is too milky and moonlight too severe for any other
fun. I'm hoping the mount will match my older CG11 with about 0.9 arcsec
RMS PE.

P.S....getting the far bearing out:
My idea of making a 10-24 size bolt+nut+ heavy gauge steel wire into a
bearing puller failed to get the bearing out of the far, black, DEC bearing
block. I failed with other ideas, but this worked: I used steel wood
nails, with shaft diameter about 3/16 inch, and bent the ends into an L
shape. The end of the L was about 3/16 enough to get into the 1/4 ID of
the bearing. I jammed in 2 of these hooked nails. The nail heads were
then held in a vice, and I was able to gently tap on the block with a sand
filled plastic mallet and knock the block off the bearing. Not elegant but
at least it did work.

All the best, and hope these notes help the group....

Michael


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

My guiding last night was markedly better after freeing up the DEC axis. ?Used the same target area in the sky with similar conditions.

My shims arrived late yesterday so now I can put the proper shims in the mount.



Re: GM8 Worm Bearing Extraction

 

P.S....getting the far bearing out:
My idea of making a 10-24 size bolt+nut+ heavy gauge steel wire into a bearing puller failed to get the bearing out of the far, black, DEC bearing block.? I failed with other ideas, but this worked: I used steel wood nails, with shaft diameter about 3/16 inch, and bent the ends into an L shape.? The end of the L was about 3/16 enough to get into the 1/4 ID of the bearing.? I jammed in 2 of these hooked nails.? The nail heads were then held in a vice, and I was able to gently tap on the block with a sand filled plastic mallet and knock the block off the bearing.? Not elegant but at least it did work.??


I put some aluminum tape around the threads of a long 1/4" hex head bolt. First lap, sticky side against the thread,
then folded back for another lap sticky side out.? Jam into bearing. Put Block into vice, crescent wrench around the
far end of the bolt at the hex head ; Wack Wrench Once With Hammer = fast extraction !
?(I would never use the bearing again, but no damage to the housing )

Alex


Re: G11GT Guiding performance

 

It does really well. On good nights i can pretty easily guide within 0.5", typical nights for me here in LA are 1" with occasional excursions into 2". that's without PEC

there is a 42 period error we're still trying to track down to improve things

I think in good skies, it could easily to 0.5" all the time


Brian


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 




One of the first things I did when I got the mount was cut my own clutch pads out of head gasket material so I wouldn't have to wrench down real tight on the clutch knob.

I'm probably not explaining myself well on my original post. ?By removing the crappy thrust bearings the ring gear drops down .018" so it has to be spaced back up with spacers. By doing that it puts the large 6010ZZ bearing into service. ?In stock form that bearing just centers the ring gear accurately. ?But no thrust loads are ever placed on it. ?Being that that bearing is very large (80mm) it can more than handle the thrust loads I'm putting on the mount.

For a test on the DEC axis I pulled off the worm block and then tightened the clutch knob down. ?I could literally hear the stock thrust bearing dragging because the rollers are cylindrical not tapered. ?It had a lot of drag with tight spots in the rotation.

after removing the thrust bearing and doing the same test the DEC axis would freewheel spin. ?The difference is night and day. ?And that's with the clutch knob cinched all the way.

So I"ve been running with the RA axis shimmed and tonight I'll try with both axis shimmed.

So far no ill effects. ?Seeing conditions have been horrible lately though and hoping for better seeing tonight.

-Rich-


Re: G11 Thrust Bearings

 

I'm actually guiding now without the thrust bearing on my RA. ?I put in a temporary shim for now. ?Just waiting for the actual ones to arrive from Mcmaster. ?

What the shims do is support the inner race of the existing large ball bearing so that the worm gear rides where it's supposed to go. ?In my G11G that is .018 shims to get it there. ?So the shims don't drag, they just lift the ring gear up to where it would be if the thrust bearing was still in there. ?Hope that makes sense.

The large ball bearing really doesn't do anything other than center the ring gear in the G11G in its stock configuration. ?What I've done is put that large ball bearing into service as a thrust bearing in addition to its centering job.?

I probably didn't explain myself very well in the original post.
?