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Basic autoguiding connections for G11t mount

 

Hi, All. I have been using my new G11t for about two and a half weeks now and have yet to figure out how to hook it up for auto guiding. I have been using PHD2 with my Celestron CGX-L mount with some success, but I have a few issues getting PHD2 to recognize my new mount. I tried getting a connector bit that would go from the old phone jack type port that is labeled ¡°autoguiding¡± on the mount. Old telephone port to USB port dongles don¡¯t seem to exist anywhere I have checked. I also tried using the ethernet port using an ethernet cable and a usb crossover. My relatively new PC doesn¡¯t have ethernet ports. So far nothing works. Can anyone enlighten me how to make all this work?
?
Thanks,

Jeff
Re: Clutch update

 

Hi Jamie,

You should not need such high torque, it could damage something. The mount is mostly aluminum, easy to warp it.

See the nice 3 handle clutch knobs that Losmandy sells.? Hand tight on those is as far as you should need to go.? Use my high friction clutch pads and you will only need a light clutch knob force to hold very well.??

Stay well,
Michael





On Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 3:49 PM Jamie Amendolagine <jamie.amendolagine@...> wrote:
OK, looks like I'm good to go. I'm also going to give the alternate clutches a try, worth a shot. As far as how tight they should be I've been just slowly tightening till there is enough resistance in the axis so that it won't slip when guiding or slewing. That's probably the best you can do. I've noticed that when I adjust it this way vs a lot tighter my RMS has gone down by .2 RMS or so. Any other approaches that work?

-- OH, I just thought of something. I'm going to give this a shot. I'll put a bolt on the DEC shaft and try a torque wrench on it one night looking at the RMS results of different torque values as I adjust the clutch. I could do this on the DEC using a bolt on the end of the weight shaft. I could put a bolt on the RA polar alignment thread as well.?
Re: Ra stuck on G11 Gemini 1

 

Based on his description it seems to me he has a rough spot in the gear that's making the motor stall. I just finished cleaning my mount and had the same issue, first on the DEC motor, then on the RA motor. If the worm is not centered with the motor shaft it might get stuck at some point in the rotation. In my case it would turn fine for almost the entire time, then at one spot in the DEC/RA rotation it would just stall (maybe when weight change sides)

Add to that the newly added camera to the setup which might have changed balance.?

I'd suggest you to first check if the system is well balanced. Then what i did to find my problem is to loose the worm block far from the motor, and let it run for a few turns to see if the worm is turning centered or if it's wobbling a bit. If it's not, you have to adjust your worm blocks to make it centered with motor, or adjust the position of the block far from motor to give it some more space to turn.

Guilherme


On Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 3:49 PM Chip Louie <chiplouie@...> wrote:
If you have a Classic then it is easy to check where the drive power gets lost. My first suggestion is to check the 3-piece Oldham coupler between the gearbox output and the worm gear, this part has several grub screws, 2 per side on the metal parts and a plastic sliding piece between them. The most common issue is loose grub screws on the Oldham coupler which then allows the servo to run but without driving the worm and the plastic piece popping out of the metal parts of the coupler. You can see these by removing the worm cover.??

The other common problem is the gearbox has failed, the mounting of the servo to the gearbox failed allowing the servo motor pinion to lose contact with the gearbox internal gears. I have seen one rare problem where the pinion gear is slipping on the servo motor due to splitting.?

Take a peek and keep us posted.
--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?
Re: Clutch update

 

Hi Jamie,

The likely problem is just grease on the translucent white disc used for the clutches.

Working on a clean towel on a large flat surface you just remove the counterweight shaft, DEC clutch knob and the outer flat thrust bearing race, the flat thrust bearing inner thrust bearing race and set aside keeping them in order on your work area. Carefully pull up on the saddle and separate the DEC assembly enough to look at the clutch disc, if there is any lube on the disc that is the problem.?

If there is lube on the discs you must clean all 4 surfaces using a good degreaser and clean.lomt free wipes or towels. It is also important to find the source of the lube or it will just happen again. Chances are good the lube migrated from the bearings under the worm gear, mop up as much as possible to slow the same thing from happening.?

Keep us posted.?
--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?
Re: Ra stuck on G11 Gemini 1

 

If you have a Classic then it is easy to check where the drive power gets lost. My first suggestion is to check the 3-piece Oldham coupler between the gearbox output and the worm gear, this part has several grub screws, 2 per side on the metal parts and a plastic sliding piece between them. The most common issue is loose grub screws on the Oldham coupler which then allows the servo to run but without driving the worm and the plastic piece popping out of the metal parts of the coupler. You can see these by removing the worm cover.??

The other common problem is the gearbox has failed, the mounting of the servo to the gearbox failed allowing the servo motor pinion to lose contact with the gearbox internal gears. I have seen one rare problem where the pinion gear is slipping on the servo motor due to splitting.?

Take a peek and keep us posted.
--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?
Re: Clutch update

 
Edited

OK, looks like I'm good to go. I'm also going to give the alternate clutches a try, worth a shot. As far as how tight they should be I've been just slowly tightening till there is enough resistance in the axis so that it won't slip when guiding or slewing. That's probably the best you can do. I've noticed that when I adjust it this way vs a lot tighter my RMS has gone down by .2 RMS or so. Any other approaches that work?

-- OH, I just thought of something. I'm going to give this a shot. I'll put a bolt on the DEC shaft and try a torque wrench on it one night looking at the RMS results of different torque values as I adjust the clutch. I could do this on the DEC using a bolt on the end of the weight shaft. I could put a bolt on the RA polar alignment thread as well. -- Something to try during a full moon...?
Re: Ra stuck on G11 Gemini 1

 

Dave,

Do you have a classic G11 Gemini 1? What I mean by this is do you have the straight line drivetrain with the servos and gearboxes hung out in the breeze. The current tucked-in servos change the way things need to happen quite a bit.?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?
Re: Clutch update

 

The new(er) clutch disk material was introduced around 2015, so i'm sure yours is up to date
Ra stuck on G11 Gemini 1

 

Can anyone please advise, had the 250mm newt on my G11, got to grips with the new camera, managed to align 2 stars for the first time, was having a smashing evening and bam, the RA has jammed up, the motor is going round but nothing is turning, I can turn it manually if I loosen the clutch but on the motor there is nothing, also what can I expect when I start to strip it down, will anything spring loaded fly out?

Thanks
Re: Clutch update

 

Not that old. Got to my house?Jun 24, 2019 to be precise.?

For now I'll look at cleaning the clutch.?

Jamie
Re: Clutch update

 

Hi Jamie

how old is your GM811?

we did switch to a newer clutch material that was "stickier" but it was a few years back (i'm checking on exactly when)

I'd also recommend checking the clutch disk for any lubricants and cleaning them. That's really simple to do, and there shouldn't be any lubricants, etc. on the clutch disks.

just keep track of the order in which you remove the various bearings and washers, etc.

?

On Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 1:32 PM Jamie Amendolagine <jamie.amendolagine@...> wrote:
My DEC seems to need quite a bit more tightening that it used to. I seem to remember that there was a "imaging" version of the clutch that was sticker? Is that right? I might want to switch to that one. I pretty much just image with my GM811G, and a sticker clutch would be great.

I seem to get much better tracking/guiding when I've tightened the clutches just the right amount. It seems that tightening them puts pressure on the bearings and I imagine there is an optimal torque for those bearings. I almost want to use a torque wrench on them to dial them in to just the right amount.?

Jamie



--
Brian?



Brian Valente
portfolio

Re: Clutch update

 

I'm in the Santa Cruz mountains, California.?
Re: Clutch update

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Where are you based?? I can supply clutch discs in the ¡°stickier¡± material in Europe.? If you¡¯re in USA, then Michael Herman is the guy!

?

David

?

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jamie Amendolagine
Sent: 21 September 2020 21:26
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] Clutch update

?

My DEC seems to need quite a bit more tightening that it used to. I seem to remember that there was a "imaging" version of the clutch that was sticker? Is that right? I might want to switch to that one. I pretty much just image with my GM811G, and a sticker clutch would be great.

I seem to get much better tracking/guiding when I've tightened the clutches just the right amount. It seems that tightening them puts pressure on the bearings and I imagine there is an optimal torque for those bearings. I almost want to use a torque wrench on them to dial them in to just the right amount.?

Jamie

Clutch update

 

My DEC seems to need quite a bit more tightening that it used to. I seem to remember that there was a "imaging" version of the clutch that was sticker? Is that right? I might want to switch to that one. I pretty much just image with my GM811G, and a sticker clutch would be great.

I seem to get much better tracking/guiding when I've tightened the clutches just the right amount. It seems that tightening them puts pressure on the bearings and I imagine there is an optimal torque for those bearings. I almost want to use a torque wrench on them to dial them in to just the right amount.?

Jamie
Re: Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount

 

Hi Kofi

Welcome, and that's a good idea to ask the user group

I have been a losmandy user for about 12 years, with a G11 and G11T.?

G11 is my favorite mount in the price range (my other favorite being my AP1600ae, but that is 10x the price).?

I have other manufacturer mounts as well, and they are all reasonable, but I feel like i really excelled at astroimaging with the G11

I like it so much, i started working at Losmandy this year :) so i am also your technical contact if you have additional questions.

hopefully others will chime in with their experiences as well


Brian

On Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 12:22 PM Kofi & Mimi in Ghana via <kofigbleze=[email protected]> wrote:

I have watch a very impressive documentary aboutthe Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount. I am tempted to buy I will like to know if anyone here have ever used it and will the person recommend it.
Kofi



--
Brian?



Brian Valente
portfolio

Re: Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount

 

Dear Kofi,

You're familiar with the old adage "you get what you pay for"; however, judging from my own experience, the quality of Scott Losmandy's workmanship far exceeds the price of his product.

-Erik
Re: Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount

 

Thank you David,
Kofi
Re: Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Pretty much everyone here has a G11 or another Losmandy mount ¨C we wouldn¡¯t be members of this mailing list otherwise

?

D.

?

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kofi & Mimi in Ghana via groups.io
Sent: 21 September 2020 15:43
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount

?

I have watch a very impressive documentary aboutthe Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount. I am tempted to buy I will like to know if anyone here have ever used it and will the person recommend it.
Kofi
Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount

 

I have watch a very impressive documentary aboutthe Losmandy G-11 Equatorial Mount. I am tempted to buy I will like to know if anyone here have ever used it and will the person recommend it.
Kofi
Re: Astro Gadget Bluetooth Adaptor issues -Gemini 1

 

I have both the Bluetooth and the WiFi version. I¡¯ve had issues with the Bluetooth connecting to my Apple devices, so now use the WiFi all the time as there¡¯s not an issue connecting?
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