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Re: G-11 Gearbox Replacement

 

On Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 04:43 AM, Russ Hunter wrote:
I ordered 2 new ones from Losmandy.? They confirmed that they do use metal rivets in them now.? I may try to repair the broken one as you suggest Michael.

Russ
Or you could use the McLennan equivalent. They have are steel back and front.
Re: G11 RA Extension

 

Here's a pic of the mount before/after with both the RA clip and DEC spacer. RA angle is ~34 degrees.
Re: Spring loaded worm modification G11

 

On Sun, Sep 20, 2020 at 04:58 PM, Tom Storer wrote:

??? 3.They are tightened barely snug, I also smeared a small amount of
Superlube under the worm blocks and used some purple 222 Loctite on? the
screws to stop them working loose but still allow adjustment.


Makes sense. I was thinking if you use slightly longer screws and cut them precisely or put a very small washer in the hole you can tighten then while still giving play to the OPW. I haven't done that to mine yet. Like you I just lubed under the block for now.
Re: Spring loaded worm modification G11

 

Keith

??? 1. I made the washers similar to the Losmandy? washers so that the screw would sit in the recess and? the ??? spring would be stable sitting over the small lip. Also Losmandy probably designed them this way for a ??? ??? ??? reason.

??? 2. My son was in LA a couple of years ago, so I got him to purchase some small spares including the springs for the saddle plate. These are probably the springs that Losmandy use for the SLW.

??? 3.They are tightened barely snug, I also smeared a small amount of Superlube under the worm blocks and used some purple 222 Loctite on? the screws to stop them working loose but still allow adjustment.

I hope this answers your questions, if you have any more dont hesitate to ask.

Clear skies

Tom
Re: G11 RA Extension

 

I'm at latitude 34 degrees South. The overhang is likely bigger than at your location as the pole is lower on the horizon so this might be an issue in sub tropical regions closer to the equator. I also noticed the motors were running a little hot. It makes sense that with the angle and the geometry of the mount with the extension that the payload should be reduced.
Re: Improving centering objects

 

Thank you, Sonny. I can always count on you for a thoughtful response!

I'm going to follow Brian's help regarding the Losmandy Polar Scope. It's new, and it's expensive. There's a lot to learn with this thing but I'm already just starting to get the hang of it, having made every stupid mistake one can make. Two nights ago the mount was firing on all cylinders. But prior to that it would slew across the sky with a mind of its own. "No, M57 is not in Ursa Major..." It's possible that my marginally improved proficiency may account for it's recent good behavior.
-Erik
Re: Spring loaded worm modification G11

Keith N
 

Tom - thanks a lot for the detail, just a couple questions:

  1. Did you make the washers just so it looks "Losmandy-ish", or is there some other functional reason over standard flat washers?
  2. Were the springs from Losmandy, or did you purchase elsewhere?
  3. I think you answered this, but are the screws holding the bearing blocks from underneath just tightened barely snug (as opposed to springs there as well)?
Keith
Re: Improving centering objects

Sonny Edmonds
 

Have you tried for your Polar Alignment routine?
I'm just beginning to get it to work for me. I had trouble getting it to work with my Atik Infinicky camera.
But Brian suggested upping the exposure time and that got it working. Then Sharpcap suggested upping my camera's gain, and things finally?really began working.
I finally found some tutorials and see how to make more progress with it, through the Sharpcap Forums.

This showed me what I should do with the 90¡ã thang. So tonight I hope to try the 90¡ã and get my mount polar aligned.

I was starting out with Polaris as centered as possible, then doing 3 West, 3 East, 3 West, ad nausium, (12 to 15 times) until the objects were landing as close to center as possible.
It worked, but it was a PITA. One night, everything was landing dead centered, or very near. I was bopping all over the universe.
But that has been the exception, not the rule for me. One thing about this sport is there is always variables. Because the entire experience is variable, and the weather throws wrenches in the works on the best of nights.
Still, just keep pecking at it and you'll get it.

I went ahead and went pro with Sharpcap to throw Robin Glover a bone. 10 pounds sterling is $12.92 today in USD. Pretty reasonable, I think.

Sharpcap has finally shown me a way my dumb camera will finally Plate Solve with ASTAP. So I'm on a victory lap.
Often, a program can favor a certain camera brand, and those of us outside the sandbox have to find work arounds.
And then, it's hard to explain how we got around a stumbling block.
--
SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)
Re: Spring loaded worm modification G11

 

Hi David,

Nope. But with the 2-piece worms you can make your life a lot easier by drilling and tapping the worm blocks to hold them in the dust cover so they remain square to one another which makes setting worm backlash easier to deal with and allows the Bellevue springs to work correctly in the outer block if you did the spring disc mod.? ?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?
Re: Astro Gadget Bluetooth Adaptor issues -Gemini 1

Sonny Edmonds
 

In my experience's, Bluetooth is less reliable than WiFi, and shorter reach.
So I use my Baby Dell outside, and WiFi it via my home router network.
--
SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)
Re: Astro Gadget BT adaptor on a Gemini 1 - power

 

Thanks all for the input, Astro Gadget have advised that the unit is designed to run at 12v, have tried 5v and 12v but have issues with it, please see my new post.
Improving centering objects

 

Hello!
I continue to hit Align and then Alignment even beyond the usual 3-star alignment following my initial setup. I do this in hopes that it will continue to refine my centering process. However, I've noticed that whenever I slew to an object, it is still slightly off center - in fact it is only just inside the field of view of my 32mm eyepiece. I think that I haven't mastered the polar scope yet (which I just received) although Polaris is damn close! Is there anything else I should be doing? FYI, the mount (a G8-11) is level and the ota is well balanced.

Thanks,
Erik
Astro Gadget Bluetooth Adaptor issues -Gemini 1

 

Hi all,

Does anyone out there use the Astro Gadget Bluetooth Adaptor on a Gemini 1?

My issues are that although it is found by the phone/computer it connects ok then the connection drops within a few seconds.
Astro Gadget advised to try upping the voltage from 5v to 12v and to turn off my router as WiFi and BT use the same frequency but am still getting the same issue.

Would be interested to hear of anyone elses experience using this BT unit either on Gemini 1 or even Gemini 2
Re: G11 RA Extension

Sonny Edmonds
 

Hi Marc,
I have the RAEXT on my GM811GHD, (which is 20 years younger than your G11) but did not notice any COG change after installing it.
(Not that I would, my telescope is rather light anyway. And I'm probably not smart enough too. ;^) )

I did, however, do away with a lot of hassles like removing my weight and CW Bar. I was concerned I might do excess wear and tear on my CW Bars threads.
And separating the Dec from the RA has given me much easier setup and tear down convenience. I configured my equipment to make it easy for me to carry out and back, and setup with the least work.
I call them
--
SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)
G11 RA Extension

 

Tonight was the first time I imaged with the RA extension installed. I found both DEC and RA a little stiffer when balancing my CN-212 but didn't think much of it. After changing the polar scope reticle lens I had to tweak elevation and azimuth. Elevation wasn't too bad but azimuth was hard enough that one of the end knobs grub screw slipped on the shaft. So it seems that shifting the weight forward did act as a lever at the base of the mount enough to seize the azimuth setting. Has anyone experienced such shifts in balance with older mounts? My G11 is a 2000 model. I'm just wondering about possible wear and tear of the RA shaft assembly mostly with the COG shift forward.
Re: G-11/Gemini 1 weird DEC issue

 

I replied in the other Gemini IO forum No need to cross post. ?I won¡¯t repeat here.?

--
Brendan
G-11/Gemini 1 weird DEC issue

 
Edited

Hi All,

For the past 15 or so years I've had a G-11/Gemini1 (with the round DIN plugs for DEC/RA axis. Overall it's been pretty flawless. Tonight I took it out for the 1st time in about 4 or so months and encountered an annoying issue that I don't know the cause of.

I had a full battery, the internal battery was changed about 6 or 7 months ago so it's still fresh.?

I turned it on and set my location (I moved from So. Cal to San Antonio TX about 3 months ago). Went to align and got a dec motor stall message. I checked the plugs and they were fine, power was good Handle paddle responded with no problems.?

The system was well balanced. I had my Whitecat 51 and Pentax K-1 on the mount along with the 7lb counterweight. I have used this combination for over a year now with no problems.?
I pressed the RA buttons and the mount moved as expected. But when I pressed the DEC button is started moving at high speed and gave me a DEC motor LAG error. The only way I could get the DEC to stop moving was to either unplug the DEC cord or turn off the Gemini.?

Does anyone know what would cause such behavior? RA was fine I even tried the DEC cord in the RA and it ran fine. could it be the DEC motor? or the Gemini DEC socket? Any help is appreciated.
Re: Astro Gadget BT adaptor on a Gemini 1 - power

 

David and OP Dave.....and others

I was playing with a home made BT (HC-05), as were others, almost a decade back, ?I?tried to use the 5V Power from the feature port (internal Gemini 5V) for testing, ?but found it would often drop out the Gemini. ?¡°Over current¡± trip the internal PSU off.

If Dave (the OP) has a G1 Astrogadget BT then it had ?Din power lead ?for power. ?If he had an Astrogadget G2 BT unit and wants to use it on a G1, then he needs to mod the G1 serial port so it has internal 5V at pin 1, as Dave Partridge said.?


Basicslly the G1 Internal power is almost at it¡¯s limit and adding devices can trip it off. Some users never see this mind did. ?Tom mentioned this and I did a power analysis of all the ICs and found it was drawing very close to the buck regulator limit~.9/1.0/1.2A.


So I powered my BT either by 9V battery or used the spare Din power port like the G1 Astrogadget Unit. ? My BT had a voltage regulator so ?It¡¯s capable of wide range input voltage. ?The 9V battery lasts quite awhile I tend to use that mostly. ?


Oh the Astrogadget unit uses a 12345 pass key.....same as HC-05 $3 units....hint hint ?


FWIW....cheers
--
Brendan
Re: Spring loaded worm modification G11

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Aha ¨C not a mod for those of us with the original two piece worm blocks then ¡­

?

D.

?

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tom Storer
Sent: 19 September 2020 10:41
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Spring loaded worm modification G11

?

I have included some pics with details. Before drilling out existing threaded hole in worm cover, remove motor and gear box assembly to prevent contamination. Drill out with 5.5 mm drill. Make sure to drill a small indent in worm support plate for centering its 4.2 mm hole then complete disassembly of DEC worm plate. Before drilling threaded hole (4.2 mm drill for 5 mm tap) in worm plate check and recheck the worm plate is exactly square in drill press vice (use some form firm padding in machine vice to avoid damage to worm plate). Use lots of WD40 for drilling and tapping. I have included drawings of aluminum washers for manufacture. If possible purchase washers & springs from Losmandy ( saddle plate springs). Again shipping is very expensive out of the US. You do this mod at your own risk, if you stuff it up you can always use the new threaded hole in worm cover to go back to default. After finishing the mod, set up as per Scott's video. Remember, if it is possible get it done by Losmandy. It would have cost more in shipping for me than a new DEC axis. Oh, almost forgot, use some superlube under the worm blocks so that they move smoothly. Do not however loosen the screws holding the blocks too much. I also used purple 222 loctite so that the adjustment screws do loosen over time.
Good luck
Tom

Re: Spring loaded worm modification G11

 

I have included some pics with details. Before drilling out existing threaded hole in worm cover, remove motor and gear box assembly to prevent contamination. Drill out with 5.5 mm drill. Make sure to drill a small indent in worm support plate for centering its 4.2 mm hole then complete disassembly of DEC worm plate. Before drilling threaded hole (4.2 mm drill for 5 mm tap) in worm plate check and recheck the worm plate is exactly square in drill press vice (use some form firm padding in machine vice to avoid damage to worm plate). Use lots of WD40 for drilling and tapping. I have included drawings of aluminum washers for manufacture. If possible purchase washers & springs from Losmandy ( saddle plate springs). Again shipping is very expensive out of the US. You do this mod at your own risk, if you stuff it up you can always use the new threaded hole in worm cover to go back to default. After finishing the mod, set up as per Scott's video. Remember, if it is possible get it done by Losmandy. It would have cost more in shipping for me than a new DEC axis. Oh, almost forgot, use some superlube under the worm blocks so that they move smoothly. Do not however loosen the screws holding the blocks too much. I also used purple 222 loctite so that the adjustment screws do loosen over time.
Good luck
Tom
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