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I just purchased a used but like new AZ8. I owned a G11 from the Celestron days so I am familiar with Losmandy products.

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I have the typical stiction in the movement of the axes and the stuttering of the slo-mo controls.

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I have read just about every online discussion on this mount and have dialed in the worm pretty good where there is little backlash and the stuttering is fairly minimal.

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But for the stiction in the axes, what I am referring to is the "pop" when an axis starts to move. It happens even with the clutches fully loosened but, of course, more so when the clutches are tightened up a bit.

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Everything I read about the clutch pads is that they need to be dry. This makes sense for the G8 and G11, but for the AZ8, we want the clutches to only be engaged enough to prevent any minor off-balance issues from moving the mount.

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So what I did was apply a very, very thin layer of a low viscosity telfon grease to the clutch pads. I mean a very thin layer. Now the axes move without any popping even with the clutches fairly tight. It is very, very smooth.

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With grease on the clutch pads, the axes will easily move with a little bit of force even with the clutches fairly tight. So beware of any major balance issues in Altitude before you let go of the scope. But there is still plenty of clamping force to deal with minor balance issues. This is not an issue with the AZ axis since it is vertical.

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For all you AZ8 owners, give it a try. You can always remove the grease.??

On Sat, Nov 30, 2024 at 01:41 PM, <rickdarden0899@...> wrote:

I just purchased a used but like new AZ8. I owned a G11 from the Celestron days so I am familiar with Losmandy products.

?

I have the typical stiction in the movement of the axes and the stuttering of the slo-mo controls.

?

I have read just about every online discussion on this mount and have dialed in the worm pretty good where there is little backlash and the stuttering is fairly minimal.

?

But for the stiction in the axes, what I am referring to is the "pop" when an axis starts to move. It happens even with the clutches fully loosened but, of course, more so when the clutches are tightened up a bit.

?

Everything I read about the clutch pads is that they need to be dry. This makes sense for the G8 and G11, but for the AZ8, we want the clutches to only be engaged enough to prevent any minor off-balance issues from moving the mount.

?

So what I did was apply a very, very thin layer of a low viscosity telfon grease to the clutch pads. I mean a very thin layer. Now the axes move without any popping even with the clutches fairly tight. It is very, very smooth.

?

With grease on the clutch pads, the axes will easily move with a little bit of force even with the clutches fairly tight. So beware of any major balance issues in Altitude before you let go of the scope. But there is still plenty of clamping force to deal with minor balance issues. This is not an issue with the AZ axis since it is vertical.

?

For all you AZ8 owners, give it a try. You can always remove the grease.??

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Preaching to the choir.? And this is not just for AZ8 owners, I have always done this with just the faintest suggestion of grease on Losmandy mount clutch discs I use for PUSH-TO visual observation.? There was and is still nothing else on the market for PUSH-TO visual observation with a balanced mount like a Losmandy GM8s or G11s digital drive mount with a NEXUS DSC, they are the best at this.?

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