List,
As it turns out, the HGM 200 has the same stiction problem.
I had the mount out for its shakedown cruise this last weekend
in Chiefland, FL.
The HGM 200 uses a large (~7") diameter nylon pad between
the RA head and the DEC head. Should this be greased to
allow better control over pointing? Also, after the weekend,
I noticed that this nylon pad was scored from the screws on
the back of the RA encoder gear. Apparently, this was due
to burrs on the holes for the bolts that hold the RA encoder
gear in place. Is this a problem? What should I do about
it?
The DEC axis uses two large thrust bearings. I'm not sure
how to get to these to properly lubricate them. The RA axis
uses two large thrust bearings as well, but they're easy to
get to, once the DEC head has been removed. Also, there's
a RA clutch bearing that's also easy to get to... simply
remove the RA clutch on the front of the DEC head (make
sure you have a counterweight on) and the bearing sits
between two circular "washers", each about 4" diameter.
The mount is an absolute brick house, and experiences
little induced vibration, but is a real bear when its time to
pack up.
-- Gil
