You know when you feel like giving up....................

[Fay]

.................testing in garden again, with XP laptop, well dont get a blue screen with that when DMK plugged in via hub.

anyway phd does not calibrate properly with this camera in.
switched to SX and it calibrates as expected, but whereas the guiding graph would be nearly flatlining as in ursa major, it was flatlining until i kept getting a regular "click", from the mount every few seconds, then the RA line would spike, hence messing a good guide graph up all the time.

any clues as to what this click could be?

Thanks

[Fay]

have setup tonight for testing. am on mars, no guiding on but the mount is still doing a click, mars jumps up quite a lot every time this happens. which is often..  does anyone know what it could be? could it be seen what is causing it if the side of the mount was taken off?

sounds scary me saying that. i did think it was something to do with guiding yesterday but now know it is the mount

[mickw]

You might find the solution in here -

http://forum.orpington-astronomy.org.uk/index.php?topic=7452.msg48161#msg48161

[Fay]

Mick, it is not coming from the main body, but from inside. i found a possible reference to it on SGL


http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/163915-skywatcher-eq3-2-pro-mount-clicking-noise/

[MarkS]

The clicking is a bit of a worry.

I reckon one of the following:
1) Badly meshing gears (but why would it start now)
2) Broken gear tooth (caused by some kind of accident)
3) Some problem with the control board electronics

Which mount is this?

Mark

[Fay]

NEQ6 pro. i am thinking of opening it up  : to look at gears when running & clicking. that is all i can do, if they are on show!

if it is the board then not sure what to do. i sent a mail to OVL but they dont answer technical queries, see how that goes.

[The Thing]

Sounds like sticking gears making the stepper motor skip. This can happen if your head was banged as the worm block can move a fraction. I take it it doesn't happen when slewing?

[Carole]

Fay there's a guy on Astronomy shed who undertakes mount repairs etc if you need to get it repaired.  Not sure where he lives though:

http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=102&t=20255

If you're not a member of the shed you might not be able to read the link though.

Carole

[Fay]

Thanks Duncan, Carole.

i do not think it is  the gears, as the interval between each click or tic, yes more of a tic,  is too often, not time for a gear to go around.

[The Thing]

Thanks Duncan, Carole.

i do not think it is  the gears, as the interval between each click or tic, yes more of a tic,  is too often, not time for a gear to go around.

Exactly, the gears are not going round smoothly so the stepper motor is jumping. The motor does 128 (or is it 64) steps per revolution, so if the gears are sticking the motor will do fast tics even if you are simply at tracking speed. Slewing probably overcomes the stiction if it's only ticking when tracking.

BTW I think it is a misconception that the gears/worm ever jump, the motors can't be powerful enough to strip brass and there is no give in the mountings. If gears have stripped it's most likely because of an external mechanical force.

[Fay]

had a mail from OVL they say it sounds like a worn out RA motor assembly or a faulty motherboard. i have had the side off but nothing to see, all enclosed. they are not fast ticks just one every few seconds which makes the image jump up or if guiding, the RA on graph spike.  Duncan I am not too conversant with all this, can only learn a bit at a time,

so far i have learned not to stick a screwdriver in if attached to mains

[Ivor]

Fay does your noise sound like mine?

http://vimeo.com/92186320

[Fay]

No Ivor. yours sounds sort of mechanical but mine sounds electrical

[MarkS]

That's a real nuisance Fay.  I really feel for you 

Mark

[Fay]

all is not lost, Mark. i setup last night, with the purpose of trying to listen with the side off, to find where the "tic" was coming from, and i heard nothing!

it had been very obvious for two nights with different setups, and obvious effects, so will see what happens next time.