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I heard a crack... and it's broken (focuser) [REPAIRED]

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Last night on closing the box I heard a crack, as in something snapping. A sound that I never heard in my box but didn't pay much attention as it was quite late, maybe 1 am or so...
Well today I tried to take a 10 sec picture and the stars were out of focus, quite strange as I had it focused last night... and I could also see star trails on a 2 sec picture... at that point my frustration goes into overdrive !!!
Let me test the polar alignment, and it was off again by a mile... of ffs here we go again, so I start re-aligning the mount. As the mount goes through the motion of slewing I heard something moving, and this is the point I realise that the all field flattener and imaging train is moving. Sadly it wasn't just loose, that snapping sound I heard last night came from the focuser (Baader Planetarium)... :angry: Something broke so now the focuser is inoperative.
And to add salt to the wound, I shouldn't have attempted to re-align the mount, due to the imaging train al wobbly, of course my alignment will be off... :whistle:
Last edit: 4 years 7 months ago by Gonzothegreat. Reason: focuser is now fixed...
4 years 7 months ago #42361

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One of the four bearings within the focuser draw tube snapped. I must say, for such an expensive focuser, the bearing used are cheap... very cheap.



4 years 7 months ago #42379
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Hoi sorry for you, i think everybody has stories like this, it comes with this hobby i think. In the past i had mirror crash. my secondery dropt on the main mirror will imaging in the zenit. But i see you are already fixing it any way succes, and take extra beer this night;-)

Chris
4 years 7 months ago #42386

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<strong>I have solved the mystery !!!</strong>



This piece of wood was where my second actuator was fixed, the length of it was calculated precisely to not hit the camera.
However, as I have swapped the filter wheel for a filter drawer and added an OAG, this has changed the length of the imaging train... not by much but enough...
The red arrow shows the mark the Atik made on the wood, the weakest point was about in the middle of the telescope, ie: the focuser bearings.

So glad only a tiny little bearing snapped, this could have been a very expensive self inflicted mistake !!!


Oh and I do really like my box, so easy to do maintenance on it.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq
Last edit: 4 years 7 months ago by Gonzothegreat.
4 years 7 months ago #42391
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I am rather shocked that a mount crash exerted enough force to break your focuser. Typically the failure mode of the HEQ5 Pro is the drive stepper motors harmlessly skipping steps.
I hope it can be repaired
4 years 7 months ago #42457

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This was probably a side load, not along the draw tube. Lucky that a bearing broke and not something less easily repairable.
4 years 7 months ago #42472

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The linear actuator is rated for 152Kg pulling/pushing force, not sure what sort of KG it is around the lid but I can tell you something, you do not want to get your fingers trapped...
Anyway, it was a side load issue as ChrisRowland said.
Atik + filter wheel + flattener = solid chunk
telescope + rings + mount = solid chunk
the weakest part is at the draw tube, downward pressure from the lid onto the camera... something had to snap... I am glad it was only a bearing.
Yes it could have been much worse and yes it is fixed. I did place an Amazon prime order for Saturday delivery on Friday mid afternoon.

The only think I am not happy at all at the moment is my polar alignment, it's not 100% correct and I know it. I used to be able to do 5 min unguided, but now 2min and you get small star trails :angry:
I can only fix this now in December, I can still use the telescope, but limited in unguided time. Also I had no time to re-adjust the OAG focus, and this old QHY5 is getting quite old now... I really do need something with more QE%... (open to suggestions)
4 years 7 months ago #42518

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I feel your anger about this unlucky incident, i myself had a similar issue the made me lost some imaging days and it is due to my stupidity of the moment. The last weeks i was feeling a jiggly motion at the focuser area of my rc scope and i couldn't locate it, maybe it was the focuser drawtube? But during the last two weeks when i tested a fresh install of indi at my pi the collimation of my scope was completely bonkers, i packed my equipment went inside home and did a collimation (this happened twice at my limited days off from work), the last time i had the same issue after recollimating my scope i was near the point of selling all of my equipment and stopping this hobby. But then as i was placing my rc scope on the ground i noticed that the whole collimation plate of the primary mirror was loose, turns out i kept forgetting locking the collimation plate of the scope so naturally my collimation was going to get problematic after each movement of the scope.

Sorry for hijacking your post for my story, but i had to vent some steam.

Also for a new guide camera i would suggest the SX Lodestar camera or the SX2 Lodestar, i have successfully located a guide star with my Lodestar camera through an OAG at my RC scope (1624mm) at a white zone.
HEQ5 Pro Rowan Belt Mod, GSO RC8'', SW ED80, Atik 383L+, Atik EFW2, Atik OAG, SX Lodestar, ZWO ASI 120MC
4 years 7 months ago #42530

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