Improve your guiding with this easy EQ6 trick | EQ6 clutch cleaning
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ม.ค. 2022
- In this video I go over a simple, easy, way to clean your EQ6 clutches and improve their performance while also improving your guiding. When there is grease on your worm gear cylinder, your RA and DEC axis can slip causing guiding errors as well as causing you to tighten the clutches too tight. You can clean this without tearing down the entire mount with the direction in this video. Originally seen from user KTAZ from Cloudy Nights post. Thanks KTAZ!
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That was super interesting, thanks! Would love more of these
Very helpful video!!! I really appreciate you taking the time sharing this with us. I have the same mount & I’ll definitely be doing this once mine starts to do the same thing.
Thanks so much DJ!
Worked like a charm, in 10 minutes too. Thanks for this Joe!
You're welcome, glad it worked for you!
Very helpful video Joe! I’ve definitely noticed that my RA axis is easier to move when locked down than it used to be. I’ll be trying out your technique today. Thanks again and I love your channel!
Thanks so much Ken, it’s very appreciated!
Great tip, Joe! I’ll be doing this today. Thanks!
Thanks so much James, let me know how it goes.
Thanks a lot for this video, I haven't seen too many videos of how to break down the EQ6's and hope to see more. CS
Thanks so much Jason!
Great video Joe and very nice tips.
Thanks Glenn, was thinking of you (the mount guru) while I was recording this one.
Thanks Joe! It really helps confidence to see someone do it first. I can go in now, knowing what to expect with and that I've got the tools I need to hand.
Thanks Amp! I appreciate it and glad my video was helpful. Good luck with the clutch cleaning.
@@JoesAstrophoto It worked a treat on the RA 👍but no way would the dec button come out... but neither of them desperately needed it. Attention, yes! I had to figure out what was going on. But it turns out I was confused by loose clutches that come on by themselves and drag a bit when I'm trying to balance. That made me think the end play on the axes might need loosened off a bit. But no, 18 years old and everything is fine, including backlash, and clutch operation too. On the dec I just wiped some of the grease off the threads and put it back together. That's the kind of fix I like!
Very helpful. Thanks Joe!
Thanks Doug, I'm glad it was helpful!
Hi Joe, thanks a lot for your video - I found my bolt covered with grease ... so it is perfect now ... greetings from Switzerland Juergen
Thanks Juergen! Glad it was helpful and you got your clutches clean.
Count me as another satisfied viewer! My RA was slipping, and this did the trick. Thanks!
Thanks John! I'm so glad it helped you out!
Just hyper tuned the eq6 pro tonight and wow my bearings were a million times worse the. You and Glenn’s wait until you see my video. Not even a year old man. Thanks again for the videos especially those. Really helped me get it done. Now to test and tune.
Thanks! I'm glad they helped and I'll check out your video as well!
That's a very good tip; thank you Joe. greetings Frank from Belgium.
Thanks so much Frank!
This came in clutch Joe! Was having pretty terrible guiding in the RA only but will give a try
Thanks Gordon, I see what you did there hahaha! I hope it helps you out.
Good advice, Joe.
I will check out my drive now.
Thanks Pat! Doesn't hurt to clean it either way as it only takes 10 minutes, but if you aren't having any issues, no need really.
Crazy! Thanks so much for this. Took my total guiding RMS from 13.8” to 0.20”
Thanks Finley, I’m glad it was helpful!
Great informative Video Joe!! Happy New Year!
Thanks DSH! Happy New Year my friend!
Excellent Joe, I have the same problem with my RA axis but didn't know how to fix it until now. Thanks very much.
Thanks Graham! I hope it helps you out.
@@JoesAstrophoto Thanks Joe, used your technique today and now it grips perfectly, no slippage !
This is awesome I noticed when I lock up my gear grab the weight and move it, it moves I must have lots of grease on mine I’ll try this out thank you very much Joe
Thanks Llamar! I hope it works well for you.
Worked a treat with Isopropyl Alcohol. Metal disk came out with the RA clutch screw. Need to be careful to not get grease on the disk when putting it back in. I also cleaned the end of the clutch screws (not the threads). Many thanks for the guide.
Thanks so much and so glad it was helpful!
Great advice! Thanks a lot! Herbert from Germany
Thanks Herbert!
Yep helpful. I'm gonna like that. First night out it slipped in RA with a small refractor on it. It was balanced as good as I could tell but as soon as the counter weight stated to rise it fell back down. Since then I have just over tightened the clutch. I still think it might be slipping and I did this that was in the video but I thought it needed grease so I put some lube on it. I'll try it your way now. It may help explain why my PEC training is an "m" shape graph too.
Thanks Michael! I hope it works out for you!
You've come to my rescue again. RA clutch was slipping a bit when closed. All I did was tighten the brass bolt underneath about 1/8 turn, didn't even remove it. RA clutch nice and solid now. Total time cost was less than 1 minute.
Glad I could help!
Fantastic!
Many thanks David!
This also works for the CGEM mount. For the process, I used alcohol pads to remove the grease from the worm cylinders. I decided to use the alcohol pads because alcohol evaporates. I didn't want any excess degreaser to get into the worm gears.
Thanks Claude! Good to know about the CGEM mount. I agree, I prefer alcohol over degreaser as well.
Good tip Joe, was worried for you when those fires went through.
Thanks so much Bruce, I appreciate that! I live a little ways away to the south of where the fires were, but it's really a tinderbox here at the moment. Where I live, we get about 120 inches of snow a season and this season so far we've only had about 6 inches...yikes!
good to know thanks
Thanks Mick!
I sent my mount away for a service and belt mod. Since I got it’s back I’ve had trouble with drift where the target creeps across the sensor giving me longitudinally egg shaped stars. Yet my guiding numbers look good, though noticed constant corrections sometimes large steps on the RA. It’s been driving me mad trying to find a solution and hopefully this is it the solution. I’ve just cleaned out a ton of grease from the button and screw which was also on the internal collar. So hopefully next clear night this will resolve my problem. Thanks Joe
Thanks, and hopefully this helps you out.
@@JoesAstrophoto I’ll be sure to let you know
Good video Joe!
Something about taking my mount apart and sticking things in it worries me😀 I guess it needs doing though as I can move the mount when the clutches are tight! You’re braver than me! I’m hopefully meeting up with Glenn again soon, I’ll take it with me and get him to do it😀 lol, he’s used to taking things apart!
Clear skies Joe!
Thanks Simon! Yes, Glenn is the mount guru lol! At least that's what I call him.
@@JoesAstrophoto Lol
Nice. Thank you. By the way the button came out stuck to the bottom of the bolt on one of mine. So if you're looking down the hole and can't find it, it might be there or on the ground.
Thank you for this. Does this improve guiding at all? Or is it just better stability ? Many Thanks
I have EQM-35 Pro and when I stripped whole mount due to regreasing and inserting needle thrust bearings instead of red washers, it happened to me, that the button most probably stucked somehow inside and damaged the cylinder (scratched it). I noticed it because the RA axis started to be stiff more and more and it get worse and worse, up to the point that I wasn't able to move it at all. I had to strip down the mount again almost completely, using hammer and some tools I had to kick the cilinder out. It was stuck there so hard....And because it is soft alluminium, I had to sand it in order to get rid of scratches and then using steel wool I made it nice again. Also note that I wasn't able to insert the cylindrer inside the part where it was stucked. So I had to sand also that part from inside and then again using steel wool I made everything nice and smooth again.
The problem is that I wasn't sure if the button was a part of clutch screw, when stripped down the mount it just fell off. Now I can see it is separate. No idea how comes that the button could cause stucking of the cylinder. And not even sure if the button caused that. I am just now putting everything together again so I am curious if this happens again. I was also thinking to glue the button to the screw, actually I really don't see the reason why separate button needs to be used.
Sorry to hear about your EQM-35 Martin. I've never taken one of those apart, but on the EQ6 I believe it's a brass cylinder. At least it looks and feels like brass to me and not aluminum. I assume they have a separate button because they don't want the expense of manufacturing custom made bolts for the task and find it more cost effective to just apply pressure to the cylinder with the brass button, but I'm not sure as I don't work for them, just guessing. I don't think it's a good idea to glue the button on though. I'm not sure how easy it will be to remove the bolt or screw it back on the axis housing if the button is attached. Interesting to test it out though, if you decide to do it let me know how it goes.
Great video Joe - I will be doing that to mine. A couple of novice questions - Is there any way the button can fall into the inner workings and how much do you tighten the bolt? It looks like only finger pressure. Thanks for taking the time to produce an informative video. Cheers from down under.
Thanks so much Tony, and great questions. The button cannot fall into the housing as it sits right against the worm gear cylinder. It's this pressure that keeps the axis from turning freely, so you don't have to worry about that, but be careful not to drop it as it took me 20 minutes to find when I dropped mine and it hit the table went under my work bench in the obsy haha. Just finger tight the nut, so when you put the lever back on it will be in the loose position. Glad you liked the video and hope it all works out for you.
@@JoesAstrophoto Thanks Joe - much appreciated
this is very helpful...i'm always afraid to mess with anything having to do with the mount, but this looks simple enough. I will be doing this to my EQ6 too. I've noticed that i have to crank it hard to tighten it, and this should fix that!
Thanks Greg, you should be able to tell a difference for sure, good luck!
Hi Joe, Handy video. My DEC axis does not move freely when the clutch is off. Now I know that I can loosen the bolt under the knob a bit.
Thanks Rob. So when your clutch is disengaged completely the DEC isn’t moving freely? Sounds like it may be the collar at the bottom where the counter weight bar extends is too tight. If that’s not it, it could also be a piece of grit is caught in the main DEC roller bearing or a few other things.
@@JoesAstrophoto Gonna take a look at that. loosening the bold didn't help.
Interesting. My one year old mount exhibits these behaviors. Wonder if I should try to externally remove some grease like this vs a full tear down. It’s only seen 40-50 nights of action max here in Ohio. Would hate to rip it all apart for little gains just yet.
Thanks EAI, absolutely try this first as it only takes about 10 minutes.
Hi Joe, thanks so much for this video. There was grease inside the clutch and I cleaned it exactly as you showed in this video, but the RA axis nevertheless moved very easiliy even when I tightend the clutch very strong. My mount is brand new and I have got an RA rms error of 1". So this seems to be the reason, isn´t it?
Thanks Armin! It sounds like it may be, but I’d have to see it to figure it out. The RA axis should still move with the clutch engaged if you push it but it shouldn’t be easy at all.
I have the same problem, my mount ist new as well, 6 months old
Discovered incredible amount of grease on the button. My button was so covered when I removed the screw I couldn’t remove the button then I realised it was stuck too the screw with grease.
That sounds really bad Finley. I hope this improves your guiding and overall performance. You may have to do it again soon if you have that much lubricant in there it's bound to work it's way back up again sooner than later.
@@JoesAstrophoto I never cleaned the ring inside full 360° I watched the video yesterday and forgot so I had to come back. My guiding is in the 9s for the RA. I’ve just got my guiding yet to use it but hopefully so.
Currently outside right now and trying to get the dang buttons out and they just will not tip over or come lose.. ugh!! Lol
thanks Joe! did this improve the guiding aswell?
Thanks Calzune! I want to think it did, it’s hard for me to absolutely for sure, because “seeing” is always a factor, but my guiding was better last night than the night before by .1 to .2 total RMS.
@@JoesAstrophoto thanks! Will also try this then!
@@Calzune Good luck! Hopefully it will make a difference.
Really helpful video, but I must be doing something wrong, I followed your instructions and even cleaned the gear head twice with q-tips with alcohol and the dry sides, but it seems like I have to tighten even more now that I am done than before?? any ideas?
Thanks! That doesn’t sound good. Usually it’s just a once over and it’s pretty tight again. You should expect some movement of course in the event you hit the tripod or something, but if it’s excessive, I would try cleaning a few more times until you are not seeing any grease at all. You may have to remove the axis giving you trouble and clean it all out unfortunately. It’s just very difficult to get the gear meshing adjusted correctly again afterwards. Another thing you can check is make sure the axis nut on the RA is tight and the locking nut on the DEC depending on which one is giving you problems.
@@JoesAstrophoto Thanks for the really fast response. I will try cleaning it a couple of more times, there was so much grease that the brass stopper(tightener) was stuck on the locking screw when I took it out. I ordered all the bearings and will probably do a teardown/rebuild this coming weekend.
@Joe's Astrophoto and just to be clear....you are cleaning grease off, but don't add any fresh grease, anywhere?
Hi Greg, yes, I'm cleaning it off of everywhere except right next to the bolt head. If you need to you can apply the smallest amount to it, to help keep it from getting stuck with heavy temp changes.
Thanks for the tip- I will try the same on my HEQ5 as both axes on it are hard to tighten sufficiently. My only concern is - will it still slip if something untoward happens? E.g. guiding or homing issue leading to a tripod bump? Isn't that why there is grease there in the first place - so perhaps not clean it all off?
Thanks Mark, there is not supposed to be grease on that part of the cylinder at all. It just works it's way up there over time and use of the mount. Removing the grease form this part of the worm gear cylinder will really help performance overall and keep the axis from slipping. Hope that helps.
@@JoesAstrophoto Thanks- in that case I will try it on the weekend. As it's forecast to be blowing almost 30 m/s I may as well use the time productively!
@@markcompton1249 Good luck!
@@JoesAstrophoto well, I tried but couldn't loosen the screws on one axis 😡. So I gave up rather than stripping the heads... and on the other axis, I couldn't for love or money get the metal cylinder out! Tried everything I could think of, including careful tapping with a rubber mallet! So I guess I am stuck with it as is.
@@markcompton1249 I'm sorry to hear Mark. Just to be sure we are talking about the same thing, are you saying that the clutch lever bolt is stuck? If so you can loosen it before taking off the clutch lever then it should unscrew by hand. If that is not the case then I think you have some other problems at play here and this probably won't help you. On the other axis when you mention the metal cylinder, I'm assuming you mean the button. If so, I just apply pressure to one side with a small screwdriver and then remove with needle nose pliers. If that's also stuck as you say, I'm just guessing that you may need to take apart the mount and clean it all out if you feel comfortable doing that kind of work (it's not an easy task). Unfortunately it sounds like you may have some corrosion build up within the mount causing some bad issues, but I couldn't be absolutely sure without seeing it in person. I'm sorry I couldn't help out more, but I feel for ya brother.
One of the bottoms (DEC) just fell out - grease everywhere which I cleaned up. But I can't get the RA button out. Pushing on one side visibly tilts the button but there is no way to get the button to turn on it's side in order to grab it. Anyone have a similar problem? And a solution??? I have tried wiping what grease I can reach but obviously can't get underneath the button.
Thanks, I haven't run into that issue before. I just use the tiniest needle nose pliers I have and tilt one side and grab it with them. Hopefully someone will chime in with an idea. It's terrible that you had so much grease there, but hopefully it will make a difference after cleaning it all up.
@Joe's Astrophoto
I got the button out. Used a vacuum pump with a piece of hose slightly smaller than the button diameter. A small piece of tubing didn't work. Use as large a diameter as possible. Cut the bottom end neatly, i.e. flat. Took about 8 tries to get the button all the way out.
When I was doing this I took the opportunity to clean the old grease out of the alignment adjustment knobs as well.
Wow! What an ingenious way to get it out, that's awesome! I hope it helps with your guiding now, nice job!