My telescope mount died on the best viewing night of the year

I finally got a clear night last Thursday after weeks of clouds, and my mount just quit on me halfway through alignment. The DEC motor started making this grinding noise and then stopped responding at all. I spent the rest of the night just looking up with binoculars instead, which was actually pretty nice but not what I planned. Has anyone had luck fixing a clutch issue on an EQ mount yourself, or is it better to just send it off for repair?

3 comments

3 Comments

simonk985d ago

My buddy from the astronomy club had a very similar thing happen with his Sky-Watcher EQ5 last winter. He spent like two weekends taking it apart in his garage, found a tiny screw had backed out and was jamming the worm gear against the clutch plate. Since you mentioned the grinding noise first, I bet it's something mechanical like what @kai_burns73 said, maybe old grease got cold and stiff or a bolt rattled loose. He just cleaned everything, put some fresh lithium grease on the gears, and tightened everything back up and it ran fine for months after. I'd say try the teardown video route first since the worst case is you still send it in anyway, just be careful with the little springs and washers.

kai_burns735d ago

Man, that's a rough break right when everything finally lines up. I'd lean towards trying to fix it yourself first before sending it off, especially if you're handy with small electronics. Check if the clutch is just gummed up with old grease or if a screw worked itself loose, because sometimes it's a simple fix you can do in an hour at the kitchen table. Have you looked up any teardown videos for your specific mount model?

felixlane5d ago

Bro that's exactly what happened with my old mount last year! Took it apart on a Sunday afternoon, found a loose grub screw that was causing all the drama. 20 minutes with some tweezers and it was good as new. Definitely worth popping it open before you ship it anywhere.