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Colleagues, my Skywatcher HEQ-5 Pro is failing after 7 years of good service. It cannot keep proper tracking despite a good polar alignment and even autoguider. Stars are getting elongated, autoguider cannot work efficiently. Does it mean that something is wrong with mechanical part of the mount? Could I fix it by myself? Please advise me. I enjoyed this mount all these years, so sad to lose it….
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4.51
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Have you ever serviced it? I found the original grease a bit "off", I also replaced all the bearings. Then I put belts on it and adjusted backlash. Adjusting backlash, greasing and replace bearings should be done from time to time. Edit: You can do everything yourself. It isn't particularly hard, as long as you don't mind fiddling with your gear a bit. There are lots of YT tutorials for this. |
10.40
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Astro-baby put together a couple guides for the Synta mounts quite awhile back, they're still the go-to source for rebuilding the EQ6 and EQ5. 7 years is a long time to go without a rebuild or tune! Sounds like your mount is ready for some fresh grease! https://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/rebuilding-the-skywatcher-heq5orion-sirius-mount/ |
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2.41
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Great thanks, guys! I should try your suggestions first
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2.41
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It remind me some joke about stupid lady who claimed her BMW is defective: ashtray is akready full 😀
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2.41
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I replaced old lubricant to a new one (silicon based), good to -45C, let see if it really would help.
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7.16
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I hope your change of grease was successful. I guess after taking it apart, you adjusted the grub screws for the gear backlash correctly. In case you have not, this is a really important step. I've done this to my NEQ6 mount after a belt mod. This worked so great, that I did it to my EQ6-R and my EQ5 Pro immediatly. The difference was night and day for all my mounts. I guess, after your 7 years of operation, this is a step that should be really necessary. The HEQ-5 should be similar to my EQ5 or EQ6s. It should be possible without taking the mount apart again. There might be enough youtube videos out there that shows the process. It is kind of simple if you already managed to disassample your mount. My EQ5 was always a bit problematic. Especially in DEC axis, it took a long time to correct for errors. There was a huge backlash I could not fix with all my effort while setting up the hardware. PHD2 was not able to help here. So I've tried some different values for it in softare (EQMODs DEC backlash setting) and this solved the rest of the problem completely. Maybe this is another place to look for. But I don't know about your mount behavior. It's just one possibility to look for. I really hope you already fixed it. CS Christian |
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2.41
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Unfortubately, new greese does change anything with exception of reduced noise of the motors. Probably I should leave the mount for planetary imaging only. |
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Adel, I guess I don't quite understand your last reply. Most everyone who offered advice here were clear that after 7 years, you most likely need to do more than just change the grease. Now it sounds like you want to give up. Take their advice, find some YT videos on how to do the work. If not, then maybe you can send it out for service. Cheaper than buying a new mount. Otherwise, I'm sure someone would be happy to buy it from you for cheap and get it running well. |
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2.41
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Thanks for advices, Alan! I saw a few videos on YT-get scared, frankly. I am not sure that could re-assemble the mount as needed. But I could use a hand of my friend who is s professional engineer, together we can do it! And we will!
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There you go! I suspected that you got discouraged. I should add that doing such work on your own gear can (at times) be very rewarding. Even if you cannot fix this, you will learn a lot about how these things work and be better prepared in the future. But really mounts are pretty simple if you take things one step at a time. That said, I do understand that some people are not so inclined, hence my suggestion that you see if you find a repair shop. Your asking an experienced friend seems to be about the best way to do this, especially for those who feel unconfortable about breaking their expensive equipment.
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2.41
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I almost started with my friend to dissemble the mount but my remote failed : GPS connection lost first, then stopped slewing to the object at all (manually I still can move the mount). I suspect that the failing accuracy may be caused not by a mechanical backlash of the mount but the glitches of the mount's brain-remote. I should flesh firmware first and see if it change anything, finally, I may use NINA to operate the mount and actually check if the remote is the cause or the real cause is still mechanical backlash. Wait for more updates!  |
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2.41
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I tried to update a firmware but failed miserably. The laptop could not see the com portal of the remote, whatever I do. I finalky asked for the professional help of my friend, he is an engineer and software analyst. He fixed all in fifteen minutes ( shame on me)…. But GPS unit works still strange- on and off erradically , the cable looks fine, probably the unit is defective or the wiring inside got loose, we will check it out anyway… upgdaded firmware 4.2 version should work, I need to try without GPS to see if the problem was in the firmware… keep you updated…
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5.01
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Hi Adel, I assume that by remote, you are referring to the hand controller? If so, and you are also using a laptop or mini pc, you could use something like Green Swamp Server or EQ Mod with a special cable for scope control. I use GSS with N.I.N.A. and have had no issues at all. I also use a HEQ5 Pro and installed the Rowan belt kit just after I purchased it 3 yrs ago. I recently had some issues with DEC (I adjusted the worm gear too tight) and went ahead and replaced the DEC axis bearings (and worm bearings) and greased. Very much smoothed things out. I also replaced the RA axis bearings and regreased about a month ago (haven't had a chance to test it because of weather). I followed the YouTube videos below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwZnLkzNQlw&t=669s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RcTuPWCHug&t=2702s I used the bearings listed at the end of this forum thread: https://www.astrobin.com/forum/c/equipment-forums/sky-watcher-heq5-pro/should-i-replace-all-the-bearings-in-my-heq5-pro/ Just a few notes from my experiences. Don't tighten the cone ball bearings any more than to eliminate axis play (looseness) just lightly snug them up. There is one at the end of each axis. Don't overtighten the worms. Overtightening will cause binding and create a much worse situation than backlash. PHD2 does a great job correcting small amounts of backlash. You have nothing to loose by giving this a try! The HEQ5 is a fine mount and with a bit of work should provide great performance for many years. Good luck! Jim |
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2.41
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I used factory settings just to eliminate any glitches, it now works. GPS is still unresponsive, so I need to fix it. But I like your idea to use NINA to oerate the mount, should be an excellent choice. Remote means hand controller, yes.
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8.11
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I suspect it's just a backlash issue. This will happen after several years, especially if the mount is left outside and subject to years of temp cycling. You could go hole hog and do a complete rebuild, change the grease, do the Rowan belt mod but really, just adjusting out any backlash is the most important thing you can do. It's certainly the easiest and something you should know how to do anyway.
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2.41
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Thanks, I tested the mount-started to get into senses, even withoiut GPS working can locate DSO…. Tomorrow I will try on some DSO if it help. Greese is changed -much less noise now, works smoothly
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2.41
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No luck whatsoever, the controller works fine now but the East-West movement is limited and the autoguider cannot fix it. Clearly it is worn mechanism…. I would not fix the mount but instead leave it for the planetary imaging. I will buy HEQ-6 for a new observatory in Peru, the skies in the mountains are amazing there😎😎😎
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