Tuning the Skywatcher AZ-GTI! The road to an ultralight, fully automated astrophoto rig!

[@Psychlist1972]

Thanks for this tutorial. I just bought one of these used, and will go through all the things you've done here, just to ensure it's working as intended. in its supported configuration, that spring is pulling horizontally, without gravity being an issue. When used in eq mode, that spring is having to fight gravity. You could probably use a stronger spring to counter this. The other changes made here will reduce backlash at the expense of wearing out the gears. The two brass gears in the motor and gearbox will definitely wear over time. Some lithium grease will help a bit. Similarly, a little light grease or machine oil in the pivot point and the friction nut near the spring will help. (I see you mention later that you may want to use more powerful springs. I agree given the new mounting position.)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Very useful remarks, thank you! Let me pin your comment so it's very visible to others.

[@jonrbryan]

I put a heavier DEC spring in my AZ-GTi (McMaster-Carr 5108N995), lubricated the worm with "Blue Moly" high-pressure grease, and see smoother guiding. PHD2 is still showing large backlash, however. My spur gears are tight, and the worm has no side-to-side play. The planetary reducer between the motor and gears appears to be the culprit, and I didn't think there would be any way to adjust that (somebody correct me if I'm wrong). I also adjusted the (tight) RA and (loose) DEC bearings. I dropped the tripod as far as I could without bringing the feet inside the telescope radius and replaced the top plate 3/8" bolt with a triangular spreader and threaded rod to take the wobble out of the top plate, too. Each thing tightened things up, but the wind is still my nemesis. The slightest breath of air still shows in the tracking graph, just not as bad as before. With no wind I'm typically achieving a bit over 1" RMS error with a 4kg load (SvBony SV503/80 refractor, etc). I have since replaced the RA spring as well, but now I have to wait for good weather to see if it also helps.

[@MrBengourben]

Hello Cuiv. Love your tutorials and videos. I must say it was due to watching this one, that I sold my Star Adventurer, and bought the Az Gti. My first week with this mount was fairly hellish! Plate solving and tracking were excellent, but guiding was the pits...UNTIL I followed this guide and meshed both gears tightly. I also disassembled the whole RA and cleaned and re-gressed everything with good lithium grease. Glad to say it's now guiding like a champ! Your a genius and many thanks. Love this little mount now. Looking forward to some proper dark site sessions. Clear Japanese skies!

[@mikeingram429]

This reminds me of when I did the Hypertune on my old Lxd55 mount years ago. Totally cleaned and polished all the bearing surfaces, replaced the bearings, etc... I just ordered a Skywatcher AZ-GTi which is what brought me here.

[@danielduesentriebjunior]

Like a French watchmaker (I am Swiss, but of cause I am aware that watchmaking was brought to Switzerland by protestant Hugenottes fleeing from catholic France). Your clip here reminds me a bit of my youth when I owned a motorcycle. I took it apart about every week or so for undertaking modifications to the engine, making it 1-2 km/h faster or slower each time. From a modest 27km/h I got it to about 55km/h. Eventually I overdid it, and I had to get a new engine. From there I started over, but growing older I eventually dropped it because of other interests such as girls...

[@salomon1639]

Another great video. Looking forward to see the final setup as I think it's great to have such a light set up fully automated and controlled assuming the mount will guide accurately. Thanks

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I have been able to use the mount in the field, but couldn't polar align it well then, so it has terrible RMS (but OK for 135mm lens I was using!), but others have reported an RMS of around 1.8", which is good enough for wide field!

[@monsyschuller3561]

You are great! These in depth videos are just perfect. Just got an AzGTI to follow my SkyGuider Pro (missing the Goto :-)). Looking forward to future videos! Have a good time!

[@RenoLaringo]

Hi! Thank you for sharing ! This said I would be cautious about two things: You might not want those gears to be sitting against each other too hard (or too deep). This would result in wearing the gears prematurely, especially given they seem to be a very soft kind of metal alloy. Then further adjustments become impossible and you have to change the whole assembly. Secondly I wonder if those springs are not intended to protect the gears and motors in case of a blocage, acting like a sort of emergency clutch. I would not block this system from working because if for some reason the motor struggles to move the scope, then the wormgear would be unable to jump back and slip. This would result in a breakage or/and a motor burnt (might even damage the electronics in case of a current surge). So, yes, this might be a solution for temporarily stenghtening the mount but I'm not quite sure it was designed to work like this. It's a pretty lightweight assembly after all and this always come with some inherent little flaws we sometimes have to just deal with. I might be wrong though. Keep up the great content! 👍

[@-WhizzBang-]

Any PRODUCT that you need to take apart and FIX yourself so it works properly, I would AVOID BUYING all together. This is RIDICULOUS!

[@barrytdrake]

Thank you! I discovered it is possible to squeeze the RA motor gears together too much (they didn't move under power), so I ended up adjusting that gap three times. But! no more backlash! It was well worth the time. I have the AZ-GTe mount. The only difference I have found so far is the lack of the AZ release screw. Otherwise the insides look identical to the AZ-GTi.

[@siegfriednoet]

There is a useful difference between the AZ-GTi and the AZ-GTe. GTi has dual encoders so you can declutch and manually move your scope without loosing your alignment and with the GTe you need to use the SynScan app (or handset) to slew around, if you loosen the clutch the GTe will loose its position

[@darrenwarne9005]

I tore down the complete RA assembly. The RA was very stiff and binding in some points. Removed board and got to the bearing and RA drum. I think the "nut" was over tightened. Polished and regreased all moving parts. Feels much smoother now.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent! I didn't want to go all the way down the rabbit hole, just keeping it simple overall, but well done!

[@CardBoardBoxPro]

hows this working for you after doing this?

[@cevoner]

I had the binding too in RA but I just loosened the lock set screws a bit and that made it smooth with no binding. I seem to have star trails however even at 60 sec. as the RA/DEC are still numbers when guiding just the ALT/AZ move. It does slew to a target OK. Did I loosen too much? I never removed down to the collar to see the bearings. Just loosened the grubs to move smoothly. No clicking, the slewing sounds good. It will drift from my star after 10 min. and I never tried ALT/AZ mode which does move in RA/DEC. FLO told me to try ALT/AZ and try to polar align better. Its a rough align now. No PHD2 either. Can it just be bad polar alignment? Hard to polar align except roughly with Polaris obstructed. Will PHD2 help? I did not polish or re-grease. Too Lazy I guess.

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Ok found out some info, you can use EQMOD with the AZ-GTi mount, but you will need to change some settings. In order to use the EQMOD software with your mount you will need: A PC running Windows The ASCOM Platform installed EQASCOM installed. A compatible mount controller A mount interface Cabling Included in the EQASCOM distributable is a telescope simulator that allows you to evaluate the EQMOD applications without needing a connection to a real mount. In order to use the EQMOD Simulator you only need: A PC running Windows The ASCOM Platform installed EQASCOM installed. AzGTi - see note below 144 2073600 14400 0.0625 For the AZGTi mount: You will need to download and install the skywatcher EQ mode firmware to your AZ-GTi You must set EQASCOM to use custom gear settings with the following parameters: Total Steps: 2073600 Worm Steps: 14400 Tracking Offset:0

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for the details Christopher! I actually did that recently :-) GSS works well as well! I have a video upcoming on both EQMOD, EQMOD Limits, and GSS - so much fun :-) But as you predicted, the EQDIR cable from Aliexpress is pretttty baaad :(

[@Oxizee]

My RA doesnt rotate, like pushing it with 1 finger, which making balancing difficult. The mount just works okay, but how could i get it rotate lighter? Can i grease something more?

[@lucasdanda]

Hey Cuiv! Can you report back on the results you had after getting rid of the spring loaded mechanism? Any drawbacks, difficulties or something after that modification? Was it for good after all (at least for you)?

[@ВладимирЛукьянов-я5г]

Пружина там не зря. На морозе при минус 20-30 цельсия, металл сильно уменьшается и происходит заклинивание, это бывает и летом. С пружиной идет компенсация расширения . И это спасает червячную пару от закусываний и разъеданию металла до стружок.

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Hi Cuiv, I think those 2 springs are good to have and I agree stronger springs would be a good idea to let the motor/gear self adjust while rotating. I think almost all worm/gears use a spring system like this, so a stronger spring and adjusting those 2 gears would be the best solution. Finding a spring that is the same size in length would be the hard part? So my only question is after you were done (Cuiv Tuning) was there an good improvement in tracking/guiding?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

As far as I can tell, the springs here were really an excuse to make sure the mount work even with poor manufacturing and QC. Pull springs are hard to adjust... From what I remember the CEM25P uses push springs which can be tightened/shortened via an adjustment knob, and while it is painful to use it at first it's an example of a good implementation of spring loading... There was a noticeable positive effect on guiding, which was good, and I need to experiment some more!

[@whatmattersmost6725]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek GREAT Cuiv, PLEASE report back. Also in PHD2 you can do a comparison before and after. Any improvement would be awesome! Do you know if NINA can show the tracking with a guidescope w/camera?

[@stelaras1]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek love to see some results whenever possible, would be very useful..it's positive that you have already a positive effect :)

[@TWMist]

how does the mount working in the cold? The only reason i can see for the spring it to pull the worm in as the mount get cold and everything shrinks. I would expect that the backlash would return depending on how cold it get.

[@jorymil]

It sounds like the Star Adventurer or Star Adventurer GTi, although more expensive, may be the lower-stress way to go to get an equatorial mount.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yes! The Star Adventurer GTI didn't exist at the time though :)

[@frzguida]

Hi cuiv, great video. I have a Az-GTi too. My problem with this mount is that while chasing the stars I can hear a continuous clack, and this makes the mount vibrate! The cause is the motor in AR and the crown... as if the spring is pulling too hard.... In your final setup did you remove the spring or keep it ?

[@jorymil]

Amazing video. I love it how you say "I am not mechanically inclined," then proceed to rebuild the entire gearbox :-) Of course, if you were actually lazy, you probably wouldn't do the modification work in the first place, nor make a KZbin video on it. Thank you so much!

[@fordcrews3362]

Isn't the spring there to keep the gears/worm from self destructing if something jams an axis.

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Just an update: I just finished the Cuiv The Lazy Geek AZ-GTi Tuning, now will be known as the CTLGT-AZGTi procedure and thanks to your video it was not that hard! (Thank you) I choose to leave the both springs attached and did the steps to reduce the backlash, not sure if this will help as maybe mine mount was good to start with? But now I know at least that it's the best it can be! If I was not so Lazy I would have cleaned all of the gears from the factory grease and reapply so grease but too Lazy...Thanks Cuiv! Also just for fun I glued a string bubble level to the bottom of the mount and also attached a small bubble level to the Dec so when I start up I know 100% that both axis are 90 & 90. As you can rotate either axis to where ever and with you turn on the AZ-GTi it really does not know that it's at 90-90, it just expects it to be at 90 & 90. So to me that means the encoders only work when the mount is set at 90 & 90 then know how far to rotate from there. I will update when the skies clear what PHD2 says.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent to hear, and well done! I hope you will be getting excellent results, looking forward to your feedback! :-)

[@Korvash1]

That video has solved a lot of problems .. thanks .. i removed the board and the encoder to .. to adjust the play in the ra axis, it is now solid as a rock :)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent to hear!

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Hey Astro-Basti, would give more details on what you did, as to what Cuiv has done in his video please?

[@gblan]

While you had it apart you should've taken the lock ring off of the Dec spindle. Pretty sure there is a needle bearing between the two thrust washers. Pack that bearing with some grease, white lithium maybe, and good to go.

[@brunocv.4435]

Almost impossible to find another spring that could fit in it, so I used an elastic or elastomer to work with the springs or even replace it depending on the strength of the elastomer.

[@astrostufftomtrubridge7915]

Hi Cuiv, Just a quick question, I have fine tuned my GTi mount ready to use with my guided Evolux 62ED and ZWO 585mc camera, I was curious regarding your experience with binding after locking the drive on to the worm gear... Thanking you regards Tom...

[@rafserrano2164]

Hey Cuiv, newbie in the astrophotography space, love your videos especially on the az-gti particularly this video, got mine few days ago to start with planetary photography and just did a heart operation on the mount due to AZ backlash, I am not very experienced with mounts as this is my first "working" mount but felt the crazy backlash when I was testing. Agree with the QC issues as I found out that both washers on the az motor's big screw has been placed both on top (apart from loose threads on the circuit board nount and broken small screw on the az motor). I placed one of the washers at the bottom of the motor mount, backlash gone 🙂

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Well done! Yeah QC on those is not super strict!

[@rafserrano2164]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Cheers! Watching more of your vids, lerarning a lot mate 🙂

[@4sapphireb]

‘Not mechanically inclined.” Really? You did great.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Hi all, ok a few nights ago I found out in both RA & Dec what I was thinking was backlash and tonight I went back inside and what I found is the 2 springs were not holding the worm gear tight enough to stop what I was calling backlash and so I choose to just lock down the 2 worm gear mounts. After I locked them down I found out the RA would bind up while having it rotating around and came to the understanding is what Cuiv said that the springs are used to give the worm gear some play to adjust when the main gear turns as if it's not perfectly centered then the spring would let it move and won't bind. So I loosen the RA locking bolt/lock nut until I was about what the spring had the work gear against the main gear and tighten it. and now I can rotate the RA with out it binding up and I choose to add lots of Multi-Purpose Lithium Grease and it made all of the gears much more quite. So this time I hope to not need to open the cover any more. Nest is to use PHD2 and see what my backlash is now. more to come?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Wow Christopher, excellent work! I hope it will work out well for you!! I think getting a stronger spring would also be nice...

[@albertoastro]

I have had the azgti for almost 2 years, and it has always gone well for me, but since 2 weeks ago it has been impossible for me to guide, since the DEC calibration does not do it, it begins to separate the star to the north, and when it has to return to the south it doesn't and it moves further away, I think it's the slack, could I fix it by making these adjustments? thanks for the video!!

[@mike-lu8di]

Hi Cuiv, another informative video however a slight difference in opinion and an observation, too much spring pressure may result in excessive worm to gear or gear to gear meshing and in time this may cause pre mature wear even tho at first the backlash is minimised, in fact the spring pre load mechanism is a less ideal method of mesh adjustment, I would prefer the manufacturers to implement a fine pitch adjusting screw and locking nut in place of a spring. I noticed that you seemed to re assemble the gears dry and this would have been a good opportunity to clean and lube with a white Lithium based grease. Regards Mike.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks for the feedback Mike! Yeah I agree... That spring is really, really weak though, to the point of letting the whole thing float with the slightest imbalance (or wind gust). Skywatcher grease was still there and looks fine for now, so I kept it that way. I didn't want to disassemble the main gear, either!

[@-WhizzBang-]

The only thing I learned from this video is DO NOT BUY THIS GARBAGE! Since when should I HAVE TO TAKE SOMETHING APART and FIX IT MYSELF for it to work properly??????? Like WHAT THE FUCK!

[@andreasnyh5740]

What are you connect your az gti to? I try to use synscan on computer but cannot use align the Scope or search for stars..i get only error message. And synscan app on phone crashes all the time. And i try to connect My az gti to skysafari pro but wrong IP. I type in that IP number that is in that user manuell. Can some One help me

[@gazza9839]

If you're on Android then update the synscan pro app on Skywatcher web site - it's newer than the app store version

[@Avocettech]

Just ordered one! Thanks for the tuning advice!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

My pleasure - make sure to check the other comments as well, many others have other suggestions!

[@talktogreg2020]

Hi. How much benefit could I expect to get from just doing the RA and DEC spring tension adjustment (and not the more complicated gear meshing adjustment)? Just asking as I'm lazy!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It really depends on the mount! I think that basically bypassing the spring loading in the RA axis at least could provide better results in general, and less wind sensitivity. But it's hard to tell with so much variability between the mounts. Good luck!

[@davidpaul8940]

how much weight do you think this will hold?

[@ShevillMathers]

Hi from Tasmania, I have made some technical comments re-working on this unit, on Astrobloke page doing a similar rework to improve tracking etc. there are some points that you may have overlooked because being a very small mount, the finer adjustments are not immediately obvious. I have recently rebuilt my unit and worked out how these fine adjustments are made. I do a lot of machining to built mounts and modify others etc. so have become very familiar with adjusting worm and wheel gears, as well as making them, Getting the best out of gear and clutch systems is something of an art and needs a sensitive touch. Hope you find my comments helpful. Stay safe and Regard from the Southern Cross Observatory-Tasmania 42 South.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Shevill! Do you have a link to this kind of information!

[@ShevillMathers]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek No, it is what I have worked out based on many years of designing and building mounts of many types and sizes and observing how allowances are made for adjusting the correct fit and clearances for gears. Worm and wheel gears always need a form of adjustment to allow for lack of concentricity between machined parts. This is why worm and wheel gear sets for high quality mounts are so expensive. In these cheap mass produced mounts there is limited quality control, the components are not made from the best materials and the final fit and smoothness of such drives is in the lap of the Gods. No matter how carefully I adjusted my RA system there is a slight binding during one rotation, indicating a lack of concentricity in one or more of the machined parts. I am used to machining parts to a high level of accuracy-so one soon gets used to how good/bad a finished part can be. I spent best part of a day on my SW unit before I was satisfied it would perform as intended. Prior to this, there was no way I could balance anything, the drives were so stiff. Sorry I cannot be of more help. However, here is a link about those threads on tripods, cameras, mounts etc. Based on the British engineer, Whitworth who first standardised the thread form we still use today. In the UK it is still called a Whitworth thread, in the US they refer to it as UNC. hence some confusion-some folks don't realise there are two sizes-1/4" & 3/8" the larger size is found on larger heavier gear and in telescope use it is common to have both sizes to it can be used on a wide range of equipment. www.photokonnexion.com/photography-thread-size/

[@ScrapYardDog64]

I thought about buying one of these just for the motherboard and software to build a large alt az mount, just need a way to attach some larger stepper motors, any ideas fellow astro geeks?

[@terrybrooks395]

Seems like that's going to put a lot of pressure on the motor and worm drive bearings, especially in warmer weather as the metal expands

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yeah, that's my worry as well, which is why I mentioned it may then need seasonal adjustment... Well see how it holds in the long term!

[@bkw8571]

Which portable mount is preferred, the Skywatch AZ-GTi or the Star Adventure? Curious.

[@aziz-tu6hk]

Hi Cuiv, I tuned my SW AZ-GTi similar to what you showed in this video. Now when I polar align it slews fine in declination axis but in RA axis it continues to rotate with out stopping until I click cancel in the phone app Synscan. Can you help please.

[@georgekarantzalos4190]

Hi Cuiv, a very helpful video. My AzGTi is guiding really well, I can get 5 minutes subs with no trails while having a 1,5-2 arc" RMS with phd2 guiding. I can even go up to 4-5 minutes subs unguided with an 135mm lens if I balance it properly. But the problem is, it is so hard to do it cause it is so stiff that practically there is no difference if I have the clutches tightened or not in both axes. I don't have an ampere clamp to try what you proposed in another of your videos. Are you facing a similar problem? Any suggestions?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hi George - yes I am having the same problem with balance. For me I just computed the moment arm of my setup, and thus computed where the Counterweight should be based on that! It's a bit of an approximation, but it kind of works!

[@ricardoabh3242]

It seems that the spring is the root cause… change it for a stiffer would not solve both axis… And had to edit :) saw that already there was a comment about this… But did not notice if it was better or equal to your method?

[@msacco]

Thanks for the video, really great to have it! I know it says in the video, but I wonder a few month later, is the setup still the same? Do you use the spring for both RA and DEC? Did you end up getting better springs? Thanks! :)

[@RobB_VK6ES]

Interesting mount. It looks like SW have taken a similar route to the Celestron CGX mounts with spring loaded DC servo motors rather than their traditional stepper motor arrangement. What is the backlash in the black gearbox section like? On My CGX the internal gearbox backlash is horrendous to the point PHD2 can't keep up with DEC reversal backlash. Can this mount be driven from EQ Mod? If so it might open the way to losing the Celestron hand controller and windows only CPWI software.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It is indeed an interesting, small, tiny little mount! The mount requires a specific EQDIR cable (different from other SW mounts), but can indeed be controlled via EQMOD or GS Server. As long as it's for widefield, I think it can perform well!

[@seralyncampbell4731]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Cuiv, do you have any information on what type of special/specific EQDIR cable would be needed for this? I ordered a FTDI RJ11 to USB-A 6P6C cable (only one I could find in Japan) that seems to be intended for network usage, and I can't get it to to recognize the COM ports on EQMOD. Have you managed to get this working with another type of EQDIR cable?

[@marcvwest]

Cuiv, with you using the AZ-GTI on the equatorial mount does GOTO still work with the Firmware update and also not sure if you even have the SynScan whether the Synscan DB translates the AZ to EQ points thanks.

[@geotechlb]

Yes If you download the Firmware for the EQ mode you get both options for AZ and EQ when you boot up syncscan pro

[@fenlandanglingadventuresje7329]

Being a novice, can you tell me what difference this is going to make to the mount, will it improve accuracy as mine is quite a way out sometimes when slewing. many thanks. Jeremy.

[@benbush7354]

HI Cuiv. I have the heq5 and it seems tk ha e an issue right from the box. As I track the mount will click and judder slightly every few second so long exposures not possible. Can you help? Do you ha e any idea what it could be? Normally I'd just send it back but in these time I dont know when I'd get another! Is this anythi g you have heard of? Love the vids, keep it up :)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's a bummer... I've never owned that mount so it's difficult to say. Maybe your gears are binding? I think the method in my EQ6R adjustment video can be used on the HEQ5, but I really think you should just return the mount...

[@benbush7354]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek oh well I guess it's got to go back! Thanks for taking the time to answer and keep up the good work :) thanks. Ben

[@Diomedes642]

I’m now in the hunt for one of these :)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's a bit of work, but as long as you use it for wide field purposes, it should work well!

[@terrybrooks395]

I have one, it's great but you run out of payload capacity really fast, in hindsight I'd buy the EQM-35 and a wifi adaptor

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

@@terrybrooks395 A very good point - this is really a mount for light, wide field astrophography! You cannot load anything too big or heavy on top!

[@Diomedes642]

and here I was getting ready to put my C8 lol jk..I think is a pretty cool concept your striving after. A fully automated portable setup. Specially since I live in new york city, I have to travel every time I observe or photograph. So this could come in handy for when I'm feeling extra--lazy.

[@michaelglykis]

@@Diomedes642 not sure if this appropriate, but I have one that I’m trying to sell. It includes the entire tripod assembly as well. You’ll have to buy the wedge separately. Plus I haven’t opened it up and tinkered with it yet so you can get to enjoy that! 😄 offerup.co/hUbG6Y61Wbb

[@fazergazer]

Hi Cuiv I really like this video I did everything you did on the azimuth axis because I’m using an equatorial mode and I had binding no matter how I try to adjusting there is a a region where the main gear must’ve been eccentric and not well centered! and so it bound so I went back to using the spring and I think my solution is going to be to get a more powerful spring and make sure I try to do something a kin to East heavy

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Argh that's a shame... yeah sometimes those things can be simply too of-center for a fixed setup... A stronger spring or East (or West)-heavy setup should help indeed...

[@astronebulee578]

Hi cuiv, great video, did you stick with the fixed meshing of the RA motor to the worm or revert back to the sdprging loaded mechanism, kind regards

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I sticked with the fixed meshing!

[@astronebulee578]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I hope your doing well after your accident, thank you Cuiv, mine came fixed meshed from the factory in the RA axis and the Dec was spring activated so I shall leave it like this also, I also had a lot of binding on the RA axis when turning the mount manually so watched a video on fitting a plastic washer under the locking nut, the grub screws holding the locking nut needed loosening a bit as these caused binding aswell and greasing all up now buttery smooth , thank you

[@schmaehtandla]

Hi @Cuiv, The Lazy Geek which tripod are you using for the az-gti in this video?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

this one! www.firstlightoptics.com/tripods/sightron-japan-carbon-fiber-tripod.html

[@schmaehtandla]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Did you readjust anything on the mount in regards to backlash or binding or did u leave it like mentioned in this video?

[@aziz-tu6hk]

Hi Cuiv, I tuned my SkyWatcher AZ-GTi to fix any backlash similar to what you did in yourTY channel. After doing that when I want to polar align, the mount slews fine in declination axis but in RA axis it continues to rotate without stopping until I click cancel in the synscan app on my phone. Can you help please fix this issue? Thanks.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Well that sounds like one of the cables hasn't been reconnected properly - but I can't say for sure. Maybe try reseating the cables? But before that try with another phone just in case?

[@dominickzaucha]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek The optical encoder flywheel, or optical encoder sensor is broken on your mounts RA motor. You find this on the opposite side of the 2 golden gears. The mount uses the optical encoders regardless if they are disabled in the phone app. I had the same issue, wound up getting a new flywheel printed at a 3d shop using the DEC one. The quality of the ones that come with the mount are abysmal.

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Ok last night I got PHD2 and the AZ-GTi all setup and ran for about 2 hours and this is before blacklash tuning is this good, ok, poor? RMS PEAK RA 0.37" (0.37 px) 2.04" ( 2.04 px) DEC 0.39" (0.39 px) 2.00" ( 2.00 px) TOTAL 0.54" (0.54 px) What do you think Cuiv?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

TBH that's pretty decent - although do you really have 1 arcsecond per pixel resolution on your scope?? With that you can get great widefield results!

[@whatmattersmost6725]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I was using a Canon 300mm F4 lens on my ASI294MC-Pro as the main camera and the ASI290MM Mini as the guide camera using the ZWO 120mm Mini Guider Scope. Please explain about the 1 arcsecond per pixel resolution on my scope please, so I understand. This is before hypertuning so should I in your opinion?

[@licho52]

@@whatmattersmost6725 1px at your 120mm is about what, 4-5" so your result is about 2.5" RMS and peak was about 10". It's ok and something to be expected from this mount.

[@brunocv.4435]

Very good tutorial Cuiv, I'm new to the channel, I just bought this mount and saw that it has a lot of backlash on the RA axis in the tests I did over the weekend. I'll think about making the improvement you made, but maybe leaving the spring in operation with the proper adjustments. Do you believe that the backlash problem will be solved even with the spring working?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Welcome to the channel! I'd probably try to replace the spring with a stiffer one, that should help to some extent. That said, backlash in RA doesn't matter too much, since we never reverse directions in RA - at most we just pause the tracking and let the Earth rotation do the trick.

[@brunocv.4435]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek thanks for the tips, i'll do more tests in EQ mode before opening the mount...

[@brunocv.4435]

​@@CuivTheLazyGeek just one more question, did you have any problem after a year using the mount without the spring working?

[@javiercuellolopez5610]

OMG !!! Only by professionals

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha, but I'm a huge amateur - it's doable!

[@tongekit4996]

Thanks for this video. It very useful.

[@AndrewYam]

My AzGti the DEC always cannot move back to orginal point when guiding calibration on south point, is it follow the video to tune the mount whether it can solve the issue?

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Hi Andrew, what firmware is your GTi using? If it's not 3.22 MC as that's the latest.

[@AndrewYam]

@@whatmattersmost6725 3.20

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

The firmware update may help, but otherwise it could just be extreme DEC backlash, in which case the stuff in this video (especially the motor gear mesh part) should help. If it is stiction, that's somethings else. I hope you figure it out!

[@CardBoardBoxPro]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek how would you solve sticktion? mine is apparently suffering from that currently.

[@albertoastro]

Exactly the same thing happens to me, when calibrating, it starts to move north, but when it has to return to south it keeps going north or does not return, were you able to solve the problem by adjusting the gears? thanks

[@MrTyroneweaver]

Does that mount accomodate a guide scope?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Do you mean a polar scope? No - but polar scopes are no longer needed for polar alignment if you have an ASIAir or PC with something like Sharpcap or NINA

[@aziz-tu6hk]

What do you mean by backlash 😬? I have one for more than a year now and never noticed any problem.

[@gazza9839]

The problem is with quality control, not all mounts are set up too well in factory - you were lucky :-)

[@gazza9839]

Great video Cuiv, I 'tweaked' mine pretty early on and didn't realise it was supposed to be spring loaded ! I just adjusted it at its highest point of a full rotation which gave no backlash but still a bit at the opposite end of rotation. It would be good to know how Skywatcher meant to implement it ! I generall get just under 2" peak on PHD2 - works fine with a Skywatcher 72ED / ZWO 1600 mm. Liked and subscribed :-)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Welcome to the channel Gaz, and thanks for watching/subscribing! I think SW just wanted something that works all the time for AltAz, regardless or mechanical flows of individual components... Which makes sense of course! But then is not great for Equatorial mode!

[@StardustAstronomy]

That's helpful....!! Please make a video on iOptron MiniTower also....like how to rectify the backlash etc to increase its performance. Also mine iOptron MiniTower (Discontinued series) GPS is not working properly. It always goes to year 2001, once the GPS shows OK on remote. Thanks and Regards from India..!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Unfortunately I don't own that mount! Your GPS issue is due to GPS Rollover (I think: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_Week_Number_Rollover)

[@StardustAstronomy]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek oh yes I also read somewhere on iOptron website but couldn't able to find any solution yet. As per iOptron team I have to replace the GPS unit...😔

[@StarlancerAstro]

It would be nice if they just took a bit more care when assembly but I guess it's not going to happen for that price point.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It would indeed be very nice, but yeah economically it probably doesn't make sense... I just hope SW makes an EQ-GTi version of that mount, that would be more expensive (like 200 USD more) but more robust for astrophoto.

[@CardBoardBoxPro]

post tuning how long of a exposure have you done?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Around 5 minutes, but at low FL

[@DB-be9wy]

This unfortunately does not work. When I tried to push the two gears together after tightening the three screws, I couldn't reinstall the 2nd gear and mesh it with the first gear. I had to loosen it considerably even when I could mesh them together because I was getting a weird screeching sound indicative of binding. I should have left it alone because as it turns out all of my backlash slop was caused by the spring screw and I have just tightened that down altogether on both axes and it eliminated all of my slop. I still have tweaking to do to get the first motor back to where it was before I messed with it now. These motors are very fiddly and when you loosen those three screws that hold the motor together there is potential to create an off axis meshing of the two gears because the two parts of the motor don't mate with each other well on a flat surface. I think I am just going to overhaul the whole thing and strip all of it down and clean and regrease everything in the process.

[@titofff21]

What are the tripods you use?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

This is the tripod I'm using with this mount: www.firstlightoptics.com/tripods/sightron-japan-carbon-fiber-tripod.html

[@titofff21]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks

[@ellandra4407]

I have same mount. Look forward to upgrade it to EQ mode. Do this adjustment essential to do?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Not essential - feel free to just try it in EQ mode without doing any modifications first!

[@whatmattersmost6725]

YEAH!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Woohoo :-)

[@whatmattersmost6725]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Double Woohoo!

[@rashie]

👍👍

[@ВладимирЛукьянов-я5г]

Эта монтировка для фотоаппарата. Не для тяжёлых рефракторов. Там даже нет конусных двойных подшипников как в heq5, neq6

[@ronwesterduin2471]

So... You buy an expensive peace of equipment and it needs tuning in order to work correctly???

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

No, I'm subverting it for a use it isn't built for (equatorial mounting), so it does need tuning!

[@mguerramd]

Perhaps work up on a table or workbench rather than the floor...

[@danny4541]

Funny to see that you are complaining about the product quality but your tools are also more on the cheaper side 😁 Also no Antistatic tape? 🤷‍♂️ Other than that, good video 😉

[@itaialter]

That's great, I wonder how much of this is applicable for my SkyGuider Pro for the future. I think the basic mechanism is very similar. Btw, check out the Dumbbell Nebula I was able to capture from my Bortle 8-9 front-yard with the SkyGuider Pro and a 200mm lens and a cheap SVBony CLS clip-in filter (7x180s @ ISO400, image is cropped) i.imgur.com/GNbQkPP.jpg These were my imaging conditions lol i.imgur.com/Sm1ozYx.jpg , I think it turned out nice regarding everything. I did a manual dither and it made a real difference (and for that I replaced the stock DEC panning head with a smoother, better one. Still manual, though). Not the lazy way, but we'll get there one day.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Is the Skyguider Pro spring loaded? I think it's pre-meshed, but when I had it I didn't need to adjust anything! That is an outstanding result from your backyard! Those lights are really shining down on you! You may even want to add a felt dew shield on top of the current dew shield to cut off more light? And I'm glad the manual dithering worked well!

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Great image itai! I wished mine looked that good, congrats!

[@kamuginkhan]

No, I don't want to do any of that, there are just too much guesswork in what he's doing.

[@rosenangelow6082]

nah, just don't bother. you are not fixing anything and your time is much better spent drinking.

[@ascaniosobrero]

You are betraying your laziness...

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's all to be long term lazy :p

[@-WhizzBang-]

You should be wearing a grounding strap on your wrist, since you are touching an exposed circuit board with sensitive electronic components on it! One static spark, and you can fry components on that board!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Fortunately the insane Japan humidity prevents that, but you are right :)

[@-WhizzBang-]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek or at least mention it in your video for anyone who decides to follow your instructions! They may not be in such a humid area!