SkyWatcher EQ5 Pro Mount Maintenance - Part 2 of 2 assembly in 10 minutes!

[@pierauspitz]

Great vid, thanks, but if I may: at 3:10, we can see the bearing coated in grease and this may be a bit over the top. This is a sealed bearing, so its lubricant is (and should be) contained behind the dark plastic cover. If necessary, you could repack it by popping one of the cover (or both) off using a pick hook (kind of like an oversized dental probe) , clean it, repack it and then reseal it. A dab of grease on the outside to make seating easier and improve corrosion protection is maybe not a bad idea, but that thick coating on yours will achieve anything good, as it will attract (and retain) any dust and dirt that may come in there, but mostly it may oxidize and harden, covering everything in a layer of sticky gunk. Not a great present to your "10-15 years in the future" self for the next maintenance. Easy on the lube ;)

[@astrojourneyuk]

Thank you for the tip! Next time I strip it down I’ll bear that mind.

[@sjpp71]

Hey, I have that same setup shown in the intro: Eq6rpro and ED80 (the 'gateway drug', as some used to call this scope). Unrelated to this particular video about the EQ5 but, how did you managed to attach the guide camera to your finder scope? Thanks.

[@astrojourneyuk]

That’s a really good question which I can’t remember! I’m pretty sure I just screwed it on and there must have been an adapter. I don’t remember buying one but it was a good 2 or so years back. 🙈

[@iamsokyut]

hello. at 03:25 mark, there seems to be a missing part. on your other video where you dismantled this, i believe i saw "ring like" metal piece in front of the wormed gear but here, it is missing. did you remove it by any chance? i wish you would have also shown whether you removed that wormed gear from the ra housing itself. i have an orion skyview pro mount and the ra axis is very sticky. i got it used (mount and 8" reflector telescope with some accessories, for only $80) but i believe it was not taken care of carefully. still, i want to try and see if i can fix it if it is possible. thanks.

[@astrojourneyuk]

If I understand correctly the ring like metal piece was the main RA bearing. So you have the worm drive gear, then the bearing that feeds through the RA housing. Then at the other end you have another bearing the 3 piece thrush bearing.

[@iamsokyut]

@@astrojourneyuk that is correct. as i mentioned previously that ra bearing seems to be missing. perhaps you removed and had not put it back yet? i will need to repolish my worm drive gear, maybe that will make it more fluid when i put it back together.

[@astrojourneyuk]

My issue was the absence of grease I think from the motor driving the mount whilst locked but the scope was stuck. So regreasing helped. Basically, what’s happened with the bearing was on disassembly it came out with the RA axis (normally it is stuck in the mount) however, when I put it back the RA axis back, I placed the bearing in the mount first to make sure it was in place correctly. That’s why there was a difference.

[@stardebrisx9]

Any video on actually tuning the drive motors on again? I redid my entire mount and it's not tracking anymore at all. ;( I can't seem to find many video's about how to properly tweak this.

[@astrojourneyuk]

That would be helpful to be honest. I’ve seen somethings on KZbin in terms of how to tune them. It’s all about making sure the gears are engaged but not meshed too tight such that it can create increased wear.

[@anniebd1452]

Hi great vid 👍 I just received my eq5 today, used, whoever had it took the whole mount body apart & I have screws all over the place & now idea how to put it together so it functions! I figured out some of it but can't get gears connected in any functional way. I mean the whole body is in pieces, lots of pieces 😭 I need help! If you have any tips I would be forever grateful 🤞

[@astrojourneyuk]

If you look around on KZbin there is a guy that did a really detailed set of videos which will be what you need. I squeezed mine just into 2 videos and ended up skipping bits. The tricky bit might be getting the worm drive meshing properly. It needs to be tight but not too tight! Good luck.

[@miodragpetkovic6142]

bravo.

[@astrojourneyuk]

Thanks. 😀

[@southbronxny5727]

How much did your tracking improve, if any?

[@astrojourneyuk]

I think I’m reality it was about the same as it’s best tracking before but more importantly it was no longer broken. The RA axis is now a lot freer.

[@bortle7_de]

Thank you for the video! I would have appreciated a before-after comparison of how much the mount has improved in terms of "stickyness"/"tightness".

[@astrojourneyuk]

I wish that I’d properly recorded that. The after is definitely better in that the mount isn’t fully stuck but it is still quite stiff. Definitely stiffer than my new eq6-r pro.

[@NMHC1978]

Why 2 types of grease

[@astrojourneyuk]

Only what I’ve seen recommended. www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/geoptik-equatorial-mount-grease-kit.html I’m no mechanical engineer though so just going on the recommendation.

[@NMHC1978]

i will only use super lube synthetic grease

[@ГансФоральберг-м1р]

my mount broke like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIHWeaydh52cq68 now I don't know what to do...

[@astrojourneyuk]

I’m no expert but I’d check the worm drive gears. Sounds like metal grinding against metal and there’s no grease there. The worm drive gears might be misadjusted.