Orion HDX110 mount (Part 3)

It has been a few months since my last post on the Orion HDX110 (EQ8) mount. I wanted to get this posted in case there was anyone else who bought the mount without the polar scope that was having some similar difficulties.

The mount has been performing great for me of late. I cant pinpoint which was more responsible for the troubles, but adding a counterweight to the side of the mount, and cranking down the clutches super tight seems to have fixed things. I have not had any more problems like I described in my March post.

Counterweight added to offset weight of RA & Dec motors that both hang off the opposite side.

The clutches are tightened using some very small spring loaded levers. You have to tighten things, pull up on them and move the lever back so you can tighten things some more. The tiny levers make it difficult to get things tight enough. Apparently this mount needs them very tight, at least with a heavy load like I pictured in the March post. I had about 60 lbs of equipment and 53 lbs of counterweights on it.

I got this picture from Stargazers Lounge. Some people have removed the levers, and loosen and tighten the clutches using a 1/4" ratchet.

I have not needed to do this, but made sure I got the clutches very tight. Since my mount is in an observatory, I defined a new park position in EQMOD that has the scopes laid over. This allows me to open and close the roof without hitting anything. Also I never need to touch the clutch levers. Just occasionally check them to make sure they are still good and tight, or as my German friends say, gutentight.

I'm really enjoying the mount now. My guiding of late has been fantastic, and I'm looking forward to buying the Astro Tech AT10RCT 10" carbon truss RC. If all goes as planned, I'll be ordering one in a couple weeks, along with the AstroZap shroud and dust cover. Since our weather here in Arkansas is almost always steamy in the summer, I am also planning to get the bolt on carbon fiber dew shield from Teleskop Service in Germany.

Check back here at Little Piney Observatory soon. Hopefully I'll have some fresh pics of the AT10RCT posted, with a review to follow.