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Nippon
member
Reged: 10/22/09
Posts: 52
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I have read on this forum that sooner or later one has to tighten the altitude clutch on the NexStar scopes and I have looked at photos of the disassembly of the altitude bearing of the 5/8/5i/8i on the NexStar Resource Site. I know that all of you fellows that added Ray's brackets to your scopes had to disassemble your altitude bearing. My question is what keeps the nut in place or in other words what keeps it from unscrewing itself during use. I don't see any tabs to be bent up against the flat spots of the nut, set screws, cotter pins or whatever. Maybe their is loctite on the threads or something. I have never heard any horror stories about tubes falling off and such. Mind you I am having no issues with the clutch on mine it seems plenty tight but I just become curious about mechanical things.
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Midnight Dan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 2748
Loc: Brockport, NY
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Nothing holds it in place, but nothing makes it unscrew either. The plate it is holding in is stationary relative to the nut.
-Dan
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Scopes: Celestron NexStar 8SE, Orion EON 72mm ED/APO, Orion ShortTube 80
Mounts: NexStar Alt/Az GoTo, Orion Astroview (EQ3) w/single axis drive
Eyepieces: Baader Hyperion 36mm (Aspheric), 21mm 13mm, 8mm, 5mm;
Other: 2x & 3x Barlow, 0.63x Focal Reducer, Dew-not strips, DewBuster controller, SQM Meter
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Bob Griffiths
Postmaster
Reged: 10/10/05
Posts: 6568
Loc: Frederick Maryland
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Yep There are no French locks, cotter pins etc holding the nut in place PLUS is is only tightened to a little bit more then finger tight (about 17-19 INCH Pounds of torque) ......
Honestly the nut never really loosens .. but you still have wear ... IF I notice a star drifting up in the FOV I know its time to tighten the nut a hair.. BUT this only happens once a year or so...
Bob G
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CPC1100
Nexstar 8i + GPS & Rays Brackets
Denk S1 power switch
Orion 100 mm Refractor
Meade LXD 55 ...AR-5 127 mm Refractor
Exploradome Observatory S.I.E. (Smiling Irish Eyes)
Gerbring Heated Motorcycle clothing in the winter
39*21'03" N
77*28'12" W
The sky over my head....
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Nippon
member
Reged: 10/22/09
Posts: 52
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Thanks Bob and Dan. I almost never move the scope in altitude by hand preferring to park it where I need by using the hand control. My logic, which may or may not be correct, is that will reduce wear on the clutch and reduce the frequency of having to tighten it. But from what I've read from experienced users of these scopes such as yourselves it is a simple procedure. Thanks again
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Midnight Dan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 2748
Loc: Brockport, NY
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Hi Nippon:
I think the wear that might occur from moving it by hand is more in the gear train than the clutch. The gears inside, and immediately outside, the motor are quite small, and so is the motor shaft and its bushings. When you push against the OTA by hand, it's a large lever arm pushing against those tiny parts before the clutch slips.
My take has always been that moving it by the motor will induce less long term wear in the gears and bushings than moving by hand. On the other hand, other people who've owned these scopes for years and always move them by hand don't report any undue wear so I'm probably just being overly careful.
-Dan
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Scopes: Celestron NexStar 8SE, Orion EON 72mm ED/APO, Orion ShortTube 80
Mounts: NexStar Alt/Az GoTo, Orion Astroview (EQ3) w/single axis drive
Eyepieces: Baader Hyperion 36mm (Aspheric), 21mm 13mm, 8mm, 5mm;
Other: 2x & 3x Barlow, 0.63x Focal Reducer, Dew-not strips, DewBuster controller, SQM Meter
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Nippon
member
Reged: 10/22/09
Posts: 52
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That makes sense. I tend to be overly careful as well. The NexStar is the most technologically involved scope I've ever had so I tend to worry that their are just so many things to go wrong. But from what I read they seem to be tough and reliable beasts.
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