Telescope Reviews: Re: Can this worm wheel be saved?

Update:

Got a quote from Jim Egger at Aeroquest for two options - a quote for a new wheel milled from stock and a quote for re-hobbing the old wheel.

I know that some of you don't think that re-hobbing is an option but if all else fails it's relatively inexpensive to do and at this point I really don't have a lot to lose by trying.

Here's why I say this - Jim told me that the transfer gears always have three teeth in contact at all times if it's meshed right, so the missing gear tooth shouldn't have caused the lockups unless there may have been some trash in there that got stuck. This wasn't the case (at least I didn't find any), so my initial idea that the transfer gear was causing the lockups is probably faulty.

The wheel must be the main issue here. If I can't find a used one for less than what a new custom wheel would cost then re-hobbing sure looks like a gamble worth taking.

I also emailed Brady Johnson to see what he might be able to do for me. As I suspected, he has nothing lying around but is looking to the manufacturer and some folks he knows for some options, including getting a third opinion on the effectiveness of re-hobbing the existing wheel (no offense to those of you who don't think this is an option - given the cost I do need to research this!). Hopefully he'll have some news to pass on soon.

Lastly, I decided to give Orion a try. It turns out that they do have a repair facility, but the guy in technical support was reluctant to say that they would be willing to sell me just the part for a DIY repair. They want me to ship them the mount to appraisal. This will cost the shipping (both ways) plus an appraisal fee. When that's done they'll quote a price for the repair.

Let me say right now that if I wasn't prepared to do the job myself this wouldn't be a bad way to go at all. It's good to know that there is an option to get your mount repaired if you need it.

The thing is, I am prepared to do the work myself.

For me it's a matter of economics. Just the cost of getting the mount to them and having it appraised comes close enough to the cost of a custom milled wheel to make me have to give this some really serious thought.

I explained this to the tech support guy and he understood my position and agreeed with it. He said that he's going to check to see if there isn't some way to provide a new/used wheel, even if it's "rescued from their boneyard".

I'm hoping for a return call from him some time today.

Charlie

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Weston CSC:

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