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Just wondering, how many encoder boards did you have to replace due to ruined sensors before you got it right, as I did, By Trial And Error?...LOL! I went through three of them! ....Very Stressful!

There is absolutely no warning, and the sensors are wiped right off of the board by the pressure of the magnetic strip digging into them, as soon as you start to rotate the base! You can't see it or measure it, and it happens faster than a 1000Amp. short!

The first clue is that you no longer have any changing Az readings on you COL, and the COL function no longer works. This is very tricky business Jim, and I don't recommend it unless some sort of protection is provided to the magnetic sensors, such as a raised barrier as I mention in this post.

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Well, I've had NO trouble, no damage, and I'm still on the original encoder boards, despite dismantling and re-assembling for maintenance many times, cleaning, Teflon lubrication improvements, and finally the Lazy Susan mods! Sorry!

While I agree that not only you, but several others have complained about the apparent ease with which the sensor chips can be "wiped out", I don't understand how this is possible given that the brass bush is designed to keep the magnetic disc AWAY from the chips .

In the interests of science and helping others can you recall how you might have done the damage?

I gave my thoughts on my page as to why I think folk could cause the damage, but since I've not actually killed them myself I don't "get" what actually does it.

Bent encoder disc? Tightening too much? Adding washers where you shouldn't have? Did you remove the original Teflon pads? Was your Lazy Susan a very slimline style? Did the magnetic disc slip off the brass bush and get skewed when you were re-assembling the base? Did you remove the brass bush altogether!!?

I totally agree with you that Orion should try and protect the chips - your idea of a raised barrier seems a good one. It would be interesting to know exactly what improvements they have made to the Az bearing for the new XX12.

Has anybody else screwed their sensor chips when trying to make mods to the azimuth bearing? If so what went wrong?

Anyway, I hope my page provides sufficient warning and information to help people understand how they might accidentally damage the sensors, so as to prevent them doing so.

Jim

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