Monthly Archives: June 2020

NEQ6 belt mod, part #5

With the worm housing in a vice (protected from damage by the vice) I used circlip pliers to remove the worm end caps. I do actually have the additional tool from Rowan Astronomy for doing this, but circlip pliers were … Continue reading

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NEQ6 belt mod, part #4

So, RA axis next, starting with the polar scope. This just unscrews. I was almost tempted not to put it back at the end. Now I have an observatory I only used it for a rough polar alignment before doing … Continue reading

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NEQ6 belt mod, part #3

Next the entire DEC axis has to be removed, starting by unscrewing the collar for the counterweight bar, which comes off very easily. There’s a tapered roller bearing at this end of the axis which could potentially fall out when … Continue reading

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NEQ6 belt mod, part #2

The first job was to remove the control panel by undoing the four outer screws (the inner ones hold the circuit board in place). What’s inside is actually pretty uncomplicated: That actually looks less threatening than the inside of the … Continue reading

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NEQ6 belt mod, part #1

Just before the bank holiday this arrived in the post courtesy of First Light Optics: Such was my enthusiasm for getting started that I’m not sure I have a photo of the contents, so until I find it (assuming it … Continue reading

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Who’s been swimming in my pool?

Given the astonishingly good weather we decided we could justify giving the swimming pool a clean and getting it ready for use somewhat earlier in the year than we might otherwise have done. Once it was uncovered however, we found … Continue reading

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NEQ6 belt mod kit arrives

No excuses not to get on with this now. A little delayed (it was ordered at the same time as the HEQ5 Pro kit), but it has now arrived…

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Going nuts in lockdown…

Whilst I was wandering out to the veggie plot the other evening I found a series of holes dug in the grass alongside the raspberries. Closer inspection revealed that we’d had a visitor keen to retrieve something they’d hidden last … Continue reading

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HEQ5 belt mod

I’ve had my HEQ5 Pro for somewhere around seven years and to be honest it’s always sounded like a bag of nails when slewing and has had a fair bit of backlash, so the Rowan belt mod has been on … Continue reading

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Veg plot 2020, #3

Over the last weekend in April I was mostly mowing grass in the orchard and “upstairs field” and playing chainsaws. In fact I’m not really sure where the time went, but I did manage to do a bit of planting … Continue reading

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