Well, I had some time on my hands, the wife went to her mother's house for the weekend. 8)
So, I decided to do some changes on my Starmaster that I had been wanting to do for a while.
The Starmasters come with Glass Board for the AZ bearing on the rocker box and I am just not a real fan of the stuff. It is noisy and a bit rough for my taste. So, I had purchased some Ebony Star a while back as well as some Sand Star, which is the blond version of the laminate.
I did some preliminary test with Teflon on the two types of laminate and decided that the Ebony Star was indeed slightly more slick. The Sand Star is not quite as bumpy and this seems to make it smoother but a little more friction. Still it is good stuff and I have used it before.
So, I took it all apart, made a new Ebony Star plate for the bottom with all the holes and stuff for the ServoCat. Then I installed it and tested the movement. I found that once again the Ebony Star was smoother and more quiet than the Glass Board. I am happy now and the stiction is less so the ServoCat will be happier too I think.
Also replaced the Teflon Pads for the ALT bearings, making them 2" x 3/4" x 1/4". Again, smoother movement for the ServoCat motors. I think the size of the pads was OK before, but not optimal.
While I was at it I gave the ZOC mirror a bath and now it is all shine! Checked the alignment of all the optical train too. Cleaned everything with the Vacuum cleaner and wiped down all the dust and grime. Getting ready for next Saturday an MT Pinos. Hope the weather is good and no curse occurs from all the work.
So, I decided to do some changes on my Starmaster that I had been wanting to do for a while.
The Starmasters come with Glass Board for the AZ bearing on the rocker box and I am just not a real fan of the stuff. It is noisy and a bit rough for my taste. So, I had purchased some Ebony Star a while back as well as some Sand Star, which is the blond version of the laminate.
I did some preliminary test with Teflon on the two types of laminate and decided that the Ebony Star was indeed slightly more slick. The Sand Star is not quite as bumpy and this seems to make it smoother but a little more friction. Still it is good stuff and I have used it before.
So, I took it all apart, made a new Ebony Star plate for the bottom with all the holes and stuff for the ServoCat. Then I installed it and tested the movement. I found that once again the Ebony Star was smoother and more quiet than the Glass Board. I am happy now and the stiction is less so the ServoCat will be happier too I think.
Also replaced the Teflon Pads for the ALT bearings, making them 2" x 3/4" x 1/4". Again, smoother movement for the ServoCat motors. I think the size of the pads was OK before, but not optimal.
While I was at it I gave the ZOC mirror a bath and now it is all shine! Checked the alignment of all the optical train too. Cleaned everything with the Vacuum cleaner and wiped down all the dust and grime. Getting ready for next Saturday an MT Pinos. Hope the weather is good and no curse occurs from all the work.
[SIZE="Large"][/SIZE][COLOR="Blue"][/COLOR] Floyd Blue
Amateur Imager
