Starmaster Drive gear

I am rebuilding a 24" starmaster dob GoTO. It had a set of drive motors the dec motor drive wheel looks like a toothed grinder and makes contact with the wooden dec wheel It works sort of ok.

The alt motor has a splined drive wheel. The quadrent thats driven has velcro male that is driven by the splined wheel and it likes to slip sometimes.

Im changing it to a rubber wheel on the drive wheel and a stainless strip on the quad to engage it. any ideas??

Anyone do this before.

Thanks for your help
Aloha
dan

Dan Dolaptchieff said:

I am rebuilding a 24" starmaster dob GoTO. It had a set of drive motors the dec motor drive wheel looks like a toothed grinder and makes contact with the wooden dec wheel It works sort of ok.

The alt motor has a splined drive wheel. The quadrent thats driven has velcro male that is driven by the splined wheel and it likes to slip sometimes.

Im changing it to a rubber wheel on the drive wheel and a stainless strip on the quad to engage it. any ideas??

Anyone do this before.

Thanks for your help
Aloha
dan

Call Rick Singmaster of Starmaster. He's always willing to help, even if you aren't
the original owner. Sometimes slipping is caused by dirt buildup on some of the
contact surfaces and/or on some scopes there were some plastic bumbers which
could come in contact with the mirror box when dirt built up on them. There's
other causes too and he knows them all and can point you in the right directions.

Ciao,
Dan

I steel wire-brush the Velcro to clean out the dirt buildup in the loops and clean up the spline gear teeth with WD40. This increases the contact between the two again. I also lubricate the opposing altitude aluminum ball-bearing roller wheel a couple of times a year. The spline gear will slip occasionally against the Velcro as the Velcro loops wear flat and smooth. Get them standing upright again by running a small flat-head screwdriver tip between the loops and valleys of the Velcro where it looks a bit flat. This also increases friction and contact with the spline gear teeth.

Thanks,
Peter Natscher
Monterey, CA

Dan Dolaptchieff said:

I am rebuilding a 24" starmaster dob GoTO. It had a set of drive motors the dec motor drive wheel looks like a toothed grinder and makes contact with the wooden dec wheel It works sort of ok.

The alt motor has a splined drive wheel. The quadrent thats driven has velcro male that is driven by the splined wheel and it likes to slip sometimes.

Im changing it to a rubber wheel on the drive wheel and a stainless strip on the quad to engage it. any ideas??

Anyone do this before.

Thanks for your help
Aloha
dan

I steel wire-brush the Velcro to clean out the dirt buildup in the loops and clean up the spline gear teeth with WD40. This increases the contact between the two again. I also lubricate the opposing altitude aluminum ball-bearing roller wheel a couple of times a year. The spline gear will slip occasionally against the Velcro as the Velcro loops wear flat and smooth. Get them standing upright again by running a small flat-head screwdriver tip between the loops and valleys of the Velcro where it looks a bit flat. This also increases friction and contact with the spline gear teeth.

Thanks,
Peter Natscher
Monterey, CA

Dan Dolaptchieff said:

I am rebuilding a 24" starmaster dob GoTO. It had a set of drive motors the dec motor drive wheel looks like a toothed grinder and makes contact with the wooden dec wheel It works sort of ok.

The alt motor has a splined drive wheel. The quadrent thats driven has velcro male that is driven by the splined wheel and it likes to slip sometimes.

Im changing it to a rubber wheel on the drive wheel and a stainless strip on the quad to engage it. any ideas??

Anyone do this before.

Thanks for your help
Aloha
dan