When does backlash start

Hi,

I'm curious about backlash. Is it something that happen right out of the box, or does it happen over time. Hours, years?
Looking to upgrade to an HEQ5 Pro, just planing for the future.

Thank you.

I believe I found my answer. For those of you who are wondering.. I watched a video where a guy unboxed a Celestron AVX and the gears made the "gnashing" noise right away.

Originally Posted by joe maceyunas

I believe I found my answer. For those of you who are wondering.. I watched a video where a guy unboxed a Celestron AVX and the gears made the "gnashing" noise right away.

The gnashing noise is not necessarily an indication of backlash.....

Simply put backlash would be how much play there is between 2 gears. ie if you are moving the scope in one direction and you stop it then reverse the direction how long it takes to start moving....the more backlash there is the longer it takes. You can also detect backlash by simply grasping the mount and trying to move it in both directions. Ideally you want as little backlash as possible and while over time backlash can increase due to wear on the gears pretty much all geared drives have a certain amount of backlash unless specifically designed to adjust it out and or compensate for it.