Dob tracking

Hi all,

I recently purchased a 10" Discovery PDHQ Split DOB. I'm very impressed with the optics, focuser and tube. However, tracking planets at high powers is a slight problem. It's lacking buttery smooth action and difficult to retain the image in the field of view from up/down left/right movements. Does anyone have any easy suggestions to improve the tracking performance of the mount?

Thanks for your input,

Rob

Try buffing the Ebonystar laminate on the alt bearing with a bit of Johnson's furniture wax. If you really want to get slick, top that off with a very thin coat of Armor All. Just spray it on and wipe it off. Spray just a little on a rag rather than on the ebonystar itself. It takes a lot of the "sticksion" out of the movement of the scope and makes the alt bearing and teflon pads work with a lot less friction. Experiment to see what gives you the best performance.

First thing is that Discovery uses too small a piece of Teflon in my opinion. A larger pad about 50% bigger will help a bit.
Also, clean the Ebony Star well with alcohol. I like to use Lemon Pledge in the spray can for lubricating the bearings.
On the bearing for the base the same think applies, first clean, if possible add more Teflon and then wax.

On the 14" Discovery that I purchased in 2001, the altitude pads were very far apart (about 160 degrees) making the motion very stiff. I relocated them about 70 degrees apart (as recommended in Kriege & Berry's "The Dobsonian Telescope") which helped a lot.

My DOB moves much smoother now in all directions. Here's what I did.

Used a ball peen hammer to tap the staples deeper into the teflon.
Cleaned both the teflon and laminate with alcohol wipes.
Lightly spread armorall onto all laminate.

Great suggestions. I can't wait to bring the scope out again on the next clear night to actually test the much smoother tracking.

Thanks again everyone for your assistance,

Rob