Posts Made By: Gary Hooper

Dave, That is what it sounds like when the spur gear is meshing too tightly. Loosen up the meshing of these gears, and see if the problem is still there. It may even be that the worm is meshing too tightly, or bent. At any rate it sounds to me like any rhythmic motor sounds would have to be due to a varying load on the motor. I found this site useful in adjusting the gears on my vixen mount. http://www.astronomyboy.com/cg5/dec3.shtml#adjustments

I keep my eyepieces in my NP 101 case. I use PVC couplings which fit the precut holes and keep the end cap held captive in the bottom with rings cut from PVC fittings.

Tom, I have made several LED dimmer circuits from an article in Sky & Telescope. The circuit allows dimming with very good control over the brightness range, much better than just a pot. The article is titled "Dark Sky Meter" February 2001 page 138.

Reynaldo, From Redding, CA the mid day sun was just a bright spot in the sky on Monday, but on Tuesday, it looked like how the sun would usually look nearer the horizon with smoke or fires in the area. Visibility is about a mile or so. The Shingletown Star Party is also scheduled for the first week of July. There are too many fires in the area for the fire crews to handle, so it looks like the fires will still be a problem in a week or so. A storm passing through to wet things down does not seem too likely, about the best a person can hope for is that the wind might shift from a different direction and clear some smoke out.