Celestron 8SE mount 'straining' with DSLR mounted

[Adam Y]

Hi all - hoping someone with specific experience on this mount can advise.  Under normal circumstances, everything seems to operate without issue.  With a DSLR (nikon D90) mounted, I have noticed when I raise the objective end (nose-up) that there is a slight 'straining' or groaning noise coming from the gears and it seems to slip or shudder while moving.  Moving in the opposite direction seems to be normal.  Also, normal tracking is OK in both directions -- only when I want to raise it manually.

 

I expect it probably has something to do with the weight of the camera - so is there some sort of re-balancing I need to do?  I already have the OTA pushed up pretty far into the bracket, so it seems 'front heavy' to me already - not sure I have much more room to go in that direction, but that seems like what it would need in order to counterbalance the weight.

 

Or is there some adjustment to the gears that can be made?  

 

it isn't hurting anything, just worrisome to hear the noises.

[Adam Y]

Now that I've become aware of this, I have started to notice even without the camera a little bit of a shuddering (that's the right word, not 'groaning' as above) in both Altitude directions while slewing. Azimuth seems ok. I am unable to tell if this affects tracking or just manual slewing. How can I tell?

I did a little more investigation,  Here are some measurements I took:

 

OTA with visual back and diagonal, eyepiece, focus motor, telrad finder = 6.53 kg
OTA with reducer/corrector, T-adapter and mount, Nikon D90, focus motor, telrad finder = 7.25 kg

 

I believe that the weight rating for the mount is about 5 kg...

 

So it seems even without the camera, in what I would call a "minimum usable state" it is still heavier than the mount is rated for? It seems to me it should be rated higher so that some of the accessories can actually be used. Is there some leeway on that? Am I forcing myself into a more expensive mount? I don't think the items I have put on there are unreasonable. I can probably get it down to 5 kg if I take everything off, but that isn't helpful.

Is anyone aware of any documentation I can use to disassemble the mount and inspect/adjust the gears just in case there is some other issue at play here? I imagine it is still under warranty, but I'd like to make sure it isn't something simple before i undertake the not-insignificant task of packing and shipping.

Edited February 20, 2023 by Adam Y

[TerryMcK]

There might be a manual on the Celestron website or maybe a search of Youtube might glean some information.