5 - Synta EQ6/Orion Atlas / Motor Engagement for RA and DEC Axis This procedure will guide you in setting up the EQ6/Atlas worm engagement and also aligning the motor gears after the Declination and Right Ascension reassembly. These steps are best carried out with the EQ6 head mounted onto its tripod or some other type of stable base. The worm setting procedure - especially for the RA axis is very hit and miss and you will probably need to go through it several time to find the 'sweet spot' where there is both no play in the mount and the RA motor can turn the mount smoothly with no motor stall or gear binding. Play / tension in the mounts axis are controlled by three elements. The worm carrier set screws, the end float adjusters and, to a lesser extent, the motor engagement. If you are having problems with a binding motor its best to slacken the motor away altogether. Get a good setting on the worm carrier set screws and only then tighten the motor back down. This symptom will show if all appears well UNTIL the cap headed screws are tightened down. If this happens then the motor is installed too tightly causing the motor gear and the worm gear to bind.   EQ6/Atlas Worm Engagement for DEC Axis Loosen the DEC axis worm carriers four large silver cap screws JUST ENOUGH so that the small set screws can move the worm carrier. Loosen the DEC worm carrier upper set screw and........... .....Tighten the lower DEC worm carrier set screw just enough so that you can feel some play in the axis. Note: You should loosen and tighten these screws by approximately 1 quarter of a turn each time.       Now loosen the lower set screw and......... .......Tighten the upper set screw JUST UNTIL ANY PLAY STOPS. Note: You should loosen and tighten these screws by approximately 1 quarter of a turn each time. Now tighten down the DEC worm carrier cap headed screws. Work around the screws clockwise tightening a little each time until fully tight.       The final adjustment is to the worm end float adjuster. This is a slotted nut. It can be turned using circlip pliers, snipe nosed pliers or two small screwdrivers with fine blades. The worm float needs to be tight but not so tight that the mount binds. Generally I start with the worm float being loose and then gradually tighten it until the mount binds a little and then slacken it off. Run the mounts DEC motor a full 360' to make sure there is no binding at any point in the cycle. If binding occurs you will need to readjust the set screws. This can be a long process to get the perfect balance between no play in the axis and smooth motor running. Reinstall the worm end float cover.     EQ6/Atlas Worm Engagement for RA Axis Loosen the RA worm carriers four large silver cap screws JUST ENOUGH so that the small set screws can move the worm carrier. Loosen the RA worm carrier upper set screw and........... .....Tighten the RA worm carrier lower set screw just enough so that you can feel some play in the axis. Note: You should loosen and tighten these screws by approximately 1 quarter of a turn each time       Now loosen the lower set screw and......... .......Tighten the upper set screw JUST UNTIL ANY PLAY STOPS. Note: You should loosen and tighten these screws by approximately 1 quarter of a turn each time Now tighten down the RA worm carrier cap headed screws. Work around the screws clockwise tightening a little each time until fully tight.       The final adjustment is to the worm end float adjuster. This is a slotted nut. It can be turned using circlip pliers, snipe nosed pliers or two small screwdrivers with fine blades. The worm float needs to be tight but not so tight that the mount binds. Generally I start with the worm float being loose and then gradually tighten it until the mount binds a little and then slacken it off. Run the mounts RA motor a full 360' to make sure there is no binding at any point in the cycle. If binding occurs you will need to readjust the set screws. This can be a long process to get the perfect balance between no play in the axis and smooth motor running. Reinstall the worm end float cover.     If you are only adjusting the worms on the EQ6 and are curious about how they work these diagrams may help. The set screws that you adjust bear againts two brass blocks inside the mount under the worm carriers. The diagram above shows the layout of the running gear inside the worm carrier. As you tighten the lower set screw the screw pushes against the block thats secured to the mount. The set screw forms part of the worm carrier so as you tighten the set screw (small blue arrow) the carrier is forced towards the block (large blue arrow). In this case as you tighten the lower set screw the worm is pulled away from the ring gear. This is the firts step in tun ing the worm gear. As you tighten the upper set screw (small red arrow) the same process occurs. The worm carrier is forced backwards towards the set screw (large red arrow) and as you can see the worm itself is now pulled into contact with the ring gear. Its essential when you play with the set screws that you always slacken the opposing set screw off to prevent damage to the mount.       EQ6/Atlas Motor Gear Removal and Adjustment   As part of the complete strip down guide I removed the motors and the motor control board from this mount. This isn't really necessary for a conventional strip down but given the mounts history of poor periodic error performance I needed to make sure the motor gear was OK and that there were no problems. In fact the motor gear, like the rest of the mount, was suffering almost no lubrication. This step can be necessary after a rebuild to reseat the motors. Cleaning up the over painting on the worm carriers can reduce the distance between the gears enough to cause the gear works to become too tight with the result that the motors will bind and stall. Remove the 4 outer screws around the EQ6/Atlas control panel. Gently pull the control panel away, revealing the motor control board. You can either disconnect the motors from the main board or leave alone and extract all of the motors and control board as one unit. CAUTION Take suitable static precautions as the motor boards on these mounts are reputed to be very fragile. Remove the two screws from each motor and be careful not to lose the washers.       Gently ease the motor away and extract it. You will need to do this for each motor. Using a fine bladed screwdriver prise the polarscope illuminator away from the mount. The motors on this mount showed little lubrication. Their gears were cleaned with a little alcohol on a cotton bud and then regreased using white lithium grease.       Reinstall the motors. Because the gearworks are hidden in the EQ6 at this stage its not possible to gauge pressure on the motors. I would advise gentle pressure against the motor towards the worm gear as you replace the fixing screws for the motor. Replace the polarscope illuminator. Replace the motor control board/control panel and replace the outer screws.       EQ6/Atlas Altitude Movement The mount used for the rebuild in this guide had no problems with its altitude bearings. Altitude bearing problems will show when the mount will rock in its altitude no matter how tight the altitude adjusters are locked down. As the process of adjusting these can be destructive to the mounts trim and no problems were observed with this mount these were left alone. Consult the HEQ5 guide HERE for instructions as to how to adjust these. The HEQ5 and EQ6 are similar in this respect. 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