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I finally got a clear night to shoot the Orion Nebula and my tracking mount just started making this awful grinding noise halfway through.

After saving for eight months to buy the Sky-Watcher mount, I had to pack everything up at 2 AM and now I'm staring at a blurry, trailed mess of what should have been a three-hour exposure stack.
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3 Comments
wadeyoung
wadeyoung1mo ago
Ever think maybe the hobby just isn't worth the hassle? All that money and time for a picture you can pull up online in two seconds. Maybe the grinding noise was a sign to just go back inside and get some sleep.
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emma_ramirez
Yeah I get what you're saying. That grinding noise is definitely a red flag, not some cosmic sign to quit. It's just a worn out worm gear, happens to the best of them. I dropped $200 on a mount last year and had to replace the motor bracket within a month. The frustration is real, but giving up on something you actually enjoy just because of a fixable problem? That feels worse.
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reese551
reese5511mo ago
Check the worm gear for grit, and ignore @wadeyoung's bad take about quitting.
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