fixed the loaner 'scope mount

As John tried to set up the small refractor telescope to catch Mercury, he struggled a bit. Partly because he is used to Dobsonians—they are so easy to operate. This equatorial mount was different for him, it seemed. Once we got him pointing it north, we found that the Declination axis control was not working. It seemed like something was jammed. Had the worm gear had jumped a thread? I offered to fix it.

It turned out that the upper and lower nuts and attachments on the declination shaft had been made far too tight! I disassembled and rebuilt the mount. It works as it should now.

I debriefed John on my discoveries and cautions. In particular, when attaching the counter-weight shaft, excessive torque should be avoided.

We also found the metal pointer for the declination scale is missing a tiny (metric) screw... That should be replaced.

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Should I examine all the Toronto Centre loaner telescopes to see if they are working correctly or are in need of repair?