As everyone who owns an EQ6 knows, the altitude adjustment in the mount is not the smoothest of operations!

Basically it works on the push-push principle with two opposing bolts – one on the North side of the mount, one on the South. The other thing that EQ6 owners do is to change the standard adjustment bolts – they are prone to bending! The end result of this method is that the bolts gradually gauge out a hole in the aluminium block and once this happens, smooth movement is virtually impossible!

I have tried to remedy this previously by cementing a small piece of brass onto the aluminium block – you can see the results of this in this write-up!

So, I have been looking for an alternative way of adjusting the mount,. I had come across the EQ6 Wedge but at €320+ it’s a bit more than was in my budget!

Once again SGL came to my rescue in the form of member Gunnar – he had made a neat little mod that hopefully solves the problem! So, I ordered one, along with the necessary tap and drill bit, and once I had everything together I did the mod one Sunday morning – took just over an hour! Here is the step by step process….

Undo the main bolt that holds the two pieces together – you’ll need a 17mm spanner for the bolt and a 16mm one for the nut. When you separate the two sections, be careful to catch the metal plate and two thin plastic washers. Standard Skywatcher washers are a thin, white plastic material that are susceptible to cracking and breaking. Again during a previous mod, I had replaced the nut-side washer with some teflon material I had available