CGE Pulley System
When imaging, it is recommended that the RA system be balanced slightly heavy to the East. This way when the mount tracks, it is always pushing against gravity. This will provide a better mesh of the worm and worm gear.
Some of the CGE owners decided to accomplish this by mounting a pulley system and a counterweight on the East side of the mount. There are some examples in the files and photos section.
I decided to follow suit with this pulley system, and I describe it below with some images.
I purchased my pulley/sheave from MSC direct In the search box type sheave, and then you can search by many parameters.
I chose to search by bore diameter, since when the cover of the RA shaft is removed a 7/8"/14 (I think) bolt is exposed. That turned out to be a mistake, since I couldn't tap the bore hole. Fortunately, there is a set-screw, and the CGE bolt isn't 100% threaded, there are two flat surfaces to fasten the set-screw. Below is an image of my sheave:
I chose a 4" OD size, so there is no interference with the polar scope
Then I drilled a hole in the side and threaded rope through and knotted it. I then purchased a small pulley from a local ACE hardware store and bolted it onto the CGE tripod using a tripod bolt. If you do this, it is best that you take everything off the tripod and lower the plastic spreader bar, since the tripod leg can shift. In the image below, you can see where I tried to drill into the tripod.
Pulley attached to CGE tripod
I then attached at the other end a 2 kilo dumbell. For my system, which houses a C8, a TV76 guidescope, and an ST8, that should be enough. Someone in the group with a C14 used about 8 pounds.
Pulley with weight attached. When not being used, I rest it on the tripod spreader bar
Here is an image of the whole system
I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, since we had an ice storm here on Long Island and it is still cloudy, but I have been told the results were very good.