The Scope Rolls Out, the Clouds Roll In...

I can almost write lyrics for the Amateur Astronomers' Lament.

The good things that happened:

1. The camera is still too heavy for the counterweight I put on the tail end.  I guess using a scale to check the weight of camera, eyepiece and projection holder is in order.  First step: wax the altitude bearings so that it is perfectly balanced with an eyepiece alone.

2. The power change I made seems not to be turning the motor.  Verify voltage at motor and trace back through wiring changes.

It turns out that the 12VDC->3VDC converter actually outputs 3.2V.  In this application, the rheostat used for speed adjustment either does not pass an overvoltage through, or it runs the motor too fast for accurate tracking, which through the eyepiece is hard to distinguish from not tracking at all.  I will just try to remember to turn it off at the end of the evening.