wibblefish

I can’t imagine not having slow mo controls! I think the only other mounts Ive seen are Twilight 1 and Vixen Porta 2 but not read much about them.

I looked at the skytee before and with having to upgrade the clamps etc as recommended and buy an extension it comes out significantly more. I am sure most say ti spend more on the mount than the telescope but I am not sure my budget will stretch alas.

Good call on the container might help when I want to fully pack away though usually leave things setup to jump out! Do you find the AZ5 with the extension etc is solid enough for the scope? My current one suffers from some clutch slip towards the zenith

So I have been doing the rounds over the last few months trying to work out what to get as a next scope and have been very appreciative of all the advice so far. Hopefully this will be the last time before I get something so I hope you will indulge me! I currently have a 90/660 achro short tube on an az pronto which is a great little scope. It seems to do everything “ok” I have thrown at it within its limitations of size / glass. So doubles, DSO, clusters etc which has been great as a beginner. I original figured to complement it with maybe a Dobsonian then maybe a bigger refractor instead but as I thought more about what I wanted and my situation I wondered if something similar to what I have but a bit better* might be a compromise. So with the following parameters: - Single scope due to space and other limitations, at present I have my achro on a tripod setup thats as much space available - Light polluted bortle 5 skies, im restricted in a few directions by trees and lampost / neighbour lights - I enjoy a bit of everything but primarily hunting for messier type things to see even if they are faint and fuzzy which is most - Grab and go, I like the ability to just throw the scope out from 10 minute peeks at planets or the moon to maybe a 2 hour session on rare occasions both the weather / my time permits - Portable, I want something I can move around the garden alot which I have to frequently due to the angles around me - Moveable, I dont do much off site at the moment but Id like something I could take camping eventually to better skies! My budget will probably be around 800-900 pounds for scope + mount. I have some BST EP and an altair 1.25” diagonal that I will keep but the 90mm and mount will have to be sold to fund things. Think my budget works out to be 800-900 but less spend will appease the good lady With all this in mind and reading a few reviews I wonder if this would be worthwhile? - Altair Ascent 102 ED f7 - skywatcher AZ5 + steel tripod (or other 5kg suitable mount?) + extension pillar If anyone has any opinions on that combo or other suggestions in the budget Id be happy to have them

I didnt realise Id cause quite the headache over this one! Sorry been busy for a few days but I am reading so thanks everyone for your opinions I find the world of mounts slightly bewildering! Maybe I should get the az5 to replace my current refractors az pronto, buy a dob instead of the ar127 to solve the mounting issue and then eventually buy a skymax 127 to share the az5. Oh and of course win the lottery inbetween … and work out how to hide eveything in the garage away from the wife

Thank you for all the info @Alan64 most enlightening! Bewildering amounts of options out there @Tiny Clanger Yes the dob is going ti be the easier and cheaper choice but I have some weird refractor lust going on atm!

That is a good shout but I am also starting to wonder if I should pick an easier OTA or just give in to the EQ-5 mount option or the heavier duty Exos-2 it comes with when supplied by Bresser! Luckily its just working out costs and options at this point especially with everything out of stock so not actually out of pocket (yet)

Ah, thanks for shedding light on that, I was sucked in by the various posts when I was looking at AZ options that might be cheaper than the Skytee2 guess it will end up a choice between that and the SW EQ-5 then! Much appreciated!

I created a thread where I mentioned this but it seemed a better place to ask than where I had done previously (as this is also a different question). I am curious to know if anyone has used the Skywatcher AZ5 (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe-alt-azimuth-mount.html) with the heavy duty tripod (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tripods/sky-watcher-38-stainless-steel-tripod.html) to mount anything over 5kg and how you found it? I believe that it should be capable of 9kg and I am looking at putting an AR-127S (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-127s-635-refractor-ota.html) on one but at 7.7KG OTA I am wondering if it might struggle and whilst I would like to keep costs down where possible I don't want to have an unstable telescope / mount combination!

@Alan64 perhaps I am using the wrong term here I was purely thinking equivalent in terms of matching payload capability in this case 9kg unless I am completely missing something? Maybe I need to ask in the mounts section if anyone is using heavier OTAs on one and their experiences as I was surprised when I read about it and the skytee might be a more stable option as it can take 10kg loads. From what I can see Bresser normally sell it bundled with an Exos-2 not sure what that translates into though it is an EQ class. I have also seen it with an Exos-1 option to which is a lighter weight mount so I am totally confused about mounts at this point! -- Edit I did indeed ask about the AZ5 and the 9kg capacity and got a good response that while possible not a good idea so back we go +2 for SGL ❤️

I had a further chat with Alex at FLO (such good customer support!) and he confirmed that the SW AZ5 on a steel tripod can support 9kg which is the same as the EQ5. Definitely love the look of the Skytee 2 but it is expensive so having a cheaper option is better so basically will be between that and the EQ5 if I get the refractor or just get the Dob Thanks for answering my EQ questions and discussions on mounts its nice to hear lots of opinions!

I'm short sighted so I find is massively annoying, have to have my glasses on to locate targets in the sky, check the target in the red dot, then glasses off to adjust in the finder scope and glasses off for observing. Dropped them in the mud so many times....I could try contacts but I don't really like sticking things in my eyes 😛

I was looking at the Stellalyra one actually but yeah stock for anything atm makes things academic exercises which is good as plenty of time to decide. Yeah I haven't really found my niche, I mostly spend my time at present hunting DSO and Clusters, basically anything from the starcharts I have that drifts in to see if I can locate them and trying different objects to see what I can see such as doubles / planets. As I have only one tool at present I probably push the refractor to its limits to try and do a little of everything, which is kinda why I wondered if simply getting a slightly bigger one might be a answer but then I guess a Dob may also work (and better) as an all rounder. The only disappointments I usually have are generally when I struggle to locate something which is more down to experience of star hops / knowing what to expect (i.e. what does a planetary actually show as) rather than what it actually looks like since I know even buying a bigger aperture scope won't perform miracles! I would definitely like to get a 127 Mak at some point but I do feel like they are to specialist(?) and as I don't often get planetary views due to my garden layout probably more of a luxury unless I go for a few nights solely for splitting doubles (which I have done previously) as noone seems to rate them for much else. So indecisive, maybe I need to win the lottery and buy one of everything right?

Its very difficult to know what to do, my head and all the forum advice would suggest a 8" Dob is going to be a good move but there is something that keeps me thinking a 5" frac might be quite a nice thing but do I need two fracs? Also a dob does also work out far cheaper (think eq5 + bresser is like 800£ or maybe £1k if I went for a skytee2 whereas a the dob would only be £450!) as I don't have to buy a tripod but then again if I want to do AP or get a Mak 127 in future (which I will want to) upgrading to a EQ or Skytee now might be a good shout as then I can just buy an OTA. I am lucky enough to have some pennies inbound since its xmas + my 40th soon so just trying to get an idea what to do before people ask! I am signed up to my local astro club now so I should at least be able to get a look at various EQ mounts and newtonians sometime soon for comparisons etc I just thought I'd bounce some of the basic questions I have had bouncing round in my mind off SG forums since everyone here is wonderfully knowledgeable!

Ah, my mount is no where near sturdy enough for this task I own a SW 90/660 short tube refractor with an az pronto on an aluminium tripod (az3 type I think?). If I was to invest in a new refractor like the Bresser instead of say a 200p Dob I would likely look to move my current one on as I doubt I would have need for both I imagine.

I have the older one with the AZ3, I ended up adding those sports ankle weights just above the tray on all three legs to assist with stability. The primary problem I have found with it is more to do with it being top mounted so as the telescope moves position in alt it introduces a shift in balance. It is particularly noticeable with my short tube refractor towards the zenith as all the weight is to the rear which can sometimes cause the clutch to slip. I believe I have seen some counterweight mods for this mount which might solve it but my diy solution and some better balancing on the dovetail seems to have resolved it for me enough for now. I imagine if you upgraded to the steel skywatcher tripod it might solve most of it bar the zenith issues.

@malc-c thanks, would definitely be sticking in the realms of visual observing primary at the moment with the idea I might take the odd phone picture or perhaps play with some AP (and not expect to much) in the future with my dslr as I know it needs more planning to make the right investments. My only thought was if I was going to have to get a new mount for a new scope and I might end up liking AP I could then just get a more specific (lighter!) AP telescope and reuse the mount depending what I was doing on a night than having to buy more kit! Sorry I should have mentioned the telescope, this was when I was looking over a Bresser AR-127s/635 short tube (which likely wouldn't be that great for AP anyway) again recently as I wanted to get a clear idea of how much it would cost if I opted for something like that over say an 8" Dobsonian (and everything I read says the 8" would significantly outperform it but I keep circling back to the refractor with ideas like if I buy a mount now if I wanted to do X different in the future I could swap things over without rebuying :D).

I honestly can't see myself doing more than playing with AP at the moment just to see what it might be able to do, I certainly don't have the pennies to invest right now! My other concern with the EQ mount is that with a nearly 8kg OTA (then add star diagonals / eyepeices presumably) I would be verging quite close to the maximum weight limit of 9kg whereas something like the Skytee is I think a 10kg capacity?

Many thanks @vlaiv I am just trying to decide if (presuming I get a tripod mounted scope) getting an EQ would be more future proof than an AZ

I am currently doing visual astronomy and have an AZ mount but have been more seriously considering different scopes as potential upgrades recently as well as their needed mounting options. For one of them to mount AZ I have been recommended a Skytee2 but another option would be an EQ5. However, I don't have any direct experience of EQ mounts other than an understanding of the basics of what they are etc. from books so I can only apologize if my questions may be a bit silly! - With the UK being cloud cover rich I often just throw my current scope out on its AZ mount and its effectively ready to go, is an EQ mounted telescope likely much more time consuming for quick sessions? - I don't always have access to Polaris due to large trees, will this be a big issue? - I usually have to move around the garden a lot (due to the aforementioned trees), presumably I don't need to reset the polar alignment every time? - From an AZ perspective I do enjoy sometimes just slewing around to locate thing, is an EQ mount able to operate in a similar way or is it more restricted? - The telescope I am considering is about 7-8kg OTA, would I ever be able to feasibly use the mount with motor drives for some (very) limited astrophotography if I wanted to maybe try that?

I had some inquires on getting one of these from FLO the other week in terms of mounting so I think it worked about £415 for the OTA plus would need another £300-400 for either a skytee + tripod or an EQ5 and then extras like the fine focus heaxfocus upgrade / motor drives potentially so it seems like you got a good deal. My head says I should get an 8" Dob as I already have a 90mm Frac but I keep looking a the 127S (and the 152 though I doubt I have the pennies) would love to know your impressions of it on various objects (doubles / planets / dso) if you decide to get it as it looks like it could be fairly handy if a bit of a beast!

I am thinking of popping down on Saturday as I am local and want to visit the local astronomy club who will pitched there Hoping to join in one of the future star parties now the inlaws have bought a motorhome. <edit, didn't fully read one of the posts above answered!> I am wanting to see if I can spot how big an 8" / 10" Dob actually is and say see we can fit that in the garage honest! 😛

Id be curious if anyone has used the ar127s (and what it would take to mount it). I keep looking at it to upgrade my 90/660 though in my head I know a 200p (or equivalent) dob would probably end up more bang for buck but I do enjoy my refractor! (Apologies for butting into your thread!)

For reference I have a 90mm refactor and cannot resolve any stars in the globular M13 for example under Bortle 6 when I have tried, even with my highest power eyepieces, I can just about make out the ring nebula's center on high power If the 25/10 came packaged with your scope which I am assuming it is usual for the 10 to not be a particularly good eye piece unfortunately.

Good to know, thanks! Sadly with all the weird angles from neighboring buildings and streetlights in my garden it requires me to shift positions by a few meters if I need to move to what I want to observe though I guess I could do better planning and move less during the session! Food for thought certainly.