Can someone explain how the AZ4 mount works?

[Radscanner]

Hi, I'm having trouble finding out exactly how the Skywatcher AZ4 mount works. There are no youtube videos of it, and all the suppliers say it is a "hot" product but there is no in-depth explanation of how it works. I see there is a panning arm and two clutches. But the panning arm looks very short so my concern is how it manages to move the scope in the tiny increments you need to adjust a highly magnified object in a small field of view.

There being only one arm, I assume you pan in both alt and az in one fluid movement, rather like a tv camera rostrum mount? Are there also optional and traditional cable slow-mo controls as well, and if not how do the two systems compare? Thanks for any answers you can give.

[Qualia]

I use the AZ4 steel leg for purely visual work and with my 4.5kg, 4" f/10 ( plus large 9x50 finder, Telrad and EPs), it works absolutely fine, even at 200x. One does need a little practice getting the balance and tension just right to one's own 'strength of tug' disposition, that is, when moving the two axis (horizontal and vertical) so that the planets or dsos don't leap out of view.

I'm not much good at this, and to be honest, I haven't found I can move the scope in "tiny increments" as I would do with the CG-5, say, when measuring double stars or the given size of a solar spot, but that doesn't mean others couldn't do this. I generally move the OTA itself (my hand resting on the tube) rather than relying upon the panning arm which I have never noticed is too short.

I have found that there is a little wobble in the image if I knock the tripod or OTA - thus, rendering - as already stated - the AZ4 unpratical for measuring stuff but it is an excellent mount if you a doing sketches. It is also for this reason of slight-wobble that I think it would be far better to get the steel legged version rather than the aluminium one - it's going to be a whole lot more stable and the weight difference isn't really that significant.

I'm not sure if there slow-mo controls for the AZ4 and I wonder if one were doing such precision work whether this kind of mount was the best to purchase. What the AZ4 excels at is its ease of set up, its weight, its ability to simply pan the sky, locate an object and observe it. There's a break in the clouds, you've got a few minutes, and rather than playing around with your EQ system, putting on the weight, balancing the scope, for example, the AZ4 is rapidly set up and you're observing in minutes. For this reason, it is an outstanding portable grab (lug) and go mount.

AZ4 Manual

[Has Been]

TBH I hardly use the panhandle on my AZ4. The mount holds the scope tightly enough use the scope itself to steer by. As Qualia says, you do need practise to get the right tension, but once you hit the sweet spot the scope is pretty easy to nudge along at high magnification. Balancing the scope correctly in the first place helps more than I thought it would.

There is no place to add slo-motion cables, it's the panhandle or the scope. As ever, practise makes perfect!