Avalon - Linear Fast Reverse Equatorial Mounting - anyone using this mount?

[fwm891]

Hi All, My search for a mount continues. I finally have to knock the Mesu 200 on the head as I just cannot justify that level of expenditure. What has caught my eye is the '

Avalon Instruments Linear Fast Reverse Equatorial Mounting . I'm also looking at the Losmandy G11 - there's plenty of info on the G11 but relatively little on the Avalon.

So if one of you nice guy's -n-gals can comment on the Avalon (not the single arm Uno).....

Many thanks

Francis

[swag72]

Funny you should mention this Francis as I almost pressed the buy button on one of these last week. Didn't need to in the end, but the permission and funds are there if needed.

So what did I find in my hunt? IKI likes it and is using one in his obs. He says that the tracking and guiding is excellent. There's a member on here who has one that I found while googling and I contacted him. He likes it and says that it's a good mount.

I liked the price in that it was affordable and a 10 Micron isn't. It's also pretty plug and play from and EQ6 using the same pier adapter and EQMOD cables. It would probably have been a very easy transition for me, which got the thumbs up as far as I was concerned.

So I was nearly an owner, but just not quite ...... yet!!

Not very helpful really was I?!

[fwm891]

Hi Sara, yes helpful you are in this. I have pretty much got square eyes at the moment from searching the web and reading mini reviews. All the images I've seen taken with this mount have lovely tight stars, seemingly regardless of focal length.

The Mesu200 sadly is out of reasonable reach, but I have to ask myself do I really need 50+ Kg capacity (Olly would disagree ) and 10 Micron and Tak mounts are well OTT.

The more I read on this the more I'm drawn to it.

Will let you know which way I jump on this.....

[JamesF]

I was under the impression that it is effectively a rehoused NEQ6 converted to belt drive.

Were I in the market for a new mount at the moment I think I'd probably be trying to sit on my hands until there were a few reviews of the EQ8.

James

[fwm891]

I was under the impression that it is effectively a rehoused NEQ6 converted to belt drive.

Were I in the market for a new mount at the moment I think I'd probably be trying to sit on my hands until there were a few reviews of the EQ8.

James

Been thinking that James (not the NEQ6 bit) but the thought of all the tweaks on the NEQ6 with regreasing , bearing upgrades, belt mod... I don't want to go through that again with another (un proven) worm/wheel mount. The Avalon is a much finer piece of engineering.

[swag72]

A agree with James - I definitely do think that this is an EQ6 / NEQ6 basic mount with a belt drive mod - As it sits on an EQ6 pier adapter, uses the same EQMOD cable for instance. But if you are willing to pay the price for that ...........

Weight wise, the Avalon has a very light load capacity compared to other mounts and yes it is expensive - But I am realistic that this would not be an issue for me. I'm never going to load my mount up.

[ollypenrice]

IKI's advert says that it is entirely belt drive. Now the belt drive mods for the NEQ6 merely replace the primary (motor to worm) drive with a belt drive* but the worm and wheel is retained. That means that precious little of the NEQ6 can remain since an all-belt system is very different. I dare say it could use the same software and motors but if that were so I'd be perfectly happy since both seem OK.

The SW handset is not what one would want on a £3.5K mount but at least it is readily replaceable should it fail, as they sometimes do.

I can't see any mention of the encoders. What do we know about these? Does it have them, even?

Francis, I don't advocate giant mounts where they're not needed! The fact that the Mesu will shrug off 50Kg (they claim 90, I think) is not why I like it so much. I like it because it does something not at all common in mounts. It just works.

The Avalon has to be tempting but it's a bit of a step in the dark. Both Losmandy and Tak need a wake up call regarding features and modernization and Tak are out of their mind on prices.

Olly

*SW seem to be bending language with regard to 'direct drive' which they use to mean 'direct drive to the worm and wheel!'

[perfrej]

The mount has nothing in common with the EQ series but the software compatibility (thus the handset). It uses belts all the way with tensioners and the bad thing one can say about them is that they suffer from "rebound" issues in wind. There are no absolute encoders.

Personally, I find the design intriguing but the price coupled with the lack of encoders makes it uninteresting. I suppose it is good for short refractors, but with a steady newt or something long and massive on it, it would most likely swing in the wind. The drive system has some flex but always comes back to the same place after a "swing in the wind". Good or bad? I don't know...

/per

[fwm891]

Thanks All for the honest answers. I've never seen this as an NEQ6 remould, its construction is completely different. It may use some EQ features (like the tripod adapter plate and handset etc) but from that point the differences are immense.

I take Per's point about 'rebound' in windy conditions, luckily I'm observatory based and not likely to put a 2.5 - 3 metre fl scope on it. I'm looking to pier mount the Avalon and run this remotely (well 20 feet away!) via Ascom/EQMod/CdC as I run the NEQ6 at the moment.

I'll have a chat with Ian King later today and raise some of these points.

[JamesF]

To me, the panel on the side of the Avalon mount looks like it came straight off a NEQ6. The layout of the panel appears to be identical, even down to the positioning of the screws holding it in place. It seems odd that the mount would be designed just to be "software compatible" and then duplicate the faceplate exactly. I've always taken that as a strong suggestion that the entire electronic side is actually Skywatcher's own product. If that were the case I'd not be surprised if the motors were the Skywatcher ones too, albeit fitted to a belt drive. The polar scope also looks like it's from the NEQ6.

James

[Zakalwe]

AFAIK, the Avalon mount used the EQ6 control board, handset and motors. They then fit the belt drives and (obviously) the mount itself. A bit like transplanting the engine from a powerful car into one with a much better chassis, suspension and handling.

[ollypenrice]

As Per implies, £3.5K without encoders is a heck of a lot. I wouldn't mind the presence of the NEQ6 bits. They are a bit tacky for a mount of this price but then again they are easily and cheaply sourced and replaced. Expect to pay £90 for a Takahashi cable, or search the net for a compatible alternative - with the risk of frying the innards.

All this shiny anodiozed finishing is fine, but don't leave it out in the sun!

Interesting about the wind business. To be honest, imaging at long focal length in the wind is a dead loss anyway (certainly here) because it is associated with dreadful seeing. Even if your scope doesn't wobble, the incoming light does so!

Olly

[Zakalwe]

I agree. £3.5K is a lot to pay for an unproven design. it looks lovely, and the finish is flawless, but its something that will be used in the dark. For me, it could be ugly as hell as long as it worked everytime.

I think that the EQ8 would be a better option for 99% of users, as long as the quality remains as good as the first reports that are trickling in seem to suggest. Double the payload and permanent encoders.

[fwm891]

Okay folks,

I've had a chat with Ian King after getting his quite frank email about the Avalon Linear mount and his practical comparisons with shall we say another mount that I'll never afford period!

Regardless of whether it contains EQ parts I have now ordered one and it should arrive tomorrow.

There are even a set of recommended settings for PhD etc due to the responsiveness of the mount

The encoder debate doesn't bother me (as like the NEQ6) I'm not at the scope during sessions to push/pull it to a new object, I'm happy to let the motors do the work. It may mean I have a little centring to do when it gets there but I don't think thats a great problem.

I don't hold the same feelings for the EQ8 as some seem to and I'm more than willing with this mount to give the new design a workout.

[JamesF]

Hmmm. I guess that means that it's going to be cloudy here for the rest of the summer then

I've always thought it looked very nice and wondered if the performance matched the looks. Please do let us know what you think of it when it arrives.

James

[fwm891]

I expect a mini review will be forthcoming in the near future - with pic's

[JamesF]

Excellent. I shall look forward to it. I've been meaning to sort out paying you a visit at some point anyhow. Now if people would just stop burying me under work...

James

[PNJ]

Hi All

I have the avalon mount, and ive had it for about 9 months now, think i was the first in the UK. The talk about blowing in the wind is a load of rubbish. The tracking and guiding is excellent, the motors are very quiet, in fact when i first got it i thought there was something wrong as i could not hear the motors, but i could see the telescope slewing, thats how quiet it is. I had a Tak EM400 mount which was class, i had to sell because of my back problems as it was too heavy to put out each night. Ok the Em400 i could go unguided for 20 mins at 1000mm focal length or less, sometimes more. The Avalon can NOT do this, but i got to say im impressed with the tracking and guiding of the Avalon, i wont be parting with my mount. Also its a very attractive mount, not that this has got to do with performance, but it helps.

The Mesu i hear has excellent performance , but its a ugly looking thing, i would not have one for that reason, just my opinion. I use EQmod on my mount, and pulse guide, i would put it up against any mount when using this configeration., I also had a EQ6, but the avalon is nothing like it, except for the handset/electronics. Well it works great for me, and everyone that see my mount is impressed, so i would highly recommend the price tag.

Paul J

[perfrej]

I for one do not doubt that this is an excellent mount, but as to the wind sensitivity there has been a number of people complaining about that when using longer focal lengths so it is probably not total rubbish. All mount designs have their issues. One of the reports, if I remember correctly, was with a C11 on it and he had to build a wind shield.

/p

[Earl]

I did very seriously consider an Avalon when I was mount hunting, No the EQ8 is seriously on the horizon, If I do decide to upgrade my EQ6 the 8 will be a serious contender.

[PNJ]

Hi

All i can say is that i have had no wind issues at all, and i get a lot up here in the north east, i do realise that all mounts might be effected by strong wind, but to say the Avalon is a bad contender is in my opinion no worse than any other mount like a g11 or EQ6 etc

I hope people on this forum are not put off from buying the avalon mount, as i have had NO issues at all. And if anyone come across bad reports i would love to know, i assume the negative reports are from overseas, !! or cloudy nights.

Paul J

[fwm891]

OK - the mount arrived today from IKI (only ordered yesterday!) and I've been playing :grin: , I have to agree with Paul J above the build is superb, the motors are sooooo quiet, like Paul I had to look to make sure things were doing something. I wont be worried now about slewing to new objects in the small hours and waking neighbours).

At the moment its indoors as I need to make a couple of alterations to my pier before it goes outside. I too intend working via EQMod/CdC/PC rather than the handset.

This mount is designed to be used with an autoguider, its not made to run unguided subs and it states that in the documentation quite clearly. Guide settings are effectively zeroed out because there is no backlash in the system so it will be interesting to see the PhD graphs once I get it permanently mounted and polar aligned.

[perfrej]

Keep us posted!

/per

[PNJ]

Francis, well good luck with your mount, i hope you enjoy it. I forgot to add earlier i bought mine with the Wooden Tripod, and the wood does make a very stable platform , and yes there is NO backlash at all.

Paul J

[fwm891]

Francis, well good luck with your mount, i hope you enjoy it. I forgot to add earlier i bought mine with the Wooden Tripod, and the wood does make a very stable platform , and yes there is NO backlash at all.

Paul J

Thanks Paul, I'll be pier mounting mine in a RoR obsy. Just need to drill and tap a couple of extra holes first