iOptron mounts

[ollypenrice]

On two examples of the iEQ45 I found the spring loaded drives unsatisfactory, the first one immediately but the second one over more extended use when they seemed to lose tension. I think I remember reading that the spring loading had been discontinued. Is this correct? I also felt that the worm gears were far too exposed to potential contaminants like wind-borne grit.

On any product it may be true that we tend to hear more bad news than good but there is also the distinct possibility that, when someone buys a bad product, they are tempted to keep quiet and sell it on. 

Olly

[CCD Imager]

I had a look at the Ioptron CEM120 specs. They have indeed made the mount from steel, so it should be more sturdy than the older models. But they seem to be at it again, claiming tracking accuracy of 0.3 arc secs. Thats better than the 10 micron mounts with absolute encoders and nearly as good as Astrophysics mounts with absolute encoders costing around $8000. So who would you believe?

[Davey-T]

I think their numbering system is a bit optimistic as I believe the numbers refer to pounds, so EQ45 carries 45lb CEM60 60lbs and presumably CEM120 120lbs, obviously I'd like a 10 Micron mount but for some obscure reason Mrs T thinks it's a waste of her money  

Dave

[nwcs]

For what it's worth I have had a zeq25 for two years and it was so frustrating I almost gave up doing anything. It would never align well and after the most recent firmware update it would start pointing to the ground for two star alignments. I'm thinking of going to a Vixen Advanced Polaris mount next time.

However I have read of people who have the iOptron CEM60 and really got good results consistently with it. I guess it's hard to find quality in the US$1000 price point strangely enough.

[carver42]

I will be buying a mount this spring, and  was considering the ieq30 or the 1eq45. I don't read very many negative comments about the ieq30. My other option is a SW EQ6. I'm leaning a little towards the EQ6 because of the bad experiences that two of my friends have had with iOptron mounts. Both of my friends are engineers and are very knowledgeable about astronomy. One has the 1eq25 and had to do a repair when he got it, then do the change over mod to get it to work right. The other has a ieq45 and had to replace a circuit board before he could even use it. I know there are many that don't have issues and we never hear from them, but seeing problems first hand, depending on load weight, size, etc I will decide on either the EQ6 or the ieq30.   Ioptro  has some innovative products, too bad it seems they have quality control issues.

  regards

      Ed 

[Davey-T]

I have an iEQ45 bought mainly for it's light weight, the 45lb capacity is a bit optimistic especially for imaging, mine also had a new circuit board under warranty but has worked fine for a few years since.

For a permanently mounted option I'd choose the EQ6, for carting about I'd choose the iEQ45.

There is a good iOptron section on astronomyforums.net, worth a read, and a Yahoo group with some images taken with iEQ45

Dave

[carver42]

I have an iEQ45 bought mainly for it's light weight, the 45lb capacity is a bit optimistic especially for imaging, mine also had a new circuit board under warranty but has worked fine for a few years since.

For a permanently mounted option I'd choose the EQ6, for carting about I'd choose the iEQ45.

There is a good iOptron section on astronomyforums.net, worth a read, and a Yahoo group with some images taken with iEQ45

Dave

Hello Dave

Do you think the ieq45 would carry a Celestron 9.25" okay, for visual use only?

  Thanks and Happy New Year

     Ed

[nucdoc]

My views on iOptron is that they should focus on getting their QC up to scratch instead of releasing yet another version of a mount.

A mount like the minitower should just work and like you say there have been many issues with them reported.

$10 worth of checking at the factory will sort out a lot of these issues.

I don't want to hear how great their technical support is what counts is how well it works out the box.

I got bitten by the ZEQ25GT and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I was also bitten by the ZEQ25GT, never again.  Like others have said, it should just work, and not require repairs my me!

I replaced it with a Celestron AVX, wonderful mount, easy to use and great tracking using PHD

Mark

[Davey-T]

Hello Dave

Do you think the ieq45 would carry a Celestron 9.25" okay, for visual use only?

  Thanks and Happy New Year

     Ed

Yes, no problem, images on forums with larger scopes so visual will be fine.

One thing it isn't good at is long refractors where it is prone to develop an uncontrollable  bounce in Dec, I use WO 110FLT on mine for imaging OK.

As I said the iEQ45 is great for a travelling setup, the PA  routine is excellent, EQ6 permanently mounted and PA'd  would edge it for capacity.

Dave

[carver42]

Thank you Dave.

  Ed

[Ajohn]

I don't find the zeq25gt too bad really other than it being different especially in terms of no clutches of the usual type and their style of alignment. I'm not convinced about the weight limits they quote but it does need very careful scope balancing and setting of the worm to wheel  engagement. There is plenty of info about on the web concerning adjusting them - as there is on other mounts. The crazy aspect as I see it is not selling it with the 2" tripod as standard but it does seem to be fairly rigid.

My only beef with it really is alignment. The options aren't as flexible as others and ideally I need that flexibility which is why I wonder about resurrecting a vixen gpdx. 

As to capacity I quickly mounted around 5kg+ of 150mm Newtonian on it to test terrestrially and didn't have any problem manually focusing cleanly at 500x. The scope wouldn't have been well balanced. I've tried various methods of obtaining a light weight mount and would say for it's weight that is pretty good. Better than pretty good really. It would be a lot better with a shorter scope. I was using it at F10  via a heavy 2" barlow.

I've seen comments that an EQ6 is a mount for life. Mine is an elderly Meade goto that Astrophysics used to rebadge and rework a little. People need to realise what they are buying when choosing mounts and lightness does have it's penalties.

I didn't buy mine until I had seen AP results from it from an owner. There is another source of info in that area

https://www.astrobin.com/gear/15441/ioptron-zeq25gt/

12kg though. I suspect that may be possible with a rather short scope - compound in other words.

John

-