Another Which Mount topic......

[fwm891]

Looking to move house and get a more mobile mount for my Altair Astro Wave series - 115 EDT-APO with which I intend imaging from the garden and darker sites. Budget 1200 - 1400 (GBP) inc vat! which on the face of things gives me a choice of: iOpton's iEQ45 Pro (current favourite), Celestron CGEM GOTO (basic model not DX) and the Skywatcher AZ EQ6-GT. These have been chosen essentially because they're load capacities are well above the 115's needs even with OAG and camera kit added.

I've owned a SW NEQ6 Pro and I'm not going there again, I've just sold my Avalon Linear Fast Reverse and I really wish they did a smaller more mobile mount as that was superbly accurate.

The internet has furnished loads of company, magazine and personal reviews of the current three contenders most of which i've read with a large pinch of salt.

Looking at imaging results from owners/users is difficult because you only see the final processed image - good or bad.

I'm sure within these venerable ranks there are owners of these mounts that can give me a good idea of their mounts capabilities?

Experiences with these mounts and feelings about them would be a great help.

Many thanks

Francis

 

[StuartJPP]

29 minutes ago, fwm891 said:

Looking to move house and get a more mobile mount for my Altair Astro Wave series - 115 EDT-APO with which I intend imaging from the garden and darker sites. Budget 1200 - 1400 (GBP) inc vat! which on the face of things gives me a choice of: iOpton's iEQ45 Pro (current favourite), Celestron CGEM GOTO (basic model not DX) and the Skywatcher AZ EQ6-GT. These have been chosen essentially because they're load capacities are well above the 115's needs even with OAG and camera kit added.

I've owned a SW NEQ6 Pro and I'm not going there again, I've just sold my Avalon Linear Fast Reverse and I really wish they did a smaller more mobile mount as that was superbly accurate.

The internet has furnished loads of company, magazine and personal reviews of the current three contenders most of which i've read with a large pinch of salt.

Looking at imaging results from owners/users is difficult because you only see the final processed image - good or bad.

I'm sure within these venerable ranks there are owners of these mounts that can give me a good idea of their mounts capabilities?

Experiences with these mounts and feelings about them would be a great help.

Many thanks

Francis

 

They do, the Avalon M-Zero, but it certainly is not within your stated budget or your capacity as it is rated at 8kg for imaging (there are people who use the Tak FSQ106 and heavier on it).
 

But good luck finding a proper, unbiased review, it is difficult, there are just so many variables. Magazines never give poor reviews so I tend to ignore them. You have been spoilt by the Avalon Linear FR as the variability of quality of the Chinese mounts means you can either get a mount that is a cracker or a mount that appears to be on crack.

Sometimes I try to include as much information in my images as I can and provide centre and corner crops of raw images but again these depend on the optics, the seeing, how well it was guiding on the specific night, etc., etc. But it at least shows the starting point.

 

As an aside, I have got an Avalon M-Zero and love it. I use it with my Canon 500mm f/4 L IS lens which weighs ~4kg unloaded. I have taken it abroad twice as it can be dismantled into component parts...the counterweight is only 0.5kg, horizon to horizon with no meridian flip (for my scope configuration), fairly light, portable, can be used in alt/azi mode (not that I ever see myself doing so), supports dual camera imaging, almost zero backlash, can be controlled via Bluetooth/SkySafari natively (a bit gimmicky), T-90 tripod is superb, plus it is all in red! I got mine used at a decent price however I think I would get one at full price now that I have had it, it just ticks all the right boxes for my imaging needs...since I got it I have not once thought about getting another mount.

[Neil27]

17 hours ago, fwm891 said:

Looking to move house and get a more mobile mount for my Altair Astro Wave series - 115 EDT-APO with which I intend imaging from the garden and darker sites. Budget 1200 - 1400 (GBP) inc vat! which on the face of things gives me a choice of: iOpton's iEQ45 Pro (current favourite), Celestron CGEM GOTO (basic model not DX) and the Skywatcher AZ EQ6-GT. These have been chosen essentially because they're load capacities are well above the 115's needs even with OAG and camera kit added.

I've owned a SW NEQ6 Pro and I'm not going there again, I've just sold my Avalon Linear Fast Reverse and I really wish they did a smaller more mobile mount as that was superbly accurate.

Hi Francis,

Very interesting question and one I am pondering myself, just out of curiosity why is the iOptron your current favourite? I understand for the size of the mount and their carrying capacity they are very well received across the pond as a portable mount.

I myself am leaning more towards the AZ EQ6-GT, as my mount will be in a permanent observatory, so although the mounts you are considering are the same as mine, we will be using them in slightly different environments. The reason for considering the sky watcher is the software compatibility with EQMOD and it is essentially a development of the NEQ6, with all the best bits modified or beefed up.

Again we are all at the mercy of getting a 'lemon' and nothing can avoid this but pure chance, but the sky watcher seems to have more adopters and there are many people on the internet that can and have 'fine tuned' them to give remarkable results even at long focal lengths. As I have little interest in imaging other than EAA then for me this mount makes the most sense, however if I had to take everything apart after each viewing session then my mount choice may be slightly different.

Have you considered a second hand takahashi mount, I have heard that their polar routine is one of the best and the mounts are built like tanks, if you can stomach the green paint!

There is also a Losmandy GM8 for sale on astro buy and sell that may work, although again I have heard they can require 'sorting' to give acceptable results - if you buy one second hand and a lot of these issues have been resolved, it may be another option?

Hope this helps,  

[theastrodragon]

I think there is a Losmandy G-11 on as well. They are nice mounts, loads of carrying capacity and the Gemini is an underrated system. If you have the polar scope you can align and be set up within a few minutes of the pole in 10-15 min. If your not imaging, then it takes about 5...

[fwm891]

Thanks all for the feedback. As to why the iOptron iEQ45 Pro is my favourite at the moment - take a look at hograt 's images to start with. I notoced when I started whittling down the mount choices a conversation hograt  contributed to and the images he displayed using upto 30 min subs. He also wanted a mount that could be lugged around and set-up at home or at a darker site (just what I want). So I PM'd him and he gave me great feedback on the mount, feedback the other mounts needed to better - none have so far...

The Losmandy GM8 is getting a little tired now (to me) and I couldn't find the 11 in UKABS

Francis

[fwm891]

Again thanks for the feedback.

I've just purchased an iEQ45 Pro from Altair Astro - should be here later this week (all being well).

Why:

ASCOM compliant (so were others)

Larger worm/wheel combination for both RA and Dec axles - more teeth / greater worm/wheel contact areas / less longer term wear

Built-in GPS (an extra with the Skywatcher and Celestron mounts)

Included main adapter (an extra with SW and Celestron) all included cigarette socket leads for car/power tanks etc.

Back-up / service / updates - iOptron seem much more active in their customer servicing areas.

and a strong gut feeling about the mount - time will tell...

Thanks

Francis

[Davey-T]

Good luck with the new mount Francis, a couple of mods I did to mine, fit an O ring behind the polar scope reticle to stop it falling back when adjusting it, fit a circle of 3mm PTFE between the tripod and mount as the adjustment tended to jump rather than move smoothly, I also drilled the ends of the azimuth adjusting screws and araldited some 5mm ball bearings in the ends to help smooth the adjusting.
Mine had gaps between the dec moving part and the fixed mount which meant as you tighten them the polar alignment moved, I fitted some thin stainless steel washers in the gaps.

All in all it's been a good imaging mount as long as you don't exceed 25lbs load, newer ones may be better with improved worm drives etc.

Dave 

[fwm891]

2 hours ago, Davey-T said:

Good luck with the new mount Francis, a couple of mods I did to mine, fit an O ring behind the polar scope reticle to stop it falling back when adjusting it, fit a circle of 3mm PTFE between the tripod and mount as the adjustment tended to jump rather than move smoothly, I also drilled the ends of the azimuth adjusting screws and araldited some 5mm ball bearings in the ends to help smooth the adjusting.
Mine had gaps between the dec moving part and the fixed mount which meant as you tighten them the polar alignment moved, I fitted some thin stainless steel washers in the gaps.

All in all it's been a good imaging mount as long as you don't exceed 25lbs load, newer ones may be better with improved worm drives etc.

Dave 

Thanks Dave - Be a while yet as although Altair's website said they had stock they didn't. Ringing round and emails have drawn a blank so it's mid May before the new stock arrives...

[Neil27]

8 hours ago, fwm891 said:

Again thanks for the feedback.

I've just purchased an iEQ45 Pro from Altair Astro - should be here later this week (all being well).

Why:

ASCOM compliant (so were others)

Larger worm/wheel combination for both RA and Dec axles - more teeth / greater worm/wheel contact areas / less longer term wear

Built-in GPS (an extra with the Skywatcher and Celestron mounts)

Included main adapter (an extra with SW and Celestron) all included cigarette socket leads for car/power tanks etc.

Back-up / service / updates - iOptron seem much more active in their customer servicing areas.

and a strong gut feeling about the mount - time will tell...

Thanks

Francis

Hope you enjoy Francis, it is really a great time for amateur astronomers - I'm sure the mount will perform.

All the best,

[ollypenrice]

I'd just have an AZ EQ6. You can get a bad one but you can get a bad one of anything from the Chinese sourced mass producers. Have iOptorn ditched the spring loaded motor idea? That was a big issue on the original 45. I had one for a while and it was OK initially but became slacker and slacker over time. I also found the worm drive to be too exposed to contaminants. I haven't seen a more recent 45.

Olly

[fwm891]

Agree Olly - your in the lap of the gods with any Chinese manufactured mount. I had an Neq6 Pro which I had to do a lot of work on (belt mod, new bearings, straighten the alt adjust bolts +++) to get it running reasonably. For that reason I'm just a bit anti SW (though the AZ was on my short list). It's my understanding that your objections above on the older 45 have been sorted on the iEQ45 Pro (I'll find out in a few weeks time). It wont match the Avalon Linear I've jusr sold but I'm not expecting it to - just want a simpler, lighter more moveable mount.