NEW Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi Wi-Fi Alt-Azimuth mount

[PaulConfused]

I received mine yesterday. As my firsts scope I have to say I'm totally impressed.

As most of you are far more advanced in Astronomy than I am, perhaps it might be beneficial for a newbie to hear how easy I found this scope and mount.

I got the 127 version, and although I had watched a couple of youtube videos on this mount, I had no prior experience in setting up a  scope.

I had it up and running, aligned with the north and level method and seeking objects within 15 minutes out of the box.

I'm taking it up to Tod Observatory next week (down the road from me) to learn a few more tips from the experts, but it really is an intuitive and simple to setup unit.

[happy-kat]

That is great to read. That's a quick first light too.

[BlueAstra]

On 13/05/2018 at 12:32, Ande said:

I’ve got this mount and, on the whole, using a mobile phone app is a great idea.  It is certainly a lot easier to set the mount up, and get it aligned, with the phone offering up it’s precise GPS data, and time etc. And all of the info about the night’s viewing is wonderfully laid out.  It’s a very easy, and intuitive app to use.  

However, for me, the biggest problem is when it comes to using the app to move the scope. On my iPhone, the virtual buttons are very small, and my thumb invariably wanders away from where it should be. Which then means that I have to look at my phone, and it’s bye-bye night vision. Although the SynScan app uses a black and red colour system, the iPhone always insists on showing an info bar  at the top of the app screen, which is very bright.  It wouldn’t be so bad if the app had a full-screen, buttons only page option that could be called up.  I find a handset far better for keeping my night vision intact.  Maybe I should just wrap an elastic band around the offending menu bar.

On iPhone or iPad, goto settings/general/accessibility/display accommodations/colour filters. Select ‘on’ and select colour tint. Move intensity and hue sliders all the way to the right. Then goto general/accessability/accessibility shortcuts and tick colour filters. You can now switch between a red or normal screen with a triple click on the home button.

[alanjgreen]

FLO seem to have some "in stock" !

 

[FLO]

3 minutes ago, alanjgreen said:

FLO seem to have some "in stock" !

Sshhh... There aren't many ? 

[johngm]

On ‎15‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 15:42, FLO said:

We've been experimenting today...

There is an experimental firmware for the AZ-GTI mount which enables it to operate in EQ mode:

http://skywatcher.com/download/software/motor-control-firmware/

We couldn't resist testing to see if EQMOD would then work - you need to connect to the mount from the APP to put it in EQ mode first, but then it does indeed work with EQMOD. 

The EQDIR cables we currently sell don't fit the AZ-GTI so we are going to get a batch made that will - would anybody be interested?

It may be that the functionality of EQMOD can be replicated over the wireless interface using the Sky-Watcher drivers but for those of us who prefer a wired connection and like using EQMOD, this may be a good option.

Yes, I have seen this on Astronomy and Nature Website.

It does beg the question now though, when used with the EQ wedge, and the updated firmware, is this a better buy than the SA?, considering this has wifi, goto, and twin encoders + identical payload capacity and the SA does not.

John

[London_David]

I’d definitely buy an eqmod cable for the AZ GTI. 

Also, does anyone know where to buy a counterweight bar for eq mode? I’ve read it fits an eq1 bar but I can’t find that to buy separately. I don’t even know if the eq1 bar is correct. To date I’ve bought 3 different bars now and none of them fit. Very boring!

[Panda Alvin]

2 hours ago, London_David said:

Also, does anyone know where to buy a counterweight bar for eq mode? I’ve read it fits an eq1 bar but I can’t find that to buy separately. I don’t even know if the eq1 bar is correct. To date I’ve bought 3 different bars now and none of them fit. Very boring!

Try tool stores for really long bolts. The minimum requirements are M12 threaded (1.75 pitch distance) and suggest to have it no shorter than 20cm due to mount shape. I believe the rod from Star Adventurer mount will NOT do the job as I read from somewhere it has a M8 thread.

I personally struggled to find a suitable counterweight bar myself, so I ended up ordering a M12, half threaded coach bolt 300mm from Westfield Fasteners.

For the length I've ordered, they only have it in zinc coated and not stainless. Its around £10 with delivery, not the prettiest thing or quality but does the job for now. The threading can be rough but I used the hex bolt they supplied to clean the threads up. I also spray painted it with a black anti rust paint and taped over the areas where my weight screws would hit to have it better weatherproof.

It didn't really matter half of the bolt was threaded, as lower part of the GTI mount itself blocks the counterweight going that far up anyway. (unless you have a really really thin counterweight).  

Edited September 7, 2018 by Panda Alvin

[JimothyC]

4 hours ago, London_David said:

I’d definitely buy an eqmod cable for the AZ GTI. 

Also, does anyone know where to buy a counterweight bar for eq mode? I’ve read it fits an eq1 bar but I can’t find that to buy separately. I don’t even know if the eq1 bar is correct. To date I’ve bought 3 different bars now and none of them fit. Very boring!

I'd also like an eqmod cable. 

I ordered a counterweight bar from Astroboot, but anything M12 will do. The one I got was 20cm long, but I think I'd have been better off with something a bit longer, to help balance my payload. 

[johngm]

As I am a celestron CGEM owner, and my current travel mount is the SA, does anyone now if this AZ-GTI mount can be pulse guided via EQIMOD, as I am not familiar with the EQUIMOD interface.

John

[JimothyC]

If it can be controlled by EQMOD, which according to the post above from FLO, it can. Then I don't see why not, I'm hoping to be able to do the same myself..

[johngm]

12 minutes ago, JimothyC said:

If it can be controlled by EQMOD, which according to the post above from FLO, it can. Then I don't see why not, I'm hoping to be able to do the same myself..

This will be fantastic if it can. If so, there will be a Skywatcher SA up for sale ??

[heliumstar]

Hi guys, I am looking at alt-az mounts for Vixen A80M ( 80mm f11.4 ) and am wondering if this mount is able to hold it steady at powers 100x-150x. 

[Panda Alvin]

The mount itself isnt the issue, it is a fairly solid construction and should easily hold it steady with that frac + accessories.

The main concern is the tripod that comes with the mount if you brought it in the bundle, it should be replaced with a better tripod if you want it really still at those powers. 

[heliumstar]

Thanks Panda Alvin! My intent was to get the head only since I have everything else. It will sit on Berlebach Report tripod so plenty enough. My main concern is the length of the tube. All good then. Probably ordering one tomorrow. Decisions, decisions :)

[heliumstar]

I tested it yesterday. Unfortunately...while it can carry the weight you can see the mount struggling with the scope - the momentum is just too much. I was really hyped about it and the mount is great but for smaller scopes than 3.5kg 900mm tube.

[Panda Alvin]

Really sorry to hear the mount did not live up to your expectations heliumstar.
Could you describe how it is struggling ? Does it sound heavy on the gears, slow on slewing, or are you having tracking issues ?

The mount works wonders for my  4.6kg Mak (2" Visual back upgraded), though on a much shorter tube.
I was thinking the longer tube may increase torque required but it shouldn't be an issue if the scope is balanced ? 

[heliumstar]

It tracked Saturn perfectly but when I tested it going around the sky I could hear the motors struggling when accelerating and then again when stopping. Grind like, unhealthy sound. Mind you I don't have reference point for how these things should work so I might be wrong but my impression is that the life of the mount would be short lived with A80M mounted. By the looks of it the mount should handle shorter refractors and Mak scopes without any issues...

Now that you mentioned Mak. In the back of my head there is a 102 Mak for this mount. Jeez....

[London_David]

I tried my AZ-GTI with my 150PDS as an experiment one night and it worked fine. Estimated weight was 5.6 for the OTA, 120g for the camera, plus another 150g for the finder. So properly overloaded at almost 6kg and... I wouldn't have called it super stable, but I balanced it and worked and tracked fine. Using wireless control I never had to walk near it and I wasn't too worried. Crucially (and this is why I did the test) the setup time was about 90 seconds rather than the 23 minutes it takes me to setup my EQ mount.

The only issue I've had is the weird software issue noted elsewhere where it sometimes stops tracking unless you restart the app. I have been using the experimental firmware though and haven't updated it. It was working fine before that.

[Panda Alvin]

23 hours ago, heliumstar said:

motors struggling when accelerating and then again when stopping. Grind like, unhealthy sound.

Double checked my mount tonight, other than the general slewing noise, I cant hear any grinding.
Out of curiosity, how are you powering the mount ? By battery or plug in power source ?
Also have you made sure the locking clutch have been fully screwed in ? For mine the screw for the AZ gear have to go deeper than I prefer to fully lock. 

[heliumstar]

Hey Panda Alvin, I used AA batteries. I fully screwed locking clutch as per the manual. I don't think the mount can handle 1m tubes even if under mass specs. When you manually move it slowly via the app it's ok but if you use it as a goto around the sky and when it accelerates and stops you can hear the motor struggle. Now, this might be the way it works but imo the motors in use like that would be short-lived.

[AdeKing]

16 minutes ago, heliumstar said:

Hey Panda Alvin, I used AA batteries. I fully screwed locking clutch as per the manual. I don't think the mount can handle 1m tubes even if under mass specs. When you manually move it slowly via the app it's ok but if you use it as a goto around the sky and when it accelerates and stops you can hear the motor struggle. Now, this might be the way it works but imo the motors in use like that would be short-lived.

I'm regularly using mine to mount an ED100 which is 900mm focal length. It's a little bit shaky when focusing but the mount handles the tube OK on a goto so long as the tube is balanced.

I've also tried it with a Starwave 102 at 1120mm focal length. Again the mount carried it OK but the extra length meant that it was too shaky when focusing for my liking so I haven't tried it since.

[johngm]

Hi Everyone.

Has anyone tried pulse guiding this mount yet via EQMOD with direct cable connection ?

 

John

[heliumstar]

Anyone got the 102 Mak package? Can you please check if your scope has collimation screws at the back? Mine doesn't and it is out of collimation. Any ideas how to collimate it?

[FLO]

EQDIR cables suitable for AZ GTi mounts now available:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/lynx-astro-ftdi-eqdir-usb-adapter-for-sky-watcher-az-gti-mounts.html

You will first need the new firmware that support EQ mode and will need to select EQ mode on your handset or in the app.