Skywatcher AZ5 mount head

[nightfisher]

I see th e AZ5 is available with no tripod.....and i still have a wooden pier mount in garden, i could mount the AZ5 onto this using the 3 bolt leveling platform i made, would this mount be good for both the 127 Skymax and the opticstar ar90s, this would make a super quick set up for observing (and the odd single frame Luna)..........have to say very very tempted

[Mak the Night]

If you mean this mount:

It will hold a 127mm Mak although I prefer a Vixen Porta II with a Hal130 tripod with my 127mm Mak. If your pier is sturdy enough I reckon it would be stable enough.

Edited January 18, 2018 by Mak the Night

[nightfisher]

Yes thats the mount i mean, is the slo mo tracking good and smooth

[Mak the Night]

It's pretty decent, maybe not Vixen smooth and simpler in design, but quite usable. I like it because it is light and fast for me to set up. My Porta is on a Hal130 tripod and with my disability it necessitates fetching a garden trolley to set up. The AZ5's tripod is light but good. It holds a modified ST80 well if I stick to 1.25" equipment. It holds a 102mm SkyMax well. If I put the AZ5 mount on a tripod like the Hal130 it would probably hold a 150mm Mak or SCT quite well. 

[Chris]

Here you go, Jules. It may give you the idea:

 

[nightfisher]

Chris, very useful link, it would work well on the pier base

[Chris]

3 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

Chris, very useful link, it would work well on the pier base

Go for it, looks like a great little manual AZ mount  

[nightfisher]

Need to find out if the mounting bolt is 3/8 UNF or UNC?

[Chris]

47 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

Need to find out if the mounting bolt is 3/8 UNF or UNC?

I'm pretty certain it's 3/8" as these latest SW mounts are designed for photographic tripods. 

hold on it might say on the FLO sight.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe-alt-azimuth-mount.html

Yep it says 3/8" threaded connection in the features section at the bottom of the page.

[mikeDnight]

A 127 Mak would be ideal on the AZ5 Jules, and from my experience its less prone to vibration than the Vixen  Porta and Porta ll. It carries my Tak FC100DC F7.4 with no problems, and was even good with paulastro's FC100DL F9.

[nightfisher]

Pretty sure i will order one, i dont seem to be doing observing these days and having this mount will encourage me back to the eyepiece !

I have the nice Opticstar AR90s and really have not used it yet,so maybe this will change

[Mak the Night]

I think you'll like the AZ5.

[Mak the Night]

18 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

A 127 Mak would be ideal on the AZ5 Jules, and from my experience its less prone to vibration than the Vixen  Porta and Porta ll. It carries my Tak FC100DC F7.4 with no problems, and was even good with paulastro's FC100DL F9.

I'm not so sure any vibration problems with the Porta II are to do with the mount, which is far more solidly engineered than the AZ5.

I never used the Porta II with the supplied tripod as I thought it was too light for the mount, and basically just like one of the inexpensive Synta tripods often supplied with AZ3/EQ2 mounts. Which is why I swapped it for the Vixen SXG Hal-130 tripod. It holds an ST80 with heavy 2" accessories with ease and a 127mm Mak with a 9x50 RACI. I've not had any vibration problems with this combination. 

[mikeDnight]

I used a TV NP101 on a Vixen Porta with Vixen tripod for a year; it was truly awful! Each time my eyebrow touched the eyepiece the thing began bouncing like a tuning fork, making high powers very difficult to observe with. I later bought the Porta ll, thinking it would be sturdier but it was just as bad. The mounts may be ok with short scopes but I've not seen one yet that's sturdy enough for use with the scopes and high powers I use. Interestingly, at the same time as I had mine, I came across two other observers who felt the Porta mount wasn't upto the job. Both the AZ4 and the AZ5 have proved to be significantly more sturdy, especially while using high powers. 

[nightfisher]

I have place the az5 in cart while i ponder some more, but i can see me hitting the check out with it, only delaying so it will arrive when some one is home

[John]

16 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

I have place the az5 in cart while i ponder some more, but i can see me hitting the check out with it, only delaying so it will arrive when some one is home

What happened to the Giro mount Jules ?

 

[nightfisher]

Just now, John said:

What happened to the Giro mount Jules ?

 

I moved it on to a good friend when i let the 120 ED go John, i felt it was overkill for a 127 skymax, and wanted to get the AZ goto, but this mount has also gone to a new home TBH i rather like the idea of getting the AZ5 but not sure if i actually need it, as i have my trusty EQ5 with dual drives

[Stu]

17 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

I moved it on to a good friend when i let the 120 ED go John, i felt it was overkill for a 127 skymax, and wanted to get the AZ goto, but this mount has also gone to a new home TBH i rather like the idea of getting the AZ5 but not sure if i actually need it, as i have my trusty EQ5 with dual drives

Just stick the EQ5 on the pier Jules, wouldn't that work?

[Mak the Night]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

I used a TV NP101 on a Vixen Porta with Vixen tripod for a year; it was truly awful! Each time my eyebrow touched the eyepiece the thing began bouncing like a tuning fork, making high powers very difficult to observe with. I later bought the Porta ll, thinking it would be sturdier but it was just as bad. The mounts may be ok with short scopes but I've not seen one yet that's sturdy enough for use with the scopes and high powers I use. Interestingly, at the same time as I had mine, I came across two other observers who felt the Porta mount wasn't upto the job. Both the AZ4 and the AZ5 have proved to be significantly more sturdy, especially while using high powers. 

Yes, but have you tried a Porta II with a heavy duty tripod? I have Porta II and SW AZ5 mounts and the Porta is far more substantial. It should hold a 200mm SCT, with the right tripod. The Porta II is a far more substantial and better engineered mount than the AZ5.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Jules I bought the AZ5 and Pillar as a quick grab and go for my Skywatcher Heritage 130p and PST. It works very well as long as the scope is well balanced to use the slow motion gears. I original used the extended slow motion cables but I reverted back to the smaller wheels.. The scope now sits on a Celestron Astromaster tripod.

 

[davyludo]

Hi Jules,

I bought an AZ5 and use it with my mak 127 and my st102. I ended up using the AZ4 steel tripod...because the one that comes with the AZ5 isn't great. 

Personally I think it's great for the mak 127, slow motion really makes a difference with narrow fov and high magnification. 

Movement is really smooth with the mak on it, quite easy to get a good balance.

Edited January 19, 2018 by davyludo

[Alfian]

That set up looks very nice Davy'.

[davyludo]

2 minutes ago, Alfian said:

That set up looks very nice Davy'.

Thanks Ian. I absolutely love the mak - and the st102 is still different enough that I use both scope for different things. Well.... when the weather allows me to have fun of course :-p

[mikeDnight]

3 hours ago, Mak the Night said:

Yes, but have you tried a Porta II with a heavy duty tripod? I have Porta II and SW AZ5 mounts and the Porta is far more substantial. It should hold a 200mm SCT, with the right tripod. The Porta II is a far more substantial and better engineered mount than the AZ5.

Yes, several tripods were tried from the basic aluminium, heavy duty aluminium to tubular steel. The issue was with the mount heads, which tremored in the vertical axis for seven seconds or more at the slightest touch. In a slight breeze the mounts were rendered useless! Engineering wise, the AZ5 is quite simple but the porta's are nothing special either. Although the Porta appears to be more solid, there is no clever engineering in either! I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to mount a 8" SCT on a Porta mount, but then again, nothing surprises me anymore! 

[Mak the Night]

15 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

Yes, several tripods were tried from the basic aluminium, heavy duty aluminium to tubular steel. The issue was with the mount heads, which tremored in the vertical axis for seven seconds or more at the slightest touch. In a slight breeze the mounts were rendered useless! Engineering wise, the AZ5 is quite simple but the porta's are nothing special either. Although the Porta appears to be more solid, there is no clever engineering in either! I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to mount a 8" SCT on a Porta mount, but then again, nothing surprises me anymore! 

The Porta azimuth and altitude clutches can be adjusted for tension, altitude drift and backlash. I've used my Porta II/Vixen SXG Hal-130 combination in strong winds and it has always been rock solid. There's no way the AZ5 is a sturdier mount IMO, I like them both, but I've never suffered the vibration problems you had. I've done some research though and some have reported vibration problems with longer OTA's. So that's probably what it is, I've only mounted Mak's up to 127mm and modified ST80's on it. I'll make a mental note not to put a long OTA on it lol. I've actually seen pictures of 200mm SCT's on Porta mounts.