Skywatcher AZ5 mount head

[25585]

The ones I have seen are chrome with a shorter bolt for camera depth sockets. £1 from LCE.

[CraigT82]

1 hour ago, 25585 said:

The ones I have seen are chrome with a shorter bolt for camera depth sockets. £1 from LCE.

Shorter threads may be suitable to hold a camera but not for a mount and scope. 

Anyway it would still be too long... trust me I've been down this route with my eq5 and SA. 

Edited May 5, 2018 by CraigT82

[Richard_B]

On 27/02/2018 at 12:00, davyludo said:

I have both the AZ5 (with tripod) and the AZ4 (steel tripod). I love the AZ4 for stability, although when I moved to the 127 Mak, I found the stiction a bit of an issue at higher mags (just took some of the enjoyment out of it for me). 

I got the AZ5 and love the head, but hate the tripod - it really isn't that great, especially when extended. I did an experiment with damping times using the AZ5 with various tripod setups. Using the standard tripod, fully extended, damping time was something ridiculous like 7-8 seconds. With the legs collapsed it's something like 3 seconds to dampen down from a tap/knock/refocus. However....stick the AZ5 head on the 1.75" steel tripod and vibrations start to vanish within 1 or 2 seconds, with both my ST102 and Mak 127. I don't think the AZ5 would have any issues carrying an ST120.

The movement of the AZ5 head is very smooth and is less prone to balancing and stiction issues than the AZ4. I find that my ST102 on the AZ4 can be annoying to use sometimes - the short tube doesn't get a decent balance point (without modifying the dovetail or adding weight to the front end): this means that the alt clutch has to be done quite tight to stop slippage....and then I find stiction is more of an issue. Takes some time to find the sweet spot. I don't feel I have either of these issues with the AZ5.

The AZ5 with the steel 1.75" legs is a perfect combo for me - still light enough to move around fairly easily, quick to setup, solid and smooth movement. I'm really not a fan of the standard tripod that came with the AZ5 - I do still have it and it does get used sometimes when I'm wanting something light to carry for a short distance, however the legs never get extended and I have to sit on the ground or use a tiny stool. My AZ3 has sat in a corner, gathering dust since I got the AZ5....along with the standard AZ5 tripod. I've now picked up a set of aluminium legs for the AZ4, purely so I can have the ST102 and Mak 127 setup side by side. But if just using one scope....the AZ5 and steel legs are my first choice. 

In my personal opinion (with limited experience with other equiment/brands) the problem with the AZ5 is purely the choice of tripod that Skywatcher have chosen to pair it with. The mount head is very capable (expecially for shorter scopes) but the tripod really lets it down. If you're prepared to use either the 1.75" steel tripod, or even the aluminium one that comes with an AZ4/EQ3-2 then I would think you'll have a much better experience with the AZ5. 

If I could go back....I would just buy the AZ5 head and pick my own tripod....save myself some money. 

Good luck! 

 

I have the AZ4 on it's steel tripod. I was wondering if the AZ5 extension tube would fit the AZ4 mount/tripod. I need an extension but the EQ5 extension recommended for the AZ4 is way too tall for me so was hoping to use the shorter (and much cheaper) extension from the AZ5 setup. The AZ4 has a chunky pin which needs a recess, I notice the AZ5 tube has lots of slots in the base so was hoping the pin would fit into one of these.

Cheers

Richard

[banjaxed]

1 hour ago, Richard_B said:

I have the AZ4 on it's steel tripod. I was wondering if the AZ5 extension tube would fit the AZ4 mount/tripod. I need an extension but the EQ5 extension recommended for the AZ4 is way too tall for me so was hoping to use the shorter (and much cheaper) extension from the AZ5 setup. The AZ4 has a chunky pin which needs a recess, I notice the AZ5 tube has lots of slots in the base so was hoping the pin would fit into one of these.

Cheers

Richard

I have the shorter extension fitted to my 3/8” stainless steel tripod and the AZ5 so yes it works fine. If you have the EQ5 tripod then it will not fit because of the locator peg.

Edited July 16, 2020 by banjaxed

[Richard_B]

Ah ok, my tripod does have a locator peg so looks like I'm stick with the 16" extension

Thanks for the reply

 

[banjaxed]

2 minutes ago, Richard_B said:

Ah ok, my tripod does have a locator peg so looks like I'm stick with the 16" extension

Thanks for the reply

 

You could always cut the peg off. 

[Richard_B]

I had thought of that, not sure what the implications would be. I don't really know what it is for to be honest 🙂

[John]

On 17/07/2020 at 10:51, Richard_B said:

I had thought of that, not sure what the implications would be. I don't really know what it is for to be honest 🙂

It's used to make find tuning adjustments to the polar alignment of equatorial mounts. There are 2 screws on the mount base which press against either side of the peg and you use those to fine tune the alignment of the mount.

On some tripods the north peg unsecrews. On others it's moulded into the metal of the tripod hub so cutting it off is a more permanent change.

 

[Richard_B]

Ok, so as I only use this tripod for AZ it should be not problem cutting it off. I'm unlikely to use the tripod for EQ as if I ever go down that route I will get an EQ5 with the tripod at the same time I think

Thanks all.for you input 🙂

[HollyHound]

Alternatively, you could use this adaptor to fit your AZ4 tripod and then attach the AZ5 extension to that (the adaptor is made to fit EQ5/AZ4 tripod with 3/8” on top).

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth/astro-essentials-3-8-photo-adapter-for-heq5-az5-tripod.html

I’ve used this adaptor to connect AZ5 to both an EQ5 steel tripod and a Berlebach Uni 28, which both have the protruding pin mentioned.

[Richard_B]

That adapter looks to be a good option however -

I've decided to get a AZ5 extension.

I am hoping that the lug on the AZ4 will just fit into one of the slots in the AZ5, if not I'll have to do a bit of DIY and cut a piece out of the plastic part of the AZ5 extension. At £23 delivered it is worth a try. If it's a non-starter I'll have to get the adapter.

I'll let you know how I get on 🙂. 

Richard

 

[banjaxed]

34 minutes ago, Richard_B said:

That adapter looks to be a good option however -

I've decided to get a AZ5 extension.

I am hoping that the lug on the AZ4 will just fit into one of the slots in the AZ5, if not I'll have to do a bit of DIY and cut a piece out of the plastic part of the AZ5 extension. At £23 delivered it is worth a try. If it's a non-starter I'll have to get the adapter.

I'll let you know how I get on 🙂. 

Richard

 

Hi Richard,

The extension is not plastic but I think you could probably file one of the grooves deeper so you don’t have to cut the peg off. Incidentally I used my 3/8” steel tripod with an EQ3-2 Mount for a while and did not find it a problem without the peg.

Edited July 21, 2020 by banjaxed

[jcj380]

Has anyone mounted push-to encoders on their AZ5?  If so, what did you use and how complex was it to mount them?

I have a Twilight 1 with Astro Devices encoders and I'd like to put encodes on my soon-to-be-delivered AZ5.  Not sure if I can move the ones on my TW 1 to the AZ5.

Thanks!

 

Edited July 21, 2020 by jcj380

[banjaxed]

1 hour ago, jcj380 said:

Has anyone mounted push-to encoders on their AZ5?  If so, what did you use and how complex was it to mount them?

I have a Twilight 1 with Astro Devices encoders and I'd like to put encodes on my soon-to-be-delivered AZ5.  Not sure if I can move the ones on my TW 1 to the AZ5.

Thanks!

 

Sorry can’t help you as I have never used encoders, I am sure someone will advise you soon.

[jcj380]

AZ5 from FLO arrived right as scheduled yesterday.  4-5 days transatlantic DHL shipping was faster than I get things from California via UPS or USPS.

I really like the short slo-mo controls and the mount *feels* sturdier than my Twilight 1.  The AZ5 has a nicer form factor too IMO.  It's not as smooth as my M1V, but that's probably not a fair comparison since the M1V is friction only without slo-mo.  Of course it's cloudy so a field test with different scopes will have to wait.

I think I'll be quite happy with this mount, but I do want to get push-to encoders on it somehow.  Thank you, FLO! 

 

[Richard_B]

On 21/07/2020 at 13:24, banjaxed said:

Hi Richard,

The extension is not plastic but I think you could probably file one of the grooves deeper so you don’t have to cut the peg off. Incidentally I used my 3/8” steel tripod with an EQ3-2 Mount for a while and did not find it a problem without the peg.

The AZ5 was a non starter so I had to bit the bullet and get the 16" EQ5 one.

[AstroNebulee]

On 19/01/2018 at 20:29, Mark at Beaufort said:

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.

 

Hi

Resurrecting this thread as I have just ordered this mount from FLO and will put it on my celestron astromaster tripod too. I am wondering what 3/8 inch bolt you used to attach the pillar to the tripod as the original bolt sits deep in the hole of the tripod and not sure that the mount will meet it, therefore needing a longer 3/8 inch bolt.

 

Cheers 

Lee

[Jasonb]

I have this mount a while but I've recently noticed two things...

1. The slow motion controls only work if the clutch is really tight, otherwise they do nothing. Is that normal?

2. The AZ axis has some give/slip on it. Just a couple of mm, but it's there, it can slip back and forth, even when fully tightened, whether there's a scope on it or not. The Alt axis doesn't have this issue. Anything I can do to fix this?

Thanks!

[AstroNebulee]

7 hours ago, Jasonb said:

I have this mount a while but I've recently noticed two things...

1. The slow motion controls only work if the clutch is really tight, otherwise they do nothing. Is that normal?

2. The AZ axis has some give/slip on it. Just a couple of mm, but it's there, it can slip back and forth, even when fully tightened, whether there's a scope on it or not. The Alt axis doesn't have this issue. Anything I can do to fix this?

Thanks!

I'm not sure on this but maybe if you tighten or loosen the grub screw here may help you. I've seen this before whilst in a search through the net on the mount. Though I could be wrong. 

Lee 

Edited March 15 by AstroNebulee

[Jasonb]

1 hour ago, AstroNebulee said:

I'm not sure on this but maybe if you tighten or loosen the grub screw here may help you. I've seen this before whilst in a search through the net on the mount. Though I could be wrong. 

Lee 

Thanks, I'll give it a go and see!

[AstroNebulee]

On 15/03/2023 at 08:45, Jasonb said:

Thanks, I'll give it a go and see!

How did you get on with this? 

I've had my AZ5 mount apart this afternoon to grease or with some white lithium grease as the az was a tad stiff and juddering a bit and now much better. 

Your slipping and needing the clutches really tight could be to do with some grease or something on silver bearing (arrowed) or something on the 'black clutch' preventing the it making firm contact with the silver bearing. 

The Allen grub screw just adjusts how much the brass work makes contact with the silver gearing. 

Sorry for the inept wording of certain parts of the workings haha. 

Lee 

[Jasonb]

I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but I will watch out for grease on that bearing, thanks!

[Marvin Jenkins]

On 24/12/2022 at 15:16, AstroNebulee said:

Hi

Resurrecting this thread as I have just ordered this mount from FLO and will put it on my celestron astromaster tripod too. I am wondering what 3/8 inch bolt you used to attach the pillar to the tripod as the original bolt sits deep in the hole of the tripod and not sure that the mount will meet it, therefore needing a longer 3/8 inch bolt.

 

Cheers 

Lee

Note scope and tripod on the left. The one on the right is my eq5 on eq6 tripod, which freed up the 1.75” tripod.

Problem is this tripod as previously stated has the cast equatorial peg which means the extension cannot be used. First cut off the EQ peg and grind flat.

On top of that problem the threaded bolt thingy is the wrong thread to go into the extension tube.

I drilled out the threads of the base of the extension tube. I cut a length of M12 threaded bar and wound a nylock nut onto it.

Slide the threaded bar through the extension tube base and down through the tripod head. Wind a normal M12 nut up the threaded bar, until it clamps the extension tube base to the top of the tripod.

Slide the leg spreader plate up the threaded tube and wind on a second nyloc nut to secure the whole thing.

Pop the whole AZ5 head and top bit of extension onto to pillar and do up the three black trapping knobs.

This combo is now excellent with just one second of damping at focus. Costs about three quid. If anyone wants length of threaded bar dimensions, Hillary and I will post.

Anything is better than that little black tripod thingy it is supplied with. I think it’s max payload is an ASI 120MCS with lense for meteor watch.

[Marvin Jenkins]

Pictures? The attachment button has disappeared it just says loading next to a paper clip icon!

I will post a picture when normal service resumes.

Marvin

[Marvin Jenkins]