NEQ6-PRO vs EQ6-R PRO. Worth the £300 difference?

[pipnina]

In a previous thread people have told me that possibly even a HEQ5 would be able to handle my 13KG 250mm f4.7 newt, but ideally I would want the mount carrying my scope to have some wiggle room and so I'm contemplating the NEQ6-PRO and EQ6-R PRO.

As I understand, the main difference between the NEQ6 and the EQ6-R is the "belt drive" and about 2KG of carrying weight. I'm not sure what a belt drive is but it claims to make guiding better (which I won't be doing at first).

Might it be worth the extra £300 to go for an EQ6-R, or would the NEQ6 be good enough?

Cheers

[alacant]

Hi. Depending upon your location, you'll almost certainly be limited by atmospheric conditions rather than mount performance. The extra outlay seems a lot to pay for something from which you'll rarely benefit. Here in Alicante we get many opportunities to image, but only say three nights per month with good enough seeing to allow our 254mm f4.7. HTH.

[Tomatobro]

The mounts movement is made via electric motors. These motors transmit the turning force via a series of gears to the telescope mount. The theory is that machining errors on each of the gear teeth affect the smooth movement of mounting head.

Rowan Engineering do a retrofit kit which replaces this gear train with a toothed belt drive (HEQ5 and 6 mounts) and this arrangement has been incorporated in the higher specification mount. 

This drive method only really comes into play when the mount is used for photography but I would always go for the highest specification I could afford as you never know what you will be doing in the future.

Google Rowan engineering for more info on belt drives as this will help with your understanding of what the difference is.

[m.tweedy]

If the EQ6-R pro had been available it would have saved me the upgrade costs of belt and wedge. So in my opinion yes it is worth the difference

[Rob63]

From personal experience, I'd recommend the EQ6-R.

Build quality of the EQ6-R is better than the NEQ6-pro in all examples I have seen.

If you are going to get into Imaging at any point the belt drive is worth it.

The EQ6-R handle also makes a big difference in carrying the mount (both are heavy beasts).

If you are into DIY you could belt mod, strip down and tune the NEQ6-pro to get the same or better performance than the stock EQ6-R but you wouldnt be saving much money in that case.

Rob.