iOptron Mounts at FLO

[Anne S]

IEQ45 Pro or the new Cem40. The Cem60 has slightly more capacity at 27kg. I'm advised that's the imaging payload  figure. The original eq6 is states at 18kg for imaging,

[Chris]

1 hour ago, blinky said:

Silly question but as somebody who has only ever used skywatcher what's the equivalent version to the eq6? Also I assume these can be controlled from a PC,but I take it you dont use eqmod,is there an ascom driver?

My guess would be the CEM60 as Ioptrons weight claims tend to be a bit on the optimistic side. 

Edited March 16, 2019 by Lockie

[Jkulin]

34 minutes ago, Lockie said:

My guess would be the CEM60 as Ioptrons weight claims tend to be a bit on the optimistic side. 

I have found the contrary iOptron would appear to underestimate the capacity, I really loaded my 60 up and it didn't even flinch.

The IEQ45 will be discontinued in favour of the CEM40.

With regards to the Comparison to the EQ6 range, the CEM40 would be the best comparison, but it does come at a lot more dosh.

[Chris]

1 minute ago, Jkulin said:

I have found the contrary iOptron would appear to underestimate the capacity, I really loaded my 60 up and it didn't even flinch.

The IEQ45 will be discontinued in favour of the CEM40.

With regards to the Comparison to the EQ6 range, the CEM40 would be the best comparison, but it does come at a lot more dosh.

Fair enough, I was just going on some iOptron reviews online, putting the lack of capacity down to the tripod with some of their mounts.

But if you own one you are in a better position than me to know what they can do. 

The IEQ45 was certainly one mount that they over estimated. The Centre balance design looks much better and the CEM40 looks beautiful. I hope it does well. 

  

[Jkulin]

3 minutes ago, Lockie said:

air enough, I was just going on some iOptron reviews online, putting the lack of capacity down to the tripod with some of their mounts.

To be honest although I had a tripod I never used it as I have a pier, so I can't advise from that perspective.

The centre balance is really quite unique.

For those that asked the iOptrons use Commander, which at first looks quite basic, but I found it very simple to use to get excellent results, when you launch it, it asks how do you want to connect, e.g. RS232/USB or Wi-Fi/Ethernet and then it launches the main program where you can activate various pop up dialogues: -

Hope that helps?

[SamAndrew]

I wouldn't normally complain about a discount, but isn't it misleading and against regulation to say "Was £1890, Now £1590, Save £300" unless the product has actually been for sale @ £1890 (on the CEM40)

Edited March 19, 2019 by SamAndrew

[Grant_FLO]

16 minutes ago, SamAndrew said:

I wouldn't normally complain about a discount, but isn't it misleading and against regulation to say "Was £1890, Now £1590, Save £300" unless the product has actually been for sale @ £1890 (on the CEM40)

Sorry this was a setup error on our website for these new products - now fixed, thanks for pointing it out.

[FLO]

You can now view or download the new instruction manual for iOptron CEM40. 

The same manual covers both the CEM40 & CEM40EC. 

 

[Grant]

I managed a few nights of (semi) clear skies last week to test the new CEM40-EC mount.

So far, I'm very impressed - setup was easy and altitude and azimuth adjustment are very easy and smooth to get a good accurate polar alignment. I opted for the 1.5" tripod but have a 2" tripod on the way to test as well. The 1.5" is more than good enough, unextended for 80mm or less refractors but I think if I were wanting to extend the legs or use a heavier scope I would definitely go for the 2" tripod or, the tri-pier.

Tracking - the results speak for themselves:

I would like to extend the guiding exposure further but this is as far as the ASIAIR goes currently. I suspect the DEC isn't performing as well as it's completely out of balance - not the mounts fault but I was using a RedCat at the time with a lot of gear on the back so need to find a better way of balancing this.

There is a lot to like about this mount - it's small and light so I was able to easily move the entire setup around in one go, the in-built iPolar works like a charm and makes polar alignment really straightforward particularly with how easy the altitude in particular is adjusted.

The in-build USB port is great and worked perfectly with the ASIAIR to control and guide the mount and I actually liked having the handset there as well (normally I use EQMOD so lose the handset option).

I haven't used the built-in wire management yet - I'm testing a few different scopes and other bits at the moment so don't have a setup permanent enough to warrant tidying the wires properly but they look jolly useful.

There are a couple of bits that I am less enthusiastic about - the GPS unit is an add-on device that simply plugs in and hangs down - it's a shame it's not a built in unit like on the CEM120. It feels like an after thought. Similarly the optional WiFI unit is the same, it's a shame it couldn't have been built in again like the CEM120. The case is nice and functional but rather tight and requires the mount to be put in a specific position to repack - probably OK for occasional star parties but if you are a portable user then it would become a pain having to reposition the mount position each time to refit it into the box, particularly in the dark.

One issue I've had so far is using GoTo through the ASIair, it seems to send the mount in the wrong direction so it hits itself - I think this is an ASIair bug so have reported it, using GoTo from the handset works perfectly with things bang on center. SkySafari also doesn't work with the CEM40 on an iPad running through the ASIair yet, I suspect this is either a SkySafari or ASIair issue so hopefully will be resolved in future updates - not sure I can blame the mount for that

I think this mount might replace my EQ6 as my portable / star party setup... Who am I kidding, it just means I need to take two setups

I'll post more updates as I get to use it more. Any questions, I'm happy to do my best to answer.

[Grant]

One other silly thing - I don't like how long the counterweight shaft is - with the RedCat, the counterweight is nearly at the top and it's a very long shaft - great if you need it for balancing but if you don't, you can't slide it away like on the NEQ6 - perhaps there is a market here for shorter counterweight shafts.

I know it's a silly thing, but I like to keep things as tucked away as possible to prevent cable snag and me clumsily banging into something in the dark!