Better tripod and mount

[dc240969]

I have a Skywatcher SkyMax 127 that came with the orignial synscan mount. I find it very flimsy and prone to movement. What would be the next step up in guided mounts taking into consideation l may upgrade the OTA to 180 or above.

[banjaxed]

Skywatcher do a 1 3/4” stainless steel tripod which is a great upgrade on the supplied tripod.

[Cornelius Varley]

1 hour ago, dc240969 said:

I have a Skywatcher SkyMax 127 that came with the orignial synscan mount. I find it very flimsy and prone to movement. What would be the next step up in guided mounts taking into consideation l may upgrade the OTA to 180 or above.

The SW180Mak needs at least a HEQ5 or preferably bigger.

[dc240969]

Would my 127 fit on an HEQ5 or bigger?

[Carbon Brush]

I wouldn't jump in to a new mount just yet.

An important consideration is how and where you use a scope. Next is how much do you want to spend.

As a general rule think of the biggest/strongest mount your back will handle for setup & packup. But size potentially limited by your wallet.

For example I could recommend the D6 mount I use. It would not break into a sweat with a 180MAK. It will handle up to 40Kg of balanced scope.
But at 35Kg for the mount + counterweights + 35Kg tripod, you can see why it is fixed in my observatory!

Are you a back garden observer? Do you go to dark sites in a car? Have to carry down a flight of stairs?

Having got a feel for weight and cost. Do you want to take photos?

Sorry no instant 'definitely recommend' answers.

David.
 

 

 

[dc240969]

Weight, cost and location isnt an issue, lm just looking for something that doesnt move if l breathe on it

[Cosmic Geoff]

1 hour ago, dc240969 said:

Weight, cost and location isnt an issue, lm just looking for something that doesnt move if l breathe on it

That could be an unwise admission.🙂  You have various options for upgrading the mount originally supplied with the 127mm Mak, but mostly they involve spending large amounts of money.  The Mak should have a standard dovetail meaning you can fit it on a whole range of mounts.  Retaining the mount head and exchanging the tripod unfortunately is not simple as you will have to make up an engineered adaptor.

The first choice is whether you want to retain the Alt-az format or change to an equatorial mount.  If your interest is solely in visual and planetary imaging it would be wise to stick to alt az.  OTOH if you plan to get into deep-space imaging, then get a heavy duty equatorial mount. 

In alt-az, you could get a slight improvement with the Star Discovery mount. Or look at mounts by ioptron. Or the  Skywatcher AZ-EQ5  or AZ-EQ6 which give you the equatorial option as well.

In equatorial, you could look at the Skywatcher EQ3-2, EQ5 Synscan, HEQ5, etc.

I have actually used an AZ-4 mount and an EQ-5 mount with my 127mm Mak and both were vastly more stable than the original SLT mount & tripod.