Now the telescope is sorted.... I'm stuck between mounts

[Thor92]

Good afternoon,

From all your help on my first thread I have picked up a Skywatcher 150PDS with coma corrector. Certainly abit more than I originally wanted to spend but it should be worth the extra  and will allow me to venture into astrophotography. After I get used to using it visually 

I am now after a mount for it.

I am stuck between a manual AZ mount (easy to use etc) and an EQ mount (better for astrophotography but a pain for beginners). And a motorised az mount that have the EQ mode built in. 

Such as the AZ GTi or star discoverer however it says for telescopes upto 5kg the 150PDS would be right on that mark so my question is would the scope be too heavy for the mount?

Back to AZ Mounts are the slow motion controls on the AZ5 worth the loosing capacity compared with the AZ4. 

EQ mounts wary of these after the advice given by others so this is my least preferred option.

Leaning towards a go to especially if the GTi is a good enough to take the 150pds.

 

Thank you all again. I'll be saving both these threads to keep for reference and also to show anyone who wants to get started as I believe there's some invaluable information in them.

J

[Knighty2112]

EQ mounts also mess up the position of the EP as you move it around. From one position it might be great to view from, but 180 degrees round the other side of the mount is a whole other thing and might have you looking at the EP from low down at a strange angle. Go for az to start with for sure.

[Cornelius Varley]

4 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

EQ mounts also mess up the position of the EP as you move it around. From one position it might be great to view from, but 180 degrees round the other side of the mount is a whole other thing and might have you looking at the EP from low down at a strange angle. Go for az to start with for sure.

An embroidery ring placed in front of the tube rings will allow the tube to be rotated to a more convenient angle.. Tighten the embroidery ring up against the tube ring and then loosen the thumbscrew on the tube ring, then rotate the tube.

[Thor92]

11 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

EQ mounts also mess up the position of the EP as you move it around. From one position it might be great to view from, but 180 degrees round the other side of the mount is a whole other thing and might have you looking at the EP from low down at a strange angle. Go for az to start with for sure.

 

I'll certainly keep that in mind. Especially when I do go for a EQ mount. Thanks 👍

2 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

An embroidery ring placed in front of the tube rings will allow the tube to be rotated to a more convenient angle.. Tighten the embroidery ring up against the tube ring and then loosen the thumbscrew on the tube ring, then rotate the tube.

Another good little tip to remember. Going to need a notepad I think 😂

11 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

 

Any ideas on if the GTi would be capable of mounting a 150pds?

 

Thanks all

[Knighty2112]

24 minutes ago, Thor92 said:

Any ideas on if the GTi would be capable of mounting a 150pds?

 

Not sure on that, but I have a feeling it may just be a smidgeon too much for it, although I’ve not owned one of those mounts so don’t know what it can in reality actually handle.

Edited September 6, 2019 by Knighty2112

[Thor92]

The guys at FLO are helpful and sent a few articles over on mounts but are saying that a EQ mount would be the way to go as they state that a AZ mount is absolutely no good for astrophotography. Possibly a fair point? Bear in mind it would be visual to start with, with the odd 5/10,sec exposure

They say the discovery mount would be okay on a 150 but the scope may be '"A little nervous" not quite sure whats ment by that.

It seems I need about 5scope and 10mounts 😂😂 so far lol 

[Anthonyexmouth]

Trust whatever FLO have told you. Any AP hopes you have will need an EQ mount at that focal length. 

EQ mounts are not scary. Its just a matter of learning how to polar align, which is just a fairly simply process when you've done it a couple of times. Made even easier if you have a specific place you can setup every time where you can make a few marks on the ground for the tripod legs to get the same orientation every time.

Whats your budget?

 

[Mr niall]

29 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

Not sure on that, but I have a feeling it may just be a smidgeon too much for it, although I’ve not owned one of those mounts so don’t know what it can in reality actually handle.

Yeah - I debated using a 130pds on one for some visual grab and go but FLO advised against it so 150 is probably way out.

12 minutes ago, Thor92 said:

They say the discovery mount would be okay on a 150 but the scope may be '"A little nervous" not quite sure whats ment by that.

It's code for "don't do it!!" 😉 it means as you get close to the limits of what a mount can theoretically hold, the pleasure of using that mount drops dramatically. The whole thing becomes a bit wobbly and bouncy and "feeling like it might let go even though you know it shouldn't". Always best to go belt and braces, 2/3 of max weight of the mount including tube rings and accessories etc is a sensible maximum.

If you've picked up a 150PDS with coma corrector then, well, you've bought an astrophotography oriented camera. You'd be well advised to think about getting a HEQ5 to plonk it on.

A normal EQ5 would work too.

[Anthonyexmouth]

1 minute ago, Mr niall said:

 

If you've picked up a 150PDS with coma corrector then, well, you've bought an astrophotography oriented camera. You'd be well advised to think about getting a HEQ5 to plonk it on.

 

+1 for getting an HEQ5, the beauty is, if you get a secondhand one and find AP is not your thing you won't lose anything on the second hand market. They sell easily because they are the go-to for first time AP setups and you never really outgrow one as they are so versatile. 

[JamesF]

31 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

+1 for getting an HEQ5, the beauty is, if you get a secondhand one and find AP is not your thing you won't lose anything on the second hand market. They sell easily because they are the go-to for first time AP setups and you never really outgrow one as they are so versatile. 

Agreed.  I even take mine when we go on holiday to France (by car

So even if I eventually replace it in the observatory, I'll be hanging on to it to allow me to continue doing that.

James