heq5 or sky adventurer or SkyWatcher AZ-GTi WiFi GoTo

[muddy]

Hi thinking of selling my heq5pro and using either a SkyWatcher AZ-GTi WiFi GoTo Alt-Azimuth Mount Head with an eq adapter or sky adventurer.

As I find I dont have the time to get it all setup, so less inclined to make the effort. Has anybody gone that route and regretted it ?

I keep finding excuses not to go out on a clear night and thought a less complicated setup would help me.

I am a person who likes getting set up and going indoors so everything is setup on the computer.

Looking forward to the replies (if any lol)

 

muddy (dave)

[knobby]

I have an AVX mount that I couldn't carry for a year or so due to a shoulder injury. The lovely Mrs Knobby bought me an AZ-Gti to put on my camera tripod and I've got so much use out of it I rarely touch the AVX now.

The Az-Gti is a cracking bit of kit but buy from someone reputable like @FLO as quality control is a bit poor.

[muddy]

cheers Knobby

I think I will be going that way and will of course buy from FLO

Think I will give them a ring when I sell my HEQ5PRO and see what other bits like EQ adapter I will need

[jadcx]

As an Az GTi owner I can say that it's great for (all of) those times when I really couldn't quite justify / be bothered to lug out the HEQ6.  It has increased my observing time considerably.  I'd definitely recommend the ADM mounting upgrade, it's a two minute job to replace it and gives you much more security than the stock fitting.  And depending on what you're putting on it, look at a small counterweight option.  A standard M12 threaded bar (or 30mm bolt as I use) works, and any small weight you can find that fits.

[muddy]

thanks jadcx

i have a SW ed102 and canon 100-400mk2 with zwo120 and 7d mk2 so will be looking for the full astro package but need to sell the heq5 pro first as cash is a bit tight at the moment. 

[jadcx]

Sounds like it will be a nice little setup when you're done.  You'll also need a wedge as I think EQMOD (if that's the way you're going) only works with EQ mounts, so something else to add to your FLO Wishlist   I'm trying to restrain my imagining urges and keep the GTi for visual only - although... a little USB powered ZWO would still be very portable... hmm 😂

[Vladi]

@muddy did you now get AZ GTI instead of HEQ5? I'm curious since I'm considering to actually buy HEQ in addition to AZ GTI. I'm still a beginner, and AZ GTI is my first mount. I thought of get getting something more stable but still compact. With the AZ GTI on a good photo tripod loaded with around 3,5kg, I'm getting 1,5 RMS in guiding in regular basis. Can HEQ5 bring better values? Is the different worth paying almost 1000 bucks? Thanks!

[muddy]

Hi Vacuum 

I have now sold heq5 pro but not pulled the trigger on the AZ-GTI so cannot compare . The heq5 pro was not an easy setup for me as I did not use it very much so 

never got it setup quickly. Even though I got it set up to remote view with the raspberry pi and wireless and wired usb/ethernet and stellerium, I found I spent more time setting up the peripherals than viewing. As a compact mount the HEQ5 and tripod is definatly NOT, but is very stable for bigger payloads.

[Vladi]

@Muddy: Try ZWO ASIAIR Pro. I use it and I love it! My equipment is completely aligned and ready to work after max around 30-40 min after I leave me car at a site. This also includes polar alignment, guiding calibration and focusing of the my DSLR lens. You should use a EQMOD cable with it. Be careful to get one which fits AZ GTI, since it has RJ12 connector and not the RJ45 connector as the large EQ mounts do.