Rowan AZ100 Mount Owners Thread

[Deadlake]

On 10/10/2021 at 19:56, AdeKing said:

As posted in the postman thread, I collected the final piece of my AZ100 setup yesterday, an iOptron Tri-Pier.

I've had the relevant Tri-Pier adaptor for a while and managed to find time to get everything assembled this afternoon.

The legs are not fully spread out in this shot as the feet on the Skywatcher pillar mount that this replaces are only 800mm apart compared to 1,000mm on the Tri-Pier when fully extended so the pads I set into the lawn need to be moved apart to fit the Tri-Pier.

I even managed to get a quick look at the sun in WL earlier, so here everything is on solar observing guise.

Does the Tripod-Pier attach to any EQ-6 mount?

[AdeKing]

37 minutes ago, Deadlake said:

Does the Tripod-Pier attach to any EQ-6 mount?

The Tri-Pier isn't compatible with an EQ6 out of the box, it is only compatible with certain iOptron Mounts without an adaptor.

CEM60/CEM70/CEM120, CEM40, GEM45/GEM45EC (may limit low latitude application), iEQ45/iEQ45 Pro, iEQ30/iEQ30 Pro (may limit low latitude application) and AZ Mount Pro/MiniTower/MiniTower II/MiniTower Pro (needs a center post and three leveling screws #8340-PIER)

For anything other than the above you will either require an iOptron Tri-Pier adaptor to make it compatible or would need a similar pier-top adaptor to be made to fit by a local machinist.

The technical drawing for the top plate of the adaptor I have is here.

 

The FLO website says that the above adaptor (#8036-TK) is compatible with the following mounts:

Takahashi (EM-200), SkyWatcher (HEQ5/EQ6/NEQ6/AZEQ6), Celestron (CGEM/CGEM-DX) and Orion Atlas (EQ-G/AZEQ-G)

As I don't own an actual EQ6 myself I can only assume from the above that the adaptor is fully compatible with all EQ6 mounts.

I know that it is definitely not compatible with an EQ5/Vixen GP/GPD2 as I have a GPD2 and the adaptor doesn't have a deep central well that will accommodate the bottom of the GPD2 mount.

It is listed as compatible with an HEQ5 and I incorrectly assumed that it would also fit EQ5/Vixen GP mounts as I have always assumed that the bottom of the HEQ5 mount was the same as for the EQ5 as both mounts are supplied with the same tripod, but maybe the bottom of the HEQ5 doesn't require such a deep central well as the EQ5 does.  Maybe someone with an HEQ5 could provide me with an answer to that question.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Ade

[Alan White]

Something Rowan is a coming, something NEW is about to be sent out to me...
That patient waiting is about to pay off, watch this space.... or another thread soon 😉

 

[johninderby]

2 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Something Rowan is a coming, something NEW is about to be sent out to me...
That patient waiting is about to pay off, watch this space.... or another thread soon 😉

 

Nah not interested and don’t care. 😁😁😁

 

OK I lied but don’t want to spoil your surprise and will pariently wait (another lie) to see what it is. 🙂

[Alan White]

5 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Nah not interested and don’t care. 😁😁😁

OK I lied but don’t want to spoil your surprise and will pariently wait (another lie) to see what it is. 🙂

Oh yes you do....

All I can tell you is that it's Black and has Rowan laser etched on it....

[johninderby]

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[Stu]

19 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Something Rowan is a coming, something NEW is about to be sent out to me...
That patient waiting is about to pay off, watch this space.... or another thread soon 😉

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the AZ300! 😱😱🤣🤣

[Alan White]

8 minutes ago, Stu said:

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the AZ300! 😱😱🤣🤣

I might need something bigger than a Planet tripod then,
oh the Berlebach Gas Giant Tripod is needed, best e-mail Germany and see what they can do.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Alan White

[johninderby]

33 minutes ago, Alan White said:

I might need something bigger than a Planet tripod then,
oh the Berlebach Gas Giant Tripod is needed, best e-mail Germany and see what they can do.

Give the makers of this EQ setup a call then 😁😁😁

Edited October 14, 2021 by johninderby

[Moonwatch]

Hi to everyone. 1st post here. 
 

beautiful piece of equipment that Rowan. I’m about to make an order on one but still have one question before. 
 

- I own a uni 18 with an eq6 mount top (for an az eq6 and an eq6-r), I know the az 100 is compatible with a neq6 type mount but what about the eq6 ?

 

 Thx

 

[johninderby]

The NEQ6 and EQ6 are the same fitting.

[Moonwatch]

21 hours ago, johninderby said:

The NEQ6 and EQ6 are the same fitting.

Many thx. 
 

is anyone using carte du ciel with the nexus solution? I don’t see any scope settings in the app. 

Edited October 17, 2021 by Moonwatch

[Trentend]

Draft question but any advice/experience out there balancing two scopes on the AZ100? About to buy a second saddle and altitude adjuster so I can try a C11 and fc100 side by side. I believe the alt clutch applies equal pressure to both meaning I’ll have to be pretty precise? I also use very heavy binoviewers and find the Tak too wobbly on the grab and go mount/tripod and also a bit cumbersome when changing eyepieces so looking forward to giving the heavy duty set up a try. Other than buying a second binoviewer(!) I’d rather not have to constantly rebalance both. Perhaps I need a counterweight to mimic the binoviewer weight otherwise I’ll end up like Indiana Jones below…

Edited October 20, 2021 by Trentend

[Stu]

36 minutes ago, Trentend said:

Draft question but any advice/experience out there balancing two scopes on the AZ100? About to buy a second saddle and altitude adjuster so I can try a C11 and fc100 side by side. I believe the alt clutch applies equal pressure to both meaning I’ll have to be pretty precise? I also use very heavy binoviewers and find the Tak too wobbly on the grab and go mount/tripod and also a bit cumbersome when changing eyepieces so looking forward to giving the heavy duty set up a try. Other than buying a second binoviewer(!) I’d rather not have to constantly rebalance both. Perhaps I need a counterweight to mimic the binoviewer weight otherwise I’ll end up like Indiana Jones below…

Generally I find that two scopes balance in Alt more easily than one. Perhaps because there is more weight overall, changes in eyepieces are less significant to the total, or just that there is more inertia in the system?

Not sure what you mean by having to be very precise with the Alt clutch? It does apply to both sides of the Alt axis (it is one solid axis in effect) so you just have to set a tension that feels right.

Switching binoviewers shouldn’t be too much of an issue, you can use the Alt lock to hold everything steady whilst making the change. If you have the tension set firmly enough then minor imbalances shouldn’t be a problem. Certainly give it a go before buying another set of binoviewers although there’s nothing wrong with having two pairs 🤣 

[Trentend]

Forgot about the alt lock. Struggled to change kit on my scopetech zero even with the alt clutch fully tightened as there’s no lock. Another tick for the AZ100…

Edited October 20, 2021 by Trentend

[Stephenstargazer]

On 20/10/2021 at 23:20, Trentend said:

Forgot about the alt lock.

What in the presence of Stu !!!!!!!!!! his very own device.............🤩

[Trentend]

Had a 30 min gap in the clouds this evening so decided to saddle up an FC100 and skymax127 on the AZ100 now I have the dual saddles. Worked an absolute treat, although will require a little adjusting to centre both scopes. The alt lock was perfect allowing me to keep swapping the heavy binoviewers from one scope to the other and back (a la Chuckle brothers me to you to me…). Rock steady views, silky smooth slow motion controls. A lot easier focusing the Tak compared to the other night on a Gitzo and scopetech mount. 

Edited October 25, 2021 by Trentend

[Trentend]

Can highly recommend the bag below from B&Q for those with an AZ100, dual saddles and nexus shelf. A perfect fit, hard base / sides and even has wheels and a handle to pull along. Just £40. Bargain. Only downside is a strange metallic garage smell from inside, which I guess may appeal to some! Suspect this has been sitting a while on a shelf at the local store.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Trentend

[bsdsgl84]

Any chance there has been anything confirmed or otherwise officially shared about risers for Rowan AZ100 mounts that I might have missed? 

Thanks.., 

bsdsgl84 

 

[Dek Rowan Astro]

On 07/11/2021 at 06:18, bsdsgl84 said:

Any chance there has been anything confirmed or otherwise officially shared about risers for Rowan AZ100 mounts that I might have missed? 

Thanks.., 

bsdsgl84 

 

We have material on order to produce a few to test pieces.

ATB

Derek.

[bsdsgl84]

13 minutes ago, Dek Rowan Astro said:

We have material on order to produce a few to test pieces.

ATB

Derek.

Thanks @Dek Rowan Astro - appreciate your confirming., 

Best., 

bsdsgl84

 

 

[Space Hopper]

5 hours ago, Dek Rowan Astro said:

We have material on order to produce a few to test pieces.

ATB

Derek.

Thats got my attention.......🙂

[Moonwatch]

I understood that some motor kits were dispatched to users for testing a few weeks ago, is that correct?

If it’s the case is there any feedback from them ?
 

[johninderby]

14 minutes ago, Moonwatch said:

I understood that some motor kits were dispatched to users for testing a few weeks ago, is that correct?

If it’s the case is there any feedback from them ?
 

Not yet. Few tweaks to the test software to finish off but should be soon.🤞🏻

But these are beta test units so no reviews as there may be changes before they go on sale.

Edited November 10, 2021 by johninderby

[Moonwatch]

7 hours ago, johninderby said:

Not yet. Few tweaks to the test software to finish off but should be soon.🤞🏻

But these are beta test units so no reviews as there may be changes before they go on sale.

Thanks for your answer. Too bad there is no more feedback about this even if  i understand the «prototype» nature of the testing.

Speaking about software, I presume you are talking about nexus dsc control too? 😉