SW AZ GTi or star discovery wifi

[Timdog]

Hi, I think I’ve had too much time on my hands recently, keep reading reviews and now my head is spinning. I only recently bought my first telescope, a Heritage 130 but due to recent weather I’ve managed to have quite a few sessions and spent some time reading up on various aspects of astronomy. Have to say I am really enjoying the learning curve, happily realising I have a long way to go.

I have upgraded eyepieces to BST starguiders and even though I found the dobsonian base very user friendly I saw a good deal on a used explore scientific twilight 1 mount/ tripod. That has made things much more comfortable to use and stable,standing up. I love being able to use the slow motion controls.

Anyway enough waffling on, While I want to keep learning my way round the skies I do fancy a goto system to compliment it and  use for quick sessions and tours of the sky with family.  At this time I’m only thinking of visual so photography/ tracking isn’t the top priority. I have been looking at Skywatcher AzGti and star discovery WiFi systems. They tick the boxes in terms of price etc and FLO have told me they are very similar, the GTi being more compact. Could anybody with either give me their thoughts or has anyone tried both. They are same price but the discovery comes with steel tripod v GTI aluminium. Unfortunately the mounts aren’t compatible with my tripod. Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[Gfamily]

Hi - I've not seen the Star Discovery before; it looks quite interesting. 

I recently bought the AZ GTi and have used it a couple of times so far. It is very straightforward to use - and the "level and north" two star alignment is very intuitive. 

I would assume that the software and operation will be more or less identical for both, and so their performance would be equally good.  It's really good to see that the Star Discovery has the Freedom Find encoders - as that means you can manually move it to 'close to' your next target and it'll keep its alignment. 

In principle, the SD may have a slight advantage as it puts the weight of the scope over the centre of the tripod - but on the other hand, the AZ GTi allows a telescope to be pointed directly to the zenith as the clamp is offset from the centre-axis. 

I think the AZ GTi may have a couple of advantages over the SD though:,

• Firstly, it has a separate Handset Socket for the Synscan handset.  As I have a spare handset, it means I don't have to use the App for all movements, while I can still use the app for the initial set up and for selecting targets. 
• Secondly, the AZ GTi can be mounted on a wedge, and there is a 'Pro' version of the app that means you can use it in equatorial mode (though you may need a counterweight to balance a heavier telescope) 

One thing to look out for is that there are mount and telescope bundles that include the AZ GTe mount - this is a cheaper version of the GTi which doesn't include the Freedom-Find encoders, and I think you would miss that if you didn't have it. 

Hope this helps 

[Stu1smartcookie]

Some good points made in the above answer ... i have actually had a couple of the AZ-GTi mounts ... the first one was faulty  but the replacement was spot on , i sold it on here just this week . I actually preferred using it in the Alt Az mode even though i upgraded the firmware . Its ultra portable. The only reason i sold it was to part fund a bigger mount . I agree that the star discovery looks a good bet though .. it seems a bit more "solid " . If you get the AZ-Gti , buy a good tripod . Sure you can use it on a camera tripod but i found mounting on a steel tripod it was rock solid . 

[Dr Strange]

I have and love the AZ-GTi mount. It is compact, does a yeoman's duty in terms of performance even over its weight rating (there are shakes when I use my Tele Vue NP101is but I expected that and it settles within about a second), is accurate, is easy to work with, and it is light weight. I highly recommend it. There are options in terms of packages or you can roll your own. For example the Skywatcher Evostar 120 will work on the mount. More optimally a 80-102mm refractor is a good option for travel including airline. 

[Timdog]

That’s all helpful thanks. I would prefer the stainless steel tripod with the discovery, just cos I have a very sturdy tripod (which won’t work with these)although the aluminium is probably great for carrying to a dark spot when travelling.

looks like the WiFi discovery is very new, hence not much written about it, food for thought cheers

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

3 hours ago, Timdog said:

That’s all helpful thanks. I would prefer the stainless steel tripod with the discovery, just cos I have a very sturdy tripod (which won’t work with these)although the aluminium is probably great for carrying to a dark spot when travelling.

looks like the WiFi discovery is very new, hence not much written about it, food for thought cheers

The Star Discovery is at least 5 years old. The difference between the wifi iteration and the first mounts is the replacement of a costly handset with a wifi dongle. Otherwise they're pretty much the same as far as one can tell.

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telescopes/sky-watcher-star-discovery-150p-go-to-reflector/

If you're not looking for ultra light weight portability, or not interested in tinkering to use the AZ GTi for astrophotography, then the Star Discovery mount is a better deal.

They both hold the same payload out of the box, but the tripod supplied with the AZGTI is atrocious with anything bulkier than (for example) a 102 Maksutov. It's much steadier with a steel tripod but that will set you back another £100+. Even if you have a standard m10 threaded tripod spare, a 3/8s bolt adapter will still be required.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/az-goto/sky-watcher-star-discovery-wifi-az-goto-mount-tripod.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi-alt-az-mount-tripod.html

If you opt for an AZGTI, take advice suggesting you can overload it with a pinch of salt. From personal experience and several posts around forums, it seems it's likely the mount will eventually malfunction if you use it regularly with an ota plus accessories around 5.5kg and above. Requiring either a DIY adjustment of internals or warranty replacement.

Edited June 3, 2020 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[Timdog]

Thanks for that, sturdy wins over lightweight.