Is it Worth buying a motorised mount

[Pledies]

Hello 

I was wondering if it would be Worth buying a motorised mount but sińce it is mosty cloudy through out the year where I live i was wondering if i should buy the mount or not. Thanks 

Lucas

[geoflewis]

6 minutes ago, Pledies said:

Hello 

I was wondering if it would be Worth buying a motorised mount but sińce it is mosty cloudy through out the year where I live i was wondering if i should buy the mount or not. Thanks 

Lucas

Not much information to go on there...!! Where are you located, what do you have currently, what will you put on the mount, what do you want to observe, etc.?

[Neil H]

Hi Lucas I would say yes I have always had them my old EQ3-2 I put a clock motor on so it will track same with my  EQ2 , now I have the HEQ5 go-to , if you have patchy cloud cover and lock on the target then a cloud moves in you know that when the cloud passes your still be on target 

[Pledies]

I live in Scotland ant i want the mount to look at Deep sky objects but graduly progres i to astrophotography

[Pledies]

I currently have an sky watcher EQ-2 mout, my telescope is a reflector 

[geoflewis]

1 minute ago, Pledies said:

I live in Scotland ant i want the mount to look at Deep sky objects but graduly progres i to astrophotography

Hi Lucas, if you are contemplating astrophotography then a motorised EQ mount is pretty much essential, other than for very wide FOV short exposures, or snaps of the Moon and as @Neil H says, it will make it easier to retain the target in the eyepiece when visually observing.

[DaveS]

If you are even thinking about astrophotography, even if you don't plan to be doing it for maybe a couple of years then you WILL need a motorised equatorial, with GOTO.

Although getting something "That Just Works" is difficult in AP, mounts at the HEQ5 level (Other mounts are available at thc price) are where it starts to happen.

[Pledies]

So you're saying that it would be better to GE a HEQ5 goto mount rather than the Eq3 mount? 

[Neil H]

Lucas if your going in to Astrophotography the minimum mount you want is a HEQ5 you need a really good mount 

[Neil H]

There is an HEQ5 for sale it's got the Rowan belt conversion it in the for sale section on here £600 it worth it from FLO with belts done it's £1000

[Pledies]

The only problem is that i dont have enough money for a goto HEQ5 goto mount and a telescope that would balance out the mount

[Neil H]

Start with the mount get the HEQ5 or better this mount will work with any telescope  , then save for a telescope or go second hand  , you won't find a telescope that will do visual and photography well , you need one or another so you need to know what you really want to do but the mount will do both so only the telescope is your main problem getting the right one , Astrophotography is a money pit  you need deep pockets try and buy second hand this will keep cost down 

Pop down to the Astrophotography section the members will give you loads of help , I have started Astrophotography but my telescope set up as visual so having to mess about with focus points so I can do visual and then pop an ASL224 MC  camera but it's not going to do Astrophotography well 

[Pledies]

Ok thanks for the advice i Will be sure to do lots of reaserch and be careful While buying the mount

[Skipper Billy]

Whereabouts in Scotland are you?

[Neil H]

The photo is my Orion Optics 200/1200 on the HEQ5 it's rock solid which is what you need NEQ6 is the next up on mine , HEQ5 second-hand is hard to find and don't stay on the market long start about £500 up to about £700 you may be lucky and a HEQ5 with 200PDS telescope comes up for sale at a great price  , look on here and on astro buy and sale normally astronomy people look after there equipment so buying second hand is safe to buy 

[Pledies]

It love near glasgow

[Pledies]

Live

[DaveS]

If you have ANY thoughts about getting into AP, either now or in the future, then buy This Book and read it at least twice before spending any serious money. AP is so counter-intuitive that you could end up spending serious money and still have to go back and start again.

[DaveS]

I'll add that Steve is a mod on here,AKA "steppenwolf". A ZOOM talk is now available here

 

[Stub Mandrel]

If funds are tight, you can do astrophotography with an EQ3, although having upgraded the HEQ5 makes life easier, simply because it is less 'fussy' about tuning and adjustment.

 

[Dr Strange]

Right. First and foremost Astro Photography (AP) is not an inexpensive part of the hobby. To do it you will be spending at least £1,000+. That would be for a entry level AP mount that is equatorial (the HEQ5) and a 80mm ED Refractor suitable to start out with in AP. That does not include a camera or other tools you will need.

A small refractor because that is the recommended telescope for someone just starting out in AP. It is simple, easy to use, and the focal length allows for mistakes and a less than spot on polar alignment (PA). With a reflector you will need to worry about collimation and cooling as well as PA to start. And a faster reflector like an imaging newtonian requires both to be very well done to get decent images. Many times a focuser upgrade is needed too because the stock focuser doesn't have the ability to handle a DSLR or large(er) CCD. A slower SCT also has its challenges even with a focal reducer (FR). A focal reducer may cost more than a small ED refractor. The main challenges with a SCT are: collimation, cooling, and the long focal length even with a FR which means PA has to be very precise with a very small margin of error. Do people start out with either an imaging newtonian or SCT? Sure. But it is much more challenging and leads to much greater frustration than starting with a 70-80mm ED or APO refractor. 

With that said and depending on the size of your newtonian the Skywatcher AZ-GTi may be a good option for you. There is a wedge kit and software update that turns it into an EQ mount and it will easily hold a 70-80mm APO plus camera for imaging. There are also good scope+mount options for DSO and planetary work that are very affordable. My recommendation is the AZ-GTi + 130mm Newtonian kit. It has enough aperture to see things and the mount is controlled by your smart phone. Plus it is very affordable. And with Scotland's weather it is a fast setup, easy and fast to align, and provides you with GOTO as well as the option to slip the clutches and star hop then reengage the clutches and go back to GOTO option. 

Ultimately if you get serious about AP you will want a bigger more suited for AP mount.

[Stub Mandrel]

Cheapest way in if buying new is a Star Adventurer used with existing camera and lenses.

The pro pack is about £270, but you can get by with the standard pack.

Later it has enough oomph to take a small refractor.

I actually started astrophotography with a 150PL - a long reflector, on a manual EQ3 tripod (£180 second hand) to which I fitted an RA drive (home made) but you can buy one for less than £100. I was able to do 30-60 second exposure unguided although a proportion were trailed.

Not ideal, but the long scope meant that a field flattener or coma correcter weren't needed. I got results that made me want to achieve more, so I bought a s/h 130P-DS and ended up fitting the EQ3 with RA and DEC and basic goto/guiding. With guiding I was getting up to 5 minute subs even with an EQ3.

Personally I would recommend the 130P-DS over a frac for a beginner in AP, with the SW coma corrector its 'plug and play', collimation is easy after the first time. With my frac there was a long sequence of test runs to get the field flattener spacing OK.

Next I got an HEQ5 mount, again s/h.

Then as ASI1600 mono camera, again, s/h.

Each step has seen my results improve, but also each step has been really rewarding. Buy deciding what I wanted and then waiting for good s/h examples I built up my kit for significantly less than buying new.

I still use the 150PL - I've been suing it exclusively for the last few months building up my collection of messier galaxies and clusters.

So it can be cheaper than you expect, but there is always the urge to go for the next upgrade!

[g-rex]

I'd like to second Stub Mandrels post.

Yes, to do consistently good AP you need a good, expensive mount first.

But not everybody (myself included has the pockets for that). That doesn't mean you can't do AP. It just means you have a steep learning curve and need to work at it. You also need to lower your expectations of what your final images will look like.

But you CAN image on less. I have a used eq3-2 mount. I've had some reasonable (in my eyes) results.

Other nights I've spent 3 hours learning what not to do with nothing to show for it. 

 

But I'm having fun, and when I can afford that Heq5 then I'll have already made all my mistakes, I hope.

 

Buy what you can afford, learn and have fun is my advice.

[Stub Mandrel]

22 hours ago, g-rex said:

But I'm having fun, and when I can afford that Heq5 then I'll have already made all my mistakes, I hope.

🤣

Worked for me... not!