Hercules mount quick review

[Steve Clay]

Well the hercules mount arrived today

Extremely well packaged.

When unwrapped what was revealed was a very nice looking, solid feeling mount. The CNC machining and stainless accessories look really nice as do the 2 included 1kg stainless counterweights and bar. Weirdley the counterweight bar thread is 3/8 16 so photo thread.

I removed the solar quest from on top of the small extension on the EQ5 tripod as I wanted something solid below the mount to assess it's capability and not have to worry about what the tripod was doing. 

The trusty ED 80 was loaded up with accessories: diagonal, finder and 30mm 1.25 inch Ep.

And this is where it all went wrong. Due to the protruding fittings on the SW dovetail I could not attach the scope to the clamp as the dovetail requires sliding in.

Ok so lets see what it feels like just moving it about.  The 2 smaller lattice screws that can be seen in the picture are not clutches so there is no way to apply any tension on each of the axis. not so much of a problem in azimuth but could prove problematic in altitude.

The reduction ratio is about 8:1 on the larger knurled knobs and presents quite a jittery feel when rotated. That said they were not under load so that might improve slightly. Again just pushing the head around was quite jittery as the splines on the belts engaged the cogs no smoothness at all..

So to conclude. A very attractive and different looking mount. If I had managed to mount the ED80 on it I don't think that It would have provided  smooth movement especially in alt as there is no way to adjust and tension and the only tension provided is the friction/ drag on the drive belt.

I will be returning it tomorrow, as it's not suitable for my intended purpose which is a real shame but at £265 it's too much money to spend time fettling about with new dove tails etc only to find there is no smooth movement and the lack of clutches makes it difficult to use.. 

So I think i'll play it safe and swap it for an AZ5

 

Steve

[johninderby]

R.I.P. Hercules then. 🙁

Pity about that as it looks like such a good idea.

Edited July 29, 2020 by johninderby

[Robindonne]

Nice to read a review.  Is that paintjob so bad out of the box? On the blue clamp. 
 

And what parts would break if I mount a 10” newtonian on it?😅

Edited July 29, 2020 by Robindonne

[Steve Clay]

5 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

Nice to read a review.  Is that paintjob so bad out of the box? On the blue clamp. 
 

And what parts would break if I mount a 10” newtonian on it?😅

Yes it was straight out the box. 

[Steve Clay]

10 minutes ago, johninderby said:

R.I.P. Hercules then. 🙁

Pity about that as it looks like such a good idea.

Yep, I really wanted it to work, but as I said too expensive to mess about to make it work.

[garryblueboy]

Love the colour but the finish and quality look a bit suspect 

[GlenM]

On 29/07/2020 at 18:52, Steve Clay said:

Well the hercules mount arrived today

Extremely well packaged.

When unwrapped what was revealed was a very nice looking, solid feeling mount. The CNC machining and stainless accessories look really nice as do the 2 included 1kg stainless counterweights and bar. Weirdley the counterweight bar thread is 3/8 16 so photo thread.

I removed the solar quest from on top of the small extension on the EQ5 tripod as I wanted something solid below the mount to assess it's capability and not have to worry about what the tripod was doing. 

The trusty ED 80 was loaded up with accessories: diagonal, finder and 30mm 1.25 inch Ep.

And this is where it all went wrong. Due to the protruding fittings on the SW dovetail I could not attach the scope to the clamp as the dovetail requires sliding in.

Ok so lets see what it feels like just moving it about.  The 2 smaller lattice screws that can be seen in the picture are not clutches so there is no way to apply any tension on each of the axis. not so much of a problem in azimuth but could prove problematic in altitude.

The reduction ratio is about 8:1 on the larger knurled knobs and presents quite a jittery feel when rotated. That said they were not under load so that might improve slightly. Again just pushing the head around was quite jittery as the splines on the belts engaged the cogs no smoothness at all..

So to conclude. A very attractive and different looking mount. If I had managed to mount the ED80 on it I don't think that It would have provided  smooth movement especially in alt as there is no way to adjust and tension and the only tension provided is the friction/ drag on the drive belt.

I will be returning it tomorrow, as it's not suitable for my intended purpose which is a real shame but at £265 it's too much money to spend time fettling about with new dove tails etc only to find there is no smooth movement and the lack of clutches makes it difficult to use.. 

So I think i'll play it safe and swap it for an AZ5

 

Steve

Yes, Steve I had similar problems when I had one. I did get it working in the end, but had to strip it completely. With a bit more thought from the manufacturer this could be a very nice mount. Really sorry it didn't work out for you.

 

Stay safe,

Glen.

 

 

[whooshbang]

On 29/07/2020 at 18:52, Steve Clay said:

Ok so lets see what it feels like just moving it about.  The 2 smaller lattice screws that can be seen in the picture are not clutches so there is no way to apply any tension on each of the axis. not so much of a problem in azimuth but could prove problematic in altitude.

 

 

 

 

Thinking of giving one of these a whirl.

Quick question. If you placed a scope on the mount with a suitable length dovetail couldn't the Alt axis be balanced out so when the axis is unlocked the scope won't drop (or rise) in declination?

I'm assuming the Alt and Azimuth axis can be locked and unlocked?

Thanks

[StevieDvd]

They look nice but the early incarnations of them (as in the pictures above) were prone too much to slippage.  They have updated them a little changing the bearings to larger teflon type washer (HDPE) and the knobs to bigger, easier to use ones.

You'd need to make sure you are buying one of the newer ones, and they do come in several sizes too.

The AZT6 would be a better choice, though this also uses the same type of HDPE washers I find it can be locked solid or allowed to move freely without the hassle of the Hercules. 

 

 

[whooshbang]

2 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

They look nice but the early incarnations of them (as in the pictures above) were prone too much to slippage.  They have updated them a little changing the bearings to larger teflon type washer (HDPE) and the knobs to bigger, easier to use ones.

You'd need to make sure you are buying one of the newer ones, and they do come in several sizes too.

The AZT6 would be a better choice, though this also uses the same type of HDPE washers I find it can be locked solid or allowed to move freely without the hassle of the Hercules. 

 

 

Did actually look at the AZT6 but the payload is half of what the Hercules can apparently handle. I plan of throwing 6 or 7kg on it

Thanks for the heads up on the newer model though.