Payload for EQ6-R

[Rustam Akbarov]

I have a good chance to get Sky-Watcher Quattro 300P, and i have a mount Eq6-R pro. I know it will be maximum payload for eq6-r. I want to use it for astrophotoghy. 
 

Any suggestions about it? I don’t want to lose the chance to have 300p. 
By the way, my mount will be on pier, maybe this will help to handle 23kg scope and 1-2 kg guiding and camera

Edited April 7, 2021 by Rustam Akbarov

[jambouk]

It’s not the weight which is the issue it is the length and balancing and rigidity, and that is before you add a camera on to one end of the scope. 

Get it and give it a go, and if it doesn’t work, sell it on.

James

[Rustam Akbarov]

I will add 2 5kg counterweights and build a small observatory to protect from wind. 
I am afraid that my mount will damage maybe. Anyway i will try

[barbulo]

Hi Rustam and welcome to SGL. 

As a rule of thumb, for astrophotography the payload of the mount shouldn’t go over the 60% of its maximum. In the case of the EQ6-R, 12Kg would be the maximum for the whole setup. 
Going beyond would imply an overload of the mechanism and a subsequent deficient guiding.
 

[cfinn]

I think opinions will differ on this, but I’ve seen many reports of people guiding very successfully (to ~0.7” RMS) on this mount with payloads very close to the stated maximum of 20kg for astrophotography. I might be wrong but I think the often quoted 2/3 rule originates from when manufacturers would quote the max visual payload, where tolerances are not so tight as they are for astrophotography, so you would need to reduce that number by at least 2/3 if you were interested in the latter. However, it is stated very clearly that 20kg is the max payload on the EQ6R for astrophotography in particular, and many people do indeed seem to have success close to that limit.

I think the bigger problem is not weight but the length and weight distribution of the OTA you are using. Longer OTAs have a higher moment arm, which makes good balancing critical. Weight distribution is important, because if the centre of mass of your rig is not in the right place, i.e. dead centre, then balancing on all three axes can be even trickier. This will affect guiding more than weight in my opinion. My setup is 16-17kg on an EQ6R and from experience my biggest problem is definitely down to the length of the OTA and balancing.

Edited April 7, 2021 by cfinn

[Rustam Akbarov]

[The Lazy Astronomer]

The eq6r is a fairly hefty mount, but that absolute beast of a scope makes the mount look tiny!!

[JP-S]

I use a relatively small payload on my EQ6R but from my own investigations I've found several instances of others guiding very well with payloads of ~23kg on this mount. It seems the tripod is a major limiting factor so getting the mount onto a pier is key, as well as moment arm as has already been mentioned.

[GTom]

I have similar plans, has your setup eventually performed well over the past two years?

 

On 08/04/2021 at 06:04, Rustam Akbarov said:

 

[Cornelius Varley]

1 hour ago, GTom said:

I have similar plans, has your setup eventually performed well over the past two years?

 

 

I wouldn't expect a reply in the near future. The OP hasn't logged on since August 2021.