Which mount to buy ?

[dust of time]

Hi all.

I am considering a new mount purchase and would like some feedback if possible from all you great guys and gals. 

I own an Orion Optics 10" Newtonian and need a mount suitable for visual and some imaging with a dslr and maybe the use of a guidescope too. I have in mind the Skywatcher AZ EQ6 Pro which looks really nice but am a couple of quid short of that, But have the funds for a Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro.  Do I save for my dream mount OR do I spend and save with the NEQ6 Pro ? Decisions, decisions.

Any help, recommendations and comments will be greatly appreciated.  Many Thanks.

[steppenwolf]

Nice though the AZ EQ6 Pro may be, the NEQ6 would do the job just fine. I guess you need to ask yourself ‘would I use the AZ feature?’. If the answer is ‘YES’ then keep on saving 😀

[dust of time]

It would be nice to use the AZ feature I guess as I do enjoy the view through the eyepiece now and then. AND it's then that I encounter my problems like so many when the focuser is at that  awkward angle.  I think I need to keep saving.  Cheers Steve. : )

[steppenwolf]

For what it is worth, I have reviewed the AZ EQ6 Pro and I really liked it. The NEQ6 is ‘clunky’ in comparison but in astronomy, that isn’t really an issue as it is stability that we seek in a mount and both have that in spades! If you can afford the AZ version and have a use for the AZ feature then you should go for it. I remember years ago (2004) when I first took up astronomy, how unintuitive I found an EQ mount as my EQ6 (later upgraded) didn’t have GoTo and I would have loved the AZ option BUT I soon got used to the strange angles that the mount had to be set to to observe the sky!!

Good luck with the saving and place your order before you finally have the funds available so that you don’t get caught up in the current supply issues if they pertain to the mounts.

[geeklee]

2 hours ago, dust of time said:

It would be nice to use the AZ feature I guess as I do enjoy the view through the eyepiece now and then. AND it's then that I encounter my problems like so many when the focuser is at that  awkward angle.  I think I need to keep saving.  Cheers Steve. : )

I purchased the AZ-EQ6 for imaging thinking "that AZ feature would be well handy as I want to continue with visual too".  One lift of the mount and, later on, looking at all the imaging bits setup around it had me laughing at ever using it in AZ mode for visual.  Re-setup the AZEQ6 for AZ and accompanying effort or just get my manual AZ mount + refractor out (or just a Dob by itself) and be observing in 2 minutes... The AZ bits have never left the AZEQ6 box.

Just throwing in similar though processes I had

Edited August 14, 2021 by geeklee

[rl]

I've had the AZ-EQ6 for 6 years and never had a problem with it. It's been excellent. I thought the AZ feature might be useful but I've always used it in equatorial mode. Typical RMS errors measured with PHD2 are about 0.5 to 0.7 arcsec with a 12kg payload (8" Newt plus accessories), and that is without any mechanical modifications or faffing about with the PHD2 variables. 

The extra saddle is useful in that you can use a short/ medium focal length refractor plus camera as a counterweight which allows two exposures to be taken at the same time. The whole setup is rigid enough that guiding on the main scope is good enough for the secondary scope on the counterweight bar. 

The basic EQ6 has always been a good mount but the later AZ-EQ6 and EQ6R do address a lot of minor shortcomings, albeit at a price. 

If I were buying again I'd look carefully at the EQ6R simply because it can handle a couple of kilogrammes more. 

[geeklee]

43 minutes ago, rl said:

minor shortcomings

If I could change just one thing on the AZEQ6 it would be the altitude adjustment mechanism - sticking up and out like that (the mechanism itself is sound, just the position and associated size I have issue with).  Even with careful cable management I get caught out occasionally with it.

Edited August 14, 2021 by geeklee
Clarity

[geeklee]

9 minutes ago, rl said:

The whole setup is rigid enough that guiding on the main scope is good enough for the secondary scope on the counterweight bar. 

Interesting @rl.  I had assumed this wouldn't be rigid enough to rely on, with possible flexure to deal with.

[rl]

@geeklee

Yep..I know, it does rather break the rules  for accurate guiding! I used the setup in the photo to take a spectrum of RS Ophiuci last night. The gold box in the Newt focuser is a spectroscope. There is a red  ZWO guide cam in the spectroscope keeping the star on the slit. On the counterweight bar is my TS65Q. So.. the mechanical connection between the guide cam and the TS65 goes through the spectroscope, the Newtonian ( rigid carbon fibre), Newt cradles, AZEQ6, counterweight bar, extra saddle. It's tenuous at best but it does seem to be reliable; I've used the setup on several occasions now. I took 20 by 1 minute exposures and all came out with round stars....and this is the general experience. One of those subs is in the RS Ophiuci nova thread. 

The setup in the photo is pretty much perfectly balanced in both axes, and I use a polemaster which certainly helps...PHD2 does almost nothing in dec corrections. 

I think the move to a bigger diameter counterweight bar was a very good move over the EQ6. It's much more rigid. 

One man's experience with a sample of one mount. YMMV....

 

[Ouroboros]

Another plus here for the AZ-EQ6 mount. I’ve never used it for AZ either. In fact I never intended to.  IMO it is simply a well designed equatorial mount irrespective of its AZ capability. The altitude adjustment for polar alignment is a good feature.  I don’t know the NEQ6 to comment. 

One thing worth being aware of is that it is heavy. 17/18kg whatever it is. That may not be a problem for you, but I have to be careful how I carry it because of my back, and it’s not the easiest lump to manhandle as you attach it to the tripod legs. I wouldn’t want to carry it very far. 

[geeklee]

13 minutes ago, rl said:

The setup in the photo is pretty much perfectly balanced in both axes,

That's a cracking setup @rl great use of the CW and thanks for the pic to show it all setup.  I've not usually got anything that heavy on mine (an RC6 being the biggest) but definite food for thought. Maybe that extra saddle might see the light of day!

[rl]

@geeklee

Thanks!

As you've already got the mount it costs nothing to try....

It's nice sometimes to have an alternative widefield shot alongside the main event on the Newt. 

I wouldn't advocate using a C8 on the counterweight bar and expecting it to work or using the extension rod either...but as shown mine works just fine. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by rl

[dust of time]

I think I'm sold on the AZ EQ6. Thankyou everyone for your comments and inspiration, especially @geeklee for your sharing of your excellent set-up. Using the ext. bar that way really opens up so many possibilities for many future set-up incarnations. A 10" Newtonian is a lump of a tube to be sat on a GEM for visual and I have experience using it that way for the 14 years I've owned it. I shall try and share my set up on here one day soon I hope and maybe start getting to a star party or 2 also. Kelling Heath watch out. lol.

Thanks again All

 

[dust of time]

Whilst I have this thread open, does anyone know whether the AZ will sit on the older EQ6 tripod as my previous set up was converted to sit on a pier with a custom made pier/mount adapter which both I still own and use. I would be using the AZ on a pier as I prefer this method for portability and set up.

Thanks again