GOTO Mount for Heritage 150p

[Goose0211]

I'm looking at mounting my Heritage flextube 150p on a goto mount and tripod instead of the dob mount it came on.  Both suggest a may payload of 5kg and the scope is approx 4KG wihout the dob stand.

Ive seen a couple online within my price range - has anyone done this with either of these mounts, might there be any issues?

Skywatcher AZ-GTi WiFi GOTO AZ and Skywatcher Star Discovery WiFi GOTO are the 2 ive seen.

Thanks.

[Cosmic Geoff]

You would have a more pleasant user experience with a mount that has a capacity of more than 5Kg and easily supports the Heritage 150p.   I appreciate it may exceed your budget, but putting a 6" Newtonian on a EQ-5 Synscan would not be considered over-mounting, and would give a far more rigid setup than the mounts you cite.  I have used lightweight mounts and an EQ-5 mount with small scopes and the difference is like rubber vs. scaffolding.

[Laurieast]

Just for another comparison, an Explorer 150 on an EQ 3-2 is very wobbly when trying to focus it, but on a Celestron AVX it's like it's nailed to the target! 

[Stu1smartcookie]

i think at some stage most of us have tried to cut a corner or two where load capacity is concerned , but , in reality you have to have stability . I may be wrong but a flextube scope on an AZ-Gti may introduce balance issues as well . As has been written above , its best to get an EQ5 . Of course a lot more expensive than a Gti and it will be a lot more bulky too . Its a difficult balancing act ( no pun intended) but , im afraid the old rule is still the best rule that you buy the best , most sturdy mount you can afford and then worry about the scope later .

[Goose0211]

Interesting, thanks.  Sounds like I need to spend a bit(lot) more to get a higher payload capacity to give better stability.  I assume that if I upgrade the scope in the future I could just purchase the OTA and use this mount for it - for the most part?

 

[Laurieast]

Get a good mount now, and your choice of OTA's in the future is much wider.

I am probably old school, but I would go for something that can take a dovetail bar and support the scope properly, not a fan of one armed things with the scope hanging off it sideways.

 

[Ricochet]

I don't think you should put a heritage 150p on an eq5. Any Newtonian on an equatorial mount needs to have tube rings so that you can rotate it as required. With the heritage you haven't got half the tube to fit any rings to, and fitting them to the part that is there will prevent the trusses from being retracted. 

I believe the rating of the azgti with the heavy duty tripod is actually 9kg so may be a better option than initially thought. 

[Stu1smartcookie]

40 minutes ago, Ricochet said:

believe the rating of the azgti with the heavy duty tripod is actually 9kg so may be a better option than initially thought. 

Your logic regarding the EQ5 is pretty sound and on reflection i agree .. however the AZ-Gti would never be able to take 9kgs ... think about the motors and gears. I used the AZ-Gti with a WO ZS73 together with a dslr and various other bits and pieces and to be honest it was heavy enough . The thing about weight ratings for mounts is that you shouldnt go anywhere near the limit . 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Stu1smartcookie

[Goose0211]

44 minutes ago, Ricochet said:

I don't think you should put a heritage 150p on an eq5. Any Newtonian on an equatorial mount needs to have tube rings so that you can rotate it as required. With the heritage you haven't got half the tube to fit any rings to, and fitting them to the part that is there will prevent the trusses from being retracted. 

I believe the rating of the azgti with the heavy duty tripod is actually 9kg so may be a better option than initially thought. 

I cant picture what you mean re it needs tube rings to rotate - would there be restrictions putting it on an EQ5?

[doublevodka]

Or, slight curveball, sell the current one and get the updated one? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-virtuoso-gti.html

The original heritage 150's still go for decent money so you wouldn't lose much I reckon

But if you can stretch to a proper eq mount like an eq5 etc it does give more future flexibility...

[Pixies]

9 minutes ago, Goose0211 said:

I cant picture what you mean re it needs tube rings to rotate - would there be restrictions putting it on an EQ5?

Watch this from around 4 minutes in:

 

[Goose0211]

Ah I see, so perhaps an Alt-AZ mount is more suited...

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

1 hour ago, Ricochet said:

I don't think you should put a heritage 150p on an eq5. Any Newtonian on an equatorial mount needs to have tube rings so that you can rotate it as required. With the heritage you haven't got half the tube to fit any rings to, and fitting them to the part that is there will prevent the trusses from being retracted. 

I believe the rating of the azgti with the heavy duty tripod is actually 9kg so may be a better option than initially thought. 

The rating of the AZGTI on any tripod is 5kg max. Preferably less. You will read anecdotes suggesting it can take more but from my own personal experience, less is more. The 9kg rating with a steel tripod relates to the AZ5, and that's over ambitious! I wouldn't go past 6.5 for reasonable performance.

To the op, if you really want a 150mm newtonian mounted on goto, the cheapest out of the box option would be to simply sell the Heritage and pick up the Skywatcher Star Discovery P150i.

[Stu1smartcookie]

16 minutes ago, Goose0211 said:

Ah I see, so perhaps an Alt-AZ mount is more suited...

Which brings us all back to your first choices  . Personally i think your flextube dob is already on the best mount . I know you want goto functionality though ( and i understand that its an attractive proposition ) . Having used both AZ-Gti and Star Discovery the star discovery acually has a slightly better payload capacity ( the orion version sold in the USA is the  same as the one here and quotes 6kgs ).I actually used a weight arm that added a counterweight system to the mount and my scope sat directly above the mount . I was using a smaller scope though than the heritage 150 but it did seem to work very well 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Stu1smartcookie

[Stu1smartcookie]

2 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

To the op, if you really want a 150mm newtonian mounted on goto, the cheapest out of the box option would be to simply sell the Heritage and pick up the Skywatcher Star Discovery P150i.

Yes i second this ... a ready made system designed for purpose and no decrease in aperture .

 

[Goose0211]

thanks all, I think its best to get something that made to be on a specific mount, will look at the P150i as an option, or as mentioned also the 150 virtuoso, the trouble is, when i do that i'll start to think bigger...

[doublevodka]

2 minutes ago, Goose0211 said:

thanks all, I think its best to get something that made to be on a specific mount, will look at the P150i as an option, or as mentioned also the 150 virtuoso, the trouble is, when i do that i'll start to think bigger...

Bigger you say...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/sky-watcher-stargate-500p-synscan-go-to-truss-tube-dobsonian.html this do? 🤣

[Goose0211]

5 minutes ago, doublevodka said:

Bigger you say...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/sky-watcher-stargate-500p-synscan-go-to-truss-tube-dobsonian.html this do? 🤣

👌

[Zermelo]

26 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

the star discovery acually has a slightly better payload capacity

There are some online testimonials of people claiming success in pushing the Star Discovery, e.g. here.

The 150i as delivered is around 3.5kg, so there's some headroom for a few mods that add a bit of weight, e.g. here. With the 150i you're getting 6" of aperture at minimum cost (and weight), so some corners have been cut. I added a Telrad and RACI finder, and with a heavy eyepiece it comes to around 4.3kg, but there's no noticeable change in performance on the Star Discovery.

I started off looking at a 6" F/8, but a fully-specced OTA of that length was too much for a mount like the Star Discovery or AZ-GTi. And I wasn't ready to cough up for an EQ5 at that point.

[Zermelo]

46 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

I actually used a weight arm that added a counterweight system to the mount and my scope sat directly above the mount

Was that with the Star Discovery, Stu? I didn't know that was possible (unlike the AZ-GTi).

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

23 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

There are some online testimonials of people claiming success in pushing the Star Discovery, e.g. here.

The 150i as delivered is around 3.5kg, so there's some headroom for a few mods that add a bit of weight, e.g. here. With the 150i you're getting 6" of aperture at minimum cost (and weight), so some corners have been cut. I added a Telrad and RACI finder, and with a heavy eyepiece it comes to around 4.3kg, but there's no noticeable change in performance on the Star Discovery.

I started off looking at a 6" F/8, but a fully-specced OTA of that length was too much for a mount like the Star Discovery or AZ-GTi. And I wasn't ready to cough up for an EQ5 at that point.

I did the same focuser mod on a p150i ota I picked up cheap as a customer return.  It transformed the telescope. However with the added weight of the hefty focuser and an eyepiece, the balance point was knocked off so the fixed dovetail was removed and tube rings were fitted too. Overall not the cheapest upgrade but a fun project and the scope did work well on the AZGTI and AZ5.

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

I did the same focuser mod on a p150i ota I picked up cheap as a customer return.  It transformed the telescope. However with the added weight of the hefty focuser and an eyepiece, the balance point was knocked off so the fixed dovetail was removed and tube rings were fitted too. Overall not the cheapest upgrade but a fun project and the scope did work well on the AZGTI and AZ5.

 

I'd lost my link to your efforts, @ScouseSpaceCadet 🙂

Yes, the balance is off on mine, too, but I think the weight of rings, on top of the rest, might stress the Star Discovery a bit. Instead, I've got a longer dovetail to replace the (crazily short) one supplied with the OTA.

[Tiny Clanger]

8 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

I'd lost my link to your efforts, @ScouseSpaceCadet 🙂

Yes, the balance is off on mine, too, but I think the weight of rings, on top of the rest, might stress the Star Discovery a bit. Instead, I've got a longer dovetail to replace the (crazily short) one supplied with the OTA.

I think  the ad.s have a photo which shows the new virtuoso heritage 150 has a much longer (shiny green) dovetail , which is a good thing.

Heather

[Ricochet]

2 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The 9kg rating with a steel tripod relates to the AZ5,

Thanks for the correction. 

[Zermelo]

10 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

I think  the ad.s have a photo which shows the new virtuoso heritage 150 has a much longer (shiny green) dovetail , which is a good thing.

Heather

Indeed. The Virtuosos (Virtuosi?) weren't out when I was looking before, but they look like a nice budget option. I see FLO even have a heritage 150 return on for £315 at the moment:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/offers/offer_sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-virtuoso-gti_253833.html