SW AZ5 with a heavy payload?

[LDW1]

1 hour ago, Doasqa said:

If it will work, I could sell it to you and get something more heavy duty. Although I would sell the head only and keep my tripod. It just might do for because you’re OTL is shorter than my Sky Watcher 100ED. I believe that’s where the problem lies, the OTA is on mine long it vibrates when focusing at high magnification. I think the AZ3 is a great mount, In fact now that I’m getting away from higher magnification I’m less inclined to complain about it. It’s with a 5mm eyepiece at 185x where there is a bit of vibration, only when focusing. That magnification it’s too much for the telescope anyway because the object moves out of view too quickly. . First I was big on magnification but with the problems of high magnification I’m happier at somewhere around 125X. And the only time you really need magnification is when you’re looking at the planets. All of the DSO’s are better viewed at low magnification. 

You aren't comparing the az3 vs the az5 for performance are you ? Really ?

[Doasqa]

12 minutes ago, LDW1 said:

You aren't comparing the az3 vs the az5 for performance are you ? Really ?

Oops I meant AZ5

[jjohnson3803]

15 hours ago, Doasqa said:

How long and what is the weight of you’re telescope?

About 24 inches including the diagonal IIRC and 11 pounds with an 8x50 finder.

[Doasqa]

6 minutes ago, jjohnson3803 said:

About 24 inches including the diagonal IIRC and 11 pounds with an 8x50 finder.

Mine is lighter but 34” long. The length is the problem from my observation. 

[John]

Tube length quickly gets more significant than tube weight with regard to mount stability due to the moment arm force that a longer tube imparts to the mount head and tripod hob.

 

 

[Franklin]

I think the root of all this comes from Synta's over ambitious payload ratings, which is all just sales patter. An AZ5 is on a par with the Twilight and the Porta II, they are all single arm alt-az mounts with slo-mo's and they will all work to the best of their abilities when mounted with scopes that do not weigh more than 4/5kg. Synta rate the AZ5 at 9kg and they also rate their EQ5 at 9kg even though it is a cheap copy of the Vixen GP which is rated at 7kg? 9kg is a 5/6" refractor, no way will a scope of that size give good performance on an AZ5/EQ5 class mount. I have a Vixen AP rated at 6kg but it works best with 3kg ED80 on it. For best performance with any set up, whatever the published ratings are, halve them and you will not have frustrating viewing sessions. I think visual observers will do well to take note of what the imagers suggest here. Halve the published payloads and you will NOT be disappointed.

[johninderby]

SW now rates the AZ5 at 6.8kg (15lbs) max load with the steel tripod. Still optimistic but a bit more realistic.

https://www.skywatcherusa.com/collections/mounts/products/az5-mount-with-steel-tripod

[LDW1]

3 hours ago, Franklin said:

I think the root of all this comes from Synta's over ambitious payload ratings, which is all just sales patter. An AZ5 is on a par with the Twilight and the Porta II, they are all single arm alt-az mounts with slo-mo's and they will all work to the best of their abilities when mounted with scopes that do not weigh more than 4/5kg. Synta rate the AZ5 at 9kg and they also rate their EQ5 at 9kg even though it is a cheap copy of the Vixen GP which is rated at 7kg? 9kg is a 5/6" refractor, no way will a scope of that size give good performance on an AZ5/EQ5 class mount. I have a Vixen AP rated at 6kg but it works best with 3kg ED80 on it. For best performance with any set up, whatever the published ratings are, halve them and you will not have frustrating viewing sessions. I think visual observers will do well to take note of what the imagers suggest here. Halve the published payloads and you will NOT be disappointed.

I have owned all of these mounts / tripods, I still own 3 Porta II's and I disagree wholeheartedly with your visual assessment regarding the az5. My 19-20 lb. 127mm, f6.6 refractor will attest to that save for magnifications greater than those rated for that scope. Even then it dampens down pretty quick.

Edited January 21, 2022 by LDW1

[wibblefish]

Just to comment since I see a recent flurry of posts I am pleased with the Skytee. Its totally rock solid on the steel legs and holds perfectly even pointed at zenith. Other than it being a bit rough and ready particularly a slight bit of slow mo play on one axis its a good heavy lump of metal  I did the saddle replacement that is suggested everywhere to ADM and glad I did as it feels more substantial than supplied ones.

[Franklin]

27 minutes ago, LDW1 said:

I have owned all of these mounts / tripods, I still own 3 Porta II's and I disagree wholeheartedly with your visual assessment regarding the az5. My 19-20 lb. 127mm, f6.6 refractor will attest to that save for magnifications greater than those rated for that scope. Even then it dampens down pretty quick.

Fair enough and each to their own, but I like my scopes over mounted because that way there is zero dampening down time at any magnification, as there is zero vibration. YMMV.

Think of the imager that put a Redcat on an EQ6, now that's what I call SOLID.🙂

[LDW1]

3 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Fair enough and each to their own, but I like my scopes over mounted because that way there is zero dampening down time at any magnification, as there is zero vibration. YMMV.

Think of the imager that put a Redcat on an EQ6, now that's what I call SOLID.🙂

I don't think the Redcat is a big scope vs the eq6 it should be SOLID. Visual use is one story imaging is a different.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

6 hours ago, johninderby said:

SW now rates the AZ5 at 6.8kg (15lbs) max load with the steel tripod. Still optimistic but a bit more realistic.

https://www.skywatcherusa.com/collections/mounts/products/az5-mount-with-steel-tripod

That's definitely more realistic. My ST120 wasn't far under that weight with a 50mm RACI, 2" diagonal and 2" eyepiece. The load made the AZ5 feel maxed out.

 

[jjohnson3803]

I have a 102mm f7 ED on the way which I intend to put on my SW AZ5 / Manfrotto 475B.  I might have additional data soon if the weather cooperates.  Wondering if I'm going to be ordering a SkyTee...  🤔

Edited January 23, 2022 by jjohnson3803

[LDW1]

On 21/01/2022 at 11:33, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

That's definitely more realistic. My ST120 wasn't far under that weight with a 50mm RACI, 2" diagonal and 2" eyepiece. The load made the AZ5 feel maxed out.

 

Feel and is are 2 different issues depending on the astronomer.

[Franklin]

On 21/01/2022 at 13:01, wibblefish said:

Its totally rock solid on the steel legs and holds perfectly even pointed at zenith.

Congrats on the Skytee, solid performer and the correct decision for a big frac. If you had gone with the AZ5 type mount, you would have had to change your user name from "wibblefish" to "wobblescope"🤣.

[johninderby]

Yes the Skytee is in a totally different class to the AZ5 and will easily handle a scope that would turn the AZ5 to jelly. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[John]

I regularly use my ED120 F/7.5 refractor on a Skytee II mount and can use 300x with hardly any vibrations at all. No counterweight required either.

 

 

[johninderby]

Although I have the AZ100 could still find a use for a Skytee for a lighter more portable grab’n’go set up. 🙂

[wibblefish]

Aye I was dubious about spending the same amount on the mount as the 102ED itself but it was definitely the right decision and should hold any other scopes further down the line if I get anything bigger! (though the wife will likely murder me if any more astro kit arrives)

Edited January 23, 2022 by wibblefish

[jjohnson3803]

18 hours ago, wibblefish said:

 (though the wife will likely murder me if any more astro kit arrives)

Tell her you're buying a boat.  Astro costs will pale in comparison.  😉

[jjohnson3803]

On 19/01/2022 at 17:05, jjohnson3803 said:

Interesting.  I have an f7 102ED on order and I've been wondering how my AZ5 will do with it.  Guess I could sell a few things to finance a SkyTee.

The 102ED has arrived and been tested on my SW AZ5.  IMO it's really at it's limit.  Focusing at higher powers is definitely wobbly although the vibrations damp out in about 2-3 seconds.  I get the same result with the AZ5 on a Manfrotto 475B (my preferred tripod) or a Twilight-1 tripod with a Berlebach "puck" adapter.

The 102ED is about 10 pounds according to my scale.

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by jjohnson3803