Skywatcher AZ GTI mount owners thread

[Elp]

2 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

I also own a star adventurer 2i, think I've used it twice whilst owning my az gti. I just use the wedge and weights from the star adventurer now. One day I may sell it to fund another astro purchase but not sure as I regret selling astro gear haha. Would like another az gti set up. Once again for the portability and the az gti is great. 

I did exactly the same and thought what's the point of keeping it as it wasn't getting used. Then I bought a replacement skywatcher wedge to use when it went and got frustrated with it and replaced that wedge with a WO one, another good purchase. If I need a basic tracker for camera I always have my Omegon LX, much more compact. There's always another purchase looming which is troubling.

[AstroNebulee]

1 hour ago, Elp said:

I did exactly the same and thought what's the point of keeping it as it wasn't getting used. Then I bought a replacement skywatcher wedge to use when it went and got frustrated with it and replaced that wedge with a WO one, another good purchase. If I need a basic tracker for camera I always have my Omegon LX, much more compact. There's always another purchase looming which is troubling.

Yes I like the looks of the wo wedge and much easier to use. Like I say I will probably sell mine eventually to fund another purchase, maybe the wo wedge and another sa counterweight. 🤔  now you got me thinking haha. I also  used to have the Omegon lx tracker and was a good little quick set up for Widefield.

Edited January 12, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[AstroNebulee]

So so so brilliant to be back out with my set up last night after a few barren months of deep sky imaging. Doing some proper deep sky imaging albeit with a just over half lit moony in the sky. First light with my zwo asi294mc pro too and everything work great. Such clean images coming off the camera even in a single 3 min sub. Took a couple of moony videos to stack, then settled in on the HH and flame nebula got just over 2 hours of  data. Hoping it stays clear again tonight with try the same target but if moony to bright for IC434 will try M42. The guiding went well on the mount and was around 0.9-2.5, had a bit of trouble settling in dec after a dither but only odd times. The guiding graph was really flat and probably my best night ever guiding. It was a shame to come in from that night but I can't leave my setup unattended. The moony upload here is a snapshot of the screen so not best quality, need to stack the video yet. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[badhex]

14 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

So so so brilliant to be back out with my set up last night after a few barren months of deep sky imaging. Doing some proper deep sky imaging albeit with a just over half lit moony in the sky. First light with my zwo asi294mc pro too and everything work great. Such clean images coming off the camera even in a single 3 min sub. Took a couple of moony videos to stack, then settled in on the HH and flame nebula got just over 2 hours of  data. Hoping it stays clear again tonight with try the same target but if moony to bright for IC434 will try M42. The guiding went well on the mount and was around 0.9-2.5, had a bit of trouble settling in dec after a dither but only odd times. The guiding graph was really flat and probably my best night ever guiding. It was a shame to come in from that night but I can't leave my setup unattended. The moony upload here is a snapshot of the screen so not best quality, need to stack the video yet. 

Really happy to hear you managed to get out and under the stars! Looking forward to seeing the results 😊

[JohnC]

I also use the azgti (eq mode) and love the simplicity and grab and go aspects.

Going down the path of EAA at the moment as my eyesight isnt what it used to be.

I am very impressed with the Asiair plus when paired with the mount.

[Stu1smartcookie]

39 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I also use the azgti (eq mode) and love the simplicity and grab and go aspects.

Going down the path of EAA at the moment as my eyesight isnt what it used to be.

I am very impressed with the Asiair plus when paired with the mount.

Fantastic , love the images 

[badhex]

All this imaging/EEVA chat is tempting me to do some myself! 

[AstroNebulee]

5 hours ago, badhex said:

Really happy to hear you managed to get out and under the stars! Looking forward to seeing the results 😊

Thank you 👌 it really gave my astro mojo a huge boost, hopefully my images will do my time justice. 

[AstroNebulee]

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

I also use the azgti (eq mode) and love the simplicity and grab and go aspects.

Going down the path of EAA at the moment as my eyesight isnt what it used to be.

I am very impressed with the Asiair plus when paired with the mount.

Brilliant setup you have there and I agree with you on the dimple grab and go especially paired with a asiair pro or plus. The wo wedge on my wish list. Love your images, look forward to hearing more from you here. 😊

Edited January 12, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[AstroNebulee]

1 hour ago, badhex said:

All this imaging/EEVA chat is tempting me to do some myself! 

Go on go on go on you know you want to haha 😂

[LaurenceT]

I'm just canvassing for opinions here, as mentioned earlier I have sent my AZ GTi back to the suppliers as it has developed a serious fault. I have only had it since the 26th October with no conversion to EQ mode, it's still as it arrived in AZ mode. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2015 I know the supplier can offer me either a repair, replacement or refund. I do not want a refund as I love this little mount but neither would I be happy with a repair because of the short time I have had the mount and also because of my general lack of confidence in that particular unit.

I understand that under the terms of the Act I cannot outright refuse a repair but I'm wondering what other owners might prefer to do in these circumstances.

[AstroNebulee]

8 minutes ago, LaurenceT said:

I'm just canvassing for opinions here, as mentioned earlier I have sent my AZ GTi back to the suppliers as it has developed a serious fault. I have only had it since the 26th October with no conversion to EQ mode, it's still as it arrived in AZ mode. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2015 I know the supplier can offer me either a repair, replacement or refund. I do not want a refund as I love this little mount but neither would I be happy with a repair because of the short time I have had the mount and also because of my general lack of confidence in that particular unit.

I understand that under the terms of the Act I cannot outright refuse a repair but I'm wondering what other owners might prefer to do in these circumstances.

Hopefully they could give you a replacement one as this is probably better but then this may have same fault and needs sending back or another type of fault. I don't know about the consumer act but if it was repaired it may be better than ever and you should still have a warranty if I'm correct but probably not. It's 6 of one half dozen of the other. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[LaurenceT]

Just had a message saying that a replacement mount is on its way, I'm much relieved to say the least!

It seems that this particular problem of the mount failing to rotate in the azimuth axis is very common.

[AstroNebulee]

41 minutes ago, LaurenceT said:

Just had a message saying that a replacement mount is on its way, I'm much relieved to say the least!

It seems that this particular problem of the mount failing to rotate in the azimuth axis is very common.

Good news, let us know how you get on 👍

[badhex]

8 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

Just had a message saying that a replacement mount is on its way, I'm much relieved to say the least!

It seems that this particular problem of the mount failing to rotate in the azimuth axis is very common.

Great news! Glad they're sending a replacement, saves any fretting about warranties etc. 

 

[starhov]

Hello All,

 

First post after months of reading through threads which helped me purchase a heritage 130p and the skymax 127 and az-gti package.

My what a scope, the moon was literally in touching distance last night.

Letting people know there seems to be compatability issues with the synscan app and non samsung phones.

After an hour of frustration with a HTC 11/Android 9 not being able to connect, irrespective of location settings and permissions, a Samaung S7/Android 8 connected first time. Also confirmed connecivity via a Win10 laptop.

After more faffing i narrowed the HTC/Andriod 9 issue down to having to disable the mobile data setting (phone will only work with calls and SMS), so can only deduce its a hardware bug. I informed the seller abd asked for it to be fed back to Skywatcher.

Tested with 2 app versions. Mount is running the .A35 f/w version as not yet  brave enough to upgrade the f/w  based on others experiences.

Posting to save others frustration.

 

Cheers!

[AstroNebulee]

4 hours ago, starhov said:

Hello All,

 

First post after months of reading through threads which helped me purchase a heritage 130p and the skymax 127 and az-gti package.

My what a scope, the moon was literally in touching distance last night.

Letting people know there seems to be compatability issues with the synscan app and non samsung phones.

After an hour of frustration with a HTC 11/Android 9 not being able to connect, irrespective of location settings and permissions, a Samaung S7/Android 8 connected first time. Also confirmed connecivity via a Win10 laptop.

After more faffing i narrowed the HTC/Andriod 9 issue down to having to disable the mobile data setting (phone will only work with calls and SMS), so can only deduce its a hardware bug. I informed the seller abd asked for it to be fed back to Skywatcher.

Tested with 2 app versions. Mount is running the .A35 f/w version as not yet  brave enough to upgrade the f/w  based on others experiences.

Posting to save others frustration.

 

Cheers!

The 127 mak is a beautiful scope and I agree gives beautiful crisp views of the moon so much contrast. I'm pleased you had a wonderful time last night.

I'm sure regarding the switching off of mobile data on the device using synscan, I've read before somewhere that the device needs the WiFi alone  without interference from mobile data kicking in every so often. I used to use a huwaei P20 lite that was spare and always had mobile data switched off as wasn't needed. I wouldn't recommend having WiFi and mobile data on at the same time as using the az gti anyway. 

Which firmware are you using on the mount again? The 3.36 & 3.37 firmware update runs very well and a lot of users experiences with it have solved many issues especially dec runaway. 

Edited January 13, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

5 hours ago, starhov said:

Hello All,

 

First post after months of reading through threads which helped me purchase a heritage 130p and the skymax 127 and az-gti package.

My what a scope, the moon was literally in touching distance last night.

Letting people know there seems to be compatability issues with the synscan app and non samsung phones.

After an hour of frustration with a HTC 11/Android 9 not being able to connect, irrespective of location settings and permissions, a Samaung S7/Android 8 connected first time. Also confirmed connecivity via a Win10 laptop.

After more faffing i narrowed the HTC/Andriod 9 issue down to having to disable the mobile data setting (phone will only work with calls and SMS), so can only deduce its a hardware bug. I informed the seller abd asked for it to be fed back to Skywatcher.

Tested with 2 app versions. Mount is running the .A35 f/w version as not yet  brave enough to upgrade the f/w  based on others experiences.

Posting to save others frustration.

 

Cheers!

Disabling mobile data when connecting to the mount is regarded as common practice and not seen as a fault. 

Both my phones require mobile data is switched off, including the old Samsung S6 I keep just for the mount. Some phones will connect with mobile data enabled, but then randomly drop and others will not connect at all.

 

[RayWUK]

On 11/01/2022 at 16:55, Elp said:

My setup is well over 5kg so I wouldn't worry

 

On 11/01/2022 at 18:48, AstroNebulee said:

Ditto 👍

 

On 11/01/2022 at 20:46, Elp said:

Oh another thing Ray, I was in the same situation as you. Once I bought the azgti the Star Adventurer became surplus and went to a new home. The azgti is one of the best astro purchases I've made to date.

 

 

On 11/01/2022 at 20:53, AstroNebulee said:

I also own a star adventurer 2i, think I've used it twice whilst owning my az gti. I just use the wedge and weights from the star adventurer now. One day I may sell it to fund another astro purchase but not sure as I regret selling astro gear haha. Would like another az gti set up. Once again for the portability and the az gti is great. 

 

On 11/01/2022 at 20:54, Ags said:

I agree with you - half the time!

Thanks for the Advice, AZ-GTI on order.

[AstroNebulee]

1 minute ago, RayWUK said:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the Advice, AZ-GTI on order.

Good news indeed, let us know how you get on and follow the thread 👍

[Shimrod]

Just received from FLO today - ADM Vixen saddle replacement - it only takes about 5 minutes to remove the standard saddle and replace with the puck and new saddle (extended to about 45 minutes in my case because I couldn't find the right size allen key!).

Although the standard saddle held the OTA fine, there was a little bit of movement of the OTA within the saddle. This provides a much firmer grip, although the movement of the clamp feels a bit rough so I might try a little bit of grease.

[LaurenceT]

On 12/01/2022 at 15:42, AstroNebulee said:

Good news, let us know how you get on 👍

Replacement AZ GTi received this morning from Harrisons Telescopes via Optical Vision who I believe are the Skywatcher importers for the UK. Seems to work fine in powered mode but the azimuth movement in manual mode with azimuth clutch screw fully loosened is very stiff, they say it should loosen up over time.....we'll see!

 

[AstroNebulee]

5 hours ago, Shimrod said:

Just received from FLO today - ADM Vixen saddle replacement - it only takes about 5 minutes to remove the standard saddle and replace with the puck and new saddle (extended to about 45 minutes in my case because I couldn't find the right size allen key!).

Although the standard saddle held the OTA fine, there was a little bit of movement of the OTA within the saddle. This provides a much firmer grip, although the movement of the clamp feels a bit rough so I might try a little bit of grease.

Looks brilliant, yes the imperial allen key is a swine and had to order a set especially. They are so solid and much better saddles. I'm so glad I upgraded mine to adm, so safe and secure when you consider the equipment clamped to them, worth every penny. Though mine was the other version with silver knob and puck, love the black puck to cover the gubbins, can't find the puck seperate anywhere, trying to fashion a chocolate spread lid to do the job. Every az gti owner should upgrade to one, especially if imaging. 

Edited January 13, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[AstroNebulee]

1 hour ago, LaurenceT said:

Replacement AZ GTi received this morning from Harrisons Telescopes via Optical Vision who I believe are the Skywatcher importers for the UK. Seems to work fine in powered mode but the azimuth movement in manual mode with azimuth clutch screw fully loosened is very stiff, they say it should loosen up over time.....we'll see!

 

Yep ovl are the importers for the skywatcher products to all astro shops in the UK. Hopefully this one is better and the az will loosen up, I know I opened mine up and greased the hell out if it all. But voided my warranty I guess. Hopefully though given time it will loosen. Keep us posted how you get on with your new mount. 

[Elp]

2 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

Replacement AZ GTi received this morning from Harrisons Telescopes via Optical Vision who I believe are the Skywatcher importers for the UK. Seems to work fine in powered mode but the azimuth movement in manual mode with azimuth clutch screw fully loosened is very stiff, they say it should loosen up over time.....we'll see!

 

When balancing mine last night I found it's exactly the same, no matter how I rotated the rig it wouldn't react for any imbalance due to the stiffness. It did however rotate without much resistance though I wouldn't say it was free movement. Guess it's a good thing?