Problems with AZ3 mount.

[devdusty]

Hello. I have recently purchased the Sky Watcher Mercury 705 refractor on an AZ3 mount. The azimuth adjustment knob seems to be under the tripod head, but it is almost impossible to access.     Also there looks like no way to move the telescope in altitude. Would be grateful for any advice / information to sort out these things..

Thanks. Chris

[happy-kat]

Hi. If the tension is just right then the telescope will move between position with enough tension to hold it on the AZ3.  If the telescope is pointing upwards then there are minor changes you could make to help with having the telescope hold in more steep elevations if you find your telescope sags.

The slow mo control run out of movement so periodically you'll need to rewind them.

You may need to adjust the tension of the azimuth adjuster wheel bolt to loosen it, for altitude there's a nylock holding that though that one needs to have some tension.

[Doasqa]

On 15/02/2022 at 16:00, devdusty said:

Hello. I have recently purchased the Sky Watcher Mercury 705 refractor on an AZ3 mount. The azimuth adjustment knob seems to be under the tripod head, but it is almost impossible to access.     Also there looks like no way to move the telescope in altitude. Would be grateful for any advice / information to sort out these things..

Thanks. Chris

I sold my skywatcher 100ed telescope in favor of a Oberwerk BT-100 binocular telescope. When I had the telescope I bought a skywatcher AZ5 with the tripod. I never liked it. As you point out the fine tune knobs are difficult to get to. I would struggle with that nightly and also it vibrated at high magnification so much that I couldn’t get it focused. I considered buying the SkyTee 2 and recommend you do the same. There are a few others but can’t remember but the SkyTee looked pretty solid. You can sell your mount and use the tripod. Sorry to not offer a solution for what you have. 

[keora]

I intended buying a Skywatcher refractor with an AZ3 mount. But some forum members suggested that the AZ3 wasn't very good. If you've only just bought the mount, it would be expensive to change mounts now. Perhaps it's a case of getting as much advice as possible on how to get round its limitations.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I bought the SW AZ5 tripod and mount about 4 yrs ago. I've never had any issues with this combo. I typically mount a Bresser 102 refrac on it for solar observing (with a Quark Chromosphere). The AZ5 is a thing of beauty. I love the green and white, and also the sleek curves. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by LukeSkywatcher