What EQ mount do I have?

[CocoBungoClub]

I bought this mount second hand but I am trying ascertain what type it is.   Is any one able to help me based on the attached photo? 

Also looking at getting a Skywatcher 130pds for xmas with a long term goal of getting a better mount for astrophotography, but would this mount be ok for visual? 

[Trippelforge]

It's fine for visual but junk otherwise... I had a similar one years ago and they can get a bit shaky even in light breezes. I ended up hanging a weight from mine, letting it barely touch the ground to keep it from swinging, it did help with stability.

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Trippelforge

[CocoBungoClub]

Thanks for that, I definitely intend to upgrade just not got the pennies right now.  What type is it if you know, eq1,eq2, eq3? 

[Trippelforge]

Probably an EQ2, not 100% though. 

 

[bosun21]

1 hour ago, Trippelforge said:

It's fine for visual but junk otherwise..

Junk is a rather strong adjective to use. The mount as is can be roughly polar aligned to allow you to track your targets in the eyepiece by using the slow motion cables. It would also benefit from adding some additional weight to the tripod. You could place the weight(s) on the eyepiece tray or fit a hook on the underside of the tripod and hang the weight(s). If you decide after a while that you want to upgrade your equipment then the mount should be one of the first things to upgrade. Good luck   

   Ian 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I had a similar mount and telescope (4.5" f=500 Newtonian, now refurbished as mini-Dob). The mount isn't that stable, but after changing the aluminium legs with home-made hardwood legs, it was a lot better.  More details here:

 

I ultimately ditched the mount (which I didn't really need, as I had a perfectly serviceable Great Polaris mount), and put a mini-giro manual alt-az mount on it

[Trippelforge]

12 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Junk is a rather strong adjective to use. The mount as is can be roughly polar aligned to allow you to track your targets in the eyepiece by using the slow motion cables. It would also benefit from adding some additional weight to the tripod. You could place the weight(s) on the eyepiece tray or fit a hook on the underside of the tripod and hang the weight(s). If you decide after a while that you want to upgrade your equipment then the mount should be one of the first things to upgrade. Good luck   

   Ian 

Ya maybe junk wass a bit strong, I just had a similar one years ago and didn't exactly have a great experience with it. The entire setup though almost killed the hobby for me. lol

[Elp]

Looks like an eq2 variant class mount. Okay for visual I guess but the tripod is the weak point, those sort vibrate like it's in fashion.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @CocoBungoClub and welcome to SGL. 

As already mentioned by other SGL'ers, it is an EQ2. We all at some point started of with them when we started and then upgraded to something better. Mine was upgraded to the Vixen GP... I now use alt-az mounts.

[vlaiv]

2 hours ago, CocoBungoClub said:

What type is it if you know, eq1,eq2, eq3? 

That looks like something called EQ3-1 mount by TS in Germany.

I'm not 100% convinced it is equivalent of SkyWatcher Eq3 mount, but I'm certain it's not EQ2 mount either.

This is what EQ2 by SkyWatcher looks like:

It is much slimmer and does not have dove tail connection at the top (no clamp for vixen type dovetail).

EQ3 class mount has it.

Here is image of EQ3-1 mount by TS:

[Marvin Jenkins]

Going to add my photo of what I thought was an EQ2.

Mine is an Orion USA that was bought as a bundle with a five inch newt. 
The 5” newt is now my grab and go outfit on an AZ5.

I tried to make this tripod and head work. Filled the legs with dry sand, shimmed all the pivot points, but it seems the wobble is in the mount itself.

I am going to mount a box on mine to house my laptop. The “thing” will set next to my imaging rig.

As an equatorial mount it is very bad. It cannot take much of a payload that makes it worthwhile. EQs are  primarily for AP and this just isn’t sufficient.

As a beginner mount it served me well. However that old adage about no mount no scope has not gone away.

Marv

[Marvin Jenkins]

[vlaiv]

@Marvin Jenkins

Yes, that certainly looks like EQ2 mount.

It does not have dove tail clamp but rather integrated dove tail that will just accept rings directly.

It also has that very distinct declination gauge that sort of sticks out from DEC axis.

Mount in original image - looks much more like this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002335961470.html

(it is listed as EQ3 class mount)

[PeterStudz]

Looks like an EQ2 variant. There’s a similar one with a slightly larger OTA on Amazon (or it was)…

Konus Konusmotor-130 130/1000 Newtonian Telescope https://amzn.eu/d/diLh9Vd
 

The mount looks identical. The little motor drive in the picture is the like the one you can buy for an EQ1/EQ2.

And over £500 - That’s a rip-off!

[Alan64]

The mount is similar to this one...

https://explorescientificusa.com/collections/equatorial-alt-azimuth-mounts/products/exos-nano-mount-fl-exosnanot1-00

Although it's not quite up to an EQ3-2, or a CG-4.  A 130P-DS is heavier than a 130P, certainly than those offered on go-to mounts.

You don't want to extend the legs of the tripod, like this...

Leave them retracted instead...

The equatorial mount-head can be easily transformed into an alt-azimuth, and back again.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Alan64

[AstroMuni]

On 30/11/2022 at 18:19, bosun21 said:

Junk is a rather strong adjective to use. The mount as is can be roughly polar aligned to allow you to track your targets in the eyepiece by using the slow motion cables. It would also benefit from adding some additional weight to the tripod. You could place the weight(s) on the eyepiece tray or fit a hook on the underside of the tripod and hang the weight(s). If you decide after a while that you want to upgrade your equipment then the mount should be one of the first things to upgrade. Good luck   

   Ian 

+1 from me.....I had a similar mount from Celestron and used to hang milk bottles filled with water from the central part of the mount. The plastic tray is quite flimsy on mine, so didnt want to risk breaking it.

[mark RD]

That is a Seben ET8 mount, Its about the size of a EQ3 but no where near as good. There is a lot of plastic parts inside which really should be metal.  and it also uses a 12mm Stainless steel rod

similar to the EQ1 mount which is held in place with plastic bushings. The clutch is also made from plastic so you cant really lock it in place too well.

I have the same mount and am currently machining the plastic parts with metel parts and to tighter tolerances in the hope to improve the mount a bit.

They used to be green but they changed to colour to black. I am not sure if Konus bought up Seben but they also supplied there scopes with the same mount as Seben used to

Its payload would be 5Kg going by the big boss scope they used to supply it with but been realistic its nearer to 3.0kg

Its barely on par with an EQ2 even though its about the size of an EQ3

 

Hope this helps.