Choosing the right mount

[Dave scutt]

Which mount would you recommend for a skywatcher 100 ed.

I do visual only , I would like , easy to use , portability and less vibrations as possible.

I was looking at this.

Dave

[Elp]

AZ4 or 5 get used a lot by people. I think vibrations have more to do with the tripod rather than the mount head, I don't particularly like those extrusion type tripods as per in the image, not worth it in my experience. I prefer CF tripods with thick sturdy legs. Wood and thick steel are also good.

[Louis D]

Heavy duty aluminum photo tripods also work very well.  They can be had used for very reasonable prices.

The long arm mounts tend to vibrate more because of the length of the lever arm.  It acts a bit like a tuning fork.  It can also twist along its length.

Mounts with the clamp close to the azimuth axis tend to be the most stable.  Something like DiscMounts DM-6 is very stable, especially on a hardwood tripod:

[John]

I have owned a couple of the AZ-4 mounts. They would work OK with a 100ED but not on the aluminium tripod that is supplied with the one in your post. The steel legged tripod would be a much better choice for that scope. I used my AZ-4's with a 102mm ED F/6.5 which is around the same weight as the ED100 but has a shorter tube - shorter tubes create less stress on both the mount and the tripod.

Even with an AZ-4 on the steel tripod there would still be some vibrations when using higher magnifications (say 150x plus). Something like the Skytee II would be more stable but those are both heavier and more expensive.

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have the AZ4-2 mount with tubular steel-legged tripod (same tripod as the EQ5).  It's a basic mount but very rigid.

[Zermelo]

I agree with the comments above. You will be better off with a decent steel tripod.

FLO sell the AZ4 combined with the 1.75" steel tripod:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/skywatcher-az4-alt-az-mount.html
 

If that's too expensive, they do come up second hand, or sometimes reduced returns on FLO.

[Ratlet]

I would steer clear of the AZ5 for what you are looking at.  It is very much wobbly bob at anything apart from low power.

From my experience over mounting an az5 it depends very much on the scope and the tripod as @Elp said.  With my 130pds it's okay, but the similar weight 102ed it vibrates too much for my liking at anything over 80-100x.

Might have to pick up that az4 though.  No need for the tripod, but those legs look like a fast track to a parallelogram mount to me, but realistically it's the skyt2 that'll be next.

Edited June 22 by Ratlet

[Elp]

I use a Tecnosky Cubo, it's a solid lump of zinc (I think), absolutely no chance of flex with it.

[Dave scutt]

Would this mount be better 

[Tiny Clanger]

3 minutes ago, Dave scutt said:

Would this mount be better 

The Castor works far better with a 102 f7 'frac for me than my AZ5 does. No slo mo, and I have to be aware at high alt. to shift the tripod legs so the OTA doesn't clash with them. I bought my Castor used, it came with a second clamp & counterweight bar, but I don't often use a counterweight, because while it gives some improvement in az smoothness I don't feel the need for grab & go purposes. On the odd occasion when I do add a weight it goes in the second clamp (with a home bodged wooden wedge countersunk bolted to the weight) or in the form of my 72ED !

Because I want this to be the most portable 100mm grab & go possible for a lazy person (me), I have the setup on a carbon fibre tripod*, which makes the tripod/Castor combo come in at under 4kg. It works very well for me, is light and compact enough to carry out in one go, capable of extending high enough to use standing up when needed, and is easy to close the tripod down and lay the whole thing across the back set of the car for a speedy nip out to a darker site.

For me the inevitable vibrations are not noticeable below 100x mag. and perfectly acceptable up to around 140x . If I find conditions look like they will allow higher mag than that, I'll take my 127 mak out, which works fine on an AZ5 (on a metal photo tripod) as the slo mos come in useful and the mak's short OTA does not provoke horrible vibrations on the AZ5 as the longer 'frac does.

 

 

* one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/INNOREL-ST324CF-Professional-13-158cm-Upgraded/dp/B08F2GJ8D6 I much prefer lever locks to collar locks on tripods, there are many very similar tripods available, but that's the only one I could find with levers. Others with collar locks may be cheaper, it's the 32mm largest tube diameter that's important,  another £100 or so and a beefier but hardly much heavier cf tripod would be even steadier.

[Elp]

The Innorels are good, I've got two and offer similar performance to my Berlebach Uni.

[Ratlet]

1 minute ago, Elp said:

The Innorels are good, I've got two and offer similar performance to my Berlebach Uni.

I'm also an innorel user.  Works really well, but more wobbly than a Steel tripod, but I think it weights about the same as a steel tripod leg.

[Elp]

11 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

I'm also an innorel user.  Works really well, but more wobbly than a Steel tripod, but I think it weights about the same as a steel tripod leg.

Which version have you got, and do you only use it as is or extend once?

[RT65CB-SWL]

Maybe one of these… 

[left] AOK-AYO [right] Tele-Optic Giro.

[Dave scutt]

I purchased a sightron mount.

My next question is I'm going to need an extension pillar , would a skywatcher az 5 Piller be stable enough.

[Naughty Neal]

A nice used vixen/celestron  SP /GP  in Green /or Black supported by a nice bit of wood.  ,  use them in EQ or  azimuth mode.   

Buttery smooth gearing and quality 40 yr old workmanship.