Mini Report of My Ritchey Cretien First Light! ( M13 Image/hardly Post processed yet! )

[wimvb]

@wesdon1 the eq6-r is an excellent mount, but heavy if you have to set up for every session. I have one in my observatory ( belongs to a friend who uses it for remote imaging). It has a belt drive, where there is only backlash in the worm gear. An eq5 with spur gears and worm gear, has backlash in several places. I’ve done a belt mod on an eq5 and it did wonders for the tracking performance. A belt mod is an easy upgrade.

[wesdon1]

5 minutes ago, wimvb said:

@wesdon1 the eq6-r is an excellent mount, but heavy if you have to set up for every session. I have one in my observatory ( belongs to a friend who uses it for remote imaging). It has a belt drive, where there is only backlash in the worm gear. An eq5 with spur gears and worm gear, has backlash in several places. I’ve done a belt mod on an eq5 and it did wonders for the tracking performance. A belt mod is an easy upgrade.

@wimvb Yes the weight will be challenging for me particularly so because I have to haul all my gear downstairs/upstairs from 2nd floor flat into gardens, for every astro session! Maybe I might be better sticking with the HEQ5 and just belt mod it? I'll have to think it over during the coming months!

[wimvb]

4 hours ago, wesdon1 said:

gear downstairs/upstairs from 2nd floor flat

The EQ6-R is definitely not suited for this. If you’re fit you can carry an heq5 with a smaller refractor on top. In your case, investing in a harmonic drive mount makes more sense. They’re lighter and you probably won’t need counterweights. But if you just want better performance and save money, go with the belt mod.

[bosun21]

On 15/07/2024 at 11:49, wesdon1 said:

@wimvb Yes the weight will be challenging for me particularly so because I have to haul all my gear downstairs/upstairs from 2nd floor flat into gardens, for every astro session! Maybe I might be better sticking with the HEQ5 and just belt mod it? I'll have to think it over during the coming months!

Yes the EQ6R pro is definitely a heavy mount. I recently bought a AZ-EQ6 which is very similar to the EQ6R pro. I have to set up/break down for each session and with the additional pier extension fitted to accommodate my 120ED refractor, it definitely provides a work out for me. I had the HEQ5 before this which had the Rowan belt mod fitted. The belt mod helps with backlash as well as being quieter. If I were you i would consider this mod as it's easy to fit and considerably cheaper than a new EQ6R Pro.