3841 replies to this topic

[Gavster]

This new mount has just been delivered to me today. First impressions as an easy to use grab and go goto mount are positive. Im using a gitzo tripod rather than the one supplied with it to add stability. However it's raining here so I can't test it properly unfortunately. Seems to support my Tak FC100DF nicely though.

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Edited by Gavster, 02 August 2017 - 04:04 PM.

[skyward_eyes]

Surprised to see one in the wild already. This is our new branding as well. 

[Gavster]

Surprised to see one in the wild already. This is our new branding as well. 

It's just hit UK dealers this week. Just been having a play with the synscan app - very nice!

Do you know if it's possible to change the dovetail clamp on the mount - there is a cover stopping access to the attachment screws so I've decided not to muck around with it so far?

Edited by Gavster, 03 August 2017 - 03:05 AM.

[skyward_eyes]

I believe it attaches on the inside of the mount. These will mostly likely be coming to the US in the future. 

[tony_spina]

I believe it attaches on the inside of the mount. These will mostly likely be coming to the US in the future. 

What is the weight capacity?

[Gavster]

Specified as 5kg with the light tripod supplied with the mount. Using a sturdier photo tripod I think it will be more.

[junomike]

One thing Skywatcher got right was mounting the Saddle on the outside (as to not interfere with the OTA while nearing Zenith).

[cptbobrfh]

Surprised to see one in the wild already. This is our new branding as well. 

Will this go-to mount be able to be used for daytime solar viewing? Can you " select and go to" the sun and track?

Thank you,

Bob

[Gavster]

Yes it does solar tracking

[skyward_eyes]

Yes, it will have solar available. As long as you have the 4.39 firmware or higher there is a solar track option. 

[ewave]

can the saddle be replaced with a different 3rd party one?

[tony_spina]

When will the USA get this mount?

[dwmedic]

The US needs this one and the SkyWatcher AZ Pronto.

[skyward_eyes]

Hopefully later this year for the AZ-GTi. We have a Pronto sample as well but a decision has not been made on that.

Edited by skyward_eyes, 07 August 2017 - 09:12 AM.

[BigwingsUK]

Hi Guys, My first post ....

I have this mount and I really do like it. I find it very accurate if you spend a little time with centering target stars well during the align and its a pleasure to bounce round the items local to where your looking just by selecting them on the app which works well. Some folks don't think the tripod is very good but I have no problems with it. I find it manages my SW Mak 127 very well.

 

The biggest problem I have at the moment is you chaps sending all your cloud over the pond on the jet stream .

 

There is a problem with the pier extension that is supplied with this mount in the UK and that is that you can apply enough torque when turning the scope with the clutches off to move the top joint of the pier round , thus loosing alignment. You really have to nip the little black screws in tight.

With the AZ clutch off the friction in the clutch is still quite high which is OK for moving to a new area of sky quickly but its to stiff and jerky to use to manually track anything in AZ.

Clear Skies

Mike

[Sard]

Interesting mount.  Any plans for a single saddle mount like this with payload closer to the AZ-EQ5/6 or is that too many products for too small a market?

[jay.i]

Daaaang! I like the look of this thing. If it can truly handle around 11lbs then it should be a perfect choice for 100mm refractors and smaller. It just so happens I'm in the market for something just like this... might have to order it internationally if it doesn't hit the US soon! I would also be interested in a version of this that supports up to 20-25lbs but I imagine it would be quite a bit more expensive.

Edited by yokken, 23 August 2017 - 09:09 AM.

[Gavster]

I've been using this mount regularly for a month now and am very happy with it. I use a gitzo tripod instead of the standard tripod and it handles my 100mm Tak with 2lb eyepieces comfortably even at 200x magnification.

 

Tracking and goto are accurate and it's already enabled me to find objects I haven't viewed before such as Neptune and the snowball pn and several galaxies.

 

Because of the pier issue mentioned earlier I only use this in goto mode not manually and thus avoid this issue completely. Two small issues I have are that the dovetail clamp can't be replaced with something more sturdy (but Tak is fine with standard one, just annoying it marks the dovetail bar) and link with sky safari not great in that you need two iPhones - one running synscan and one running sky safari in order to use sky safari as the goto controller.  But I find I just tend to use synscan only.

 

 

In summary, I think it's great value and has really changed my approach to observing. Best new Astro release of the year imo.

Edited by Gavster, 31 August 2017 - 01:12 PM.

[skyward_eyes]

Now that the eclipse craze is gone we are getting back into normal operating mode. With that being said we can focus on bringing in the AZ-GTi as well as a few others items. 

 

More coming soon. 

[Whichwayisnorth]

I would really like to see something from Skywatcher in the AZ genre that can support up to a 160mm refractor with smooth tracking and fine movement controls.

[jay.i]

I would really like to see something from Skywatcher in the AZ genre that can support up to a 160mm refractor with smooth tracking and fine movement controls.

Yuuuuuuuup. But, at that weight class you might as well just get a Sirius Pro/Atlas Pro. I feel like a ~25-30lb tracking AZ-only mount would be more likely. I would almost definitely pay the better part of a grand for that if it could be manually moved with clutches in addition to the tracking. Some encoders would be pretty sweet too. So, I suppose what I really want, is a smoother, cheaper, AZ-only Sirius Pro/AZ-EQ5. My Atlas Pro does AZ well but even with near perfect azimuth balance, it's nowhere near as smooth as I'd like, and it's quite heavy - definitely not grab and go. A mid-sized tracking AZ mount for under a grand would be awesome, that's for sure.

Edited by yokken, 31 August 2017 - 05:58 PM.

[skyward_eyes]

We will see what we can do. For now the AZ-GTi will the main focus for now.

[jay.i]

Makes sense. Any word on when we might see it in the US?

[Traveler]

Nice mount. Two questions.

What about the noise (if any) when the mount slews to an object?

Is it posible to use this mount as a push to mount as well? (like mounts with skycommander/Argo Navis DSC's)

[Gavster]

There is some noise as the mount slews to a new object but it reasonably quiet and not an issue imo. When tracking an object it's very quiet.
You can do push to but you have to be careful not to unscrew the pier as mentioned on a previous message. For this reason I just use the iPhone controls.