191 replies to this topic

[Hypoxic]

_{Alright... I admit it... I went ahead and purchased the William Optics vixen base for the Skyguider Pro.} 

 

_{For those wondering: It’s a huuuuuuuuuuge improvement over the original base; super solid and ultra precise. I’ve had no problems whatsoever obtaining a good polar alignment and keeping it. No more losing my alignment after locking the base down. The original version has a nasty habit of kicking the alignment off when locking it down. That was, personally, my final straw, I couldn’t get it to stop doing it. I was a wasting my time when setting up, correcting what I had already accomplished.}

[PhilipPeake]

Ha! I think you just cost me money.

 

I don't have the cash free right now, but since your experience lines up with my expectations, I think I am going to have to go this way too as soon as I can free up some $$$$.

[DanielJStein]

_{Alright... I admit it... I went ahead and purchased the William Optics vixen base for the Skyguider Pro.} 

 

_{For those wondering: It’s a huuuuuuuuuuge improvement over the original base; super solid and ultra precise. I’ve had no problems whatsoever obtaining a good polar alignment and keeping it. No more losing my alignment after locking the base down. The original version has a nasty habit of kicking the alignment off when locking it down. That was, personally, my final straw, I couldn’t get it to stop doing it. I was a wasting my time when setting up, correcting what I had already accomplished.}

I was thinking about buying this base, and I think you are sealing the deal for me. Is it that much bigger and bulkier than the original base? I ask because I take my SGP hiking to remote locations and every ounce counts!

[tkottary]

Yes this is big and much heavier than the skywatcher or ioptron wedge . Solid wedge , polar alignment doesn’t move when you tighten the knobs. About hiking I would not take it ,ymmv.

[DanielJStein]

Yes this is big and much heavier than the skywatcher or ioptron wedge . Solid wedge , polar alignment doesn’t move when you tighten the knobs. About hiking I would not take it ,ymmv.

Welp this is the answer I needed, but unfortunately did not want to hear! Maybe I will get it for when I am using my SGP just beside my car, but it does not sound like the ideal thing to take up a trail.

[PhilipPeake]

The big problem is that it doesn't seem to be in stock anywhere in the US.

[PhilipPeake]

Found one ... bending the CC a bit more ...

[PhilipPeake]

My Williams Optics wedge finally arrived ... had to be ordered by the distributor.

It really is a big improvement on the Ioptron base provided.

 

For anyone that finds their out-of-box base to be not quite up to it (they seem to be variable, some not so bad, others a bit of a pain), one of these will fix your problems.

 

A bit heavier that the Ioptron (metal vs plastic...), but that aside it’s all positive.

[1alecu]

I had Willian Optics wedge and returned it. They made a mistake on the location of the altitude arrow and they wanted to send me a sticker to attach on top of the wrong arrow. Are you kidding me? I paid $200 to have a sticker on the wedge? No thank you. So I end up buying the wedge from skywatcher. Positve review from Peter Zelenka. I will let you guys how it goes with the new wedge.

[vidrazor]

I had Willian Optics wedge and returned it. They made a mistake on the location of the altitude arrow and they wanted to send me a sticker to attach on top of the wrong arrow. Are you kidding me? I paid $200 to have a sticker on the wedge? No thank you. So I end up buying the wedge from skywatcher. Positve review from Peter Zelenka. I will let you guys how it goes with the new wedge.

I've heard the SkyWatcher unit isn't much better than the iOptron mount, so I'd be curious to hear how you like it in comparison to the iOptron mount, which is pretty bad.

I think it comes down to anything is better than the iOptron mount LOL!

Edited by vidrazor, 01 August 2019 - 08:48 AM.

[DanielJStein]

I've heard the SkyWatcher unit isn't much better than the iOptron mount, so I'd be curious to hear how you like it in comparison to the iOptron mount, which is pretty bad.

I think it comes down to anything is better than the iOptron mount LOL!

This is what I thought as well. The SWSA wedge is better than the SGP, but not by much. For what it is worth, the WO Wedge should have been the solution, but manufacturing defects can happen with any product. 

 

What matters most I think with this is real world use. I have used the SWSA wedge and found it only to be a little bit better than the SGP, but I think mileage may vary here. Just have to wait for my WO base and see how that goes. 

[PhilipPeake]

I had Willian Optics wedge and returned it. They made a mistake on the location of the altitude arrow and they wanted to send me a sticker to attach on top of the wrong arrow. Are you kidding me? I paid $200 to have a sticker on the wedge? No thank you. So I end up buying the wedge from skywatcher. Positve review from Peter Zelenka. I will let you guys how it goes with the new wedge.

That's interesting. I wonder if that might be why none of the dealers have them in stock?

They all show backorder -- except the guys I ordered from, who forgot to mention the backorder part on their website!

 

I will have to remember to check the actual angle. No sticker on it :-)

 

It is a bit spendy, but does appear very well made, which is what I was looking for. I was not really that impressed with the iOptron wedge ... it works, but its would be a bit of a stretch to call it smooth in operation, and I mostly stopped trying to tighten up the locks much because things shift when I do that.

 

Haven't had chance to try it out yet. Maybe this weekend.

[vidrazor]

That's interesting. I wonder if that might be why none of the dealers have them in stock?

They all show backorder -- except the guys I ordered from, who forgot to mention the backorder part on their website!

What supplier has the wedge in stock?

[1alecu]

The SkyWatcher wedge is nice. It is all metal, I could not feel any play. It has the same problem as WO wedge: the bottom plate is flat and the 3/8" to 1/4" adapter doesn't go flat to the bottom. This is not a problem for me because I have a drill press and I can fix it. It was more of a disappointment for WO than is from SW. Afterall WO is 3 times more expensive then SW. The original iOptron wedge doesn't have this problem; the bottom plate has ribs in a shape of bullseye. I will take it out for a spin tonight but so far, I am happier with SW wedge than WO wedge. It is sturdy and precise. It is comparable in terms of quality with WO but no comparison with the iOptron crap.

 

One other thing: you need a hex key (provided by SW) to have it with you in order to tie the 2 screws attached to the bottom plate. Some people may find this annoying. I don't. I have a set of hex keys anyway.

 

SW also provides a dovetail plate unlike WO. Not a big deal, I have a longer dovetail on my system, but it's nice that they included.

[DanielJStein]

The SkyWatcher wedge is nice. It is all metal, I could not feel any play. It has the same problem as WO wedge: the bottom plate is flat and the 3/8" to 1/4" adapter doesn't go flat to the bottom. This is not a problem for me because I have a drill press and I can fix it. It was more of a disappointment for WO than is from SW. Afterall WO is 3 times more expensive then SW. The original iOptron wedge doesn't have this problem; the bottom plate has ribs in a shape of bullseye. I will take it out for a spin tonight but so far, I am happier with SW wedge than WO wedge. It is sturdy and precise. It is comparable in terms of quality with WO but no comparison with the iOptron crap.

 

One other thing: you need a hex key (provided by SW) to have it with you in order to tie the 2 screws attached to the bottom plate. Some people may find this annoying. I don't. I have a set of hex keys anyway.

 

SW also provides a dovetail plate unlike WO. Not a big deal, I have a longer dovetail on my system, but it's nice that they included.

Curious to hear how it does in the real world tonight. Good luck and clear skies!

[PhilipPeake]

That's interesting. I wonder if that might be why none of the dealers have them in stock?

They all show backorder -- except the guys I ordered from, who forgot to mention the backorder part on their website!

 

I will have to remember to check the actual angle. No sticker on it :-)

 

It is a bit spendy, but does appear very well made, which is what I was looking for. I was not really that impressed with the iOptron wedge ... it works, but its would be a bit of a stretch to call it smooth in operation, and I mostly stopped trying to tighten up the locks much because things shift when I do that.

 

Haven't had chance to try it out yet. Maybe this weekend.

 

Well, I checked the angle. Looks like it is about 10 degrees out.

Annoying considering the price, but now that I know about it, I can live with it.

[PhilipPeake]

What supplier has the wedge in stock?

 

I don't know if they ordered more than just the one for me, but mine came from:

 

http://www.cameraconcepts.com/

[jerobe]

I have been considering buying the Sky Guider Pro or Star Adventurer and had pretty well decided on the Sky Guider Pro but after reading this thread I am wondering if that's the best decision. It appears that the Star Adventurer has a (much?) better base.  If the guiding accuracy and reliability in the 2 units is comparable, then the frustrations with the iOptron base may swing me back to the Star Adventurer.  It's currently advertised at a lesser cost anyway.

[vidrazor]

I have been considering buying the Sky Guider Pro or Star Adventurer and had pretty well decided on the Sky Guider Pro but after reading this thread I am wondering if that's the best decision. It appears that the Star Adventurer has a (much?) better base.  If the guiding accuracy and reliability in the 2 units is comparable, then the frustrations with the iOptron base may swing me back to the Star Adventurer.  It's currently advertised at a lesser cost anyway.

I bought the SkyGuider Pro despite knowing about this issue because the SkyGuider Pro allows you to perform polar alignment fully rigged. As far as I know you can't do that with the Star Adventurer.

[1alecu]

So last night we got together and I used SW wedge for the first time. First impression: I like it. It is solid and simple to use. What I dislike about it: I need to use a hex key on 2 screws; when I tied the side lever to block the latitude level, I can still turn the big black knob. Some may view this as an advantage (like me in the beggining) but I do not; it vibrates for a few seconds when you do the adjustments (not a big thing, but is there). The vibration could also be because I had a lot of equipment attached (Nikon D7500, Nikkor 180mm ED F2.8, Nikon TC-201 teleconverter, laser module and Nikon cage).

 

So in conclusion: will I ever use iOptron wedge? NO. This is total garbage. Will I go and buy WO wedge again? NO. At 3.5 times more expensive than SW wedge it doesn't justify the price. SW wedge is ideal for me: it's light weight and it gets the job done.

 

You cannot ask for too much from this system. A much better one would be a GEM. But that's expensive and bulky and heavy.

To track 11lbs of equipment this is what I found it works for me. We are all different so other people may find this not suitable for them.

[PhilipPeake]

I have been considering buying the Sky Guider Pro or Star Adventurer and had pretty well decided on the Sky Guider Pro but after reading this thread I am wondering if that's the best decision. It appears that the Star Adventurer has a (much?) better base.  If the guiding accuracy and reliability in the 2 units is comparable, then the frustrations with the iOptron base may swing me back to the Star Adventurer.  It's currently advertised at a lesser cost anyway.

The SGP base/wedge isn’t tooooo terrible. It’s just not up to the standard of the SGP itself. It’s usable (obviously), but not a pleasure to use. There seems to be some variability in quality, mainly, as far as I can see, in assembly. It relies on plastic washers to “pack” the upper and lower section joint. They are not easy to fit into place quickly without misalignment/distortion of the washers.

 

You can improve on this, if you feel the need, as described earlier in this thread. Basically, greasing the washer/joint and gearing.

 

As long as whatever wedge you end up with can be aligned without too much effort and is stable once aligned, it sort of doesn’t matter. I could have carried on using the original wedge, but know that there is better out there, if you are prepared to pay the price.

[jerobe]

Oh well. This morning I was just reading several recent reviews on the Star Adventurer and saw comments about quality control issues in the tracking unit itself (not the mount).  I'm going to go with my original decision, to buy the Sky Guider Pro.  If need be I can do some of the modifications to the base recommended in this thread.  Since I am currently using a 30 year old lightweight barn door tracker, the Sky Guider Pro should be a huge improvement even with a not-so-perfect base.

[vidrazor]

Oh well. This morning I was just reading several recent reviews on the Star Adventurer and saw comments about quality control issues in the tracking unit itself (not the mount).  I'm going to go with my original decision, to buy the Sky Guider Pro.  If need be I can do some of the modifications to the base recommended in this thread.  Since I am currently using a 30 year old lightweight barn door tracker, the Sky Guider Pro should be a huge improvement even with a not-so-perfect base.

As annoying as it is, you can compensate for backlash and nail Polaris where it needs to be and have all the bolts tightened down full. It takes a bit, but it can be done. No doubt the mount and scope are two important Achilles Heels, but both are addressable in one fashion or another. I'm not entirely sure, but it seems the SkyGuider Pro appears to be easier to tinker with as well.

[DanielJStein]

As annoying as it is, you can compensate for backlash and nail Polaris where it needs to be and have all the bolts tightened down full. It takes a bit, but it can be done. No doubt the mount and scope are two important Achilles Heels, but both are addressable in one fashion or another. I'm not entirely sure, but it seems the SkyGuider Pro appears to be easier to tinker with as well.

Exactly, especially given the original intentions of this topic. It is clear how much more “tinkerable” the SGP is over SWSA. But as far as performance goes on each, they are very similar with only a few key differences. I’m curious, now with all of the knowledge and how to adjust this thing (which actually came in handy just last week when I had to open my SGP and fix the belt, thanks CN members!), if anyone here has tried to swap out their polar scope with the brand new iPolar thingy.

[PhilipPeake]

As annoying as it is, you can compensate for backlash and nail Polaris where it needs to be and have all the bolts tightened down full. It takes a bit, but it can be done. No doubt the mount and scope are two important Achilles Heels, but both are addressable in one fashion or another. I'm not entirely sure, but it seems the SkyGuider Pro appears to be easier to tinker with as well.

Yep. As I think I mentioned somewhere above, my eventual solution was to just leave the locks "half tight", adjust and then just not touch. Worked for me.

After a barn door type of mounting system this is going to be night and day, and you may be lucky and get one of the better ones, but even the not so wonderful ones are not actually terrible. You just know it could be better ... if you see what I mean.

 

Out of box the SGP works very well, my suggestion is to not tinker unless you need to.