74 replies to this topic

[skyward_eyes]

Introducing the highly anticipated Sky-Watcher Wave series of strain-wave mounts.

 

The Wave series consists of two mounts, the Wave 100i and Wave 150i. Both mounts share features as well as have their own unique offerings. 

 

These mounts will be shipping late summer but can be pre-ordered through your favorite dealer. More details on accessories will come to the website other the next few days.  

 

Shared Features:

• AZ/EQ modes 
• WiFi and Bluetooth for wireless control 
• D/V mounting saddles 
• 10 degrees per second slew rate
• Compatible with SynScan hand controller for visual and easy field work
• EQMOD compatible
• Homing sensors on RA and Dec axis

Optional Accessories:

• Carbon Fiber tripod
• Stainless steel counter weight kit
• Pier extension
• We will also be offering heavy duty rolled steel tripods in the future to maximize the payload.

Wave 100i Specifications:

• Payload: 22 pounds w/o counter weight & 33 pounds with counter weights
• Head Weight: 9.5 pounds
• Includes secondary saddle for side by side configuration

Wave 150i Specifications:

• Payload: 33 pounds w/o counter weight & 55 pounds with counter weights
• Head Weight: 12.8 pounds
• Includes cable management system feature USB, guider port and 12v power ports in the saddle plate 
• Dec and RA balance clutches. These clutches provide a small amount of movement in each axis to allow you to balance the mount's payload. 

 

 

 

[Glutch]

The ability to balance the OTA and thru the mount power and USB connections are outstanding features. 

[hyiger]

Wonder what the prices will be compared to the AM5, AM3 and iOptron offerings?

[OneSky]

Does "EQmod compatible" mean it will or should work with the ASIAir Plus for those countless people who already have one but who have not yet jumped on the strain wave train?

[skyward_eyes]

I have already tested them with an ASI Air and it does move the mount and talk to it just like any of our other mounts do. It is no different than an EQ6-R or HEQ5 to the ASi Air. You just need an EQMOD cable.

Does "EQmod compatible" mean it will or should work with the ASIAir Plus for those countless people who already have one but who have not yet jumped on the strain wave train?

[skyward_eyes]

Prices are on the webpage if you click the links, but for a quick reference:

• Wave 100i head: $1695
• Wave 150i head: $2195

The accessory webpages will be listed shortly. Trying to get back online as our team has been travel for the eclipse and NEAF so the last few weeks have been a lot. 

 

Wonder what the prices will be compared to the AM5, AM3 and iOptron offerings?

[OneSky]

I have already tested them with an ASI Air and it does move the mount and talk to it just like any of our other mounts do. It is no different than an EQ6-R or HEQ5 to the ASi Air. You just need an EQMOD cable.

Thanks for the info; it's good news. I'm still getting great imaging and EAA use out of my AZ-GTi with Sky-Watcher wedge and EQ mod v3.4, but the new 100i would be a significant upgrade (and I can still use the AZ-GTi with my other scope(s).

[RonCo]

Will it connect natively to SkySafari (and other apps) or will it require Synscan? The latter is a deal breaker for me.

[skyward_eyes]

Will it connect natively to SkySafari (and other apps) or will it require Synscan? The latter is a deal breaker for me.

As with all our WiFi devices you need to use the SynScan Pro app to initialize the mounts and align them. Once that basic set up has been done you can open Sky-Safari and run it with our app in the back ground.

[Jim Waters]

I am interested in the PEC for both

[skyward_eyes]

I am interested in the PEC for both

I don't have them here with me currently. But I should have them soon to run them through their paces in the field. 

[Jim Waters]

I don't have them here with me currently. But I should have them soon to run them through their paces in the field. 

Great... Looking forward to seeing the results.

[jrsm]

If it has built in USB, why would you use an eqmod cable.  You don't need one with the AZ-EQ 5.  I use a standard usb A to B cable for mine and it has not had a problem for as long as I have had it.

[skyward_eyes]

If it has built in USB, why would you use an eqmod cable. You don't need one with the AZ-EQ 5. I use a standard usb A to B cable for mine and it has not had a problem for as long as I have had it.

You can use the built-in USB-B. I find the EQMOD cables with serial connect provide a better and more rebut connection than USB.

[erictheastrojunkie]

Is the USB connection on the saddle for connecting the mount to a PC/ASIAir? Or is it just USB pass through? Would be nice to have a mount where the USB connection on the saddle is for connecting the mount to a computer/ASIAir ON the telescope, which is vastly better for cable management. Nice having power output on the saddle, only other cool feature that would be nice to have is a saddle/mount pass through hole so cables could be routed through the mount (like an ethernet cable and/or USB cable from the mount up to a controller mounted on the telescope). 

 

Can the mount connect to an ASIAir via wifi (preferably without the hand controller)? One of the reasons I've never been interested in the AM5 or iOptron mounts is because you need the hand controller to connect USB or wirelessly to an ASIAir, which is utterly pointless and extra stuff that has to be hanging around. I don't know why these new harmonic mounts have had absolutely zero thought put towards cable management while iOptron/Sky Watcher has done a pretty solid job with equatorial mounts designed with cable management in mind over the last several years. Power/USB OUTPUT on the saddle is a huge way you can eliminate cables dangling around. 

[aabusara]

This looks great. Really great competetive pricing too given the features. Really interesting to see how they perform. 

[skyward_eyes]

Is the USB connection on the saddle for connecting the mount to a PC/ASIAir? Or is it just USB pass through? Would be nice to have a mount where the USB connection on the saddle is for connecting the mount to a computer/ASIAir ON the telescope, which is vastly better for cable management. Nice having power output on the saddle, only other cool feature that would be nice to have is a saddle/mount pass through hole so cables could be routed through the mount (like an ethernet cable and/or USB cable from the mount up to a controller mounted on the telescope). 

 

Can the mount connect to an ASIAir via wifi (preferably without the hand controller)? One of the reasons I've never been interested in the AM5 or iOptron mounts is because you need the hand controller to connect USB or wirelessly to an ASIAir, which is utterly pointless and extra stuff that has to be hanging around. I don't know why these new harmonic mounts have had absolutely zero thought put towards cable management while iOptron/Sky Watcher has done a pretty solid job with equatorial mounts designed with cable management in mind over the last several years. Power/USB OUTPUT on the saddle is a huge way you can eliminate cables dangling around. 

The saddle hubs are pass throughs. The hub features two 2.1mm power ports, USB-A and the guide port. The other end of the pass throughs are on the back RA panel. This allows you to connect various accessories to the Dec ports rather than having them dangle down. 

 

Being that these mounts are so small with so much packed inside them it leave very little room for routing for owners to pass through their own cabling. We do what we can but there is only so much you can do when trying to keep mounts compact. 

 

No, you cannot connect to the ASI Air wirelessly. You have to do it with EQMOD or a USB-B cable. 

[Jlex]

With all the issues that I've experienced with two Gti mounts....well, I'll stop here.

[skyward_eyes]

With all the issues that I've experienced with two Gti mounts....well, I'll stop here.

I am sorry you had issues with our mounts but what is the point of making such a comment then?

[erictheastrojunkie]

The saddle hubs are pass throughs. The hub features two 2.1mm power ports, USB-A and the guide port. The other end of the pass throughs are on the back RA panel. This allows you to connect various accessories to the Dec ports rather than having them dangle down. 

 

Being that these mounts are so small with so much packed inside them it leave very little room for routing for owners to pass through their own cabling. We do what we can but there is only so much you can do when trying to keep mounts compact. 

 

No, you cannot connect to the ASI Air wirelessly. You have to do it with EQMOD or a USB-B cable. 

Good to know, I really wish mount manufacturers would move the mount USB connection (or add one) to the saddle. I get that not everyone mounts their mini-PC or ASIAir on their scope, but for real cable management it is far better to have it mounted to the scope so you can keep the vast majority of your cables short and not dangling in the wind. If the mounts are being so shrunk down so much with no spare room at all for cable pass throughs then it's in their best interest (for mount performance) to have cable management neat and tidy, having the mount to controller USB connection on the saddle rather than the rear of the mount would mean no cable possibly interfering with RA or DEC or causing any kind of drag. As it stands with our 130 refractor and 6" Newt setups on pier mounted GEM45 and CEM40 mounts we don't have any cables longer than ~18" (and the only long one is the mount to ASIAir USB cable which runs through each mount). The power cable is run from the saddle of each mount to the Air's, is only ~8", then each cable to the cameras, EAF's, EFW's, guide cams, etc is only 4-8". Nothing is dangling, the ethernet cables run through the mount/saddle up to the Air with the mount USB cable as well. 

 

Wifi is more of a travel luxury vs something I'd ever really use, but that would be nice for some people I would imagine. I've been running my AZ-GTi to an ASIAir via wifi for a long time, guiding over it very well also, so I know Sky Watcher CAN implement that feature. 

[aabusara]

Good to know, I really wish mount manufacturers would move the mount USB connection (or add one) to the saddle. I get that not everyone mounts their mini-PC or ASIAir on their scope, but for real cable management it is far better to have it mounted to the scope so you can keep the vast majority of your cables short and not dangling in the wind. If the mounts are being so shrunk down so much with no spare room at all for cable pass throughs then it's in their best interest (for mount performance) to have cable management neat and tidy, having the mount to controller USB connection on the saddle rather than the rear of the mount would mean no cable possibly interfering with RA or DEC or causing any kind of drag. As it stands with our 130 refractor and 6" Newt setups on pier mounted GEM45 and CEM40 mounts we don't have any cables longer than ~18" (and the only long one is the mount to ASIAir USB cable which runs through each mount). The power cable is run from the saddle of each mount to the Air's, is only ~8", then each cable to the cameras, EAF's, EFW's, guide cams, etc is only 4-8". Nothing is dangling, the ethernet cables run through the mount/saddle up to the Air with the mount USB cable as well. 

 

Wifi is more of a travel luxury vs something I'd ever really use, but that would be nice for some people I would imagine. I've been running my AZ-GTi to an ASIAir via wifi for a long time, guiding over it very well also, so I know Sky Watcher CAN implement that feature. 

 

I agree completely with this. The iOptron HAE69ec (C version) does exactly that. They have a USB-C port on the Saddle for direct mount control, in addition to one 3A DC output port. It is a really nice feature. I hope Skywatcher does that with hopefully with their eventual heavy payload harmonic mount (70lbs+).

Edited by aabusara, 25 April 2024 - 01:00 PM.

[Glutch]

What would be a good tripod to use with the Wave 150i that was a bit sturdier than the Carbon Fiber tripod. 

[Jlex]

I am sorry you had issues with our mounts but what is the point of making such a comment then?

The point of the comment is that I fear that I'll get another "I am sorry you had issues with our mounts".  Perhaps this isn't the right thread for my comment but it's a fair comment despite it's placement.   

 

As a potential buyer, I was hoping to hear that a different manufacturer is on board with these, hoping to hear these clutches are better, just anything that addresses the quality.  I'd also be interested in an honest review or test data from someone that has used either mount in a long term test that spans more than a couple hours or a few nights.  I'd like to see 100 hour test data.  

 

Will these have the traditional 2 year warranty?  

 

I'm also sorry that I've had issues however, I've always been a public advocate of Sky Watcher's customer service, I'm very appreciative how quick problems are corrected, thank you for that.  

[skyward_eyes]

What would be a good tripod to use with the Wave 150i that was a bit sturdier than the Carbon Fiber tripod. 

We will have adapters to mount the Wave mounts to some of our steel tripods. The Wave 150i will have an optional extension that will mount it to the EQ6-R's tripod. We hope to have more details soon. 

[skyward_eyes]

The point of the comment is that I fear that I'll get another "I am sorry you had issues with our mounts".  Perhaps this isn't the right thread for my comment but it's a fair comment despite it's placement.   

 

As a potential buyer, I was hoping to hear that a different manufacturer is on board with these, hoping to hear these clutches are better, just anything that addresses the quality.  I'd also be interested in an honest review or test data from someone that has used either mount in a long term test that spans more than a couple hours or a few nights.  I'd like to see 100 hour test data.  

 

Will these have the traditional 2 year warranty?  

 

I'm also sorry that I've had issues however, I've always been a public advocate of Sky Watcher's customer service, I'm very appreciative how quick problems are corrected, thank you for that.  

As they mounts start shipping I am sure you will see reviews come out and provide the data you are looking for. 

 

All Sky-Watcher product in North America has a two year warranty when purchased from an authorized dealer.