51 replies to this topic

[Supernova74]

Firstly call this a mini review i guess and the personal experiences in using the Rowan Astronomy AZ100 alt-azimuth mount which is manufactured in Great Britain which is literally a stone throw away from my location.Im not a particular follower of fashion hypothetically speaking of course! and not a fan of any particular brand or manufacturer and only review or rate a product that serves my purposes but like this thread to be truly honest with the pros and cons using the AZ100 alt-azimuth mount head which was paired with a berblach planet tripod initially and then a UNI-28 at a later stage.

 

I decided to choose a Rowan AZ100 mount for its relatively easy functionality in owning a straight forward mount that I can plonk a scope on then simply move side to side up and down which a azimuth mount is designed for in keeping things nice and simple “so you would think”

without the complexity using modern GO-TO mounts,and I did actually own a Rowan Astronomy AZ100 with the already built in encoders,and GO-TO functionality however decided to sell it on as I preferred a straightforward AZ100 without all the bells and whistles etc!.and feel it served my observing style a little better as more of a casual observer but do like to use good quality equipment.

 

So then I sold the Rowan AZ100 GO-TO relatively quickly and placed a order for the manual version instead which is the version I wanted in the first place,however went for the GO-TO initially because was within my price range at that stage being preowned.I truly understand that many amateurs not just in Great Britain use the AZ100 successfully and generally speaking are very happy with there purchase but my experiences in owning one has been a little bit of a mixed affair and is not without design flaws “in my opinion”but then again there is no such thing as perfect regardless the amounts of money you spend but being a past engineer myself maybe I’m being overly picky,but then on the other side of the coin you need to purchase all these additional accessories to make the mount work and perform correctly which should of been done in the first place in the design process “which yet remains my personal opinion”.

So back in 2023 my new AZ100 mount arrived and the packaging process is a little bit rough and ready with pieces of styrofoam stuck together with sticky tape and truly feel it wouldn’t do Rowan Astronomy any harm to design and manufacture some decent moulded styrofoam inserts of some description similar to Chinese mounts and accessories which cost a fraction of the Rowan AZ100 and feel this was a little unprofessional looking the way the mount arrived 

packaged with bits and pieces.On closer examination maybe being over picky again the black anodising showed patches which is bad in my opinion considering the price point of the mount.

And have seen superior anodising techniques with Chinese manufacturers.

 

Dont get me wrong this is a fine piece of british Craftsmanship at its best and sure looks the part and functions very smoothly but feel the design is disarray and back to front and constantly have to move and adjust counterweights accordingly so you can balance the optical tube again with the accessories you intend to use like heavier accessories like eyepieces and admittedly you are theoretically trying to balance everything on a pivot so soon as you remove and add another accessory again the whole setup is out of balance again which is very precarious and a shade dangerous all because there is no “Locking clutch” and the small friction knob serves no purpose when using a long 6” refractor telescope (a 8” or 9.25” sct cassagrain may perform and act differently as the centre of gravity is concentrated more and centralized in the middle of the mount as the tube is shorter! Regardless of the actual aperture.myself and Rowan Astronomy did have a discussion  about the mount not having a locking clutch and was decided against in the design process with a response “we felt it was not needed because the end user may forget to unlock and tighten again” which in my opinion is just crazy as nearly every mount out there on the market simply has a locking clutch while some have both with a friction knob aswell.

So sadly I ended up selling my manual Rowan Astronomy AZ100 for the second time round 

as the mount was to dangerous using with a £5000 optical tube assembly all because you couldn’t stabilize or even lock the axis firmly in place which a mount of this kind of quality and price point truly needs to use safely.I have even heard horror stories that some amateurs use belts to prevent and lock the axis in place to help prevent the OTA! doing a nose dive which is just ludicrous for a mount that runs into the thousands of pounds or dollars once you have purchased all the other accessories.

 

So sorry I might of offended some of the fans out there and this is truly not my intentions 

yes the AZ100 is a fine piece of British craftsmanship,engineering but sadly if the mount cannot be used Safely in the field and dark environment the mount definitely didn’t serve my purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[betacygni]

How does the lack of a full lock differ than any other alt/az mount on the market? I’m not familiar any that use a different arrangement than Rowan (ie a clutch that you can tighten down to near lock). I agree it would be a nice feature, (though I’ve created my own solution which works very well), but I’m not quite sure why this is all that significant in practice. I’ve been using alt/az mounts for 20+ years without the ability to fully lock their clutches, never even a close call, and this is with massively unbalanced loads no less (binoviewers).

Edited by betacygni, 08 September 2024 - 09:27 AM.

[jrazz]

Well that’s strange, my AZ100 seems to have a locking knob. It doesn’t seem to have issues holding my 30lbs TOA and certainly isn’t “dangerous”.

 

It’s plain to see that you didn’t get along with it and that’s fine. I never got along with my CGEM though many others seem to like it. However, I do wonder why post this here? It doesn’t really highlight deficiencies in the mount nor does it propose constructive mitigations for the shortcomings you perceived. 

[mondo1948]

Have you thought about adding a sliding counterweight to your telescope?    Here is a photo below  of my AT125EDL with a sliding counterweight that offers simple and accurate balancing in a few seconds.  The beauty of the sliding counterweight is that I can reach over with just my left hand, loosen the knob and slide the weight to a new position in a couple of seconds and retighten the knob with my left hand.  My right hand is therefore available for a quick check of the balance by loosening the altitude clutch and seeing if the scope is balanced..  If the balance needs further adjusting, another couple of seconds is all it takes for fine tuning.  Previously, I would loosen the rings and slide the telescope forward or backward and then had to retighten the 2 rings.  It took a lot more time and because of that, I didn't always properly balance the scope.  Now, my scope is always accurately balanced.

 

I should mention that I slid the OTA into a position so that when my lightest eyepiece is in the diagonal, the scope is balanced when the sliding counterweight is back as far as it will go.  When my heaviest eyepiece, my ES17/92, which is over 3 lbs., is in the diagonal, the scope is balanced when the sliding counterweight is all the way forward on my 14" vixen dovetail holding the weight.  Thus, all my other eyepieces are balanced somewhere is between.

 

Here's a link to where I bought the sliding counterweight...I attached a vixen style dovetail to the rings on the telescope to accommodate the sliding counterweight.

https://telescopes.n...V0aAhDGEALw_wcB

 

One other tip I can provide.....I moved my OTA to the lowest row of screws on its dovetail, rather than having it in the center of the dovetail.  This lowered the center of gravity of the scope and as a result, I barely need to tighten the alt clutch/clamp as I moved up in altitude for observing.  This accomplished exactly what the AZ100 y-balancing plate accomplishes for the AZ100, without the cost.  There are saddles that allow for moving the scope's center of gravity that work well also.  Here's one that I bought and am using and it works great.  The slotted screw holes allow for lowering the scope and the bottom row works perfectly for my AT125EDL refractor.  It amazes me to find that so many people struggle with scopes not having a locking clutch when it is not needed.  Lowering the center of gravity was/is a game changer for me.

 

http://www.supermoun...=25&GC=GD030200

 

The saddle I bought is made with 35mm standard spacing, however, my M2C mount had a different spacing at 1 1/2".  The Super Mount manufacturer made me an adapter plate for an extra $30.00, which allowed me to use their mount.  I thought that was great customer support and I'm so happy with the mount.  I returned my OTA back to the center line of the dovetail and use the Super Mount saddle to lower the center of gravity.  The reason I did this is because I couldn't get my C8's OTA to the bottom row of its dovetail successfully, so now, with the Super Mount saddle, both my AT125EDL and my C8 work perfectly and the alt clutch requires almost no tightening.

 

I hope this helps somebody,

Mondo

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by mondo1948, 08 September 2024 - 10:04 AM.

[Supernova74]

Well it’s highly unlikely I received two dodgy mounts as Derek at Rowan replaced the friction knob and not intended to act like a locking clutch which is on many other mounts regardless if it’s an EQ or Alt-azimuth mount.you are lucky then the friction knobs handled a load of 30lbs or 15kg respectively as it wasn’t intended to act like a “locking clutch” which this mount truly needs.whack a very long 6” refractor into the mix the inconsistency in keeping in balance weight from the objective lens to the diagonal end is dramatic so in my opinion a locking clutch is definitely required to use this mount safely in the feild.you add a bino-viewer into the mix aswell asoon you remove those specific accessories the scope is dramatically out of balance “so it should be” so yet again that’s why a locking clutch is definitely required.As each and every one of us uses different telescopes and accessories what works for one individual doesn’t necessarily mean it will the other.Ok the Y-axis saddle works well so does moving the small eyepieces counterweights back and forth for the inconsistency payloads which is simply needed for a azimuth mount anyway to function properly.

also to mention again using a trouser belt to hold an OTA! in place to prevent it from moving clearly suggest a locking clutch is needed to be on a safe side,it’s definitely not meant to be a neat little feature it’s a necessity.

[Supernova74]

Have you thought about adding a sliding counterweight to your telescope?    Here is a photo below  of my AT125EDL with a sliding counterweight that offers simple and accurate balancing in a few seconds.  The beauty of the sliding counterweight is that I can reach over with just my left hand, loosen the knob and slide the weight to a new position in a couple of seconds and retighten the knob with my left hand.  My right hand is therefore available for a quick check of the balance by loosening the altitude clutch and seeing if the scope is balanced..  If the balance needs further adjusting, another couple of seconds is all it takes for fine tuning.  Previously, I would loosen the rings and slide the telescope forward or backward and then had to retighten the 2 rings.  It took a lot more time and because of that, I didn't always properly balance the scope.  Now, my scope is always accurately balanced.

 

I should mention that I slid the OTA into a position so that when my lightest eyepiece is in the diagonal, the scope is balanced when the sliding counterweight is back as far as it will go.  When my heaviest eyepiece, my ES17/92, which is over 3 lbs., is in the diagonal, the scope is balanced when the sliding counterweight is all the way forward on my 14" vixen dovetail holding the weight.  Thus, all my other eyepieces are balanced somewhere is between.

 

Here's a link to where I bought the sliding counterweight...I attached a vixen style dovetail to the rings on the telescope to accommodate the sliding counterweight.

https://telescopes.n...V0aAhDGEALw_wcB

The Rowan AZ100 as an optional extra and expensive can come supplied with the eyepiece counterweight bar! and mini counterweights so acts very similarly to having an adjustable counterweight on the OTA! itself.

[Supernova74]

Well that’s strange, my AZ100 seems to have a locking knob. It doesn’t seem to have issues holding my 30lbs TOA and certainly isn’t “dangerous”.

 

It’s plain to see that you didn’t get along with it and that’s fine. I never got along with my CGEM though many others seem to like it. However, I do wonder why post this here? It doesn’t really highlight deficiencies in the mount nor does it propose constructive mitigations for the shortcomings you perceived. 

It’s not always meant to be constructive sadly just being honest from my experiences.

[swsantos]

I can only speak from my own experience...

 

Before I got the mount in 2021, before there was even a motor kit for the AZ100 when it was simply a manual mount with encoders, I spoke with Serge from Astro Devices about it and using my Nexus DSC with a potential AZ100 new mount and he told me than that it was probably the best alt-az mount in the world and that got my attention. I had been using the vererable Nova Hitch at the time which is a great mount in its own right. I originally purchased the Nova Hitch because there had been plans to add a motor kit to it as well my goal being to have the best alt-az push-to and track mount I could find. Well the motor kit for the Nova Hitch never came to be with the passing of its creator Charles Riddel so when the AZ-100 was announced with its future motor tracking plans I decided to get one. Yes I know, I took another chance on an alt-az mount with a planned motor kit, but felt that a company behind its design was a better bet that the one man operation that was Half Hitch Telescope (I still have my Nova Hitch because I can't part with it so it lives here in retirement).

 

My biggest telescopes, and for my 5'6" self observing in not the darkest skies they are big enough, an 8" Edge SCT and Televue NP127 both of which are used with heavy Televue eyepieces, 2" prism diagonal, and sometimes a Maxbright II binoviewer with Morphei eyepieces work perfectly fine on my AZ100 and I have not had any problem with balance or nosedives. Note that none of my telescopes can come in contact with any part of the mount or tripod because my riser precludes that and is why I have a riser in the first place. I do not find myself playing with the balance much at all past the initial mounting of the OTA for the night as I always balance my telescope on the X axis for each session but I keep my Y axis balance adapter set to balance everything with a 17mm Ethos in my 2" Baader prism diagonal all the time even while using the binoviewer so I almost never readjust the YAB. The altitude lock, which it is true is not a stop lock just a stronger friction lock than the altitude clutch, is more than enough to keep everything still while I make eyepiece changes, I can even remove my 2" Baader diagonal with the 17mm in it completely from my 8" SCT and let it hang there while I put the diagonal down then pick up the binoviewer and attach it. Yes I know that that's an easier lift than a 6" refractor, but in my use with my equipment the AZ100 just disappears while the telescope just floats there and I cannot imagine a better alt-az experience that the AZ100 as it is a manual mount, a push to and track mount and a go-to mount all at the same time.

 

I have asked Rowan why there is not a hard stop lock on the mount for eyepiece changes but rather a more aggressive friction lock than the clutch and was told be that hard locking the mechanism while the motors are running would not play nice and that makes sense to me. For the record my Nova Hitch also did not have a hard lock either, my DSV-2c does have a lock lever as well that also employs friction. For me and my stuff the system works fine. Before I had the YAB, I would occasionally have to also dial in some altitude clutch friction in addition to the eyepiece change lock under some circumstances, but since the YAB that is no longer necessary. Are there mounts like this with motors that have hard altitude locks? How would that work if you forgot to turn off the motors? Intuitively not as well as a friction lock being in play but I may be wrong.

 

Given that this mount is obviously being used for much heavier artillery than I am using it for, and from what I can gather happily so, there must be some experiences out there that can be shared regarding long refractors on the AZ100 so l would love to hear them, as well as any individual solutions anyone employs as a hard stop for those who feel it’s necessary, maybe a non-motorized version user.

 

Regarding the mount packaging, given the modularity of the mount and its components and how many permutations of Rowan-stuff one might want to order, I would say precut styrofoam for shipping would be unworkable. My box came with a bunch of small boxes inside with the stuff I wanted for my setup and it arrived all nice and safe here in Rhode Island from Britain in about 4 days so I hads no issue with the packing and shipping. My Nova Hitch had arrived to me with each mount part individually swaddled and bubblewrapped by Charles and I have had styrofoam inserts arrive with other stuff cracked and broken so I feel there is more shipping care at work the way Rowan does it as opposed to a mass produced styrofoam insert. I also do not notice and anodizing patch issues as you describe with your mount so I cannot comment on that.

 

My AZ100 is a beautifully engineered beast WAY more over-engineered for anything that I will ever throw at it, I can but both my telescopes on it at once and the mount does not even know they are there.

Edited by swsantos, 08 September 2024 - 11:01 AM.

[rockethead26]

...

 

Dont get me wrong this is a fine piece of british Craftsmanship ...

 

... On closer examination maybe being over picky again the black anodising showed patches which is bad in my opinion considering the price point of the mount.

And have seen superior anodising techniques with Chinese manufacturers...

 

... So sorry I might of offended some of the fans out there and this is truly not my intentions 

yes the AZ100 is a fine piece of British craftsmanship,engineering but sadly if the mount cannot be used Safely in the field and dark environment the mount definitely didn’t serve my purpose.

I'm not sure why that you insist that it is such a fine piece of engineering and craftmanship and then proceed to tell us why it is not.

[Supernova74]

I can only speak from my own experience...

 

Before I got the mount in 2021, before there was even a motor kit for the AZ100 when it was simply a manual mount with encoders, I spoke with Serge from Astro Devices about it and using my Nexus DSC with a potential AZ100 new mount and he told me than that it was probably the best alt-az mount in the world and that got my attention. I had been using the vererable Nova Hitch at the time which is a great mount in its own right. I originally purchased the Nova Hitch because there had been plans to add a motor kit to it as well my goal being to have the best alt-az push-to and track mount I could find. Well the motor kit for the Nova Hitch never came to be with the passing of its creator Charles Riddel so when the AZ-100 was announced with its future motor tracking plans I decided to get one. Yes I know, I took another chance on an alt-az mount with a planned motor kit, but felt that a company behind its design was a better bet that the one man operation that was Half Hitch Telescope (I still have my Nova Hitch because I can't part with it so it lives here in retirement).

 

My biggest telescopes, and for my 5'6" self observing in not the darkest skies they are big enough, an 8" Edge SCT and Televue NP127 both of which are used with heavy Televue eyepieces, 2" prism diagonal, and sometimes a Maxbright II binoviewer with Morphei eyepieces work perfectly fine on my AZ100 and I have not had any problem with balance or nosedives. I do not find myself playing with the balance much at all past the initial mounting of the OTA for the night as I always balance my telescope on the X axis for each session but I keep my Y axis balance adapter set to balance everything with a 17mm Ethos in my 2" Baader prism diagonal all the time even while using the binoviewer so I almost never readjust the YAB. The altitude lock, which it is true is not a stop lock just a stronger friction lock than the altitude clutch, is more than enough to keep everything still while I make eyepiece changes, I can even remove my 2" Baader diagonal with the 17mm in it completely from my 8" SCT and let it hang there while I put the diagonal down then pick up the binoviewer and attach it. Yes I know that that's an easier lift than a 6" refractor, but in my use with my equipment the AZ100 just disappears while the telescope just floats there and I cannot imagine a better alt-az experience that the AZ100 as it is a manual mount, a push to and track mount and a go-to mount all at the same time.

 

I have asked Rowan why there is not a hard stop lock on the mount for eyepiece changes but rather a more aggressive friction lock than the clutch and was told be that hard locking the mechanism while the motors are running would not play nice and that makes sense to me. For the record my Nova Hitch also did not have a hard lock either, my DSV-2c does have a lock lever as well that also employs friction. For me and my stuff the system works fine. Before I had the YAB, I would occasionally have to also dial in some altitude clutch friction in addition to the eyepiece change lock under some circumstances, but since the YAB that is no longer necessary. Are there mounts like this with motors that have hard altitude locks? How would that work if you forgot to turn off the motors? Intuitively not as well as a friction lock being in play but I may be wrong.

 

Given that this mount is obviously being used for much heavier artillery than I am using it for, and from what I can gather happily so, there must be some experiences out there that can be shared regarding long refractors on the AZ100 so l would love to hear them.

 

Regarding the mount packaging, given the modularity of the mount and its components and how many permutations of Rowan-stuff one might want to order, I would say precut styrofoam for shipping would be unworkable. My box came with a bunch of small boxes inside with the stuff I wanted for my setup and it arrived all nice and safe here in Rhode Island from Britain in about 4 days so I hads no issue with the packing and shipping. My Nova Hitch had arrived to me with each mount part individually swaddled and bubblewrapped by Charles and I have had styrofoam inserts arrive with other stuff cracked and broken so I feel there is more shipping care at work the way Rowan does it as opposed to a mass produced styrofoam insert. I also do not notice and anodizing patch issues as you describe with your mount so I cannot comment on that.

 

My AZ100 is a beautifully engineered beast WAY more over-engineered for anything that I will ever throw at it, I can but both my telescopes on it at once and the mount does not even know they are there.

Put it this way I would still of owned the mount if it simply had a locking clutch or even pin and by all means I’m hardly a newbie either!however the experiences I had admittedly was a little off perhaps and shouldn’t have to hold the OTA! In one hand then swap the accessories over in the other all because the scope would go out of balance and then whack against the tripod legs  or even worse all because a massive inconsistencies in the  payload distribution in changes accessories over regardless of the small eyepiece counterweights that move back and forth accordingly then you are fighting against the weight all the time while swapping and changing over eyepieces etc!.Once set up the mount works very smoothly and precisely and most probably one of the best alt-azimuth mounts on the market at that price point.

Edited by Supernova74, 08 September 2024 - 10:29 AM.

[jrazz]

I don't think that has anything to do with the mount.

 

To begin with, you might want to consider a pier extension if the OTA can smack into the tripod legs. 

 

That being said, compensating for different eyepieces is not a challenge unique to the AZ100. Mondo1948's solution is good but also I find that a little friction on the locks seems to be all that's needed. I bring up my CGEM again. It didn't have good locks at all, far less powerful than the AZ100 and I still seemed to be able to swap in eyepieces.

 

My setup is below. I use eyepieces from a 20mm, 100° heavyweight to a tiny 6mm Plössl. I don't need to hold the OTA nor do I feel it's going to move. 

 

 

I'm not trying to criticise your experience but clearly what you are saying does not match my own experience. 

[Supernova74]

I don't think that has anything to do with the mount.

 

To begin with, you might want to consider a pier extension if the OTA can smack into the tripod legs. 

 

That being said, compensating for different eyepieces is not a challenge unique to the AZ100. Mondo1948's solution is good but also I find that a little friction on the locks seems to be all that's needed. I bring up my CGEM again. It didn't have good locks at all, far less powerful than the AZ100 and I still seemed to be able to swap in eyepieces.

 

My setup is below. I use eyepieces from a 20mm, 100° heavyweight to a tiny 6mm Plössl. I don't need to hold the OTA nor do I feel it's going to move. 

 

 

 

I'm not trying to criticise your experience but clearly what you are saying does not match my own experience. 

Yes I was theoretically speaking regarding hitting the tripod legs as an example so should have made it more clear.

[Deadlake]

Both the APO scopes I have are equipped with FT3545 focusers. The 105 mm LZOS I have is especially  tail heavy, however I tolerate that due to the sharp lens of the LZOS and the large amount of travel of the FT3545 that supports focusing when used with a BV.

Using the YAB I can balance the scope in any angle without locking the mount or adjusting the tension.

I can also increase the imbalance by adding a reducer and NVD unit that I can adjust the YAB to compensate for any imbalance

In this picture, bother scopes are shown straight up with no the altitude control's completely free and it balances in any angle.
 

I've looked at other mounts, harmonic and the Panther.

Both costs more and I lose the ability to switch between guided and manual mode, so I'm not completely sure of the other options.

Vic @ Stellarvue uses an AZ100 to star test the SVX180T refractor his company fabricates.

I think we can use that as an upper limit the AZ100 is known to support. 

Edited by Deadlake, 08 September 2024 - 12:46 PM.

[bobhen]

1) If your Rowan is a single-sided mount, then a balance solution like the one posted by mondo1948 in post number four, will be your balance solution.

 

2) If your Rowan is a twin-sided mount that can cary 2 scopes, then just use the mounting bar and counterweight on the one side that is empty. To adjust balance just move the bar or counterweight back and forth.

 

3) With a twin-sided mount with two scopes on it, just equip one scope with the bar and counterweight like in post number 4. You only need one scope with the counterweight. Or you can slide the lighter of the two scopes on the mount back and forth.

 

The counterweight does not need to be very heavy. 

 

Balance on all mounts is critical. There are many old photos of long refractors on GEMs with the refractors having sliding counterweights on their tubes.

 

I've been using a Desert Sky Astro DSV-3 twin alt/az mount for 9-years.  And yes, good balance must be achieved for the mount to work at its best. 

 

Bob

Edited by bobhen, 08 September 2024 - 12:59 PM.

[Hans Joakim]

Offsetting the counterweight from the OTA axis can be useful for Y-axis balancing (moving the center-of-mass to the axis of the mount, which ensures perfect balance at any altitude). ADM makes a great solution for this, that can be used for single-sided and twin-sided mounts:  https://www.admacces...r3NFIKreASipE9w

[davidgmd]

 

Dont get me wrong this is a fine piece of british Craftsmanship at its best and sure looks the part and functions very smoothly but feel the design is disarray and back to front and constantly have to move and adjust counterweights accordingly so you can balance the optical tube again with the accessories you intend to use like heavier accessories like eyepieces and admittedly you are theoretically trying to balance everything on a pivot so soon as you remove and add another accessory again the whole setup is out of balance again which is very precarious and a shade dangerous all because there is no “Locking clutch” and the small friction knob serves no purpose when using a long 6” refractor telescope (a 8” or 9.25” sct cassagrain may perform and act differently as the centre of gravity is concentrated more and centralized in the middle of the mount as the tube is shorter!

    
Sorry it didn’t work out for you and for the hassle and likely cost of having to buy and sell two of them. Two comments.

    

First, no scope remains perfectly balanced as you change eyepieces or accessories. That’s not a function of the mount. Ability to handle an imbalance is an important mount characteristic, and appears to be where the AZ-100 fell short for you.

    

Second, I assume you know that the AZ100 does have both an altitude clutch and an altitude lock. Was the issue that the lock didn’t lock tightly enough? The altitude lock loses effectiveness if over-loosened. The shaft and pin need to be completely removed from the mount body and properly re-seated if this occurs or the lock won’t work properly when the knob is re-tightened. Is it possible that this is what caused the problem?

    
  

[Supernova74]

    
Sorry it didn’t work out for you and for the hassle and likely cost of having to buy and sell two of them. Two comments.

    

First, no scope remains perfectly balanced as you change eyepieces or accessories. That’s not a function of the mount. Ability to handle an imbalance is an important mount characteristic, and appears to be where the AZ-100 fell short for you.

    

Second, I assume you know that the AZ100 does have both an altitude clutch and an altitude lock. Was the issue that the lock didn’t lock tightly enough? The altitude lock loses effectiveness if over-loosened. The shaft and pin need to be completely removed from the mount body and properly re-seated if this occurs or the lock won’t work properly when the knob is re-tightened. Is it possible that this is what caused the problem?

    
  

20240908_162543.jpeg

Yes had exactly the same set up and on the left hand side of the pic is the friction control and on the left is the attitude brake both proved to be not very effective on both mounts I owned even when a new brass insert was replaced in the attitude brake aswell.the friction knob did tighten fully to a certain degree which theoretically acts similar to a locking clutch but solely designed for slight inconsistency in the payload and must be tightened firmly while using GO-TO functionality also compensates for heavier accessories like eyepieces.On both AZ100 mounts i owned with both knobs tightened fully the scope would hold to a certain degree but after a minute or two would loose its grip resulting in a nose dive either the focuser or objective lens end.after spending the best part of £2500 overall on the second Rowan AZ100 mount I eventually didn’t even want to use the mount any longer as it made me feel nervous.

 

both scopes were refractors one was a Altair 150 EDF refractor and was approximately 1.5m in length and only weighed approximately 10kg and maybe 12kg the time you have added all the accessories and the Altair wave series 130 triplet was slightly heavier but shorter in physical length at 12kg and 14kg with the accessories added respectively so definitely wasn’t pushing the mount payload capacity as Rowan Astronomy stated that a 14” sct cassagrain would have no issues whatsoever when paired with the AZ100.im now thinking along the line that the mount doesn’t really like long telescopes like refractors and is putting extra strain on the friction knob and altitude brake but something like a sct cassagrain seems to suit this particular mount better from users I’ve spoken to.

[betacygni]

As I mentioned in a prior post I don’t believe any alt/az mount in existence can truly 100% lock a clutch for a massively out of balance load. I know this because I’m regularly dealing with and swapping heavy binoviewers. There is a flawless $4 solution though I’ve used for every alt/az mount I’ve owned, a small tie down strap (no need for suspenders, those can remain being used for the more important job for which they are designed).

https://www.harborfr...pack-64040.html

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by betacygni, 09 September 2024 - 10:39 AM.

[Supernova74]

As I mentioned in a prior post I don’t believe any alt/az mount in existence can truly 100% lock a clutch for a massively out of balance load. I know this because I’m regularly dealing with and swapping heavy binoviewers. There is a flawless $4 solution though I’ve used for every alt/az mount I’ve owned, a small tie down strap (no need for suspenders, those can remain being used for the more important job for which they are designed).

https://www.harborfr...pack-64040.html

A simple solution to the problem i guess and admittedly was considering designing and manufacturing a brace or some kind of locking mechanism for the Rowan AZ100 but by then got fed up tweaking everything back and forth to find a suitable balance for my eyepiece collection.The Y-Axis balancer works well especially when using heavier accessories like bino-viewers and learned a lesson the second time round in using eyepieces which are similar weights which i intend to use with my ioptron AZ-PRO mount but obviously you have to set up the mount for either bino-viewing or mono vision and near impossible to combine the both due to the dramatic weight differences.

 

Maybe Rowan could design a locking pin of some description instead to stabilize DEC axis just to stabilize everything up when changing heavier accessories over,and even more so when you dismantle your setup after the observing session.

[betacygni]

A simple solution to the problem i guess and admittedly was considering designing and manufacturing a brace or some kind of locking mechanism for the Rowan AZ100 but by then got fed up tweaking everything back and forth to find a suitable balance for my eyepiece collection.The Y-Axis balancer works well especially when using heavier accessories like bino-viewers and learned a lesson the second time round in using eyepieces which are similar weights which i intend to use with my ioptron AZ-PRO mount but obviously you have to set up the mount for either bino-viewing or mono vision and near impossible to combine the both due to the dramatic weight differences.

Maybe Rowan could design a locking pin of some description instead to stabilize DEC axis just to stabilize everything up when changing heavier accessories over,and even more so when you dismantle your setup after the observing session.

Yes, I agree it would be nice if Rowan or other mount manufacturers would develop an option for a total lock. My AZ75 does have a tab that prevents a full scope nose dive (though I believe they recommend it only being an emergency back up stop, not for regular scope holding). My AZ100 doesn’t have this tab, though I’m not sure if it’s because it’s an older model, or only the AZ75 has that function.

[Supernova74]

Yes, I agree it would be nice if Rowan or other mount manufacturers would develop an option for a total lock. My AZ75 does have a tab that prevents a full scope nose dive (though I believe they recommend it only being an emergency back up stop, not for regular scope holding). My AZ100 doesn’t have this tab, though I’m not sure if it’s because it’s an older model, or only the AZ75 has that function.

I think the only differences are the price firstly a little bit more budget friendly and maybe less bells and whistles to purchase unless I’m mistaken.the only other differences are a slightly less payload capacity of 10kg “conservative estimate” and No slow motion controls.Regarding the altitude break which I think you are referring to it really is a pointless feature which had very little effect when using both my scopes which were a Altair 150 EDF doublet and wave series triplet which weighed 12kg and 14kg respectively the time you added all the accessories.

 

I Personally feel that Rowan didn’t really thorough test there mounts fully with a wide range of telescopes sadly and can imagine I’m not the only amateur out there who has found it frustrating to use.with a 8” or 9.25” sct cassagrain or short tube refractor I think those teething issues I have experienced would most probably faded away.

Edited by Supernova74, 09 September 2024 - 01:19 PM.

[Dek Rowan]

 

On closer examination maybe being over picky again the black anodising showed patches which is bad in my opinion considering the price point of the mount.

 

Hello Sean,

 

We appreciate all feedback as it's another useful way to improve our products.

 

We have never heard or seen this problem on any of our mounts, possibly caused by the packaging in contact with the wax polish we coat the mount in for transport.

If this was an issue why did you not contact us at the time?

A wipe with a silicone lubricant (eg. WD40) would likely fix this.

 

As for the balance issues, we're good but not that good as to be able to alter the laws of physics.

Astronomy does need a certain level of perseverance, as with any other worthwhile hobby, it doesn't happen by itself.

 

By coincidence, just the other day I spoke with the customer that bought your AZ100 GOTO, he's very happy with it.

 

ATB

Derek.

 

P.s. If you can put us in touch with a packing company that can produce a custom insert in very low volume at a price you'd be happy to pay and then throw in the bin, please send me their details.

[Supernova74]

Hi Derek 

 

Yes i agree in most part you cannot alter the Law of physics as you mentioned in your previous post and you have achieved all the balance issues now with this Y-axis balancer.the problem here! has nothing to do with the law of physics just common sense in my opinion in making your AZ100 into a great mount not just a good one with the minor flaws and teething issues the very small minority have experienced in using your mount.going back some time now we both had a brief conversation over the telephone discussing “why” hasn’t the AZ100 have a locking clutch or pin even to prevent a long OTA! going dramatically out of balance doing a nose dive or vice versa at the focuser end when you are changing accessories over and the tension knob,altitude break had very little effect with both refractor scopes i owned.

And lastly I also remember you saying that a locking clutch was initially considered in the design process but was decided against all because you felt amateurs would forget to tighten and unloosen again resulting in some possible damage maybe.

[betacygni]

Hi Derek

Yes i agree in most part you cannot alter the Law of physics as you mentioned in your previous post and you have achieved all the balance issues now with this Y-axis balancer.the problem here! has nothing to do with the law of physics just common sense in my opinion in making your AZ100 into a great mount not just a good one with the minor flaws and teething issues the very small minority have experienced in using your mount.going back some time now we both had a brief conversation over the telephone discussing “why” hasn’t the AZ100 have a locking clutch or pin even to prevent a long OTA! going dramatically out of balance doing a nose dive or vice versa at the focuser end when you are changing accessories over and the tension knob,altitude break had very little effect with both refractor scopes i owned.
And lastly I also remember you saying that a locking clutch was initially considered in the design process but was decided against all because you felt amateurs would forget to tighten and unloosen again resulting in some possible damage maybe.

I will say the advantage of my tie down strap solution is it is extraordinarily hard to not notice the strap is in place. Additionally there is no need to readjust the clutch tension. I do think forgetting to do or undo a full lock would be a concern. Ive certainly done that with the limited lock option already available. I wouldn’t want that as an option if forgetting meant mount damage.

Edited by betacygni, 09 September 2024 - 04:47 PM.

[mountain monk]

Very clever, Sir!

 

Dark skies.

 

Jack