Skywatcher EQ8 Mount.

[brightstar]

Skywatcher have announced the specifications and release date, price etc for the EQ 8 Mount. These specs. etc can be viewed on the Sirius Optics web site at:
http://www.sirius-optics.com.au/whatsnew.html
;)

[silv]

uuuh, it's going to be black. nah, not interested.
but thanks for the info
;)

[MrB]

Yay it's going to be black ;)
I didn't like the white EQ6's.

Seriously tho, colour means fa, looking forward to reading some reviews about this mount.

[Astro_Bot]

Black? It's camouflaged so no-one can see you and your very expensive mount!

OK, so it's a two-man lift, but that's one heck of a mount for a semi-decent price ... assuming it gets discounted eventually. ;)

50kg? Even if it's a more realistic 35kg, that's still an impressive working payload. You could put a 16" SCT on this thing no problem. Plus direct drive means no backlash (apparently).

If it has dual optical encoders, though, why do RA and Dec reset when powered on? Shouldn't it know where the home position is? (I've yet to own a mount with optical encoders, so I may be showing my ignorance here).

[h0ughy]

well i know that i will be upgrading the eq6 with this one - that means i can leave the titan on the observatory mount and have a travel setup with this one and the meade 14" ota. if this pans out it will indeed be bang for bucks - and payload

[OICURMT]

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p4701_Skywatcher-EQ8-Synscan-GoTo-Montierung-bis-50kg-belastbar.html

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/Bilder/shop/Skywatcher/Montierungen/eq8/eq8.jpg

[silv]

:lol: sorry, the whole of my 5'2" body is shaking with giggles :lol:

[MrB]

It will be using incremental encoders. Absolute encoders are considerably more expensive.

[Astro_Bot]

Thanks, Simon.

---------

Two guys on weight machines at a gym ...
"Hey, good reps, man. So how long have you been into body building?"
"Body building? Hell no, I'm an astronomer."

[whzzz28]

Bintel have it up on their site, for pre-order ofcourse.

Shipping: March 2013.
Cost: $4449 (ouch)

But, 50kg capacity...

http://www.bintel.com.au/Mounts---Tripods/EQ-Mounts/SkyWatcher-EQ8/1445/productview.aspx

[MrB]

This one is white ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg6WLerTKZg

Here is another older but much better vid: (Titled the EQ7)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rrUwe3Se3Q

[silv]

now I got something to save my coffee money for :jump:

[White Rabbit]

Mmm, that is interesting. I was going to buy a losmandy g11 in november, but this is the same price....Question is can I wait that long? Should I wait that long?

[silv]

you could reason: a new product often rides a bumpy road, at first.
I wouldn't want to be the first one, finding out about the bugs but wait for the second batch. Or get one whose bugs are well reported and work arounds known, already. :)

[White Rabbit]

Yeah, that's why I haven't pulled the trigger on the G11. It's had some pretty major software issues.

[Paul Haese]

Nothing wrong with being a beta tester or early adopter. Done it several times myself and never regretted.

Now to the mount. Still vapour ware at this I reckon and release dates are never on time. However, looks like good value. Very beefy with a good triod, but it appears to still have the crap alt and az adjustment screws. Just imagine having a full load on it and trying to move either of those. It is hard enough with the EQ6, let alone this monster fully loaded.

Potentially a good mount, and time will tell.

I am looking for a good second hand EQ6 Pro for our trip to Cairns if anyone is selling to get one of these. ;)

[Sarge]

Looks fantastic. The early reports before release were concerned about the weight.

Tripod / Pier Weight: 31kg
EQ Head Weight: 28.5kg

Does limit the term "portable"

Clear skies

Rod
:D:D

[silv]

I thought that's why it's called "pier" mount? You'd put it into your ob and never move it?

[Astro_Bot]

From what I've read, the EQ7 design was an alternative to the EQ8 but it was canned by Synta .... something about the engineers not being able to make it production ready. The EQ8 is a different design, although it looked similar - there aren't many pictures of an EQ8 yet, so it's not that easy to tell the difference.

Sorry, silv, it looks like you can have any colour you want, as long as it's black. ;)

[Astro_Bot]

If only we could buy it with beta dollars! :P

[MrB]

True, but there are a few design similarities, to me it looks like the worm wheels and the encoders are very similar if not identical.
Shame they didn't keep the Alt/Az adjustment setup tho, looks way better on the EQ7.


Nope, the first video is the EQ8 and it is white.... whether the production version is white or black... we will have to wait and see.
Not that it really matters, specs/performance is where it's at :thumbsup:

[Astro_Bot]

It's the same design in both videos. It was called both an EQ7 and EQ8 prototype at the time (and the guy in the second video says similar at 1:23).

There's doesn't ever seem to be much info coming out of Synta, so it's not surprising, and for all we know, the design might have simply evolved from what the videos show into the final design, rather than being a parallel but similar design (although I've heard of parallel designs within companies before).

The point is moot, though - the released EQ8 design is what's going to be available.

[silv]

and the specs on that announcement page say it's black.


tse, says who? a it's major point for me! :p

since the color is even listed in the specs it must be of serious concern to the manufacturer, too.

but I'll pass on this one.
I have just put butterfly stickers on mine - with glitter!

[rider]

Hey,
I can put the 12 inch newt, the vc200 vixen, the 110 vixen, the 130 neut, and the 110 Long-pergn on all at the same time!!!

[MrB]

My apologies, had a closer look at the first video and you are absolutely correct.

[Astro_Bot]

No worries. I had the advantage of watching those videos many times over the last few months. ;)

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

The valve looks good the specs look good as per my previous comments---i will buy when they are landed.

[MLyons]

It's basically a CGE Pro without the funny frilly cosmetics with Synscan software according to our local importer.

[Astro_Bot]

I wouldn't be surprised at similarities, since Synta owns Celestron.

[2stroke]

I thought Tasco owned Celestron?

[Sarge]

What makes this mount quite unique is that it has been designed as a moveable, relocatable or portable pier mount. The stability and rigidness of a pier with the advantage of a tripod portability. But it is quite a heavy unit, hence my reference to "portable".

Clear skies

Rod
:D:D

[Astro_Bot]

From: http://www.celestron.com/portal/about-celestron ("Celestron Origins" tab):


SW Technology Corporation is the US subsidiary of Synta:
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=25009505

There are plenty of threads/pages about the acquisition online. This one is useful:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/celestron_synta_connection.htm

Here's a copy of the original news release, in case you're interested:
http://www.astronomyforum.net/celestron-telescope-forums/113837-celestron-telescopes-owned-made-synta.html

From what I can figure out: Tasco bought Celestron in 1998, but went into liquiduation in 2002. Bushnell's parent bought Tasco, except for the Celestron assets, which were bought by three of Celestron's managers. That lasted three years until the Synta sale.

[g__day]

I note the size of the gear wheels - around 8 inches - sounds significant; now if there are just milled really well and matched to appropriate encoders things would be off to a flying start.

[brown_rb]

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPd7bXRv2QGeMAKHZvG1PsA

Cheers
Robert

[White Rabbit]

Thanks for the review Robert.

I was tossing up between the G11 and the EQ8 but the EQ8 still had a few months to go before release so I went with the G11. Kind of wish I'd waited as I hear good things about the mount. The pointing accuracy in your video was quite impressive for a very rough polar alignment.

Thanks again

Perhaps you should start your own thread for this review, the work you put in deserves it.

Well done

[White Rabbit]

I never noticed this was your first post, welcome to the form Robert.