Upgrading from an EQ3 mount?

[Alasdair]

A few years ago I bought (second-hand) a Saxon Hyperion 1021EQ3 refractor - a very nice instrument; highly portable, and good for grab-and-go viewing. Its main problem is the mount and tripod, which are only just stable. If I want a good view of, say, Saturn, then the lightest touch on the scope will cause enough of a wobble to ruin the view. I thus have to be careful to use the eyepiece without touching it.

The solution is of course a better mount and tripod, and it seems that the way up would be to an HEQ5 (or maybe EQ5). The trouble with this is: it's goto, which I don't want; and it's expensive: about $2000 new (well, expensive for me; I know that's cheap in astronomical terms), which seems overkill when the OTA is only worth about $400.

Or maybe I should keep the mount and get a stronger tripod ... ?

Note that I'm not interested in astrophotography (other than snapshots using my mobile phone and a phone holding thingie) - visual only.

What do you recommend? I know that a better mount and tripod will add weight, thus compromising the portability, but that's astronomy for you.

Thanks!
Alasdair

Here's the scope:

https://www.saxon.com.au/media/catal...u213101_5_.jpg

[croweater (Richard)]

Hi Alasdair, Maybe the saxon (or skywatcher) AZ5 with steel tripod would suit you. Has a capacity 8-9 kg. Is sold out at a lot of suppliers but a quick search shows Optics Central have them for about $620. Maybe you can find a better price on ebay or elsewhere. Have a look and see what you think anyway.
Cheers, Richard

[astro744]

An EQ5 non-GOTO version with RA drive only or RA/DEC drives is all you need. They come up for sale used at times in the classifieds. An AZ5 is fine if you don’t want tracking. Many think you need GOTO for tracking which is not the case as a simple RA motor and polar aligned equatorial mount is all you need.

[PhilTas (Phil)]

Hi Alasdair,

What scope and what tripod are you using with the EQ3? A couple of photos might help.

Eq3 tripods are generally either a lighter duty aluminium type with square/rectangular legs, or a heavier duty tripod with 2" steel tubular legs.

My EQ3 has the steel 2" tripod, and it's steady and a joy to use. I use it with an 85mm refractor or a 127 Mak.

Even if you have the aluminuim type, it can be strengthened to make it a lot steadier.

Cheers Phil

[MattT]

I have the eq3 too. Used it on a few long fl refractors over the years like 90mm f11 and 70mm f12.8. The wobbles are real and annoying. My solution was an electric focuser. Skywatcher make one which is cheap, compared to buying a new mount.
Had both Skywatcher and Rigelsystems electric focusers and preferred the rigel, as it did single step movements and could do fast adjustments with the touch of a button!
Easy to use and install and zero wobble problems.

The rigel needs a focuser upgrade to a GSO crayford as far as I know. The Skywatcher is added on to an existing focuser knob and its cheaper.

Go electric focuser is my vote.

Matt

[Alasdair]

Originally Posted by astro744

An EQ5 non-GOTO version with RA drive only or RA/DEC drives is all you need. They come up for sale used at times in the classifieds. An AZ5 is fine if you don’t want tracking. Many think you need GOTO for tracking which is not the case as a simple RA motor and polar aligned equatorial mount is all you need.

Many thanks - yes, I'll keep an eye out for used EQ5 mounts here. One of the main reasons I don't want GOTO or even tracking is because of the added fuss of dealing with electronic equipment: connections, power, portability etc. I know that the more fiddly a telescope is to set up, the less I'll use it.

[Alasdair]

Originally Posted by MattT

I have the eq3 too. Used it on a few long fl refractors over the years like 90mm f11 and 70mm f12.8. The wobbles are real and annoying. My solution was an electric focuser. Skywatcher make one which is cheap, compared to buying a new mount.
Had both Skywatcher and Rigelsystems electric focusers and preferred the rigel, as it did single step movements and could do fast adjustments with the touch of a button!
Easy to use and install and zero wobble problems.

The rigel needs a focuser upgrade to a GSO crayford as far as I know. The Skywatcher is added on to an existing focuser knob and its cheaper.

Go electric focuser is my vote.

Matt

Thank you very much - I'd never even heard of electric focusers before your comment. I'm a bit leery about anything electronic though, as it means extra fuss with cabling, power, portability etc. Also, my scope has a rack-and-pinion (not Crayford) focuser, and I'm not sure whether I can replace it. But I'll find out! Thanks again.

[Alasdair]

Originally Posted by PhilTas

Hi Alasdair,

What scope and what tripod are you using with the EQ3? A couple of photos might help.

Eq3 tripods are generally either a lighter duty aluminium type with square/rectangular legs, or a heavier duty tripod with 2" steel tubular legs.

My EQ3 has the steel 2" tripod, and it's steady and a joy to use. I use it with an 85mm refractor or a 127 Mak.

Even if you have the aluminuim type, it can be strengthened to make it a lot steadier.

Cheers Phil

Thank you very much - this was my thinking too: replacing the aluminium tripod (which is one of these), with a more sturdy steel tripod, like one of these. However, I don't think that non-GOTO mounts are available anymore - nobody wants them. Which means that if I was buying new, I'd need something like an HEQ5 mount ($1468.95 on their website).

But I'm also interested in your final comment - about strengthening an aluminium mount - I'll find out about this, unless you can flick me a URL on the subject.

Again - many thanks.

[Alasdair]

Originally Posted by astro744

An EQ5 non-GOTO version with RA drive only or RA/DEC drives is all you need. They come up for sale used at times in the classifieds. An AZ5 is fine if you don’t want tracking. Many think you need GOTO for tracking which is not the case as a simple RA motor and polar aligned equatorial mount is all you need.

Thank you - this seems very good advice. Yes, a RA/AZ mount would be easy to use, and maybe quite appropriate for my purposes. But I do like the use of an equatorial mount; polar aligned, which does make tracking easier. I'll keep my eyes open!

[Alasdair]

Originally Posted by croweater

Hi Alasdair, Maybe the saxon (or skywatcher) AZ5 with steel tripod would suit you. Has a capacity 8-9 kg. Is sold out at a lot of suppliers but a quick search shows Optics Central have them for about $620. Maybe you can find a better price on ebay or elsewhere. Have a look and see what you think anyway.
Cheers, Richard

Thanks, Richard. I had a look online at the AZ5 - and it may well be very suitable for my purposes. But I still like the idea of an equatorial mount, which I can polar-align for easy tracking. I might duck into OzScopes or Optics Central for a chat sometime soon. Thanks again.

[astro744]

Also keep a look out for a used Losmandy GM8 with the 492 controller (standard non-GOTO issue). A bit more cost than a used EQ5 but you get a solid mount with easy operation. The axis locks have tension adjustment and once set for a particular payload there is no need to unlock and lock either axis when manually positioning the telescope. Simply grab the end of the tube and move to your next targets do the mount will continue to track in RA, (DEC motor is standard with the 492 for fine adjust if you’re not accurately polar aligned).

As with any used mount though the condition of gears and bearings and lubrication will affect operation. Losmandy has most if not all parts are still available as spares if needed.

[Alasdair]

Originally Posted by astro744

Also keep a look out for a used Losmandy GM8 with the 492 controller (standard non-GOTO issue). A bit more cost than a used EQ5 but you get a solid mount with easy operation. The axis locks have tension adjustment and once set for a particular payload there is no need to unlock and lock either axis when manually positioning the telescope. Simply grab the end of the tube and move to your next targets do the mount will continue to track in RA, (DEC motor is standard with the 492 for fine adjust if you’re not accurately polar aligned).

As with any used mount though the condition of gears and bearings and lubrication will affect operation. Losmandy has most if not all parts are still available as spares if needed.

Thanks for that - I'd never bothered to include Losmandy in my lists as I always through their stuff was too expensive for my own needs. A check on their website indicates only the GM8-G (includes GOTO), which they sell ot USD2495 = AUD3812.92. This is way over my price range. But if a second hand item pops up, and without GOTO, it would be very well worth considering. Thanks again!

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Alasdair,
Sent you a PM Re the Carton TV mount with Losmandy GM8 motors and #492 controller.