SW vs iOptron

[LewisM]

It's getting to the stage now where I just won't trust another SW mount, so am considering AGAIN an iOptron HEQ45.

NO BS, what are the pros and cons of both?

I have been told the iOptron software is cr@p so many dealers dropped them (since the Chinese engineers refused to make changes). I have heard the iOptron will make enough noise to get dogs barking, and yet others say quiet. Back to software, heard again that iOptron offers SFA in terms of southern alignment stars - but SW is not much better!

I cannot go Losmandy or AP as much as I would love to, so have to keep it to astrophotographic stable amateur portable.

[issdaol]

Hi Lewis,

Although the Ioptron Mount you are looking for is the Equatorial Version the Computer/Hand Controllers used is the same as the Ioptron Minitower Pro Alt/AZ hand controller.

I have just taken delivery of the Ioptron Minitower Pro Alt/Az Goto Mount and have the following observations (compared to my past Meade Alt/Az Fork Goto Mount, Celestron CPC Alt/Az Goto Fork Mount and Current Takahashi EM400 EQ Mount).

The Ioptron Minitower Pro appears to have lower build quality than any of my prior mounts (especially the Tak Mount).

From Shipment the Inbuilt GPS found my Co-ordinates correctly but did not automatically set the correct Time Zone.

The Minitower Az/Dec Manual Clutch has serious issues where it randomly completely locks up or releases (potentially letting the attached OTA smash into the tripod legs if in an unfortunate placement at the time)

Upon further research this is a known issue since 2009/2010 that Ioptron have failed/neglected to fix in the past 3 years. (There is a aftermarket independent fix).

The Controller/Computer Park Facility does not take into account the geometry of the OTA vs Tripod leading to potential impact of the OTA against the tripod legs.

The mount is much noisier than my Takahashi Mount (which is virtually silent) but slight less or similar to both the Meade and Celestron Fork Mounts

As mentioned the model of Ioptron Mount you are looking at is different but the lack of overall quality/operation/attention-to-detail in general should be considered.

If Takahashi had a Goto Alt/Az mount with the same capacity I would throw the Ioptron in the bin and buy the Tak in a heartbeat.

Cheers

[Tandum]

Last Astrofest was a sea of eq6's with the odd losmandy, AP and tak mount. Hundreds of satisfied SW customers.

[MortonH]

Lewis,

Disappointing that you've had bad experiences with SW mounts. I haven't owned either SW or Ioptron but have come close to buying one of them many times. I love the concept of the Minitower but have read too many stories of the issues they have, including many reports of poor build quality. Conversely, SW mounts generally seem to be very reliable and before your recent posts I wouldn't have hesitated to get one if I was looking for a GEM.

Really sounds like you've been unlucky with your Skywatchers.

Morton

[MortonH]

What about a Celestron CGEM?


Edit: Andrews has the mount for $2299, or the 8" SCT package for $2899, so the OTA is effectively only $600.

[brian nordstrom]

:)Lewis , it sounds like you have a lemon on your hands mate , as said here I know lots of happy SW owners .
On the Ioptron sofrware not being good that repiier definatly is talking about the old 8402 , Ioptrons new 8407 is world class , way better than the latest SW, Meade and Celestron offers . I know this as members of the DAG's ( Darwin Astro Group ) all have versions of these and we have compared all 4 .
My IEQ45 still runs the 8406 version and it does not miss a beat , so easy and accurate .
By the wayALT/AZ Mini tower's are NOT the same mount as the EQ IEQ45's , its like comparing apples with oranges .
Brian.

[garymck]

The Celestron CGEM reportedly has issues with poor tracking due to random errors in the gearboxes on the servo motors - though I have no firsthand knowledge or experience of the mount. Plenty of reports if you google them..

I too had an EQ6 lemon - it was replaced twice by Tasco, but each replacement was a dud as well. I ended up selling it at a huge loss with full disclosure to an IIS member. This was several years ago so - I ended up swearing off chinese mounts and bought a Vixen GPD2 - this performs magnificently and I will never part with it. I am however tempted by the new AZEQ6 since it has belt drive and avoids the crappy quality reduction gears of the EQ6 that seem to cause endless tracking problems. I am however waiting for others to beta test the mount :-)

cheers
Gary

[brian nordstrom]

:) Thanks for reminding me Gary , Ioptron's IEQ45 already has belt drives ;) .
Brian.

[Screwdriverone]

Hey Lewis,

You may want to ask Jeanette about Ioptron, she was an avid fan a while back.

Also, before you melt the EQ6 into a pile of slag, try dropping Brendan Mitchell a line, (bmitchell82), he has done some pretty heavy fine tuning of his one and others and may be able to help you.

I am sure someone here may have his mobile number and can possibly call ahead to see if he is willing to have a chat about your woes.

Worth a shot, you never know if there is something he may be able to help with.

Cheers

Chris

(BTW I voted SW, as I love my HEQ5 Pro.....so far. ;) )

[allan gould]

i have an EQ6 mount that I hypertuned and it performs flawlessly. Carries a 10"SCT or 10"GSO RC with 4 counterweights and heavy guidescope with no problems. Easy to pull apart and tune.
Had an HEQ5 Pro prior to that and it also performed flawlessly after tuning. Sold it to get the EQ6 for the greater carrying capacity.

[torsion]

I have an iEQ45 which works beautiful. Currently they have some funny things with the firmware (multi-star alignment behaves not constantly, although the single star alignment works fine)..

In the other hand, iOptron has a new mounts, available mid-january 2014, the CEM60. It can hold 60 lbs (~27kg) with the mount weighing only ~12.3kg. More details see https://www.ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=35c6c70c-22f0-4467-ab1e-4ac258e06786. If I was in for a new mount I would seriously consider this that one.

cheers,
Bram

[Nikolas]

what issues do you have with the skywatcher Lewis?

[raymo]

I too wonder what problems you have had with SW. My HEQ5 Pro is
great, as is my 8" Newt, 80mm refractor, and 10" Flextube dob. The
supplied EPs are o.k. for a budget level scope. My only issue with SW
is that their websites seem to keep shutting down, and I am reduced to asking around on IIS to find the latest one.
raymo

[OzEclipse]

Is the result of this poll simply a reflection of the relative ownership of SW being much higher than iOptron? I don't think polls like this are very informative. I'd pay more attention to the posts.

Joe Cali

[LewisM]

Joe,

I agree.

I ditched all Chinese stuff in entirety, and went with older Vixen mounts instead. Could not be happier.

[rob288]

You might be surprised that many of the Vixen lineup are manufactured in China as well.

[LewisM]

Not the old ones ;)

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: I agree .
Brian.

[ReaPerMan]

I have had an EQ5, EQ6 and now an EQ8. I cannot say that I have had any significant problems with these mounts. I use EQMod and do not tend to use the hand piece. What I have I found is the software lacking especially the polar alignment feature, which never gave enough to the Southern observer. Skywatcher was slow to fix software problems and didn't seem to get it right even after 2 or 3 new versions came out. Having said that the Hardware worked perfectly. Having come from the school of Brendan (prior to his ignominious exit from all things Astronomy) I can say that a well tuned and adjusted EQ6 is capable of many things. It can be quiet, accurate and pull weight above it's class.

all the best

Paul

[LewisM]

Incidentally, this thread is now VERY old - not sure why or who dredged it up again, but it has not been pertinent to me for a long time now.

Thanks all.